Asia tech news roundup – Oct 26

Snapcart’s founders. Photo credit: Snapcart.

Snapcart, Jirnexu, and Althea take home funding; Grab tries its hand at a membership model; and SoftBank’s Son says the Vision Fund is going swimmingly. Here are some of today’s top tech news highlights from the region…

Data analytics

Snapcart snaps up US$10 million in series A fundraise (Indonesia). The startup – which collects and sells offline consumer data from photos of receipts submitted by shoppers – will use the funding to expand into new markets. Vickers Venture Partners led the round with participation from Social Capital, SPH Ventures, and Wavemaker Partners, among others. (Tech in Asia)

Fintech

The Jirnexu team. Photo credit: Jirnexu.

US$2 million series B backing for Jirnexu (Malaysia). The Kuala Lumpur-based company scored funding from Japan’s SBI Group, Indonesia’s Celebes Artha Ventura, and Singapore’s Cento Ventures. The capital injection will help it consolidate its position in Malaysia and develop new products and services. (Tech in Asia)

Central bank appoints first-ever “chief cyber security officer” (Singapore). Tan Yeow Seng, executive director of technology risk and payments at the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), will become the agency’s first “chief cyber security officer.” He’ll hold the two roles concurrently, and will be responsible for setting and implementing security standards. (Tech in Asia)

Ecommerce

Althea’s co-founders. Photo credit: Althea.

Althea raises US$7 million in a series B round (South Korea). The funding came from FirstFloor Capital, Korea Development Bank, Bridges Alliance Partners, Innoven Capital, and Tekton Ventures. The “K-wave”-influenced online cosmetics store said that the investment will be used to grow its private-label product lines and expand its reach worldwide. (Tech in Asia)

Transportation

Grab tests out membership model (Singapore). The e-hailer is trialing FareLock Pass, which guarantees fares free of share pricing for riders that pay  a US$37 monthly fee. It’s Grab’s latest ploy to retain users in the face of fierce competition from Uber, Go-Jek, and licensed taxi firms. (Tech in Asia)

Internet

Photo credit: kasinv / 123RF.

Line hemorrhaging users in Southeast Asia (Japan). The messaging app lost two million users across Indonesia, Taiwan, and Thailand – its three most important markets after Japan – during the three months ending September. Profits were also down for the quarter, while revenue climbed 18 percent. (Tech in Asia)

Software

Investors, accelerators, and incubators