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Hi there,
A few months back, I received an email from a professor at the university I attended over a decade ago, inviting me to a book reading event. It got me excited about my alma mater and led me to reminisce about my college days.
Living the dorm life, we couldn’t live without: a motorcycle or a bicycle for transportation, instant noodles, WiFi, and a laptop. The last item was the most indispensable tool that every student needed in their arsenal.
Not only was it useful for completing assignments and class presentations, but it was also essential to keep us entertained, whether to play games, listen to music, or binge on the latest series.
While I was fortunate to have a laptop, it can be unaffordable for many in India. This is why our first Big Story cheers me up. My colleague Lokesh puts the spotlight on Primebook, a profitable Indian startup that has created budget laptops for students, priced at half the market average.
The Shark Tank-funded startup looks to build a US$12 million business by selling on ecommerce platforms and then branching out to the offline retail market. It also plans to enter Vietnam and Indonesia soon.
In our second Big Story, Jofie speaks with Ethan Cheng, co-founder of Singapore VC firm Feedback Ventures, who says that many investors in Asia Pacific are missing out on the opportunity to invest in proptech.
As for Making Waves, we have Goodwater Capital, an early investor in TikTok, speaking with Huong on deploying one-third of its US$1 billion fund into Asia. But first, check out the Big Stories.
— Collin
THE BIG STORIES
1️⃣ Shark Tank-funded startup hits profitability building budget laptops
Image credit: Made by Tech in Asia using Midjourney
Primebook plans to enter Vietnam and Indonesia soon and has a retail market strategy for India next year.
2️⃣For this VC, Asia’s proptech sector is a good place to land
Making Waves
NEWS YOU SHOULD KNOW
FYI
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