Go, grow, and glow: The startups that are taking off in Southeast Asia

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Hi readers,

I recently created a TikTok account to talk about tech news and cool startups. As you can probably guess, I wanted to find out if there’s potential for Tech in Asia to get on the viral platform.

Not gonna lie: My expectations for TikTok were pretty low at the start. “Maybe the toks will receive a couple of hundred impressions at most,” I thought. Boy, was I wrong. I talk about a rising startup in one tok, and it has gotten more than 30,000 impressions in a day.

While 30,000 is miniscule compared to the millions – even billions – of impressions that Charli D’Amelio’s videos get, it’s still interesting to know that startup news can be relevant on a Gen Z platform. Anyway, instead of learning about just one up-and-comer on TikTok, we’re sending you 50 of them in today’s newsletter.

Today we look at,

• The up-and-coming startups in Southeast Asia’s growing tech ecosystem
• Singapore’s Airbnb for cars raises money
• Other newsy highlights such as how Chinese regulators are eyeing serious penalties for Didi Chuxing and GudangAda’s US$100 million funding windfall

PREMIUM SUMMARY

Southeast Asia’s startup ecosystem is getting supercharged

Southeast Asia’s startups are smashing it this week, with Indonesia’s GudangAda bagging US$100 million while Singapore’s HealthifyMe securing US$75 million. No wonder the region’s funding has grown 50x in the last decade to US$7.7 billion in 2020. The startup ecosystem here is growing and glowing, so let’s take a look at the startups that are making a splash in 2021.

• Food star: Here’s an industry that we don’t see often in the list: restaurant and food tech. There are quite a couple of them including a fishery startup, an AI-based company for restaurants, as well as a business that specializes in plant-based meat.
• Everyone is an investor these days: It’s not surprising that there are investment startups such as Syfe in the list, but what’s interesting is that all of them are based in Singapore. Where are the other Southeast Asian representatives?
• Niches making riches: There’s an Indonesian ecommerce store builder for influencers and creators, and a Singapore-based lifestyle platform especially for condominium residents. Yes, really.

Read more: 50 rising startups in Southeast Asia

STARTUP SPOTLIGHT

Singapore’s Airbnb for cars raises money

Do you live in Singapore and have a car that’s just idling around? Then Drive Lah is for you. This shared mobility startup has recently raised US$3.2 million in a pre-series A round led by KFC Ventures. (No, it’s not the fried chicken fast food chain).

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