Cinch bags $28.8m to disrupt gadget ownership in Asia

After two years of developing his company in stealth mode, entrepreneur Mahir Hamid is ready to unveil Cinch, the device-as-a-service firm he co-founded in 2023.

The startup has raised US$28.8 million – a combination of debt and equity – in a round led by Monk’s Hill Ventures, co-founder and CEO Hamid tells Tech in Asia in an exclusive interview. Other investors participating in the round include Z Venture Capital, 1982 Ventures, Ratio Ventures, and DCG.

Samsung Galaxy S25+ and S25 Ultra phones on display at a Samsung store./ Photo credit: umitc / Shutterstock

Subscription services for electronics – like Berlin-based Grover, which has raised hundreds of millions of dollars – are popular in markets like Europe, where sustainability has become more than a buzzword.

Like renting a luxury handbag or designer clothing, such services open up access to items that might otherwise be out of reach.

In Southeast Asia, the trend is picking up to some degree.

For its part, Singapore-based Cinch leases electronic devices to consumers or businesses on a monthly subscription so they can avoid paying the full price upfront. This makes owning – or upgrading to the latest models – more affordable.

For companies, renting laptops and smartphones for employees, for instance, could significantly reduce their upfront costs or let them scale up or down as needed.

Part of the fresh funding will go toward offering Cinch’s subscription services at more consumer touchpoints, including at telcos and retailers, according to Hamid. The firm also intends to deepen its presence in Malaysia and Thailand this year.

Cinch is on track to become cash flow positive by Q2 2025 and close the year on a net profitable basis, the CEO adds.

Plugging a BNPL gap

So far, the startup’s most popular rentals are smartphones, tablets, and laptops.

It currently has over 10,000 devices in circulation, and CEO Hamid aims to scale that to a million units within five years.

On the platform, a monthly subscription for a Samsung Galaxy S25 Plus costs S$63 (US$46.90) over a period of 12 months, while an iPhone 16 Pro starts at S$84 (US$62.40) over the same rental duration. Tenures vary by device but can range between one month to two years.

Items are delivered to a user’s doorstep between three to five working days after they place an order and are covered by insurance.

The B2B play