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Hello reader,
The tech world loves a “bias to action” – move fast, break things, don’t stand still. I personally believe it too, but as with most sayings, take it with a grain of salt.
Take Bukalapak for instance. After its splashy August 2021 IPO, the one-time unicorn was flush with cash. Nearly four years later, it still has US$651 million in the bank, per its latest financial statements.
In the same period, Shopee and TikTok Shop have swallowed most of Indonesia’s ecommerce pie. The pressure forced Bukalapak to swap selling physical goods for virtual ones, such as gaming vouchers and phone credits.
So far, the move seems like a stopgap – something for Bukalapak to stay operational until it finds its next moonshot. But that bulging cash balance? It’s starting to look more like inertia than strategy.
And yet, in today’s Big Story, we explore why this “do less” approach might actually pay off.
In the meantime, Grab is back in the spotlight. This past Friday, the company – which its CTO says is powered by over 1,000 AI models – unveiled what it’s calling an AI Centre of Excellence in Singapore.
What that actually translates to remains fuzzy. But as Bukalapak shows, not every bet needs to be loud – or fast – to be smart.
Putra Muskita, editor
The Big Story
Bukalapak’s dilemma: pivot or play it safe?
Photo credit: Bukalapak
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