Rising startups on Tech in Asia: cosmetics, premium pet food, and more

Which are the startups that are on the path to becoming the next big thing? In this regular post, we give you an overview of the companies that have raised money in the past week, as well as those we think investors should look at.

Need an intro to these startups? Reach out to terence@techinasia.com and we’ll see how we can help. Requests are looked at on a case-by-case basis.

(Note: This is a tweak of our Rising startups in Southeast Asia series.)

1. Léo & Léa (Japan)

The company sells premium food for pet dogs. The founders’ previous ventures include the luxury flash-sale platform, Glamour Sales, which is known as Gladd.jp in Japan and Mei.com in China. In 2015, Mei.com was snapped up by Chinese tech titan Alibaba in 2015 with a valuation of about US$200 million. More info.

2. Halodoc (Indonesia)

Telemedicine app Halodoc, aims to improve healthcare access for both urban and rural dwellers in Indonesia. The chap allows users to speak to licensed general practitioners and specialists through chat, video or voice calls, and have prescriptions delivered to their doorstep. More info.

3. Oxfordcaps (Singapore)

Oxfordcaps, a technology-enabled student housing startup, raised US$8 million in a series A funding round led by Times Internet. Past investors Kalaari Capital and 500 Startups participated in the round. The funds will enable Oxfordcaps to expand operations in more than 10 Indian cities. More info.

4. Perx (Singapore)

Perx, a data-driven customer engagement and loyalty startup, raised US$5 million in series B funding from Line Ventures, Access Ventures, Ncore Ventures, and Facebook co-founder Eduardo Saverin, among other investors. Perx will use the fund to strengthen its efforts in client acquisition, strategic partnership, and research and development. More info.

5. Sociolla (Indonesia)

Cosmetics e-tailer Sociolla grew its gross merchandise value seven-fold from Q1 2018 to Q1 2019. The startup expects to grow GMV at least four times year-on-year in 2019. More info.

6. Dathena (Singapore)

Data protection and privacy management platform Dathena closed a funding round for an undisclosed amount. The round was led by MS&AD Ventures with participation from returning investors CerraCap Ventures and Demetis. The funds will help Dathena “support the global deployment of new large customers”. More info.

7. Carro (Singapore)

Online automotive marketplace Carro has launched a subscription-based car service in Singapore. Customers will pay a flat fee ranging from $1,199 to $1,999 a month. More info.

8. UrBox (Vietnam)

UrBox, a digital gifting startup and loyalty platform, raised seed funding from VinaCapital Ventures and VIISA for an undisclosed amount. This financing round, which is UrBox’s first, will help the company expand across Southeast Asia and grow its team. More info.

9. DishDash (Singapore)

Food-delivery startup DishDash targets businesses by providing employee meal plans, as a poor diet could reduce worker productivity. It is growing revenues at 40 percent a quarter. More info.

10. Passpod (Indonesia)

Passpod, an Indonesian portable wifi rental service, is expanding to the Philippines via a joint venture to be established with Weepay Payment Processing Corp., a local payment service provider. The joint venture will target the Philippines’ growing outbound traveler market. More info.

Want to catch up on previous lists? You can do so here.