Rising startups: satellite-based internet, digital credit cards, 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 that we think investors should look at.

1. Kacific (Singapore)

Kacific Broadband Satellites Group, a satellite operator providing internet for rural markets, announced it has secured US$160 million in long-term credit facilities from a group of financial institutions, including Asian Development Bank (ADB) and GuarantCo.The deal allows Kacific to repay short-term loans used to fund the construction of its Kacific1 satellite and associated infrastructure and launch costs, according to a statement. More info.

2. FinAccel (Indonesia)

FinAccel, the fintech company behind digital credit card Kredivo, has raised US$90 million in series C funding, the company announced. The oversubscribed round was jointly led by Square Peg Capital and the Asia Growth Fund, a joint venture between Korea’s Mirae Asset and Line parent Naver. According to the company, the series C round brings its total capital raised in 2019 alone to more than US$200 million across debt and equity. It’s valued at almost US$500 million. More info.

3. CarDekho (India)

CarDekho has raised US$70 million in a series D fundraise led by China’s Ping An Insurance through its overseas venture fund Ping An Global Voyager Fund. Founded in 2008, full-stack automotive tech company CarDekho Group is the entity behind various Indian auto sites such as CarDekho.com, Gaadi.com, ZigWheels.com, BikeDekho.com, and PowerDrift.com, among others. With the new funds, CarDekho plans to bolster its domestic and international presence, with a goal to become the largest personal mobility services player in India. More info.

4. Hummingbird Bioscience (Singapore)

Biotherapeutics startup Hummingbird Bioscience has raised US$19 million in a series B round co-led by Korean investors Mirae Asset Venture Investment and GNTech Venture Capital. Hummingbird focuses on the development of new breakthrough precision antibody therapeutics for difficult-to-treat conditions through its proprietary rational antibody discovery platform. It plans to use the new capital to support the discovery of new disease targets, expand its pipeline of antibody therapeutics, and bankroll projects that are part of its multi-target collaboration efforts with biotech firm Amgen signed earlier this year. More info.

5. Evermos (Indonesia)

Muslim-focused social commerce platform Evermos has closed its over US$8.2 million series A round led by Singapore-based VC firm Jungle Ventures. Founded in November 2018, Evermos provides a platform that connects consumers to resellers and brands offering halal and sharia-compliant goods. With the new funds, it plans to expand its presence in the digital Islamic economy, establish more collaborations with brands and organizations, and further grow its online reseller network. More info.

6. MVLLabs (Singapore)

MVLLabs, the entity behind ride-hailing service Tada, has raised US$5 million in a series A round led by South Korean VC firm SV Investment. MVLLabs is a mobility ecosystem based on the Mass Vehicle Ledger (MVL) incentive-based mobility blockchain protocol. The company plans to use the fresh investment to fuel its continued expansion within its current markets and further develop its mobility ecosystem. More info.

7. Area28 (Hong Kong)

Area28 has raised a little over US$2.1 million in a seed round led by global early-stage VC firm Vectr Ventures and Alibaba Hong Kong Entrepreneurs Fund. Established in 2017, Area28 is building a commercially available cloud-based collaboration platform and game engine. It plans to use the fresh funds to scale its teams in Hong Kong and China and support the final stages of product development before a commercial launch. More info.

8. Populix (Indonesia)

Consumer insights provider Populix closed a US$1 million seed funding round led by independent VC firm Intudo Ventures. Gobi Agung, an early-stage fund set up by Gobi Partners, and Silicon Valley-based Pegasus Tech Ventures also participated in the round, according to a statement. The startup plans to use the new funds to develop new product offerings, up its marketing efforts, and make new hires. In addition, the company is planning to expand beyond Indonesia and cover more markets in Southeast Asia. More info.

9. Komunal (Indonesia)

Peer-to-peer lending company Komunal secured an undisclosed amount of seed funding in a round led by East Ventures, with local VC firm Skystar Capital also participating. The new funds will help Komunal bridge the funding gap for the growing population of underbanked micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs), according to a statement. More info.

10. Bigtree Entertainment (Singapore)

The owner and operator of Indian online ticketing service BookMyShow received an undisclosed amount of investment from Singapore’s Jungle Ventures to grow its Southeast Asia business. Launched in 2007, BookMyShow offers tickets for movies, theaters, and sports events. It aims to expand its geographic footprint across Southeast Asia to become a leading out-of-home entertainment platform in the region. More info.

11. DiMuto (Singapore)

Supply chain platform DiMuto has raised an undisclosed amount of investment from government-owned venture firm SGInnovate to help drive its expansion into new overseas markets. Through its Track and Trace platform, DiMuto provides end-to-end supply chain visibility for global businesses. DiMuto plans to use the new funds to capitalize on its global growth momentum and drive its expansion into markets such as Europe and Latin America in the next few months, according to a statement. More info.

Philippine nonprofit startup incubator IdeaSpace has invested 1 million pesos (nearly US$20,000) in each of the top three teams from the company’s startup competition this year. The startups were chosen after a four-month acceleration program, where 20 startups were mentored to improve their business and financial model, product, operations, and communications, according to a statement. More info.

12. Airship Logistics (Philippines)

Airship Logistics offers a low-cost end-to-end solution for courier companies looking to improve their operations management.

13. Cocotel (Philippines)

Cocotel is a tech-based aggregator offering property management, construction and design support, and marketing services to value-for-money resorts and hotels.

14. Experience Philippines (Philippines)

15. Volt14 Solutions (Hong Kong)

16. ShweProperty (Myanmar)

17. Portier (Hong Kong)

18. Salutat (Singapore)

19. Trustless (Thailand)

20. Papaya (Thailand)

21. GetVan (Thailand)

22. HungryHub (Thailand)

23. OpenDurian (Thailand)

24. SiamCarDeal (Thailand)