Rising startups on Tech in Asia: cloud kitchens, sustainable paint, 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.

1. Rebel Foods (India)

Cloud-kitchen startup Rebel Foods is planning to build 100 Indonesian cloud kitchens over the next 18 months with Gojek. This comes on the heels of a US$125 million it received from several investors, including Coatue Management, Goldman Sachs, and Go-Jek itself. More info.

2. Aspire (Singapore)

Fintech startup Aspire, which aims to provide small and medium businesses across Southeast Asia with banking solutions, raised US$32.5 million in a series A round led by MassMutual Ventures. Arc Labs, Y Combinator, Hummingbird Ventures, and Picus Capital also participated in the round. More info.

3. Vymo (India)

Vymo, a personal sales assistant startup, raised US$18 million in a series B round led by Emergence Capital with participation from Sequoia Capital India. The funds will help fuel the company’s US expansion. More info.

4. Bambu (Singapore)

Digital wealth management startup Bambu raised US$10 million in a series B funding round co-led by Peak6 Strategic Capital and investor Franklin Templeton. The funds will be used to boost its business-to-business segment. More info.

5. Wanted (South Korea)

Wanted, a referral-based recruiting platform, secured US$9 million in new funding from Atinum Investment, CompanyKPartners, Industrial Bank of Korea, Korea Investment and Co. Ltd., and Mirae Asset Venture Investment. The startup claims to be matching more than 800,000 users with 5,000 companies across five Asian countries. More info.

6. Gush (Singapore)

Gush, a creator of sustainable paints and advanced building materials, secured US$2.19 million in a pre-series A round from City Developments Limited. The funds will go towards research and development, as well as expansion into other verticals. More info.

7. Nosh (Hong Kong)

Nosh, a virtual restaurant, raised US$1.7 million in a pre-series A funding round. It aims to close a US$4 million series A in September 2019. More info.

8. Homi SmartHome (Singapore)

Homi SmartHome, a provider of internet-of-things solutions and smart home services, raised US$1.3 million in a seed round led by SeedPlus, Xoogler Angels, and AngelCentral. It will use the funds to grow its services business. More info.

9. Edusuite (Philippines)

Edusuite, a maker of an AI-driven school management system, raised US$235,000 in angel investment from Manila Angel Investors Network, Batangas Eastern Colleges, and Sumulong College of Arts and Sciences. The firm has seven schools in its client portfolio. More info.

10. Winimy AI (Singapore)

Winimy AI, an AI-driven suite of customer engagement solutions, is deployed in hotels, events, conferences, and shopping malls. Its products include Voice AI, AI Concierge and AI Chatbot. More info.

11. Gushcloud (Singapore)

Gushcloud, an influencer marketing network, is now growing and profitable after weathering a PR crisis that saw it lose 90% of its Singaporean marketing campaigns. It was acquired by South Korea-based Yello Mobile in 2015, with spinoff company Yello Digital Marketing Global taking a majority stake. More info.

12. Qiq Global (Singapore)

Last-mile mobility solutions provider Qiq uses supercapacitors instead of lithium-ion batteries to extend the life of their electric vehicles, which are rented out through their ride-sharing platform. Qiq says its supercapacitor lasts 20 times longer than an equivalent lithium-ion battery. More info.

13. Mathpresso (South Korea)

Mathpresso is the maker of Qanda, an AI-driven solution search platform designed to assist students with learning math and science. It connects users to a real-life private tutor in instances when a solution is found on its database. More info.

14. PouchNation (Singapore)

Event technology platform PouchNation is helping Traveloka push into the experiences market. The latter invested in the startup’s series B round. More info.

15. Deep01 (Taiwan)

16. Haulvin (Malaysia)

17. Poseidon Network (Taiwan)

18. T-RECs.ai (Singapore)

19. Alphawallet (Singapore)

20. Keyless (Singapore)