Rising startups on Tech in Asia: helicopters, lorries, 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.

1. Kumparan (Indonesia)

Tech company and news site Kumparan has gained 30 million monthly active users across its website and app since its founding in January 2017. The company employs full-time journalists and also provides a platform for user-generated content. More info.

2. Agorize (Singapore)

Agorize, an online platform for open innovation challenges, raised US$14.6 million in funding from Creadev, Sofiouest, Iris Capital, and Capnamic Ventures. The company will grow its team of developers, community managers, and sales, marketing, and customer support staff. More info.

3. TheLorry (Malaysia)

TheLorry, an on-demand lorry rental startup, bagged US$5.85 million in a series B funding led by FirstFloor Capital. PNB-Inspire Ethical Fund I, Cradle Seed Ventures, Axiata Digital Innovation Fund, and SPH Ventures participated in the funding round. Part of the funds will be used to strengthen TheLorry’s operations in Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, and Thailand. More info.

4. Koku (Singapore)

Koku, a fintech startup providing technology to non-bank remittance service and liquidity providers in Asia, raised US$2 million in pre-series A funding. Jason Zeng, a co-founder of Tencent and head of Decent Capital, provided the funds. Koku currently has clients in Singapore, Hong Kong, and the Philippines, and will use the fresh funding to expand to more markets. More info.

5. Intello Labs (India)

Intello Lab, which provides AI technology for assessing the quality of vegetables, raised US$2 million in seed funding from Nexus Venture Partners and Omnivore. It operates in Singapore, Stockholm, and the US, and aims to expand to other Southeast Asian markets. More info.

6. Inteluck (Philippines)

Inteluck, a provider of logistics platform services to enterprises, raised US$1 million in series A funding from Mingshi Capital. Inteluck’s SaaS platform provides distribution, fleet, cargo management, and data analytics capabilities. More info.

7. Waitrr (Singapore)

Waitrr, a mobile food ordering and payments solution startup, raised an undisclosed amount of funding from Vietnamese venture capital fund Nest Tech. The investment will help Waitrr expand its operations across Southeast Asia, with Vietnam and Myanmar seen as priority markets. More info.

8. QuuBe (Singapore)

Ecommerce firm Qoo10’s blockchain-powered marketplace, QuuBe, transacted over US$1.8 million in gross merchandise volume (GMV) in just three months. It aims to achieve US$10 million in GMV by the end of this year. More info.

9. Edukasyon.ph (Philippines)

Edukasyon.ph, a social enterprise in the edtech space, acquired FindUniversity, a Philippines-based online academic program directory. The deal was completed in 2018. More info.

10. Snapp (Iran)

Snapp, a ride-hailing startup known as the Uber of Iran, has hit a milestone of two million rides a day. It operates in over 30 cities in Iran. More info.

11. Ascent Flights Global (Singapore)

Helicopter ride-sharing startup Ascent Flights Global is launching its services in the Philippines this week. It also plans to expand its operations to Indonesia, Malaysia, and Thailand in 2020. More info.

12. IDN Media (Indonesia)

Multiplatform media startup IDN Media aims to close more than one acquisition deal in 2019. This comes on the heels of a series C funding round in January. More info.

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