Tech in Asia’s 2020 wrapped (thanks, Spotify!)

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Hello readers,

It’s been a roller coaster of a year here at Tech in Asia. Like many other years, 2020 had us feeling bright and hopeful – we had lots of great plans to herald the new decade. But Covid-19 caused even the best-laid plans to go awry, and we’ve had to pivot and transform, adapting to the new normal and figuring out how we could play a role in helping the region’s tech and startup community through this difficult time.

We’ve published over 3,000 articles this year, covering rising startups and funding rounds and everything in between. We also ran a total of 34 events and three conferences – two of which were completely virtual and one a hybrid event – seeing a total of 10,000 attendees. And our jobs portal didn’t fare too badly either, with over 22,000 jobs posted and more than 700,000 applications.

We’re proud of what we’ve accomplished this year in the face of all the challenges that came our way. We’ve got the highlights of our 2020 up on our site, but here’s a quick summary.

THE MOST GRIPPING STORIES OF 2020

🕸️ Honestbee founder’s biggest lie in a web of deceit

We published this article in April, and it’s been a hot favorite with over 40,000 page views to date. For those who aren’t aware, Singapore-based startup Honestbee was shaping up to be a leading contender for Southeast Asia’s online groceries crown. Unfortunately, it turned out that the company was built on lies – starting right from the credentials of its founder, Joel Sng.

🤝 The hidden alliances between Southeast Asia’s VCs, uncovered

This piece caught the attention of many founders and venture capitalists. You see, venture capital firms co-invest all the time. However, there are different dynamics going on behind the scenes, and we highlighted how some firms frequently invest together, signifying a deeper relationship, while other firms tend to avoid each other altogether. You can also read part two of the story here which dives into whether VCs should have many friends or just a few buddies.

💭 Zilingo’s layoffs expose internal fault lines

Layoffs were an unfortunate side effect of the pandemic. While we covered many layoff stories this year, the case was different for fashion ecommerce company Zilingo, as their job cuts highlighted cracks in its business and processes that may have worsened the situation.