Rising SE Asian startups this week: marketplaces and more marketplaces

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, are fundraising, as well as those we think investors should look at.

1. Luxstay (Vietnam)

Home-sharing startup Luxstay raised a bridge round from several investors, boosting its bid to become the go-to booking and listing platform for short-term accommodation in the country. More info.

Amount raised: US$3 million

Investors: Led by CyberAgent Ventures and Y1 Ventures

2. Ajaib (Indonesia)

Ajaib is a newly launched app aimed at helping regular Indonesians invest in the stock market. It was the only startup from Southeast Asia to be part of the Y Combinator summer 2018 batch, and has just raised funding from a group of investors. More info.

Amount raised: US$2.1 million

Investors: Led by SoftBank Ventures

3. Tutoroo (Singapore)

Tutoroo matches learners with private language tutors. Despite having raised zero VC funding, the platform has grown to list 64,000 tutors worldwide and is growing revenue by seven percent month-on-month. More info.

4. Tima (Vietnam)

Tima is a financial marketplace and peer-to-peer lending platform. It has raised at least US$3 million since its founding in 2015 and is now raising series C funding. The startup recently welcomed to its board of directors John Donovan, LendingClub’s former chief operating officer. More info.

5. Carmen Automotive (Singapore)

More than three years after its initial seed round, Carmen Automotive raised pre-series A funding and is preparing for a full series A round later this year. The data analytics company serves automotive insurers and servicing centers. More info.

Amount raised: US$730,000

Investors: Led by Silicon Solution Ventures

6. GrabJobs (Singapore)

GrabJobs, a portal for job seekers in the retail and restaurant sectors, raised a new round of seed funding. The portal automates applicant screening with the use of an AI-powered chatbot. It is present in Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand. More info.

Amount raised: US$681,000

Investors: Undisclosed

7. FlySpaces (Philippines)

8. Structo (Singapore)

9. Lumiere32 (Singapore)

10. Zenyum (Singapore)

11. Adzymic (Singapore)

12. Kumoten (Malaysia)