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In focus
In this edition, we cover:
- One Esports’ job cuts as it pursues profitability
- Tech in Asia’s official response to First Frontier Ventures’ criticism
- The launch of three new models from OpenAI
Hello reader,
Lately, the world’s going off the rails, tariffs are top of mind, and the news cycle is burning everyone out.
On Monday, I was startled to see Ray Dalio, founder of Bridgewater Associates, warning that a US recession is on the horizon, and it could be more devastating than the 2008 crash. Notably, Dalio had also predicted the 2008 financial crisis a year before it happened.
Lee Hsien Loong, Singapore’s former prime minister, recently said he expects a recession in the country somewhere down the road. The city-state has also revised its gross domestic product forecast for 2025.
The impact will cut across sectors, and no one, especially startups, will be immune. I’ve been covering tech layoffs for two years, but it’s still disheartening every time a retrenchment happens.
Our Big Story for this edition focuses on that and esports, which seems to have lost its shine in this post-Covid economy. One Esports, the gaming arm of Singapore-based media firm Group One Holdings, axed staff in February. This comes after Group One dismissed several dozen employees across One Esports and One Championship, its mixed martial arts unit, in October 2024.
Meanwhile, today’s Spotlight addresses criticism of an article we published last week that examines the term sheet offered by First Frontier Borneo Capital (FFBC), a VC firm based in Malaysia.
The Big Story
Winners of the One Esports Dota 2 competition / Source: One Esports
One Esports sheds staff in profit scramble
The gaming firm, which had posted a US$3.7 million loss in 2023, laid off more workers than it stated, an ex-employee claims.
Spotlight
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