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Jonathan Chew · · 4 min read

Telio takes a final bow

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Hello reader,

The idea of never giving up is widely explored in films and TV shows. Usually, the story revolves around a plucky individual or team down on their luck and facing insurmountable odds. Somehow, through the power of self-belief and the support of the people around them, they overcome the challenge and emerge victorious.

Real life isn’t always like that, though.

There are times when you need to know when to stop as dragging it out may just make the situation worse. For some startups, that means understanding when it’s time to call it quits. That’s exactly what happened with Telio, the firm featured in today’s story.

Today we look at:

  • Telio’s shutdown
  • An Indian healthtech startup’s revenue increase
  • Other newsy highlights such as Oyo’s Q3 profit and the addition of DeepSeek models to major Chinese telcos’ cloud services

Premium summary

For Telio, it’s time

Image credit: Timmy Loen

Telio was one of Vietnam’s most well-known B2B ecommerce startups. However, founder Sy Phong Bui had to make the tough decision to shut the company down after it had failed to secure additional funding or get acquired.

  • Middleman: Founded in 2019, Telio connected small retailers – such as mom-and-pop stores – with larger brands and wholesalers.
  • Too close to the sun: The firm expanded aggressively in its first two years. It tried scaling back operations and cutting costs starting in mid-2022, but it was too late.
  • Open gates: Telio laid off 400 employees, including its tech team based in India.

Read more: Telio’s shutdown signals deeper B2B ecommerce woes


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TIA Writer

Jonathan Chew

Has a strange liking for grabbing tiny plastic things on wooden walls