A big haul
- 500-backed Singapore-based logistics startup Haulio has successfully closed a pre-Series A investment round.
- According to a press statement, the startup has more than 90% of Singapore’s haulers onboard. It currently has a secondary presence in Indonesia and Thailand. With the funds, Haulio plans to expand in Southeast Asia within the next three years. Additionally, the startup is looking to complete the digitalization of haulage in the region by 2025.
- It will also collaborate with lead investor YCH Group to develop an industry standard for digital innovation in container trucking using Haulio’s solutions.
- Said Alvin Ea, co-founder and chief executive officer of Haulio: “We understand how fragmented the logistics sector can be, and are determined that through our combined wealth of expertise, experience and network, we can evolve the current state of play for the better,” said Alvin Ea, co-founder, and CEO of Haulio.
- Read about Haulio’s pre-Series A round on the BusinessTimes here.
Serious schooling
- This month, founder 500-backed edtech startup NewCampus was featured in Robb Report’s 100th issue, dedicated to people, businesses, and ideas at the forefront of driving change in Singapore and globally.
- NewCampus is a business school targeting working professionals in three core groups: those in the business, technology, and creative industries, small-business owners and entrepreneurs, and start-up founders.
- What sets NewCampus apart from other educational platforms is that it is acquiring a university license this year. This will allow its classes to be internationally accredited.
- “[I] am driven to help others reinvent themselves through accessible leadership education. This could mean shedding light on new career pathways, making introductions to a new network or allowing them to develop the business confidence for a changing market. We’ve helped transform over 2,000 lives and I look forward to the next milestone of 100,000,” Will shared.
- Read the full interview on Robb Report here.
Keeping it clean
- 500-backed water purification startup Hydroleap has partnered with the NUS Environmental Research Institute (NERI) at National University of Singapore (NUS) to develop a low-cost technology for the desalination of seawater.
- Current technologies utilize chemicals extensively to remove contaminants, which is both expensive and environmentally unfriendly.
- Hydroleap and NUS’s alternative technology in electrocoagulation will provide an effective and efficient pretreatment process that does not use chemicals and does not require significant energy input. Combined, the technology is estimated to lead to a 60% reduction in pretreatment operating costs.
- With a total budget allocated at ~US$1.3 million, the project will advance NUS’s and Hydroleap’s work to bring this new technology from the lab to application in the real-world.
- Read about the partnership here.
Missed out the last Daily Markup? Go here to check it out.
You can also find us on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
500 Startups is a venture capital firm on a mission to discover and back the world’s most talented entrepreneurs, help them create successful companies at scale, and build thriving global ecosystems. In Southeast Asia, 500 Startups invests through the pioneering 500 Southeast Asia family of funds. The 500 Southeast Asia funds have backed over 240 companies across multiple sectors from internet to consumer to deep technology. It continues to connect founders with capital, expertise and powerful regional and global networks to help them succeed.
This post is intended solely for general informational or educational purposes only. 500 Startups Management Company, L.L.C. and its affiliates (collectively “500 Startups”) makes no representation as to the accuracy or information in this post and while reasonable steps have been taken to ensure that the information herein is accurate and up-to-date, no liability can be accepted for any error or omissions. All third party links in this post have not been independently verified by 500 Startups and the inclusion of such links should not be interpreted as an endorsement or confirmation of the content within. Information about portfolio companies’ markets, competitors, performance, and fundraising has been provided by those companies’ founders and has not been independently verified. Under no circumstances should any content in this post be construed as investment, legal, tax or accounting advice by 500 Startups, or an offer to provide any investment advisory service with regard to securities by 500 Startups. No content or information in this post should be construed as an offer to sell or solicitation of interest to purchase any securities advised by 500 Startups. Prospective investors considering an investment into any 500 Startups fund should not consider or construe this content as fund marketing material. The views expressed herein are as at the date of this post and are subject to change without notice. One or more 500 Startups fund may have a financial interest in one or more of the companies discussed.
