This week’s funding news:
- Career platform Glints has raised US$22.5 million in a Series C funding in what its co-founder and CEO Oswald Yeo says is the largest funding round to date for a talent platform in Southeast Asia. Read the full story on Daily Markup here.
- Friz, a fintech startup focused on financial services for freelancers, has raised an undisclosed amount in pre-seed funding. More details here.
Major milestones:
- Xfers’ tokenized Singapore dollar (XSGD), built on the Zilliqa blockchain, is the third-largest tokenized currency after the US dollar and the euro. Read more here.
Startups that team up:
- e-commerce startup Bukalapak announced a series of collaborations with multiple Indonesian FMCG companies, including Unilever, Danone, and Coca-Cola Amatil, in a commitment to focusing on distribution services and stock availability for Mitra Bukalapak partners. Details on the collaborations here.
- B2B e-commerce startup Retailo has partnered with Maersk, a global logistics company, for warehousing services in Pakistan, enabling Retailo to rely on Maersk for its expanding business needs.
- Digital signage startup Enplug has been acquired by Spectrio, a marketing solutions provider based in Florida, US. Get the details here.
- Supply chain startup Escavox worked with Purfresh on a solution to create a true end-to-end farm to destination service by providing real-time cargo monitoring services. Read about the partnership here.
On knowledge sharing:
- Recruitment platform Glints released a Southeast Asia Tech Talent Compensation Report, from an analysis of over 1,000 data points, survey of 175 employees, and interviews with more than 20 founders in Singapore, Indonesia, and Vietnam.
New beginnings:
- Earlier this year, e-commerce startup Carousell launched the Carousell Media Group, a marketing platform for Carousell’s brands. Read our summary of its feature in KrAsia here.
Other stories you may have missed:
- Deeptech startup Transcelestial and drone startup Aerodyne have been selected to join Batch 3 of the Thailand Smart Cities Program.
- Val Yap, founder and CEO of PolicyPal, has been elected to form the new executive committee at the Singapore Fintech Association.
- Aquaculture startup eFishery collaborates with KawanCicil to support the growth of the aquaculture sector in Indonesia in a strategic partnership valued at ~US$6.8 million.
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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.
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