Every fortnight we compile a list of important news updates and events covering Southeast Asia FINTECH, MFGTECH, CLNTECH, and AGRTECH sectors.

For a downloadable copy of Southeast Asia Issue #08

FINTECH

Venti raises US$8M seed funding co-led by LDV Partners, Alpha JWC
The US- and Asia-based Venti Technologies, a safe-speed autonomous mobility company, has announced an US$8 million seed funding round from LDV Partners and Alpha JWC Ventures.
Heidi Wyle is the Founder & CEO at Venti

Employment Hero to speed up Southeast Asia expansion after raising $102m
Employment Hero, an Australian all-in-one HR, payroll, and benefits platform, is accelerating its expansion efforts into Southeast Asian markets after it raised S$140 million (about $102 million) in a Series E funding round.
Ben Thompson is the CEO at Employment Hero

Desty’s US$3.2M round
Desty, a startup providing social commerce solutions for Indonesia’s merchants, announced today it has secured US$3.2 million in a pre-Series A funding round led by Chinese VC firm 5Y Capital.
Mulyono Xu is the Co-founder & CEO at Desty
Hanson Hu is the VP of Investment at 5Y Capital

Kamereo gets $4.6M to connect farmers and F&B businesses in Vietnam
Vietnamese startup Kamereo, which offers an online platform for F&B companies to optimise their sourcing and purchasing processes, has received US$4.6 million in a Series A round of funding, co-led by conglomerate CPF Group, Quest Ventures, and Genesia Ventures.
Taku Tanaka is the Co-founder & CEO at Kamereo
Goh Yiping is the Partner at Quest Ventures

Easy Eat AI raises $5M to help Southeast Asian restaurants digitize their operations
Singapore and Malaysia-based Artificial Intelligence-powered
foodtech startup, Easy Eat AI, announced today it has secured US$5 million in a fresh round of financing. The startup digitises all customer-facing interactions in restaurants – from browsing menu, ordering and tracking, to payments.
Mohd Wassem is the Founder & CEO at Easy Eat

Singapore-based Tinvio raises $12M Series A to build financial services for supply chain merchants
Singapore-based communication and commerce platform Tinvio has raised US$12 million in a Series A funding round led by AppWorks Ventures and MUFG (Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group) Innovation Partners, bringing the company’s total raised to US$18.5 million.
Ajay Gopal is the Founder & CEO at Tinvio

SG-based foodtech startup Next Gen raises $20m more, eyes US expansion
Next Gen Foods, a Singapore-headquartered plant-based foodtech startup, has extended its seed financing round by raising US$20 million afresh. A portion of the capital will also be used for the continued international expansion in APAC and the Middle East
.Andre Menezes is the CEO at Next Gen

Vara raises $4.8M from investors like Go Ventures and Sequoia India’s Surge to digitize Indonesian SMEs’ payrolls
Vara, a Singapore-based staff management platform for small businesses in Southeast Asia, has secured US$4.8 million in a funding round. Investors include Go Ventures, RTP Global, Alpha JWC Ventures, Sequoia Capital India’s Surge, FEBE Ventures, and Taurus Ventures.
Abhinav Karale is the Co-Founder at Vara

Carsome Group will acquire iCar Asia in a deal worth $200M
Carsome Group, Southeast Asian car e-commerce platform has acquired 19.9 per cent of ASX (Australian Stock Exchange)-listed iCar Asia from Catcha Group. The total transaction is estimated to be worth more than US$200 million.
Eric Cheng is the CEO & Co-Founder at Carsome

Bambu acquires Tradesocio to scale its B2B wealthtech offerings, in talks to raise Series C
Bambu, a Singapore-based startup providing digital wealth technology for B2B businesses across the globe, has announced the acquisition of Tradesocio, a developer of wealth management software for advisors, based in the island nation.
Ned Phillips is the Founder & CEO at Bambu

Singapore logistics platform Janio nets $8m to fuel Asia expansion
Singaporean cross-border logistics platform Jano has raised US$8 million in funding from Choco Up, a revenue-based investment and fintech firm in Hong Kong. With the new funding, Janio aims to expand its services into new emerging markets.
Junkai Ng is the Co-Founder at Janio

MoneyMatch to expand to S’pore with US$4.4M Series A, confirms bid for digital bank licence in MY
MoneyMatch, a cross-border payment company headquartered in Kuala Lumpur, announced the closing of its Series A fundraising round totalling MYR 18.5 (US$4.4) million. The fund was raised over two tranches. The initial tranche was led by Cradle Seed Ventures in 2019 while the second one by KAF Investment Bank early this year.
Money Match is the Co-Founder at MoneyMatch

HiLife to take its smart living solution to Australasia, Europe with a US$6M Series A funding
Singapore-based smart living company HiLife Interactive announced today it has secured SGD8 (US$6) million in Series A funding from Shanghai 2345 Network Holding Group, an internet information services provider and software developer in China. It all-in-one app combines smart home, smart community and smart estate in a single holistic solution for both residents and estate managers.
Sam Ho is the Deputy CEO at HiLife

AGRTECH

The AgriTech Club – Impact Terra – Offering Mobile Technology For Agriculture In Myanmar
Impact Terra is a social business platform that helps farmers to be more aware and consequently, independent. The company was founded by Erwin Sikma, former McKinsey consultant and Rocket Internet managing director in 2016 and is based out of Yangon, Myanmar. They leverage data to allow farmers access to news and information regarding key factors that affect their work.
Erwin Sikma is the Founder & CEO at Impact Terra