🦄 Guess How Many Unicorns SEA Produced Last Year

GM, this is micro digest, we're your best friend who explains Southeast Asian tech news to you.

We're the friend that everyone is jealous of.

Here's what we got for you:

• 🌊 The SEA - SEA produced 8 new unicorns last year

• ⛵ SEAppets - Indian workforce management firm BetterPlace is entering SEA

• 💰 SEA Deals  

• 🖼️ AI Image of the day

• 🐣 Tweet of the day

Markets 📈

Last year in 2022, Southeast Asia managed to produce 8 unicorns 🦄. In comparison, in 2021 there were 23 startups from SEA that crossed the USD $1 billion valuation mark. (Probably thanks to the money printer and low-interest rates)

DealStreetAsia wrote an excellent comparison of unicorns in the region but we're going to summarize it for you so that you could be done in under 5 minutes and get on with your day 😉

🦄 New Unicorns in 2022

1. Akulaku - Indonesia

2. Insider - Singapore

3. Voyager - Philippines

4. Biofourmis - Singapore

5. Coda Payments - Singapore

6. DANA - Indonesia

7. LINE MAN Wong Nai - Thailand

8. Kredivo - Indonesia

🏃‍♂️ Number of Unicorns by Country

• Singapore (25)

• Indonesia (16)

• Vietnam (4)

• Thailand (3)

• The Philippines (2)

• Malaysia (2)

C'mon Malaysia we need to step up our game.

SEAppets ⛵

1. BetterPlace, an India-based workforce management platform has expanded into Southeast Asia by making its first oversea acquisition with the Indonesian job portal MyRobin. The Group CEO said that they will be investing around USD $50 million over the next three years in Indonesia and other parts of Southeast Asia. BetterPlace plans to expand into Malaysia, Thailand and the Philippines in the near future.

2. Wing Vasiksiri is launching a solo GP fund called WV Fund II, which invests in Southeast Asian tech startups, in particular Singapore, Vietnam and Indonesia. Vaskisiri will be managing USD $14 million in AUM. Before launching the fund, Vaskisiri worked in operations at AngelList where he met the founder of iSeed SEA, Ustaz Somani. 

Interesting to see how well will a micro VC fund do here in SEA, especially since it's so rare here. Vasiksiri and Somani also thought of launching AngelList Southeast Asia which is also exciting. We'll probably see more people raise their own micro VC fund or rolling fund. Who knows, maybe one day you guys will see a micro digest rolling fund 😏

SEA Deals 💰

1. Vietnam's Koina, an agritech supply chain startup just raised USD $1 million from Vina Capital Ventures. The proceeds will be used to expand the company's sales channels so that it could get more volume from farmers and also will be used to invest in the company's technologies.

2. Bangkok-based telepsychiatry startup, ooca has closed a Series A funding round from Thailand's biggest hospital group, Bangkok Dusit Medical Services (BDMS). Founded in 2017, ooca offers video consultations with psychologists and psychiatrists.

3. Based in India, Bike Bazaar raised USD $10 million from Germany's DEG and closed its series D round at a total of USD $30 million. The company specializes in motorbikes financing and is planning to use the proceeds to penetrate deeper into rural India. It also wants to double down on electric-mobility financing as well as diversify its offerings from financing and leases to rental solutions.

4. Sunway RE announced it has acquired Green Wood Court, a freehold purpose-built student accommodation in Southampton, UK. Green Wood Court is located close to the University of Southampton's Highfield and Bolderwood campuses. The Malaysian real estate investment platform now owns and manages a portfolio of 5 properties with over 800 beds spanning across the UK.

5. Southeast Asia Clean Energy Facility, a Singaporean-based fund manager by Clime Capital has committed to invest in Skye Renewables Holdings Pte Ltd, a commercial and industrial solar developer headquartered in the city-state. Skye has a goal to reach 300 MW of rooftop solar installation in SEA by 2028 and the investment will help the company scale.

AI image of the day 🖼️

Maori-style Dart Vader

Tweet of the day 🐣

My answer: A little bit of both. You have to have one main goal in mind but enjoy journey along the way.

That's a wrap for today. See you all tomorrow! 👋