🤖💳 Heard of the BNPL brand, Atome? Well They're Much Bigger Than You Think

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Here’s what we got for you:

• 🌊 The SEA - Advance Intelligence Group - The company that provides financial products and services using AI

• ⛵ SEAppets - Dyson is investing in battery technology in Singapore and the Philippines 

• 💰 SEA Deals

• 🖼️ AI Image of the day

• 🐣 Tweet of the day

Markets 📈

The SEA 🌊

I look into the company’s profile and I can’t say where else I’m seen so many founders with such educational pedigree.

I’m talking about Advance Intelligence Group.

🤷‍♂️ Who is Advance Intelligence Group?

• Founded in 2016, Advance Intelligence Group is based in Singapore with three business units: ADVANCE.AI, Atome Financial and Ginee

🤖 ADVANCE.AI

• ADVANCE.AI is an artificial intelligence company providing solutions for digital transformation, anti-fraud and process automation

• It furnishes digital identity, compliance and risk management solutions to corporates in 11 countries throughout Asia, Africa, and Latin America - totalling more than 700

• Several of its products are AI facial recognition, AI document recognition and AI document processing

🏦 Atome Financial

• Atome Financial is one of Asia’s leading fintech players incorporating three main brands - Atome, Kredit Pintar and ND Finance 

• Atome - A leading "buy now, pay later" brand in Asia. Launched in December 2019, it is now available in 10 markets across the region and partners with over 15,000 retailers in various categories

• Kredit Pintar - A fintech company aiming to provide Indonesians with easy access to short-term loans. With over 23.4 million downloads, 2.05 million reviews and a 4.0-star rating, it is one of the most popular financial services apps in the country and has so far disbursed over USD 1.8 billion in loans

• ND Finance - A micro-lending brand in China, working with over 28 financial institutions and popular e-commerce platforms like Jumei Youpin and Keqi

🛒 Ginee

• Ginee is a technology platform in the Asia-Pacific region that provides software products and digital solutions for e-commerce, retail, brand and enterprise customers.

💰 Funding

• The company has raised USD 80 million from investors led by Warburg Pincus and Northstar Group

• This brings their total funding to over USD 700 million and they have partnered with Standard Chartered Bank to provide access to credit and financial products and services

• Their investors include SoftBank Vision Fund 2, Warburg Pincus, Northstar, Vision Plus Capital, Gaorong Capital, and EDBI

SEAppets ⛵

1. Dyson is investing in battery technology in Singapore, the Philippines and the UK to bring new products to the market more quickly. The Singapore battery plant will be the size of 53 basketball courts and use proprietary technology. In March 2022, Dyson opened their new global headquarters in Singapore, and last month it released its first wearable technology product.

Now why would Dyson not choose Malaysia? 🤔Perhaps it’s because of our forced labour?

2. Cars24, an India-based used car marketplace, has shut down its operations in Indonesia, affecting around 100 employees. CEO Vikram Chopra confirmed the closure and noted that the company would be focusing its efforts on core markets such as India, Australia, Thailand and the UAE. This comes after the company laid off 600 employees in April 2022 and recorded losses of $248 million.

3. The Central Bank of Malaysia has been pushing for the adoption of eWallets and the demand for digital payment methods has been heightened due to the pandemic. As a result, eWallet providers have been collaborating to offer customers a more comprehensive range of services and improved efficiency and profitability. The Malaysian Highway Authority will soon allow users to pay tolls using any digital payment method, which will break the monopoly previously held by a few dominant players. These collaborative efforts are likely to bring significant innovation and growth to the digital economy in Malaysia.

SEA Deals 💰

1. Coldspace, an Indonesian cold chain solution provider, has raised USD 3.8 million in a seed funding round to expand its services, widen its geographic coverage and launch warehouse and transportation management systems. The company's services include cold storage, reefer trucks and fulfilment and it currently operates in Greater Jakarta, Surabaya, Malang, Bali and Medan. The funding will help Coldspace improve cold chain infrastructure and ensure proper handling of products in the supply chain.

2. The Commerce Co, an e-commerce solutions provider based in Singapore, has raised USD 10 million in a Series A funding round. Two venture capital firms, Openspace Ventures and Jungle Ventures, invested a total of USD 9.5 million in the company. The Commerce Co also provides community support, training and educational tools to its more than 10,000 users. Recent e-commerce fundraising in the region has been relatively low, with Advance Intelligence Group and SIRCLO raising $80 million and $30 million respectively.

3. Singapore’s ABC Impact and Indorama Ventures have led a USD 25 million Series B funding round for Polymateria, a British company which has developed biotransformation technology to combat plastic pollution. The proceeds from the funding will be used to accelerate global commercialization of the technology and invest in research and development. Sugandhi Matta from ABC Impact has been appointed to the board and Yash Lohia from Indorama Ventures looks forward to seeing the technology being used in supermarkets.

4. Ora Group, a Singapore-based company operating online speciality care platforms, has secured USD 8 million in equity funding from investors, including Antler, TNB Aura and Kairous Capital. The round marks Ora's Series A financing and is ongoing. Ora was founded in 2020 and operates two platforms in Singapore and Malaysia catering to men's and women's health needs. Previous investors include Sequoia Capital India and Rocket Internet.

5. Praktis is an Indonesian startup that provides end-to-end supply chain services to direct-to-consumer brands. They recently raised USD 20 million in a Series A funding round led by East Ventures and Triputra Group. They have also appointed Leonard Pontoh as their new CFO and have seen 4x year-on-year revenue growth in 2022 and 12x growth from 2020-2021.

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AI Images of The Day 🖼️

Wes Anderson's Batman

Tweet of The Day 🐣

Here’s my vision of the perfect city.

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

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