Data Vantage | Kasagi Labo, Archisen, Shomvob, FestGround and Rider Dome in focus

Edition #376, 28 May 2024

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Dear Reader,

Kasagi Labo, an anime-focused venture studio based in Singapore and Japan, issued shares worth $20 million to investors, including Burda Principal Investments (BPI), CMT Digital, Superscrypt and Sfermion, last month.

The allotment follows the close of a $12 million pre-Series A round and the issuance of shares to convertible noteholders, including Saison Capital and Genesia Ventures. Lead investor BPI alone contributed [redacted] million to the equity financing.

Kasagi Labo invests and acquires Japanese anime content to serve the global market through intellectual property (IP) licensing, distribution, and merchandising. The company said it will use the funding to further invest in anime productions by building, partnering, or acquiring existing anime IPs.

The company is valued at [redacted] million after the round, according to DATA VANTAGE.

Early-stage dealmaking shows resilience

The proceeds from early-stage deals, defined as all deals through Series B, surpassed late-stage proceeds in the first quarter of this year for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic began, according to our latest report.

Early-stage startups raised $819 million in the first quarter of this year, per SE Asia Deal Review: Q1 2024. Although the Q1 haul was lower than the $961 million raised in the previous quarter, it marks a 13% increase from the first quarter of 2023. Late-stage funding, on the other hand, stood at $181 million, significantly lower than $968 million a year prior.

Source: DATA VANTAGE

Deal volume for early-stage startups also increased for the second quarter in a row, driven mainly by pre-seed and seed rounds. The largest early-stage deal was SingAuto’s $45 million Series A round.

Despite a drop in overall funding from the previous quarter, the growth in early-stage investments points to a recovery for dealmaking after a prolonged liquidity crunch in the region’s private capital market.

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Other updates from DATA VANTAGE

Singapore-headquartered agritech company Archisen received [redacted] million last week from Malaysia-based FarmByte, a subsidiary of the Johor Corp Group.

Bangladesh-based Shomvob, a professional networking and job-matching platform, received [redacted] from investors, including venture capital firm Cocoon Capital, last week.

Events ticketing platform FestGround added [redacted] to its cap table last week after a $240,000 equity investment.

Rider Dome, a Singapore-based safety solutions provider for motorcycle riders and fleets, received [redacted] from family office Radha Rani Holdings last week.

Singapore-based travel tech firm WeekendGoWhere turned a profit in the financial year ended October 31, 2023, as its total revenue grew threefold to [redacted] million.

Ascent Solutions, a full-service cybersecurity provider, recorded 12% year-on-year revenue growth for the financial year ended December 31, 2023. The company managed to remain profitable during the period.

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