Data Vantage | Tyme, Atlan, KinRoss, AwanTunai, Koppiku and LivFresh in focus

Edition #355, 14 March 2024

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Dear Reader,

Singapore-headquartered digital banking group Tyme Group received [redacted] million from an Asian private equity firm this week.

Tyme operates digital lenders TymeBank in South Africa and GoTyme Bank in the Philippines in collaboration with the Gokongwei Group. It had last announced raising $77.8 million in a pre-Series C round in 2023. Investors that backed the round include African Rainbow Capital, Tencent Holdings, Apis Partners and Norrsken22.

Tyme recently claimed that it achieved an annualised revenue run rate of S$215 million in 2023. The company, which says it caters to nearly 11 million customers, has outlined plans to launch its offerings in Vietnam in the coming months.

Mega rounds and unicorns

Southeast Asia’s venture capital investment landscape experienced a noticeable shift in 2023, characterised by a decrease in mega funding rounds as global investors exercised caution. Despite this trend, standout startups in the region achieved significant fundraising milestones.

One standout example was Indonesia’s eFishery, a notable player in the aquaculture industry, which garnered attention by attaining unicorn status. In May, the company successfully raised $200 million in its Series D round, boosting its valuation to an impressive $1.35 billion.

Later in the year, Southeast Asia welcomed its second and final unicorn of 2023. Singapore-based semiconductor firm Silicon Box secured the first tranche of its $200 million Series B round in December, pushing its valuation past the $1 billion mark.

The region’s unicorn count for 2023 marked a notable decline compared to previous years. Southeast Asia had minted eight unicorns in 2022 and a record-breaking 23 in 2021.

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Other updates from DATA VANTAGE

Active metadata platform Atlan received [redacted] million from early-stage venture capital firm WaterBridge Ventures this week. The startup had last announced raising $50 million in a Series B round in 2022.

Singapore-based agritech startup KinRoss, which specialises in bio-stimulants for soil regeneration, has secured fresh capital from a group comprising 17 angel investors and three companies, namely Surpass Electrical, Global Medical Products, and Poly Million Group. Notable individuals backing the venture include Liang Chye Cheng, managing director of the National University of Singapore, and Daniel Goh, co-founder of Lyte Ventures.

Malaysian coffee chain Koppiku has issued shares worth $2.5 million to investors, including Vertex Ventures Southeast Asia & India, Reshape Ventures, Antifragile Ventures and Raja Hamzah Abidin. The share allotment follows a new capital infusion from Vertex Ventures and the conversion of previously issued SAFE notes.

Indonesian fintech startup AwanTunai has appointed Shilpa Gautam, its chief financial officer, to its board of directors, according to a regulatory filing. Meanwhile, co-founder Windy Natriavi is stepping down from the startup’s board. Natriavi’s LinkedIn profile shows that she left AwanTunai last year.

The Singapore unit of software firm Josys recently received a capital injection of $13.6 million from its Tokyo-based parent firm.

Agrocorp Ventures, the investment arm of Agrocorp International, has beefed up its stake in fresh produce firm LivFresh by purchasing secondaries. The latter has also added logistics and supply chain management firm TCI Express to its cap table.

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