#StartupSG news
April, May & June 2019
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- Singapore: NUS Enterprise and Ports Authority to invest S$650K in 13 maritime startups
- Singapore’s Morpheus Labs and South Korea’s Dreamplus sign MOU around blockchain education and ecosystem growth, launching 7-week program
- Singapore Tourism Board partners Indonesia’s Traveloka and China’s Alibaba for marketing, content and consumer analytics
- Singapore: Glife raises S$1.6M to remove middlemen and take farm food direct to consumers
- Singapore: Orange Fab Asia Pitch Competition 2019 set for June, seeking Asia-based
- Singapore: Binance to launch fiat-to-crypto platform to allow users in Singapore to buy and sell bitcoin with Singapore dollars
- China-founded Binance cryptocurrency exchange to launch fiat-to-crypto operations in Singapore this month
- Singapore: Ether Cards selected for Tachyon, ConsenSys’ blockchain accelerator program, with tech to translate cryptocurrencies into the physical world
- Singapore: NTUC Income insurtech partners China’s ZA Tech Global for digital innovation and products, starting with lifestyle insurance product for tourism
- Singapore’s Lifetrack Medical Systems raises US$5.2M to take radiology to remote areas using off-the-shelf consumer hardware and consumer DSL or 4G
- Singapore: Saleswhale secures US$5.3M with AI sales assistant for marketing teams
- Singapore: Mastercard contactless cards to be public transport payment option from April 4
- Singapore: Archanan beta launches cloud-based developer platform for building and testing at-scale code with in-built hardware-level virtualization
- Singapore: Iris and facial recognition trial for immigration now underway at Tuas Checkpoint
- Singapore: Agorize online platform for open innovation challenges secures US$14.6M backing for international growth
- Singapore: Uber commit to Asia-Pacific market with launch of new 165-employee office
- Singapore: AIDA Technologies AI and predictive analytics provider gains backing from Mastercard, SGInnovate and others
- Singapore: China’s ofo bike-share startup reportedly banned from Singapore operations
- Singapore Airlines partners Adyen fintech to creating frictionless payments for customers booking flights online or in-app
- Singapore: Waitrr F&B ordering startup forms strategic partnership with Nest Tech VC beyond investment
- Singapore: Clozette new media startup focused on women secures US$10M
- International Chamber of Commerce partners Singapore’s Perlin Net Group to explore blockchain applications in trade
- Singapore: Grab rolls out trip planner, video streaming, hotel booking and ticket purchasing
- Singapore: Koku startup providing technology for cross-border remittance services raises US$2M pre-A
- Monk’s Hill Ventures VC firm names two new partners, one base in Singapore, the other in Vietnam
- Singapore: Brazn IoT startup secures US$3.65M seed funding with 3 market-specific solutions
- Singapore: Geniebook AI-backed online learning platform provider raises $1.1M pre-A
- Singapore: Salutat fintech startup gains seed funding with focus on customer relationship management at financial institutions in emerging markets
- Singapore: A brief look at SoCash, turning bricks-and-mortar shops into alternative ATMs and potentially saving banks millions in maintaining cash logistics
- ‘Singapore passes law targeting fake news online. Critics warn of a chilling effect.’
- According to Singapore’s draft law, ministers get to decide without any judicial review what online content is true or false simply if it offends them.
- Singapore: JustCo cowork chain expands to Taiwan, opening 3 spaces, and bringing SEA regional presence to 32 centres across 8 cities
- Singapore: Pencil AI startup secures US$1.1M with goal of automating creativity
- Singapore: Merkle Science raises US$804K to aid government agencies and blockchain firms detect and prevent illegal use of digital assets
- Singapore: YouTrip, multi-currency mobile wallet with prepaid Mastercard, raises $25.5M to grow app-and-debit-card service
- BlockShow Asia 2019 set for November in Singapore
- Singapore: Grain food delivery startup secures $10M for expansion with ‘cloud kitchens’ model – unused or idle kitchens with delivery services for output
- Singapore to roll out Ethereum blockchain-based education certification system
- Singapore: Students receive ‘tamper-free’ digital certificates via blockchain tech
- Monetary Authority of Singapore and Bank of Canada complete experiment on cross-border, cross-currency payments using digital currencies
- Singapore: Seamless future-of-commerce conference set for June 25-27
- Singapore’s NETS partners Myanmar Payment Union for QR code-based payment system
- Singapore’s InstaReM digital remittances startup partners Thailand’s Kasikornbank, aiming to lead in the institutional payments space
- Singapore: GorillaSpace office space marketplace secures funding following Propell Asia incubation
- Singapore: Ubisoft game developer launches its first Asian division of Ubisoft Entrepreneurs Lab startup accelerator
- Singapore’s ICE71 Inspire 1-week pre-accelerator applications open for entrepreneurs, researchers and students
- Singapore: Plug and Play global innovation platform preps for inaugural Asia Pacific Summit on May 29th
- Singapore: iGlobe fund preps to take Asian tech startups onto the global stage
- Singapore: MyRent platform launches, allowing Singaporeans to rent everyday items from sporting equipment to apparel and video games
- Singapore: Cialfo college admissions platform raises $3M on 20-fold increase in student numbers across 15 months
- Singapore: Shiok Meats lands $4.6M for lab-grown, cell-based shrimp, a $40BN market globally
- Singapore: Ampotech IoT-based power monitoring startup gains US$76K funding
- Singapore: SLINGSHOT 2019 Startup Competition applications open to the end of June
- Singapore: A brief look at 24 of Echelon Asia Summit 2019’s exhibiting startups
- Enterprise Singapore launches 3rd SLINGSHOT pitch competition, announces partnership with e27 platform
- Singapore: SGInnovate, state-owned deep-tech development company, secures 5 new co-investors for Startup SG Equity scheme, aiming for S$80M by 2020
- Singapore: Blockchain Wine to develop a blockchain solution to track supply chain in the wine industry with EY professional services firm
- Singapore’s TADA ride-hailing app launches in Cambodia
- Singapore’s H3 Dynamics takes Echelon Asia Summit 2019 win with digital platform that automates and simplifies use of security and industrial inspection drones
- Singapore: Trax raising funds on $1.1BN valuation with retail-focused image recognition
- Singapore: Innovfest Unbound set for 27-28 June, aiming to connect brands and corporations with technologies and startups
- Singapore: Butler hospitality and real estate management startup secures S$700K
- Singapore: Vertex Venture Holdings raises $230M in first close of 4th SE Asia fund to back tech startups
- Singapore: Echelon Asia Summit 2019, May 23rd – 15,000 of the cream of APAC’s tech ecosystem across 2 days of insights, connections and opportunities
- Singapore: A look at how the city-state’s libraries are using augmented reality, robotics and artificial intelligence
- Singapore: Grab Ventures preps for 3rd batch, focusing on early-stage, post-seed startups engaged in sectors aligned to its core business
- Singapore: Deal Fridays initiative launched by Monetary Authority and Enterprise Singapore aiming to match the city-state’s startups with potential investors
- Singapore: Sparrow launches platform to make options trading accessible for institutions and individuals, with Ethereum-based smart contract settlement
- Singapore: Monetary Authority to issue up to 5 new licences to digital banks, and to begin taking applications from August
- Singapore: Monetary Authority studying whether to allow virtual banking licences, potentially paving the way for on-demand operators to offer financial services
- Singapore: Consentium chat app to launching debit card allowing users to instantly spend the Ethereum-based cryptocurrency they earn on the app as cash
- Seamless Asia 2019 set for 26-27 June in Singapore – 9 conferences in 1, looking at the future of payments, banking, identity, ecommerce and reatail
- Singapore’s InstaReM digital remittance company partners Thailand’s Kasikornbank to power cross-border payments for the bank’s clients in select markets
- Singapore Fintech Festival set for November 11-15
- Singapore: WhatsHalal blockchain-driven startup gains US$2.8M via Initial Exchange Offering on Tokenize Exchange
- Digital Industry Singapore launches with the aim of helping to create 10K tech jobs
- An intro to 4 startups combating food wastage in Southeast Asia
- Singapore: Accelerating Asia launches ASEAN Smart City accelerator program, partnered by the Australian Government
- Singapore: Circles Life telco startup rolls out mobile services in Taiwan as its first overseas market; sights set on Indonesia and Australia for late-2019
- Singapore’s Grab ride-hail firm backs UK’s Splyt Technologies, aggregator for ride-hail platforms, in widening super-app move
- An intro to Singapore-based Ecomobi, an AI-powered social selling platform connecting brands with key opinion influencers as a way to boost sales
- Singapore-based GROW agri-food tech accelerator launches in partnership with Australia’s Rocket Seeder agrifood accelerator and AgFunder VC
- Singapore: Intellectual Property Insurance Initiative launched to provide innovative businesses insurance for IP infringement legal expenses worldwide
- Fave, mobile payment and reward platform, acquires Singapore’s CutQ and Malaysia’s FoodTime in regional growth move
- Singapore: A collection of the city-state’s startup and tech-related news from the past month
- Singapore: An inside look at The Start Pre-Accelerator Programme
- Singapore: Tourism Board calls for local and international outfits to join Singapore Tourism Accelerator – applications close August 1st
- Singapore: Accelerating Asia accelerator preps for expected first close of $5M pre-seed fund in July
- Singapore’s e27 tech media and events platform partners Wholesale Investor to help startups raise funds
- Singapore FinTech Festival and Singapore Week of Innovation and TeCHnology merge as SFF x SWITCH to consolidate fintech and deep tech themes for November event
- Singapore Academy of Law Future Law Innovation Program launches accelerator program targeting legal tech startups
- Singapore: TechStorm tech-focused TV channel closes pre-A with 20-country coverage
- Singapore: The Codette Project’s Women-Only Tech For Good Hackathon 2019 set for 13-14 July
- Singapore: US$30M set for 5G trials to fuel the city-state’s goal of leading the global digital economy, with a key focus on ports management
- Singapore: ComfortDelGro passenger transport giant’s $100M fund backs 3 startups in on-demand bus tech, fleet management and autonomous vehicle safety
- Singapore: 6 deep tech startups prep to compete for expansion opportunities in Suzhou, China
- Singapore: Indorse blockchain-driven human resources tech startup secures $6.5M
- Singapore-based Asia Partners Fund Management launches, aiming to make tech startup investments of between $20M and $100M
- Singapore’s Vertex Ventures partners Japan Inc for $770M unicorn-focused fund, aiming to match Japanese businesses with promising startups
- Singapore’s Zebpay cryptocurrency exchange launches trading services in Australia
- Australia’s BlueChilli startup accelerator launches Singapore-based healthtech accelerator for SE Asia – applications open May 28
- Australia: A look at the 8 startups to be based in Singapore under the Austrade Landing Pads initiative
- Singapore’s Zilingo fashion and lifestyle e-marketplace startup mulls Bangladesh’s e-marketplace of 164M individuals
- The Machine Conference for analytics and data science leaders set for 24th May in India, and 31st May in Singapore
- KaHa, India/Singapore-based startup, raises $6.2M with end-to-end IoT platform for smart wearables
- Japan’s NIKKEI to acquire majority stake in Singapore-based DealStreetAsia, media startup that tracks PE and VC activity across SE Asia and India
- Swingvy, Malaysia-Singapore-Korea online platform for HR services, raises $7M
- Taiwan’s Vision Program tech startup demo day coming to Singapore, June 25th
- An intro to Vietnam-Singapore startup Uiza, an API platform for video streaming recently selected for Sequoia’s SURGE accelerator
