More than 330 Vietnamese startups were established in 2018 with 34 industry verticals represented, according to the e27 Southeast Asia Startup Ecosystem Report 2018 released by startup-focused website e27 on January 21. Of these, 23 startups across eleven industry verticals raised a total of $193.8 million in funding, with the average deal being $8.4 million. The top 5 industry verticals by number of fundraising deals were E-commerce (7), Enterprise Solutions (3), Education (2), FinTech (2), and Travel (2). The top 5 industry verticals by average deal size raised were Consumer ($51 million), Education ($26.6 million), E-commerce ($10.5 million), Travel ($3.2 million), and Logistics/Supply Chain ($2.4 million). According to e27’s data, e-commerce was the most common vertical for entrepreneurs. The sector leads the industry with the most deals but ranks only fourth in total fundraising. This implies there is a lot of interest and activity in the industry, but no player has … [Read more...] about 23 startups raise funding of $200 mn
Startups raising capital
F&B procurement startup raises seed capital from Japanese investor
Japanese Taku Tanaka, founder of Kamereo, said the newly acquired money would be used to upgrade the platform’s service offerings and strengthen the customer care team. "We use technology to solve the buying and sourcing problem, and restaurants can focus on their core business to bring the best culinary experience to customers. In future we will expand our services to other sectors and regions." From his experience, Tanaka, who moved to Vietnam in 2015 as CEO of a pizza chain, found that procurement operations were mainly labor-intensive and inefficient. "We believe that technology can solve this problem, providing solutions to reduce the cost of personnel in a transparent and accurate manner," he said. The Ho Chi Minh City-headquartered business-to-business procurement platform, established last June, now has more than 4,000 product categories, 120 partner suppliers and 200 registered restaurants. While Kamereo will focus its resources on Vietnam for now, it is planning a … [Read more...] about F&B procurement startup raises seed capital from Japanese investor
Vietnamese Airbnb startup raises US$3 mln from venture capitalists
The sharing economy is a development trend in many business areas in Vietnam. Photo by VnExpress Representatives of Luxstay, the Vietnamese homestay booking start-up, said the total capital raised could rise to $5 million as negotiations are still ongoing with interested investment funds. CyberAgent Ventures (CAV), a Japan based investment firm specializing in incubation and investment in early-stage companies, played a leading role in directing the structure and execution of this funding round, the third for the firm after the seed and pre- Series A rounds. This is also the second time the firm has injected capital in Luxstay, after its initial investment in the company’s pre-Series A round in early 2018. Dzung Nguyen, CyberAgent managing director for Vietnam and Thailand, believes that the "sharing economy" is a development trend in many business areas, and it will impact both tourism and real estate markets. "We believe the Luxstay model capitalises on this trend, … [Read more...] about Vietnamese Airbnb startup raises US$3 mln from venture capitalists
Vietnamese Airbnb startup raises $3 mln from venture capitalists
Representatives of Luxstay, the Vietnamese homestay booking start-up, said the total capital raised could rise to $5 million as negotiations are still ongoing with interested investment funds. CyberAgent Ventures (CAV), a Japan based investment firm specializing in incubation and investment in early-stage companies, played a leading role in directing the structure and execution of this funding round, the third for the firm after the seed and pre- Series A rounds. This is also the second time the firm has injected capital in Luxstay, after its initial investment in the company’s pre-Series A round in early 2018. Dzung Nguyen, CyberAgent managing director for Vietnam and Thailand, believes that the "sharing economy" is a development trend in many business areas, and it will impact both tourism and real estate markets. "We believe the Luxstay model capitalises on this trend, and will create a major impact on the market in the coming time," he said. According to Luxstay, there … [Read more...] about Vietnamese Airbnb startup raises $3 mln from venture capitalists
AI-powered travel startup raised $1.2 million
The Seed investment was led by Singapore-based venture capital firm SeedPlus, along with a leading, travel-focused venture capital firm based in the US. Several industry veterans including Dan Lynn and Vikram Malhi (ex-Expedia senior business leaders and founders of Zuzu Hospitality Solutions), David Ko (President & COO of Rally Health), and Jarrod Howe (Regional Operations Director at Hyper Island Singapore) were also part of this round of funding. Travelstop has raised $1.2 million from leading investors in Singapore and the U.S. Travelstop is a modern AI-powered software-as-a-service (SaaS) platform aimed at simplifying business travel for corporates in Asia. It provides easy to use tools that simplifies the business travel booking process, while automating expense reporting and providing meaningful insights to business owners. "Travelstop is led by an experienced team of founders who have significant experience in solving complex consumer problems." says Michael Smith … [Read more...] about AI-powered travel startup raised $1.2 million