Did Vidio really kill the VOD superstar?

This week’s On the Rise looks at whether Vidio is Indonesia’s top VOD platform, ByteDance’s plans for genAI in Singapore, and the return of bitcoin. [Read from your browser]( On the Rise 🚀 Welcome to On the Rise! Delivered every Tuesday via email and through the Tech in Asia website, this free newsletter breaks down the biggest stories and trends in emerging tech. If you’re not a subscriber, get access by [registering here](. --------------------------------------------------------------- IN FOCUS In today's newsletter, we look at: - Who’s winning the VOD war in Indonesia - [Vidio or Netflix]( - Why ByteDance is increasing it [focus on genAI in Singapore]( - Why bitcoin is back in the vogue and whether or not it will stay there Hello {NAME} , As a techie who grew up during the [Silver Age of television]( you’d probably assume I love video-on-demand (VOD). And I do, because the Silver Age sucked. There were three stations (maybe four if you had a good antenna), and while there were some iconic shows from that period, it was difficult to find something decent on TV outside of [prime time](. Silver Age? It should’ve been called the “there’s nothing on” era of television, because that was the phrase you actually heard people say. It wasn’t until Netflix [went digital]( in 2007 that things started to get good for video content. But now, after almost 17 years of VOD, we’re still struggling to find something good to watch. There is no lack of good content; instead, we have a new problem. All the great shows coming out are spread out between [70+ streaming services]( most of which require a paid subscription. This frustrated trip down memory lane is brought to you courtesy of this week’s first Big Story. My colleague Budi looks at the VOD sector in Indonesia, and especially at the position of Emtek-owned Vidio, who claims to have beaten Netflix in the country. Our second Big Story looks at ByteDance, another company known more for what it does on the mobile screen. Collin looks at why TikTok’s parent company is ramping up its genAI hires in Singapore. And finally, I’ll talk you through the recent rise of bitcoin. Has the cryptoverse finally gone mainstream, or is it just more of the same old hype? But first, let’s get to those Big Stories. -- Scott  --------------------------------------------------------------- THE BIG STORIES 1️⃣ [Emtek’s Vidio claims to have Indonesia’s streaming crown, but sees heavy losses]( Indonesia has the highest compound annual growth rate for subscription-based VOD services among Asia-Pacific countries, but Vidio faces stiff competition from global players. 2️⃣ [ByteDance eyes Singapore for genAI push, posts several job openings]( The Chinese tech giant recently put up over 100 job openings for generative AI, largely in Singapore and the US. --------------------------------------------------------------- TOKEN ISSUE Will the selloff in bitcoin ETFs kill the token’s recent hot streak? Bitcoin is back - and so is the constant speculation on its price. Will it hit US$100,000? US$1 million? Or is this another [pump and dump scheme]( The latest bitcoin rally started in August 2023, following speculation that the US Securities and Exchange Commission was going to approve [bitcoin exchange-traded funds]( (ETFs), which would allow investors to put their money in the digital currency without actually having to buy it. The decision, sparked by a [US court ruling]( opened the cryptoverse to institutional investors. The approved ETFs started trading in the first week of January. In just four months, bitcoin, which had been trading as low as US$16,500 at the start of 2023, shot up to US$47,000 by January 2024. In February, the token [surged again]( on news that investment firms were buying it up. Last week, it hit a new high of US$73,097. But along with the new high, the cryptocurrency's well-known volatility also returned. Starting on March 18, Grayscale Bitcoin Trust, the largest bitcoin ETF, [saw record net outflows]( of US$742 million in a three-day selloff. This caused bitcoin to fall as low as US$60,700 at one point. The selloff was interrupted by news that the US Federal Reserve [could cut interest rates in June](. Bitcoin rallied on that news to US$67,500 by Thursday and then fell again on Friday to end the week on a downward trend. If those price fluctuations haven’t given you whiplash, this likely will. Next up on the bitcoin calendar is “the Halving,” although I prefer the more dramatic sounding “the Halvening.” On or about April 20, the Halvening will reduce the amount of new bitcoin that the system generates by half. The Halvenings are hardcoded into bitcoin's protocol and have been a function of the system since it began. The bitcoin blockchain does this every time 210,000 blocks are added to the chain, which on average takes about four years. In 2009, the blockchain could add as many as 50 new bitcoins every 10 minutes, but three Halvenings later - which happened in 2012, 2017, and 2020 - the rate of new coins dropped to 6.25 bitcoins every 10 minutes. In April, this will drop to 3.125 bitcoins every 10 minutes. This process will continue until the number of bitcoins in circulation reaches 21 million, estimated to be sometime in 2140. You're probably wondering: why? Wouldn’t slowing the rate of new bitcoins and capping the total number of coins cause prices to spike without adding any value? No one really knows why [Satoshi Nakamoto]( created the Halvening events, but proponents of the reduction process argue that it is designed to [prevent inflation]( and “[ensure long-term feasibility and functionality]( And yes, bitcoin prices have spiked after every Halvening, although the effects always seem to be short-lived. Not surprisingly, speculation is rife. Some analysts are predicting bitcoin will [hit US$120,000]( or higher by the end of the year, while others are predicting the coin could [fall as far as US$42,000](. But the market has never seen a Halvening following a selloff. The Halvenings have also never encountered an ETF or worried about whether the Fed was going to cut interest rates. And the institutional investors aren't going to [HODL]( if things get crazy. I really don’t know where the price of bitcoin is going to go, but you can expect the volatility to continue. -- Scott  --------------------------------------------------------------- NEWS YOU SHOULD KNOW Also check out Tech in Asia’s coverage of the emerging tech scene [here.]( 1️⃣ [Reddit co-founder’s VC firm eyes Japan for AI chip investments]( Seven Seven Six will focus on startups designing and manufacturing processors centered around AI development. 2️⃣ [EFishery reels in AI]( The Indonesia-based aquaculture firm has acquired DycodeX, a local AI-powered IoT startup. The deal, whose terms are undisclosed, will let eFishery expand its AI plans, which includes a new brand called eFishery.ai. 3️⃣ [India to become ‘front office’ of AI revolution]( Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang highlighted the country’s large pool of IT professionals, who he said are perfectly positioned to reskill. This means Indian professionals wouldn’t just handle routine IT tasks but instead be actively involved in developing and using AI solutions. 4️⃣ [Indian wearables startup raises $35m]( Ultrahuman is known for the Ring Air, which tracks heart rate, heart rate variability, and blood oxygen saturation, among other indicators. 5️⃣ [Binance founder unveils new project]( Changpeng Zhao, the crypto major’s former CEO, has launched Giggle Academy. The new platform provides educational resources for students from grades one to 12.  --------------------------------------------------------------- FYI 1️⃣ [Charting Asia’s M&As: When do startups usually make an exit?]( Using Tech in Asia’s data, we analyze M&A deals in Asia - which stage most startups exited, how much was raised, and more. 2️⃣ [Mapping Temasek’s role in the startup space]( The Singapore-based investor has launched 50 companies, including 20 investment firms and a venture-building arm, in its quest for disruptive businesses.  --------------------------------------------------------------- That’s it for this edition - we hope you liked it! Do also check out previous issues of the newsletter [here](. Not your cup of tea? You can unsubscribe from this newsletter by going to your “edit profile” page and choosing that option in our preference center. See you soon! [ADVERTISE]( | [SUBSCRIBE]( | [HIRE]( | [FIND JOBS]( P.S. 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