Can Cake survive the bite of new layoffs?

Check out our top articles for the week. [Read from your browser]( Top Stories of the Week Welcome to Tech in Asia's free Sunday newsletter! Get full access to our subscribers-only premium content and other insightful analysis on the big and messy topics of Asia’s tech and startup community by [registering here](. Hello {NAME} It hasn’t been a good year for [Cake Group](. It struggled financially in 2023. It had to [cut staff](. Its founders feuded, which became public when CTO U-Zyn Chua asked a Singapore court to [liquidate]( the firm. It seemed that Chua and Cake Group CEO Julian Hosp, the two remaining founders, had [ended their feud]( in May, when latter agreed to buy out former. But the question I had then was, why would you do that? Turning around Cake was never going to be easy. Its reputation had taken a beating, and it posted an operating loss of US$26.4 million in 2023. Confidence in crypto has never returned to the levels before the FTX fiasco and likely never will. But confidence in Bitcoin seemed to be returning following a March rally. So after acquiring Chua’s shares, Hosp undertook a “90-day challenge” on social media in an attempt to channel some of that growing enthusiasm back into Cake Group. But on [day 84]( he acknowledged that a new round of layoffs was inevitable. We won’t know until Sept. 1 how large the job cuts will be. Speculation is high that this could be the largest layoffs yet at Cake Group, although Hosp said the company will go on. How they’re going to do that, though, is still an open question. -- [Scott Shuey]( journalist at Tech in Asia  --------------------------------------------------------------- TOP STORIES THIS WEEK 1️. [Cake Group slashes more jobs despite end of founders’ feud]( Employees were told to expect the layoffs as the CEO struggles to steer the crypto company back to profitability. 2. [SEA esports startups face survival test amid downturn]( Post-Covid, the region’s esports firms must find ways to sustain fan engagement and revenue beyond competition prizes. 3. [TikTok’s ‘Everything War’ in Southeast Asia]( TikTok’s foray into local services in Southeast Asia could upend the market, as it did with ecommerce. 4. [Microsoft’s Malaysia COO poised to lead MDEC: sources]( Two other candidates are also being considered for the top post as discussions are ongoing. 5. [F is for fake: investors on why founders cry Ivy League]( We talked to VCs to explore why some tech founders in Southeast Asia go to great lengths to fabricate prestige degrees. 6. [To pivot or not to pivot to AI: that’s the question for startups]( Aerodyne has made a successful pivot, but other companies chasing funding by shifting to AI need to be careful. 7. [Series SEA: Who’s investing in the region’s biotech startups?]( We've compiled a list of investors that are pouring money into Southeast Asia’s biotech startups. 8. [Agate seeks $10m power-up for game dev expansion]( The Indonesian firm plans to launch a local game publishing unit to develop new titles. 9. [SEA funding round sizes over the past 5 years]( For startups, understanding how much their peers are raising could be crucial when they're pitching investors. 10. [HK startup taps AI to cut return costs for online retailers]( Return Helper has secured US$1.8 million in funding to strengthen its return solutions for cross-border ecommerce businesses. ---------------------------------------------------------------  YOU’LL NEED THESE STRATEGIES TO LEAPFROG YOUR COMPETITION  Rip up the old DevOps playbook and rewrite the rules Struggling with complex CI/CD pipelines or integrating DevSecOps? 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