F.r.i.e.n.d.s, investors edition

Are VCs in Southeast Asia friends with everyone or just a select few? [Open this email in your browser]( F.r.i.e.n.d.s, investors edition --------------------------------------------------------------- Hello {NAME} It’s like the TV show Friends but better: We uncovered how some venture capital firms have co-investment “buddies” and also look at those that don’t. You can learn about the hidden alliances of these VC firms in the [full article]( or scroll down for a summary. But first, today’s quick news bytes:  1️⃣ WeWork gets $1.1 billion from SoftBank After a great second quarter with US$882 million in revenue and a cash burn rate that’s been slashed almost in half compared to the end of 2019, co-working firm WeWork received a [US$1.1 billion]( commitment from majority owner SoftBank.  2️⃣ ByteDance gets more time President Trump has given ByteDance [90 days]( to sell or spin off its US TikTok business. Under this new executive order, all TikTok data attached to US users are expected to be deleted.  3️⃣ China to test digital currency in Hong Kong It [plans to trial]( its digital currency in areas such as Beijing, Shenzhen, Hong Kong and Macau. Ride-hailing company Didi Chuxing and food delivery giant Meituan-Dianping were reportedly already planning tests on their platforms.  4️⃣ Facebook gets TikTok-fied in India After adding a TikTok-like feature called Reels on Instagram recently, Facebook has also started to test a [Short Videos]( feature on its main platform in India.  5️⃣ Epic Games gains support for lawsuit against Apple and Google The Tencent-backed firm is suing both US tech titans for removing its popular video game Fortnite from their app stores last week. The game creator promptly [launched]( a social media campaign parodying Apple’s “1984” commercial, garnering support from gamers, Spotify, and Tinder owner Match Group.  6️⃣ Amazon rolls out Pharmacy in India The marketplace giant has launched [Amazon Pharmacy]( which sells over-the-counter and prescription-based drugs, basic health devices, and traditional Indian herbal medicines.  --------------------------------------------------------------- The cliques and besties in the VC world Like you and I, Southeast Asia’s VCs like spending time with their [friends and buddies](. But that's where the similarity ends, because their way of hanging out is a lot more expensive than ours. - That’s what friends are for: VCs that have a deeper relationship with one another would frequently “hang out” by investing together. For example, East Ventures and Skystar Capital have co-invested eight times. - The lone wolves? On the other hand, some VCs tend to avoid each other due to different geographies, sectors or other hush-hush reasons like “a troubled working history” or “a clash of egos or personality.” - Friend of a friend: A startup raising money from a seed investor might have a better chance at securing follow-on funding from the investor’s clique and buddies in the future. Dive into the full chart and analysis: [The hidden alliances between Southeast Asia’s VCs, uncovered]( Spread the word: [Facebook]( | [Linkedin]( | [Twitter](  --------------------------------------------------------------- The worst year yet for this fintech startup Credit-scoring firm LenddoEFL was already in hot water, but things just [got worse](. - It’s pay now or never: Fintech investment bank SenaHill APAC is demanding US$600,000 from LenddoEFL for consulting services it rendered between April to August this year, and the latter had issued a letter seeking payment for the outstanding debt or the start of winding-up proceedings. - Previous troubles: In June, the startup was already facing a [slew of problems]( from running out of cash to sudden layoffs. - Not just the debt: The letter also noted that LenddoEFL’s immediately due liabilities exceed US$2.5 million. These include employees’ back pay as well as outstanding payments to vendors and debt facility.  --------------------------------------------------------------- As WFH becomes the norm, HR tech firms spot an opening I don’t know about you, but this is my fifth consecutive month of working from home since the Covid-19 pandemic began. As we start to accept this new way of working, workplace norms have also evolved, leading employers to rethink their human resources strategies. We’ve unlocked [this article]( for you to read in full this week.  --------------------------------------------------------------- Misc - [Tech in Asia Virtual Conference]( from October 19 to 22. In our biggest annual event, we gather founders, decision-makers, and venture capitalists in one place so that you can get all the information and make the connections you need. Hiring - [Bilingual Community Management]( at Pand.ai (Singapore, Singapore) - [Devops Engineer]( at Rukita (Jakarta, Indonesia) - [IT Support]( at KoinWorks (Jakarta, Indonesia)  --------------------------------------------------------------- Hey, sometimes Monday sucks, so send some good vibes to your coworkers and give them enough juice for the rest of the week. If you have comments about our newsletter, we’d love to hear them. Drop us a line [here](. Tech in Asia’s newsletters are handcrafted daily with love ❤️ - and sometimes powered by good coffee. ☕ To ensure that you don’t miss out on the biggest tech news and analysis, add newsletter@techinasia.com to your address book, contacts, or safe sender list. Or simply move us into your inbox. Copyright © 2020 Tech in Asia, All rights reserved. Don't want to receive these emails anymore? [Unsubscribe](.