A new SoftBank-backed soonicorn from Singapore

More: Data breach at Lazada and the Singapore exchange’s largest IPO [Read from your browser]( Daily Newsletter Hello {NAME} Juicy news: Southeast Asia might get another unicorn soon. Biofourmis, a Singapore-based medtech firm that’s valued at around US$800 million, growing 10x, and EBITDA-profitable. Backed by SoftBank, the startup is poised to join this billion-dollar club and hobnob with the likes of Sea, Grab, and Lazada. Today we look at: - The medtech startup that’s [leaping to near-unicorn status]( - A startup that helps you eliminate stress - Other newsy highlights such as the recent data breach at Lazada and the largest initial public offering at the Singapore exchange since 2017  ---------------------------------------------------------------  PREMIUM SUMMARY  Biofourmis’ valuation went whoosh! The medtech startup was valued at around US$500 million last November. But after raising US$100 million from Japan’s SoftBank recently, Biofourmis’ valuation has [soared to US$800 million](. - Dissecting the big business: Founded in 2015, Biofourmis uses artificial intelligence and wearable sensors to measure a person’s health, personalize their treatment, and detect the early signs of heart failure. - Revenue on crack: According to founder and CEO Kuldeep Rajput, the company’s revenue in the first half of 2020 was already 10x more than what it had made in the whole of 2019. - Covid-19 was a tailwind: Biofourmis’ wearable sensors and software have found a new user base: Covid-19 patients. In the past five months, more than 100,000 Covid-19 patients have used its platform. A deeper analysis of this almost-unicorn: [Is Singapore medtech firm Biofourmis’ near-unicorn status warranted?](  ---------------------------------------------------------------  STARTUP SPOTLIGHT The startup that wants to eliminate your stress Mondays can be depressing. But perhaps the employees of this Hong Kong-based startup that recently raised [US$1 million in its pre-series A round]( have a different take. - Founded in 2016, tech wear company Silentmode’s flagship product Powermask is not designed to protect us from the novel coronavirus. Instead, it’s an electronic device with headphones that users can wrap around their faces to do breathing exercises and audio therapy as well as help them relax. - Anyone’s game? Besides its wearable product, Silentmode has also launched a mobile app that gamifies meditation while monitoring real-time biometrics. - It’s also profitable: CEO Bradley Dowding-Young says that the startup has been profitable for a year now and is on track to log a 110% growth in earnings year-on-year in 2020.  ---------------------------------------------------------------  QUICK BITES  1️⃣ Lazada gets hacked The Singapore-based ecommerce company had a [data breach]( involving 1.1 million accounts from its grocery arm RedMart. The compromised user information includes email and mailing addresses, encrypted passwords, and partial credit card numbers.  2️⃣ Singapore exchange’s largest IPO since 2017 Nanyang Technological University spinoff firm Nanofilm recently went public on the Singapore stock exchange. This trade debut brought the company’s [market valuation to US$1.2 billion]( allowing Nanofilm to raise up to US$375 million. This also makes it the largest primary listing on the Singapore exchange, excluding real estate investment trusts.  3️⃣ Huawei goes solo on chips The Chinese phonemaker is working on plans to [build a dedicated chip plant]( in Shanghai aimed at breaking its dependence on American technology. Huawei relies heavily on advanced computer chips from the US, but the ongoing political tensions and trade war had cut off its supply.  4️⃣ Ant’s Shanghai hotter than 11.11 The upcoming IPO of fintech company Ant Group has individual investors in China scrambling for a slice of the world’s largest offering. The domestic retail book of its US$34.4 billion dual listing was [872 times oversubscribed](.  5️⃣ All eyes on Malaysia’s iCar Asia Chinese online car marketplace Autohome has proposed to buy Malaysian vehicle-listing network iCar Asia for [around US$151.6 million](. Founded in 2012, the company is listed on the Australian stock exchange and says that its Malaysia and Thailand operations were profitable for the third quarter.  6️⃣ ByteDance gets smarter The parent company of short-video platform TikTok has [launched]( Dali Education, which will undertake all of ByteDance’s education businesses. ByteDance entered the edtech sector in 2016 and has 10,000 employees that will be now working under Dali.  ---------------------------------------------------------------  FOR OUR COMMUNITY  Telehealth startup Doctor Anywhere’s surprise move: Opening physical clinics 2020 is the year of telehealth. More people are choosing to consult a doctor online amid the uncertainty of the Covid-19 pandemic. Analysts are also bullish on the global telemedicine market, which is projected to reach US$175 billion by 2026, up from US$45 billion last year. Yet Singapore-based telehealth startup Doctor Anywhere is opening physical clinics. Why? We’ve unlocked [this premium article]( for you to read in full this week. If you like this piece, you may also like: - [Tackling a taboo: Cannabis tech on the rise in Asia]( - [How Singapore’s rooftop gardeners are filling the food supply chain gap]( - [Does this US$133 million bet on biodegradable ‘plastic’ hold water?](  ---------------------------------------------------------------  EVENTS HAPPENING - The Best Practices in Fintech Security and Compliance That You Can’t Ignore on Thursday, November 5 Are you on top of current fintech regulations and compliance rules? To learn how to navigate this challenging landscape, join experts from Amazon Web Services and leading fintech company 2C2P in a guided panel discussion on November 5. [RSVP today]( - ** Live Event ** Pitching to VCs in a virtual world on Friday, November 6 In today’s landscape, we will see more meetings, events and VC pitches going online. How do you nail that pitch when you’re actually talking to a screen? [Join us]( to learn about the Art of Pitching in this digital world, by Gavin Teo, General Partner of Altara Ventures. - 2021 and Beyond: A Digital Transformation Action Plan for SMEs on Thursday, November 12 The pandemic has been tough on small and medium-sized enterprises. How can these companies future-proof their businesses for the post-pandemic economy in 2021 and beyond? Learn how the SME community can accelerate its digital transformation and thrive on its road to recovery in [this webinar](.  ---------------------------------------------------------------  WHO'S HIRING - [Senior Product Manager]( at Doctor Anywhere (Singapore, Singapore) - [Account Manager]( at Funded.jobs (Sydney, Australia ) - [Product Owner]( at Cartenz (Jakarta, Indonesia)  ---------------------------------------------------------------  SHARE WITH YOUR FRIEND Don’t leave your co-workers behind! Share this with them so that they can keep up with what’s going on in the region’s tech scene. [ADVERTISE]( | [PREMIUM]( | [JOBS]( P.S. 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. Was this forwarded to you? You can read this everyday when you sign up [here](. Love us or hate us? [Drop us a feedback]( and let us know. Don't want to receive these emails anymore? [Unsubscribe](.  ---------------------------------------------------------------  Tech in Asia’s newsletters are handcrafted daily with love - and sometimes powered by good kopi. Today’s edition was written by Betty Chum, with contributions from Joseph Gan and Miguel Cordon. It’s edited by Eileen C. Ang name. Copyright © 2020 Tech in Asia, All rights reserved. 51 Bras Basah Rd, #05-5061, Singapore 189554