The story of Singapore’s newest unicorn

More: Facebook and Google’s plans to bridge Southeast Asia and America, and WeChat’s bid to take on Douyin [Read from your browser]( Daily Newsletter Hello {NAME} PatSnap has a real “started from the bottom, now we’re here” story to it. Before becoming Singapore’s newest unicorn, the patent insights provider had it rough in the early days, when - being strapped for cash and struggling to attract investors - the team had to switch its heater off in the cold winter. That moment stands in stark contrast to how it recently inked a deal with SoftBank’s Masayoshi Son in “less than half an hour.” I’ve spent more time achieving so much less. Now, the company has regional offices in the US, Europe, and China, and its customer base and employee headcount have also grown 60% to 70% annually over the last five years. Today, we look at: - [PatSnap’s journey]( to becoming a unicorn - The departure of two Delhivery co-founders before the company’s upcoming public listing - Other newsy highlights such as Facebook and Google’s plans for undersea cables to connect Southeast Asia and America, and Tencent-backed WeChat’s bid to take on Douyin  ---------------------------------------------------------------  PREMIUM SUMMARY  The road to a billion-dollar valuation Taking a startup to unicorn status is a huge feat in itself, but the founders of Singapore-headquartered patent insights provider PatSnap did it right out of college. However, despite what that summary might lead you to believe, the achievement did not come easy. - Early hurdles: In 2008, a year after PatSnap’s launch, a decision was made to relocate the company to China. However, the move was more difficult than anticipated, and the team had to resort to switching the heater off in winter to stretch their limited finances. - Attracting the big guns: Though the crew struggled in the early days, the startup was able to sign a deal with SoftBank’s Masayoshi Son in “less than half an hour” because its value proposition was solid. - The future of innovation intelligence: PatSnap continues to think up new products, including a tool that will help financial institutions analyze the technological strengths of high-tech businesses. According to Vertex CEO Kee Lock Chua, “The sky’s the limit” for the company. Read more: [How PatSnap grew to become a billion-dollar company](  ---------------------------------------------------------------  STARTUP SPOTLIGHT Two co-founders leave pre-IPO Indian logistics major Delhivery saw [two of its co-founders depart the startup]( just as it is getting ready for a public listing. - Already gone: Bhavesh Manglani and Mohit Tandon have been away from Delhivery’s daily operations and were reclassified as “retiring/non-active promoters” for their shares in the firm. - Selling their shares: The two submitted their resignations to Delhivery’s board earlier this year and are expected to sell their shares during a potential IPO in 2021 or next year. - Bring in the money: The logistics firm is reportedly raising a pre-IPO round at a valuation of US$3 billion.  ---------------------------------------------------------------  IN PARTNERSHIP WITH We test, we sell, and then we deploy Imagine you started a home-based cookie business - like everyone on Instagram these days. And while you’re developing your perfect cookie recipe, you’re also selling them at the same time. That, my friend, is testing in production. When developing an app or software, the standard workflow is to build first and then test in stages before finally deploying the code. But these days, the concept of “testing in production” has become increasingly popular for teams to use in their validation process. But what does it really mean to test in production? And what does it cost to do it well? In this [keynote presentation in our Product Development Conference]( Rob Zuber, the chief technology officer of continuous integration and delivery platform CircleCI, will explore these questions and other topics like the impact of downtime and how to identify inflection points. Get your [ticket]( to attend this talk - and many others - at half price for just US$25 (usual price US$50).  ---------------------------------------------------------------  QUICK BYTES  1️⃣ Facebook and Google bring Southeast Asia and America closer together Facebook says it [has plans to create two new undersea cables]( to connect Singapore, Indonesia, and North America in a project with Google and regional telecommunication companies to boost internet connection capacity between the regions. Named Echo and Bifrost, those will be the first two cables to go through a new diverse route crossing the Java Sea, increasing overall subsea capacity in the trans-pacific by about 70%.  2️⃣ Tencent gets WeChat ready to take on ByteDance’s Douyin In its latest update, WeChat has [reinforced its short-video-sharing and livestreaming functions]( amid increasing competition from Douyin, the Chinese version of ByteDance-owned TikTok. The latter recently launched its own mobile payment service to compete against WeChat Pay in China’s fast-growing short-video-sharing market.  3️⃣ Autonomous vehicles hit Vietnam Manufactured by local conglomerate Phenikaa Group, [Vietnam’s first self-driving vehicle]( boasts AI features including 3D maps, Lidar sensors, and simultaneous localization and mapping technology and incorporates machine learning and deep learning within its software. However, the company needs to do additional safety tests and more research to reduce production costs before the vehicle can be launched to the general public.  4️⃣ Intel’s new chipmaking strategy Intel has led the semiconductor industry for over 50 years. However, the US company is [pursuing a new strategy](. The shift was announced by new CEO Pat Gelsinger and comes as Intel loses global market share to smaller rivals due to its rocky development of advanced chip manufacturing technology.  5️⃣ Huawei removes Nike and Adidas from its app store Chinese telco giant Huawei has [suspended downloads for the apps of sportswear brands Nike and Adidas]( from its app store. The two brands, which have been growing rapidly in China, previously said that they would not source products or yarn from the Xinjiang region and are among other foregin brands that are being boycotted nationwide due to their statements.  6️⃣ Large-scale production facility launched in Singapore to accelerate its alternative protein market SGProtein, a leading contract manufacturer of meat alternatives, has announced that it will be [launching a production facility for plant-based meat companies in Singapore](. With the new facility, the firm aims to support plant-based meat alternative firms to grow their businesses through research and development, pilot trials, and commercialization with full flexibility. It will support food startups, multinational food manufacturers, and fast-moving consumer goods companies.  ---------------------------------------------------------------  EVENTS HAPPENING - [Workshop] Learn how to conduct interviews from an ex-Google HR on March 31 When our colleague Hui Min was new to interviewing job applicants, she was absolutely lost. “What screening tasks should I set? Should I prioritize skills or culture fit?” were just some of her questions, and she wished there was someone to help her figure things out. To help other Hui Mins - and founders - out there who are going through the same struggle, we’ve invited Anne Caron, an ex-Google executive and also the people strategy expert for Golden Gate Ventures, Zilingo, and Gojek, to share a practical methodology for growing the right organizations and teams. [Sign up today to join us on this 30-minute workshop](. *Existing Tech in Asia Core, Live, and ID+ subscribers can RSVP at no additional cost. - Tech in Asia’s Product Development Conference on April 7 and 8 This year’s conference is centered around a single goal: helping companies build outcome-oriented products. With five tracks from strategy to analytics, we want you to come out of this conference with product and engineering tips to build a winning product. You can get the ticket at a [50% discount]( today for just US$25 (usual price US$50). Existing Tech in Asia Core, Live, and ID+ subscribers can RSVP at no additional cost [here](.  ---------------------------------------------------------------  WHO'S HIRING - [Senior news writer]( at Tech in Asia (Bangalore, India) - [Machine Learning Engineer]( at Pacmann Group (Jakarta, Indonesia) - [Senior Ruby on Rails Developer]( at Xfers (Jakarta, Indonesia) ---------------------------------------------------------------  SHARE WITH YOUR FRIEND If you're feeling generous today, help us share this newsletter with your friends and coworkers so that they can keep up with what’s going on in the region’s tech scene. Feel free to [drop us some feedback]( if our newsletter today got you feeling smarter (or if it didn’t).  ---------------------------------------------------------------  Thanks for reading! Tech in Asia’s newsletters are handcrafted daily with love - and sometimes powered by good kopi (or tea). [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](. Don't want to receive these emails anymore? [Unsubscribe](.  ---------------------------------------------------------------  Today’s edition is written by Nathaniel Fetalvero, with contributions from Tay Tian Wen and Doris Yu. It’s edited by Jaclyn Tiu. Copyright © 2021 Tech in Asia, All rights reserved. 51 Bras Basah Rd, #05-5061, Singapore 189554