The Asian IPO scene is set to explode

More: Huawei’s new electric cars, and Spotify’s stealth release of a new mobile feature [Read from your browser]( Daily Newsletter Hello {NAME} Did you know that equity mutual funds in the US alone manage 6x the comparable value handled by buyout funds and 18x what venture capital firms preside over? No wonder going public seems to be the dream of almost every startup. (Meanwhile, here I am, struggling to scrape together enough money to buy a modest flat to call home.) That mania is catching in Asia, with Tech in Asia analysis showing that several tech startups across China, India, and Southeast Asia are reportedly planning for an IPO this year. As our journalist Doris Yu puts it, some of the biggest-ever tech IPOs (by capital raised) took place in 2020 with the likes of Airbnb and DoorDash. This has stoked interest in looking into who’s next, and 2021 is shaping up to be a banner year for listings. Let’s see how many of these Asian hopefuls go public before I’m able to finally get my hands on a set of house keys. Today we look at: - The [Asian IPO dreams of 2021]( - A big series E for a Singapore-based retail tech firm - Other newsy highlights such as Huawei getting into the electric cars game, and Spotify’s new voice command feature on mobile  ---------------------------------------------------------------  PREMIUM SUMMARY  Asian tech giants eyeing that public pie Tech stocks have boomed during the pandemic, and according to Tech in Asia’s analysis, as many as 34 tech startups across China, India, and Southeast Asia are reportedly planning for an IPO this year. Out of this number, 19 startups could collectively raise over US$25 billion. However, this figure could potentially surpass US$50 billion since a few of them, such as Gojek, Traveloka, Bukalapak, and ByteDance, haven’t set or disclosed their target fundraising amount yet. Just thinking about that amount of money makes me sweat. - Lucrative industries: Most of the Asian startups looking to be listed come from the ecommerce, fintech, logistics, and ride-hailing scenes. - Where in the world?: The US is a popular destination for a listing, especially for Southeast Asian firms. Meanwhile, Indian firms like to stay home, and the Hong Kong Stock Exchange comes in at number three. - An alternative: Going public via special purpose acquisition companies (SPACs) is getting increasingly popular, and this type of IPO accounted for most of the growth in the US’ IPO market last year compared to 2019. The likes of Grab, Traveloka, Bukalapak, and Tokopedia are strongly considering this alternative. Read more: [The leading Asian tech players eyeing an IPO in 2021](  ---------------------------------------------------------------  STARTUP SPOTLIGHT Funding for this retail unicorn is on Trax Singapore-based retail tech firm Trax said it has secured [US$640 million in a series E financing round]( led by SoftBank Vision Fund 2 and technology-focused funds managed by BlackRock. New investors include Canadian defined benefit pension plan OMERS and Innovation Growth Ventures’ Sony Innovation Fund. - What’s next? The company plans to invest the new funds in expanding its team, scaling its retailer business, and driving long-term growth. - Global reach: Trax has hubs in Singapore, Israel, and the US, and it says that it serves customers in over 90 countries. - Tenacious D: This latest investment follows a US$100 million series D round that it had closed in 2019.  ---------------------------------------------------------------  IN PARTNERSHIP WITH An AI-powered boost for Singapore’s tourism space Recently, while checking in for a “Singapoliday” at a hotel near Chinatown, I asked the concierge staff if I could book the gym. I was directed to an online platform, where my booking was made in seconds through a series of three to four humanized questions. As it turns out, that AI-powered platform is run by [Vouch]( a startup that enables businesses in the travel and tourism space to offer digital concierge services. But there’s more to Vouch than just being a chatbot service as I’d initially assumed: It also lets users order food, make bookings, and get recommendations. This is partly possible through the startup’s collaboration with the Tourism Information and Services Hub (TIH), a digital resource platform by the [Singapore Tourism Board]( that gave Vouch the boost it needed to scale more easily. With TIH’s up-to-date information on Singapore’s tourism offerings and travel software services - think attraction ticket prices and opening hours, or information about restaurants near popular areas such as Marina Bay - Vouch was able to whittle down its information-gathering process from three weeks to just hours. And it’s down to businesses to build up TIH’s content repository. Through an authentication layer, any company can register for an account to list their services, operating hours, and other details for more businesses to tap into. That network effect means platforms like Vouch can streamline their efforts, which will ultimately benefit users and businesses alike. Learn more about Vouch and TIH in our recent story about [the building blocks behind Vouch’s successful product](.  ---------------------------------------------------------------  STARTUP FEATURE  Every Friday, we shine a spotlight on the lesser-known startups building amazing things in the region. If you’d like a feature, please fill up [this form here]( and your startup might just get this spot next week! - Elevator pitch: Singapore-based [Storify.me]( is an influencer management platform that connects marketers with independent creators. Marketers that are trying out influencer marketing tend to spend more than 80% of their time sourcing and coordinating with indie creators and influencers during an influencer activation campaign. Storify.me aims to streamline that process. - Story: The founders have worked in a digital ad agency for over a decade and have thus faced the same set of challenges today's content marketers deal with. So they decided to embrace technology and use it to simplify and automate a large part of the work to achieve scale in content marketing efforts. - Years in operation: 10 months - Number of users: 5,000 independent creators and influencers from Singapore and Asia, and more than 100 brand owners - Monthly revenue: S$50,000 - Opportunities: There's an ongoing need for marketers to achieve scale with their content activities. Furthermore, the pandemic saw an increase in requirements for work to be carried out effectively online.  ---------------------------------------------------------------  QUICK BYTES  1️⃣ Huawei’s 5G smart electric cars (oh, the buzzwords) Huawei and Chinese carmaker Arcfox have collaborated to [launch the first electric car with a full suite of autonomous-driving features](. The telco giant is looking for new sources of revenue after its networking gear and smartphone businesses have been affected by US sanctions.  2️⃣ Spotify barely whispers about its new feature on mobile Android users of Spotify have received push notifications that alerted them to the app’s new voice command feature. The notification advised users to “just enable your mic and say ‘Hey Spotify, Play my Favorite Songs.’” Spotify [chose not to officially announce the new addition]( despite numerous reports indicating that the voice option was showing up on the app for many users, leading to some confusion about its availability.  3️⃣ Oyo denies bankruptcy reports Ritesh Agarwal, the founder and CEO of Oyo Rooms, has [denied reports]( that the Indian budget hotels major has filed for bankruptcy after an unidentified supplier made a claim for US$22,000. Instead, he claims that the amount has already been paid under protest and that the firm has challenged the order for the amount.  4️⃣ The longer arm of Twitch’s law Twitch will now ban users who harass members of its community, [even when incidents happen off-platform](. The firm recently announced a major expansion of its off-service misconduct policy that allows Twitch to take action against users who harass others regardless of where the harassment happens, including on another social media platform and even offline.  5️⃣ Does a bear get acquired in the woods? Finder, a fintech company headquartered in Australia, has [acquired Southeast Asia-focused brand GoBear]( as part of its global expansion. The acquisition includes GoBear’s trademark and digital assets, covering domains, website content, and social channels in seven markets. Based in Singapore, GoBear is a comparison site for insurance, credit cards, and loans. In January, the startup said it would cease its operations due to the challenging environment brought about by Covid-19.  6️⃣ Oh hell no, Facebook Facebook did not notify the over 530 million users whose details had been obtained through the misuse of a feature before 2019 - and the firm [still does not currently plan to do so](. It was reported last week that phone numbers and other details from user profiles had been made available in a public database. The data was obtained by “scraping” profiles, taking advantage of a vulnerability in the platform’s tool for syncing contacts.  ---------------------------------------------------------------  EVENTS HAPPENING - **Sold out** Private session: The Alternative Supper Club on April 20 As our premium subscribers, we’re giving you first dibs to this exclusive event. In celebration of Earth Day, Tech in Asia will be holding a [private dinner and networking event]( with innovators who are shaping the future of plant-based food tech companies in Asia Pacific. Unfortunately, this event is sold out! But keep your eyes peeled for similar events in the future!  ---------------------------------------------------------------  WHO'S HIRING - [Graphic Desginer Intern (BLOCK71 Bandung)]( at Innovation Factory (Bandung, Java, Indonesia) - [Backend Developer (Remote)]( at Jakmall (Jakarta, Indonesia) - [Human resources manager]( at We Are Caring (Singapore, Singapore)  ---------------------------------------------------------------  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 was written by Winston Zhang, with contributions from Doris Yu and Rebecca Liew. It’s edited by September Grace Mahino. Copyright © 2021 Tech in Asia, All rights reserved. 51 Bras Basah Rd, #05-5061, Singapore 189554