BNPL in SEA bucks global trends, but for how long?

Byju’s, ZigBang, DMAI, and more startups also raised funding this week. [Read from your browser]( FOMO Saturday Hello {NAME} Remember when buy now, pay later startups were the newest big thing in the tech industry? I feel like I went from never having heard of the abbreviation BNPL to seeing ads of pay-later startups everywhere in the span of a week or two. Now, however, BNPL companies around the world are [finding it more costly to run]( the business, and firms in the West are feeling the effects of loan delinquency and higher borrowing costs. Despite these hurdles, it seems the vertical is still growing in Southeast Asia. For instance, Singapore-headquartered Atome just [got US$45 million in strategic investment]( from its parent company, Advance Intelligence Group. It makes me wonder, though, whether the BNPL scene in Southeast Asia will continue on its upward trajectory or if it will eventually face the same issues as its Western counterparts. You can find all other important investment deals that happened in the last few days in our [weekly funding news wrap-up](. Let’s dive into the biggest deals and M&As that recently took place. -- Nathaniel --------------------------------------------------------------- THE BIGGEST DEALS BY COUNTRY 🇮🇳 Byju's: The Indian edtech giant [secured US$2.4 billion in debt funding]( from Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley. 🇰🇷 ZigBang: The South Korea-based property search platform raised US$80 million in series D money from Hana Financial Investment, IMM Investment Corp, and KDB Bank. 🇨🇳 DMAI: The Chinese AI platform developer got US$76.9 million in series B funding from Guangzhou Industrial Investment Holdings Group, Guangzhou Industrial Investment and Capital Operation Holding Group, Guangzhou Jinkong Fund, Guangzhou Urban Investment Industrial Fund, and Nansha Technology Financial Holdings. 🇸🇬 Atome: The Singapore-headquartered BNPL firm [received US$45 million in strategic investment]( from its parent firm, Advance Intelligence Group. 🇦🇪 Yap: Based in the United Arab Emirates, the digital banking app bagged US$41 million in series A funding from Astra Group, Abudawood Group, Aljazira Capital, and Audacia Capital. Here’s the complete list of this week’s funding chart: [154 deals worth over US$3.3 billion](. --------------------------------------------------------------- M&As 🇸🇬 Singapore-based Intrepid, an ecommerce omnichannel solutions provider, was [acquired by UK-based data and analytics firm Ascential]( for US$250 million. 🇮🇳 Clear, a Bengaluru-headquartered fintech startup, acquired local compliance risk management automation platform CimplyFive for US$9.45 million. 🇰🇷 Events startup Pastbee Korea and VR firm TeeLabs have merged. The financial details of the deal between the South Korean companies are undisclosed. 🇮🇳 Indian B2B manufacturing company Zetwerk has acquired local startup Pinaka Aerospace and The Wardha, the fabrication unit of Wheels India, for an undisclosed sum. 🇰🇷 South Korea-based O2O app Dongsil Market was acquired by local microfulfillment startup Aswemake for an undisclosed amount. 🇰🇷 Dronix, an IT information security firm based in South Korea, was acquired by local short-distance logistics IT platform Barogo for an undisclosed sum. 🇮🇩 Indonesian edtech major Ruangguru [acquired local edtech platform Schoters]( for an undisclosed amount. 🇮🇳 India-based SaaS startup M2P Fintech has acquired Finflux, a Bengaluru-based cloud lending platform, for an undisclosed amount. --------------------------------------------------------------- STARTUPS THAT ARE RAISING FUNDS Fundraising is hard. To make things slightly easier, we’ve compiled this list of fundraising startups for our subscribers. Do you run a startup that’s raising at the moment or know someone who does? Sign your company up for listing [here](. 🇸🇬 Stash NextGen is a Singapore-based startup that provides payments and incentives solutions to corporations to drive engagement, loyalty, sales, and customer acquisition. 🇸🇬 Merchant Bay is an e-supply chain platform based in Singapore that connects the apparel supply chain for fast, secured sourcing. 🇮🇳 Bcbuzz Technologies is an Indian startup that provides technical upskilling and reskilling programs. You can find the full list of fundraising startups in Asia [over here](. --------------------------------------------------------------- KILLER PITCH DECKS 1️⃣ This pitch deck helped a healthtech firm land funding from 500 Startups Mahmee is a pregnancy and babycare management platform that helps customers share care plans and maintain health records. In 2016, it used [this pitch deck]( at a 500 Startups demo day to secure its first round of seed funding. The deck is simple and starts off by introducing the inspiration behind Mahmee. It also explains how the US-based firm’s technology can provide new moms with digital healthcare in the comfort of their homes. 2️⃣ An Indian logistics firm raised US$770,000 in seed funding with this deck QuickShift offers customized logistics solutions for individuals and enterprises, with services range from fleet management to warehousing and delivery fulfillment. It used [this pitch deck]( to raise seed funding in 2021. The deck is comprehensive, clearly delineating the crucial aspects of the business. It also establishes the firm’s capabilities in the introductory slides before going into how QuickShift’s services will benefit its users. 3️⃣ This startup’s pitch deck earned 500 Startups’ attention Purple Go is a sales platform that automates tasks like invoicing, payments, and order updates so that staff can work efficiently with customers. The company used [this pitch deck]( at a 500 Startups demo day to procure seed funding. The deck begins by describing the platform that Purple Go is building and goes on to outline the problems that it hopes to solve. --------------------------------------------------------------- EXCLUSIVE LISTICLES Lists of most active investors in the region [China]( | [India]( | [Indonesia]( | [Japan]( | [Singapore]( | [Southeast Asia]( List of top-funded startups in Asia [China]( | [India]( | [Indonesia]( | [Israel]( | [Japan]( | [Hong Kong]( | [Singapore]( | [South Korea]( | [Vietnam]( List of largest exits in Asia [China]( | [India]( | [Indonesia]( | [Singapore]( | [Southeast Asia]( --------------------------------------------------------------- THOUGHTFUL READS 1️⃣ Misconceptions about crypto’s volatility Crypto critics have been vocal about crypto’s volatility, especially after the recent downturn. However, these skeptics often miss out on the fact that crypto assets are different from traditional financial assets. Read more in [this Harvard Business Review article](. 2️⃣ Reimagining employee retention Employee turnover is rising across industries, and managers are spending more time searching for potential recruits in an increasingly competitive market. [This piece]( on Harvard Business Review details how companies can turn that around. 3️⃣ Why some startups can’t raise a series A Redditor u/BonjoroBear, who consults with an institutional firm that recently declined to participate in a startup’s series A, posted about some of the reasons why startups don’t get such funding. Check out the [full post on Reddit](. 4️⃣ It’s never too late to start up Transistor FM co-founder Justin Jackson didn’t launch the company until he was in his late 30s. Today, the company has made millions of dollars in revenue. Jackson shared his thoughts on the narrative that you have to be young to start up in [this Twitter thread](. 5️⃣ What it takes to distinguish yourself from the competition Joshua Bonhotal has advised multiple startups, even helping a US$12 million company scale to become a nine-figure firm. He [wrote a Twitter thread]( about what he has learned about what it takes to stand out from the crowd. --------------------------------------------------------------- [ADVERTISE]( | [SUBSCRIBE]( | [HIRE]( | [FIND 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. Too many emails? Switch to a different frequency or get new content through our [preference center]( or [unsubscribe](. You can also break our hearts and remove yourself from all Tech in Asia emails over [here](. --------------------------------------------------------------- Tech in Asia’s newsletters are handcrafted daily with love - and sometimes powered by good kopi. Today’s edition was written by Nathaniel Fetalvero. It’s edited by Eileen C. Ang. Copyright © 2022 Tech in Asia, All rights reserved. 63 Robinson Road, Singapore 068894