An F&B startup whips up a profitable recipe

This week, On the Rise looks at what makes Aigens recession ready, tech staff exits at a firm acquired by Temasek, and Vietnam’s healthtech sector. [Read from your browser]( On the Rise🚀 Welcome to On the Rise! Delivered every Tuesday via email and through the Tech in Asia website, this free newsletter breaks down the biggest stories and trends in emerging tech. If you’re not a subscriber, get access by [registering here](. Written by Aditya Hadi Pratama Journalist Hello {NAME} I always try my best to keep my Twitter timeline free of any unnecessary controversy - especially related to politics - by only following close friends and acquaintances in the tech space. However, recent layoffs in many startups suddenly led to a mob swamping my timeline with tirades against tech culture. “Can you see how tech gave birth to pinjol (an abbreviation of “online lending” in Bahasa, which currently has derogatory implications), cyberbullying, anxiety, and political polarization?” one user said. “VCs are evil,” another person said. In my opinion, tech (and VC investment to some extent), like everything in life, has positive and negative aspects. It’s not pure black or crystal white. We just need to view it in the right perspective. That’s what my colleague, Nikita, showed in this week’s first Big Story, which revolves around a Hong Kong-based startup called Aigens. Among other things, it builds QR code-based ordering solutions for restaurants and counts large fast-food chains such as Burger King in Singapore, Genki Sushi in Hong Kong, and Jollibee in the Philippines as its customers. The company had been bootstrapped since 2012 and has been profitable. However, after a smaller round last year, it has now raised US$14 million from Alibaba’s Ant Group and other VC firms in an external funding round as it eyes an opportunity to grow its business to other countries. On the flip side, in the second Big Story, my colleague, Collin, shines a light on a Singapore-based artificial intelligence firm, BasisAI, that was acquired by Temasek’s subsidiary last year and saw a majority of its tech team exit the firm only a year later. In a nutshell, tech will always be here. We can’t turn back time and just pretend beneficial solutions such as online food ordering, ecommerce, and digital payments do not exist. That’s especially true for tech solutions that can help people’s lives, such as healthtech in Vietnam - a sector that has seen more funding “injections” from investors recently. More on this on Making Waves. -- Aditya  --------------------------------------------------------------- THE BIG STORIES 1️⃣ [The profitable F&B SaaS firm that got Ant’s attention]( Aigens has bagged US$14 million in series A money. The firm’s business could hold up in a recession even as it plans an APAC expansion. 2️⃣ [After Temasek acquisition, BasisAI loses tech staff]( Singapore-based AI startup BasisAI, which was acquired by Temasek unit Aicadium, has seen most of its tech employees walk out the door.  ---------------------------------------------------------------  MAKING WAVES Vietnamese healthtech gets a booster shot from investors Here’s what happened: - Funding in Vietnam’s e-health sector has more than doubled in 2022 to US$55 million, as per RedSeer data. - Healthtech firm Medici raised two rounds of funding despite the funding winter. - India’s Jio Health raised US$20 million in a series B round earlier this year. Here’s our take: The healthtech sector in Southeast Asia has seen strong growth momentum: Healthcare spending in Southeast Asia is expected to reach [US$740 billion by 2025, up from US$420 billion in 2018](. Investors have been pumping money into Vietnam’s healthtech sector lately. This makes sense given the country’s growing middle class and aging population. Funding in the sector has more than doubled to US$55 million in 2022 from US$26 million last year, as per a recent [RedSeer Consulting report](. This comes in a year that saw tech startups [hit by a funding winter](. While not much has been written about Vietnam’s healthtech sector, there is immense scope to increase tech adoption in the country’s healthcare. The country currently has [10 doctors for every 10,000 people]( according to Vietnam’s Ministry of Health - one the lowest figures in Southeast Asia. Public hospitals are extremely overcrowded and access to quality healthcare is out of reach for most. In the past, other sectors such as gaming, ecommerce, and fintech in Vietnam have attracted a majority of investments. According to RedSeer, 43% of funding deals in Vietnam’s healthtech sector were in series A and B rounds, which suggests that investors have faith in these startups’ current traction and growth projections. This year, Medici, a Vietnamese insurtech and healthtech startup, has raised two rounds of funding within just seven months. In February, it raised its [pre-series A money]( followed by [a series A round]( in September. This is quite an impressive feat amid a funding winter. Medici operates an ecosystem of affordable insurance and health offerings through its network of care providers, which include Cathay Life, Liberty, Bao Viet, and Chubb Life. Roshan Behera, partner at RedSeer Consulting says in the report that the innovative business models that stand out in Vietnamese healthtech include B2B ePharmacy-focused BuyMed, well diversified horizontal players like eDoctor, and omnichannel firms like Med247 and Jio Health, which offer a plethora of online services along with having an offline presence via clinics. Some startups even offer subscription-based services with special discounts for members, he adds. One of the reasons for the success of Vietnamese healthtech has been the omnichannel approach, according to Behera. “Omni-channel players get the best of both worlds and hence have demonstrated improved customer loyalty, trust, and satisfaction. The brand recognition from offline presence helps acquire new customers and increases traffic in online channels,” he says in the report. These companies tackle some of the key pain points that arise due to the underpenetrated and overburdened public health infrastructure. Many of the players offer services such as appointment booking, online consultations, online pharmacy purchases, e-diagnostic, on-site healthcare, online-to-offline integrated services, and medical transportation. The last three services here are offline services and are a very integral component of the sector in Vietnam, as many people are still skeptical of online services when it comes to healthcare. A large reason for the healthtech segment’s growth in Vietnam is also because the government’s health ministry has [prioritized remote medical advisory]( remote consultation on surgery, remote consultation and visual diagnosis, and remote training and transfer of medical examination and training techniques. It seems healthtech in Vietnam has the right prescription even as the region heads into a recession. -- Collin  --------------------------------------------------------------- FYI [A VC asked me not to use the ‘N-word.’ He meant nipple]( A VC’s discomfort when she explains about nipple cream products is an eye opener for TheAsianParent founder Roshni Mahtani. She then explained why we should normalize talking about bodily concerts head-on, and stop with euphemisms.  ---------------------------------------------------------------  NEWS YOU SHOULD KNOW Check out Tech in Asia’s coverage of the emerging tech scene [here](. 1️⃣ Southeast Asian early-stage VC firm that operates a Y Combinator-style accelerator, Iterative, has closed its [US$55 million]( second fund. It invests around US$150,000 to US$500,000 for every participant upon admission. 2️⃣ Gogoro, a Taiwan-based electric-vehicle firm, has [expanded]( its operations into the Philippines through a partnership with telco Globe’s 917Ventures and local conglomerate Ayala. 3️⃣ Australia-based fraud detection firm FrankieOne has raised [US$15.4 million]( in a series A+ funding round from AirTree Ventures, Greycroft, and Binance Labs, among others. The deal pushes the total funding FrankieOne has raised to date to US$30 million. 4️⃣ Mohalla Tech, the parent firm of India-based social media unicorn ShareChat, has [shut down its fantasy games platform]( and laid off 5% of its staff in the process. The firm is backed by Temasek and Google. 5️⃣ Unilever Ventures and East Ventures pour [US$6 million]( in a series A funding round for Indonesian vegan beauty brand Esqa. The deal marks Unilever Ventures’ first beauty investment in Southeast Asia. ---------------------------------------------------------------  That’s it for this edition - we hope you liked it! Do also check out previous issues of the newsletter [here](. Not your cup of tea? You can unsubscribe from this newsletter by going to your “edit profile” page and choosing that option in our preference center. See you next week! [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](  Copyright © 2022 Tech in Asia, All rights reserved. 63 Robinson Road, Singapore 068894