The LPs powering the tech ecosystems in SEA and India

This week’s On the Rise charts the prominent limited partners in both markets, Venturra VC’s investment plans, and Google’s standing in the AI race. [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](. --------------------------------------------------------------- IN FOCUS In today's newsletter, we look at: - [Active LPs in SEA's, India’s startup ecosystems]( - Venturra Partners’ investment plans for 2023 - The ongoing Basis AI story gets an update - Google’s place in the AI arms race. Hello {NAME} One of my current fixations is [Succession]( the HBO series. Its hilarious script - laden with expletives and jargon - and realistic characters make the show an addictive watch. Succession’s satirical, absurdist story centers around the Roy family, loosely based on the real-life [Murdoch media empire]( and Shakespeare’s King Lear. When despotic patriarch Logan Roy shows signs of deterioration, his traumatized children vie to secure his CEO position at his company, Waystar Royco. Though the kids suggest different plans for the firm, which is primarily engaged in traditional broadcast and print news, the second-oldest son Kendall looks to tech. He persuades his father to bring Waystar into the 21st century through investments and acquisitions in tech-enabled startups and companies. This notion can easily be translated into real life. Traditional companies are looking to diversify, investing in the tech ecosystem so they don’t get left behind. In this week’s Big Story, I look at the limited partners powering funds and startups in Southeast Asia and India. Though venture capital firms get the most shine during startup funding rounds, we rarely ask about their inner workings. For instance, who powers VCs apart from general partners? Institutional and angel investors, that’s who. Globally, the number of unique financiers falling into these categories has grown within the past year, while the number of investors in the VC category has shrunk. Geographically, Singapore also tops the list of investing activities in the region. This comes as no surprise, with government-led initiatives such as the Global Investor Programme and Enterprise Innovation Scheme drawing high-net-worth individuals and corporations into the country. On another note, Tech in Asia reported on how Temasek’s Aicadium had conducted an investigation involving Liu Feng-Yuan, a co-founder of BasisAI, a startup that the Singapore state investment firm had acquired around two years ago. Silvanus Lee, another BasisAI founder, shared his statement on the matter via LinkedIn after we published the story last week. More on this soon. Speaking of investors, my colleague Nikita recently talked to Jakarta-based Venturra about its future plans. The VC, which focuses on early-stage startups, is looking for climate tech entrepreneurs and aims to close up to 12 deals this year. In AI Odyssey, I look at Google’s place in the AI race after its wide release of Bard just last week. -- Shadine  --------------------------------------------------------------- THE BIG STORY [Tracking active LPs in SEA's, India’s startup ecosystems]( Made by Tech in Asia using AI While funding news usually features VC firms, there’s a growing number of angel and institutional investors in the startup ecosystem. Here’s a list.  --------------------------------------------------------------- MAKING WAVES 1️⃣[Venturra rooting for 8 to 12 deals in 2023]( The Indonesia-based, sector-agnostic VC firm has released a report on climate tech in Southeast Asia and is seeking out entrepreneurs in the industry. 2️⃣[BasisAI co-founder speaks out on allegations; another co-founder responds to him]( Liu Feng-Yuan says he did not benefit financially from being an SPH Media advisor. However, Silvanus Lee says Liu did not outrightly deny any wrongdoing.  --------------------------------------------------------------- AI ODYSSEY Promising AI projects we’re noticing. Google says noBardy can do it like us OpenAI rolled out ChatGPT [in November 2022]( amassing [over 100 million users](. On the other hand, tech gargantuan Google launched its ChatGPT-like [Bard to the wider public]( only this week, removing its waitlist and expanding access to 180 countries and territories. Despite its seemingly endless resources, manpower, and [history of AI innovation]( did Google fall behind? One of its earliest AI projects was [Google Brain]( an exploratory lab established in 2011 that focuses on deep learning, computer vision, and natural language processing, among others. The unit eventually collaborated with [DeepMind]( a British company specializing in artificial general intelligence that Google [acquired in 2014 for over US$500 million](. Both units are now under the umbrella of [Google AI]( [AlphaGo]( the first computer to beat a human champion at the complex Go game, and the computer vision app [DeepDream]( are among the innovations that came out of Google Brain and DeepMind. Interestingly, Google AI also created the conversational bot [Meena]( whose existence was announced in 2020. Over a year later in May, Google introduced [LaMDA]( its ChatGPT-like large language model, via a post on its official blog. However, the company was hesitant to release Meena and LaMDA to the public because of [ethical issues and potential reputational damage](. Such fears are not unfounded: These programs have previously been accused of [becoming sentient]( raising existential questions and indicating that Google might lose control over its creations. OpenAI, though backed by Microsoft, is a relatively minuscule company that has [under 1,000 employees](. In comparison, Google employs [close to 200,000]( people on a full-time basis and its parent firm, the Nasdaq-listed Alphabet, has a market cap of 1.48 trillion dollars. As such, OpenAI has less to lose and is in a better position to take huge risks. And there are risks a-plenty: Google was [warned by its ethicists]( not to launch the Bard chatbot, for instance. And even though it was aware of the risks, [Microsoft laid off]( its entire AI Ethics and Society team earlier this year. Faith in the tech has gotten so weak that even neural network researcher and AI pioneer [Geoffrey Hinton recently quit Google]( so he could be free to warn the public of the tech’s dangers. But for Microsoft, ChatGPT’s public release was a blessing. After being massively out-innovated and losing [its search engine dominance to Google]( Microsoft now has a first-mover advantage in the AI space. Because of the hype and revenue generated by ChatGPT, Google may have felt pressured to release its research to the public. That said, the company is taking pains to point out that Bard is [still an experiment]( with even Google CEO Sundar Pichai admitting that [he doesn’t “fully understand”]( how the tool works. Earlier in February, Bard also made a mistake when it [misidentified a fact about the James Webb Telescope](. As a result, Alphabet’s market value took a US$100 billion hit. But it seems that Bard was worth the wait. The model [uses real-time data]( as it draws information from Google Search, whereas ChatGPT was trained on a dataset limited to 2021. Bard’s larger dataset also means that answers are more accurate and specific. Try asking Bard if it knows who you are - chances are, it can identify you if you have any online presence. The same can’t be said for OpenAI’s tool. With access to this data, an over [90% market incumbency]( on search engines, cloud-based documents, video streaming via YouTube, and email, Google may be set to dominate the AI chatbot space, potentially eclipsing Microsoft’s gains despite its head start. Google is also looking to incorporate Bard into its search engine, create [image-based features through Lens]( and integrate it into other products, such as Docs, Gmail, and Sheets. Ultimately, this will push other Big Tech firms to innovate even more, engaging in bidding wars for independent AI companies. Case in point: Google invested heavily in [US-based AI lab Anthropic]( earlier this year. As Big Tech monopolizes the space, more and more risks may be taken, and transparency measures and public interest could be overlooked in favor of revenues. Perhaps the most frightening prospect is how the AI chatbots, which have a singular, omniscient, and assertive voice, directly source info from the Internet and can further spread misinformation and half-truths. But the question is, who will bell the cat? -- Shadine  --------------------------------------------------------------- NEWS YOU SHOULD KNOW Also check out Tech in Asia’s coverage of the emerging tech scene [here](. 1️⃣ [Just brew it]( Flash Coffee has raised US$50 million in its series B funding round led by White Star Capital. With plans to turn profitable by the end of the year, the omnichannel coffee chain is looking to deepen its reach in Indonesia. 2️⃣[Mclass is in session]( Indonesian edtech firm Ruangguru has acquired Vietnam-based Mclass, an online learning platform. The move is reportedly an attempt at strengthening Ruangguru’s user base in Vietnam, where the firm operates as Kien Guru. 3️⃣[Seed firms to get the green]( Japan’s Genesia Ventures has raised US$110 million in the final close of its third fund. The company aims to invest in pre-seed to seed startups engaged in digital transformation, media and entertainment, new economy, and frontier tech such as robotics and spacetech. 4️⃣[The fundraise that lifts spirits]( EcoSpirits, a Singapore-based climate tech firm, has raised US$10 million in a series A round led by Closed Loop Partners. The startup offers clients a low-carbon way to distribute their liquor. 5️⃣[Ready, steady, raise]( Racenergy, a battery-swapping company based in India, has raised US$3 million in a round led by GrowX Ventures. The fresh funds will be used to expand the startup’s operations and develop its tech.  --------------------------------------------------------------- FYI  1️⃣ [Mapping SEA’s food tech players: Startups seize opportunities beyond food delivery]( As in-store dining returns to normalcy, food delivery players look to other revenue streams to turn a profit. 2️⃣ [Speedhome CEO on moonlighting and riding out Covid-19]( We chat with Speedhome Wong Whei Meng about his stint as a talk show host on LinkedIn and how that helped the startup stay afloat.  --------------------------------------------------------------- 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? 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