Mapping the players charging SEA’s EV ecosystem

This week’s On the Rise analyzes Southeast Asia’s electric vehicle ecosystem, and dives into GPT Engineer’s coding skills. [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: - [The electric vehicle startups]( operating in Southeast Asia - OpenAI’s latest tool to help boost product development Hello {NAME} In India this week, there was a lot of hype from local publications around the meeting of Tesla CEO Elon Musk and Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Many felt that this would lead to the conclusion of the Indian government’s courtship of Tesla to build a factory in the country. Despite all the hype, there was no definitive answer from Musk, who only shared vague responses like saying he was looking to invest in the country [“as soon as humanly possible”]( and that Tesla is “trying to find the right timing.” That said, there has been a change in tune since last year, when Musk said he wouldn’t manufacture cars [in India]( until the government agreed to allow selling Teslas in the country. The main point of contention between the two parties was the [high import tariffs for cars]( in India. The seeming change in Musk’s stance caught my attention, as it shows that he too realizes the importance of the Indian market for Tesla. EV adoption has been surging in the country, with [electric car sales accelerating by 174%]( in the financial year ending March 2023 from a year before. EVs are gaining popularity in Southeast Asia too. [Sales]( of these vehicles have been rising, with Thailand being the biggest market. My colleague Shadine maps out the key EV players in the region in this week’s Big Story. Beyond just EV makers, the region is also witnessing the birth of startups in battery swapping, charging infrastructure, and even recycling and financing. One key highlight of the story is government policy efforts across the region to support EVs and an analysis of the most friendly countries for these vehicles in the region. Speaking about support, in this week’s AI Odyssey, I explore a generative AI tool that can help startups develop code for their platform with just a prompt, Meet OpenAI’s GPT Engineer, which can help expedite the process of product development. But first, the Big Story. -- Collin  --------------------------------------------------------------- THE BIG STORY [Mapping SEA’s electric vehicle players]( Though Thailand is the region’s biggest market for EVs, Singapore is home to the largest number of startups in the industry.\ --------------------------------------------------------------- AI ODYSSEY Promising AI projects we’re noticing OpenAI has an ‘engineer’ for startups Last week, OpenAI released its generative AI tool called [GPT Engineer]( an open-source generative AI program designed to help engineers in software development. People just have to specify what they want to build using a prompt and the tool builds out an entire code base. While ChatGPT, too, could write pieces of code and point out one’s mistakes, GPT Engineer seems specifically designed for developers to create their coding base from scratch. The program is also designed to learn from engineers on how the code should look like - it asks for clarifications when building the product rather than just dishing out code. GPT Engineer also has a feature that enables it to remember things that a developer mentions while building the code. The generative AI tool is available on [GitHub]( for developers to download and install. Since it’s an open-source program, people can also contribute to the development of GPT Engineer. This seems to be a game changer in the product development space, as it can accelerate the development of platforms and applications, meaning that the overall time to build and test products is reduced. While many generative AI applications have mostly been skewed toward content creation - whether text, image, audio, or video - this tool can have a big impact on startups that are under a time or finance crunch. While the current GPT Engineer doesn’t [write code perfectly]( in the first go, it is a start, and the platform’s open-source nature means later versions could also be better. One thing unique about this tool is its ability to ask questions after the user gives the first prompt. It does this to understand more accurately what the requirements are in the code it’s trying to write. It also has the ability to learn the user’s coding style, which makes it even more useful for developers down the line. In the future, it could be used to create prototypes quickly for a client or even for custom software development. That said, OpenAI has to do more to convince companies of its information security efforts, as over [100,000 ChatGPT accounts]( were breached last week and sold on the dark web. There are likely to be concerns about using a tool like this too. The coding for a platform is the cornerstone for someone’s product, and if that can be duplicated by others, then it is definitely something that could bother companies. These worries aside, firms will definitely have to take this product into consideration, especially if they want to quicken the pace of product development. -- Collin  --------------------------------------------------------------- FYI 1️⃣ [Bots, boosts, and backends: how generative AI can transform banking]( This new tech can transform how banks operate, but concerns over regulation, data security, and systemic biases will act as a constraint. 2️⃣ [ChatGPT spouting nonsense? Here’s how you can get better responses]( ChatGPT is infamous for making up some of its responses out of thin air, but with these tips, you can avoid that and make the chatbot work for you. 3️⃣ [How Singapore’s startup ecosystem compares to the rest of the world]( The city-state has a shorter time to exit than the global average and has seen significantly more VC funding dished out than other ecosystems.  ---------------------------------------------------------------  NEWS YOU SHOULD KNOW Also check out Tech in Asia’s coverage of the emerging tech scene [here](. 1️⃣ [GoTo-backed Electrum’s new factory]( Electrum, the joint venture between GoTo Group and energy firm TBS Energi Utama, is constructing a factory to manufacture two-wheel electric vehicles (EVs) in Indonesia. The factory, located in the West Java province, is expected to produce up to 250,000 EVs annually and will include testing facilities. 2️⃣ [Auditor leaves Byju’s]( Deloitte has officially resigned as the auditor of Byju’s, the Indian edtech giant, with immediate effect. Byju’s has announced the appointment of BDO (MSKA & Associates) as its statutory auditors for five years starting from FY 2022. 3️⃣ [Graphy joins the Singapore scene]( Graphy, a unit of Indian edtech unicorn Unacademy, has acquired Singapore-based community platform Scenes. It helps creators monetize their following by enabling them to build their own online platforms. 4️⃣ [Climate tech fund gets boost]( India-based VC firm Avaana Capital has secured commitments for US$70 million in the first tranche of its Climate and Sustainability Fund. The goal is to raise a total of between US$100 million to US$125 million for the fund, which is Avaana Capital’s second climate-focused investment vehicle. 5️⃣ [Viu gets up to $300m boost from French TV operator]( Viu has received an up to US$300 million strategic investment from Canal+ Group, which will make the latter “a significant minority shareholder” in the Asian streaming platform. The deal involves an initial investment of US$200 million, which gives Canal+ a 26.1% stake in Viu.  --------------------------------------------------------------- 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. 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