Is Maxim’s price right to take on Grab, Gojek?

More: GlobalFoundries opens an office in Malaysia. [Read from your browser]( Daily Newsletter --------------------------------------------------------------- Welcome to Tech in Asia's free Daily Newsletter! Get full access to our subscribers-only Daily Newsletter and other insightful analysis on the big and messy topics of Asia’s tech and startup community by [registering here](. --------------------------------------------------------------- IN FOCUS In today's newsletter, we spotlight: - [The ride-hailing firm playing third wheel in Indonesia]( - A major semiconductor manufacturer opening up shop in Malaysia - Other newsy highlights such as funding for an Indian beauty D2C firm --------------------------------------------------------------- Hello {NAME} I find Catan to be an immensely frustrating board game. Don’t get me wrong - I enjoy falling out with my friends over their refusal to swap wood for sheep as much as the next person. But I’m just not very good at the game. My fatal flaw is a failure to play to my strengths. For the uninitiated, Catan begins with each player claiming numbered sections of the board that provide the various resources they need to build settlements, roads, and cities, which will help them win the game. I tend to fixate on acquiring the resources I want via trades with other players. Unfortunately, I’m not a great trader as I really enjoy driving hard bargains, which inevitably leads to all the other players refusing to do business with me after they’ve been screwed over a couple of times. Unlike me, Maxim is playing to its strengths in Indonesia’s ride-hailing sector by offering more affordable services than behemoths Grab and Gojek. Maybe that’s why the firm has managed to stick around in a tough market for five years, whereas I’m normally out of the running in Catan within five minutes. -- Peter  ---------------------------------------------------------------  THE BIG STORY [How this Russian ride-hailing firm holds its ground against Grab, Gojek in Indonesia]( Since entering the market in 2018, Maxim has expanded to over 200 cities across Indonesia. --------------------------------------------------------------- TRENDING NEWS [Chipmaker GlobalFoundries launches Malaysia office]( Located in the state of Penang, the new facility follows the recent launch of a US$4 billion semiconductor plant in Singapore. [Vertex Ventures leads Indian D2C beauty startup’s $20m series B]( India-based Pilgrim, which uses ingredients sourced internationally for its beauty products, plans to use the funds to fuel its offline expansion. [Indonesian agritech startup EdenFarm pivots, lays off 300 employees]( The company will stop distributing fresh produce to B2B customers and instead focus on TuangTuang, a brand of packaged seasonings it just launched. [Foreign VC investment in China plummets 68% in 2022]( Firms in the Greater China region closed 765 deals from non-Chinese investors for the year, a 32% drop from 2021, according to a PitchBook report. ---------------------------------------------------------------  VISUAL STORY OF THE DAY [Mapping Japan’s horizontal SaaS market]( The sector has experienced a surge in growth in the country this year, with the number of companies in the space increasing by 16% compared to 2022. --------------------------------------------------------------- TECH IN ASIA'S FOUNDERS MEETUP: PHILIPPINES Founders’ real talk: a candid conversation about the Philippines’ startup ecosystem Want to find out what it’s really like to build and scale a startup in the Philippines? We’re excited to have Terence Lee, Tech in Asia’s editor-in-chief, moderate our first-ever panel of the Founders Meetup series, featuring Brian Cu (CEO and co-founder, SariSuki) and Rexy Josh Dorado (president and co-founder, Kumu). On September 27, join us at the Weremote Makati Central Square in the heart of Manila to gleam practical insights and connect with fellow founders from the Tech in Asia community. Why navigate the startup journey alone when you can collaborate with others and break through barriers together? Tickets are now on sale at US$12.50 each, inclusive of light bites and drinks. Hurry, seats are limited. [Secure yours before it’s snatched up!]( Special thanks to our official event partners - AWS, CleverTap, Cooley, Oracle, Sinarmas Land, Singapore Global Network (SGN), Quest Ventures, and Purple Quarter - and our community partners - WeWork, Gobi Partners, and AHG Lab - as well as our venue host Weremote for making this meetup possible. ---------------------------------------------------------------  EVENTS HAPPENING You can also check out a curated list of trending tech events [over here](. - [Tech in Asia Conference]( from October 18 to October 19 Do you see the light at the end of this funding winter’s tunnel? We do, and we believe Southeast Asia is that very light. That’s why this year’s Tech in Asia conference’s theme is Southeast Asia: A Bright Spot in the Tech World - signaling how the region can provide hope and guidance for the tech sector amid some troubling times. Hosted in Jakarta from October 18 to October 19, we’re excited to bring you a great lineup of speakers, thought-provoking sessions, and other activities. Click [here]( to get your limited first-release tickets. ---------------------------------------------------------------  PRESS PEEKS The following press releases were published as they were received, without any editing from the Tech in Asia team. You too can publish your own press release on Tech in Asia by simply filling in [this]( page](. Our team will get back to you by the next business day. - MediaX Agency - [Earn Alliance Launches the Biggest Web3 Game Mint Marathon: Over 40,000 Free NFTs Featuring 16 Games from Binance, Polygon, and Immutable]( Earn Alliance, the largest web3 game aggregator and discoverability platform, is excited to announce the first-of-its-kind Mint Marathon event. - NEAR Foundation for Cosmose AI - [Cosmose AI, valued at $500 million, unveils KAIKAINOW: A new innovation in personalised smartphone lock screen technology]( User engagement with lock screen content is rewarded with KAI-CHING (KAIC), Cosmose AI’s token, which is integrated with KAIKAINOW built on NEAR. - Huawei - [Huawei and CAICT jointly launch Xinghe Network White Paper, propelling rapid development of AI industry]( Huawei Xinghe Network White Paper delves into the development trends, network architecture, and key technological innovations of AI services. ---------------------------------------------------------------  WHO'S HIRING You can post a job [here]( or search for jobs [here](. - [Senior Software Engineer]( at PT Transnovasi Bangun Persada Jakarta, Indonesia - [Brand Marketing Lead (Brand/Event/Campaign Activation)]( at Griity Jakarta, Indonesia - [Data Architech]( at IDX Consulting Jakarta, Indonesia - [IT Operational Engineer]( at PT. Solusi Pembayaran Elektronik Tangerang, Indonesia - [Sales Associate]( at Scout.inc Jakarta, Indonesia - [Account Strategist]( at Mediatics Digital Indonesia Jakarta, Indonesia [ADVERTISE]( | [SUBSCRIBE]( 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. Tech in Asia thanks our partners for supporting our newsletters. Sponsorship has no influence on editorial content. 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 © 2023 Tech in Asia, All rights reserved. 63 Robinson Road, Singapore 068894