A tale of two bootstrapped, profitable startups

This week's On the Rise analyzes Arya.ag's business model, CoinGecko's profitability during the crypto winter, and Canva's new genAI offering. [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: - [Profitable Indian agritech startup Arya.ag]( - How CoinGecko [remains profitable]( in the crypto winter - Canva unveils a new product, but is it ready to rival Adobe's Firefly? Hello {NAME} , I come from the Jaat community in India. In my home state of Rajasthan, Jaat are usually associated with farming. While my father was in the army, my uncles were traditional farmers. Since Rajasthan is a desert state, I’ve seen them struggle as bad weather ruined their crops. After a poor season, they often have to turn to local lenders so they can purchase grains, fertilizers, and anything else they need. But these lenders provide loans at an interest rate of 2% to 3% per month – or around 24% to 36% per annum. Farmers are left with no choice but to borrow from these parties since Indian banks hesitate to provide them credit. These smaller, usually unregulated lenders offer terms that can eat into a large portion of a farmer’s yields and even repossess farmlands if the farmer can’t repay the loan on time. Understanding this situation, India-based agritech firm Arya.ag had a clear goal in mind: to assist farmers with warehousing, loans, and ensuring they receive the right price for their produce. This profitable agritech firm does this by partnering with banks to provide [warehousing finance]( options and connect farmers directly with end buyers. In this week’s Big Story, I break down how this agritech startup operates, became profitable, and if the model can be replicated in Southeast Asia. Speaking about profitable firms, in the second Big Story of the week, my colleague Deepti discusses how CoinGecko, the crypto data aggregator, has remained profitable even during the crypto winter. Also, in this week’s AI Odyssey, I discuss Canva’s new genAI offering, which it has developed under a partnership with OpenAI, Google, and Runway ML. -- Lokesh P.S. The team behind On the Rise will be taking a short break next week. But fret not, we’ll be back in your inbox on October 31.  --------------------------------------------------------------- THE BIG STORIES 1️⃣ [Profitable Indian agritech firm says its model can't be replicated in SEA yet]( Arya.ag, which increased its profits by over 8x in FYE 2023, says the warehousing finance sector is still at a nascent stage in Southeast Asia. 2️⃣ [CoinGecko remains profitable in crypto winter, believes the worst is over]( Despite a major downturn in the crypto space over the past year, CoinGecko has remained financially stable, driven by strategies like anticipating a 50% to 70% revenue dip in bear markets. Founded in 2014, CoinGecko tracks crypto and NFT price movements and is aiming for an annual revenue of US$100 million by 2026.  --------------------------------------------------------------- AI ODSSEY Promising AI projects we’re noticing Can Canva’s new launch rival Adobe's Firefly? Adobe Photoshop has dominated the market for almost three decades. It is a fantastic tool, and graphic designers swear by it. However, beginners fear its steep learning curve. The multitude of options that give designers the power to create anything visual is a little intimidating. Canva took advantage of this skill gap in the market when it launched in 2013. Its software was a perfect fit for beginners or those who wanted quick designs. This strategy is similar to the [low-code, no-code movement]( when thanks to the [Website Maker tool]( everyone was able to build a website with a set of presets without ever having to code a single line. With its model, Canva built a subscriber base of more than [150 million monthly users]( and 16 million paid subscribers. However, with the rise of generative AI, Canva seemed lost – especially after Adobe launched simpler AI-enabled design options with [Firefly](. While Canva did try to launch some features based on Stable Diffusion such as [AI Image Generator]( it was unable to provide a reliable product, at least when compared to Adobe Firefly. However, Canva has recently undergone an upgrade. On its 10th anniversary, the Australian design company launched Magic Studio, a powerful suite of AI tools designed to simplify design creation for businesses. The company has partnered with text-to-image generative AI platforms like [Google’s Imagen]( and [OpenAI’s Dall-e]( for its image generation capabilities to compete with Adobe, which is developing an in-house model. One of the standout features of Magic Studio is that it can effortlessly switch formats. Within approximately 30 seconds, a presentation can be transformed into a letter, a blog post, or any other desired format. More importantly, it can transition images into videos with simple prompts and convert text into images. The company has also partnered with US-based generative AI video editor firm [Runway ML]( to provide video generation functions as well. But on the flip side, while Canva was trying to catch up with Adobe Firefly, the latter rolled out its second generation model, [Adobe Firefly 2](. According to Adobe, this new model churns out significantly higher-quality images compared to its predecessor. It excels in rendering minute details like foliage, skin texture, hair, hands, and facial features, which allow it to create photorealistic human images. The images generated using the new model are better in resolution, color, and contrast. With Canva able to achieve comparable, if not superior, results through its collaborations with OpenAI, Google, and Runway ML, we will have to see if it gains an edge over Adobe Firefly in the market. -- Lokesh  --------------------------------------------------------------- FYI 1️⃣ [Moosa Genetics aims to transform Indonesian cattle breeding industry]( Founded by a team of scientists, Moosa Genetics has raised a pre-seed round to develop genetically optimized cattle for the local mass market. 2️⃣ [Philippine HR tech firm Sprout inches closer to profits in 2022, revenue grows 39%]( Philippine HR tech firm Sprout Solutions significantly reduced its losses before tax to around US$23,500 in 2022, a notable improvement from about US$48,600 in 2021. Sprout Solutions also experienced a 39% year-on-year growth in revenue, reaching US$7.2 million in 2022. --------------------------------------------------------------- NEWS YOU SHOULD KNOW Also check out Tech in Asia’s coverage of the emerging tech scene [here]( 1️⃣ [Luna scoops up fresh funds to jazz up SaaS]( Indonesia is pushing for digital growth, capitalizing on its high internet usage with over 212.9 million users. Despite this, many Indonesian merchants still use outdated software. Addressing this gap, Luna, founded in 2019, offers modern software solutions for businesses, including cashier systems, accounting software, payment options, and business support services. 2️⃣ [MoneyHero slashes losses by 56% in H1]( MoneyHero Group makes its Nasdaq debut after itsmerger with Bridgetown Holdings, which is backed by Pacific Century Group and Thiel Capital. It's the group’s second attempt at listing, valuing the enterprise at US$310 million and equity at US$283 million after net proceeds. 3️⃣ [Accel takes the lead in Jiraaf funding]( Jiraaf focuses on attracting fixed-income investors and has recently raised US$8.7 million in a series B funding round led by Accel and Harmony Partners. The funding will be utilized to enhance technology, expand investment offerings, and bolster customer support teams. 4️⃣ [Ctrip co-founder dives into Vietnamese travel startup]( Vietnamese travel startup Vntrip secures undisclosed funding from Ctrip co-founder and existing investors. Having previously raised over US$20 million from prominent backers like Alibaba's former CTO and Swiss private bank IHAG, Vntrip pivoted from serving domestic consumers to targeting the fragmented US$2 billion corporate travel market in Vietnam. 5️⃣ [Mesh Bio amps up fight against chronic diseases]( Singapore-based healthtech startup Mesh Bio is tackling the healthcare challenge posed by chronic illnesses like diabetes and cardiovascular diseases, which account for 62% of deaths in Southeast Asia. Mesh Bio has secured an undisclosed amount of funding from East Ventures. It also aims to expand its operations to Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Philippines.  --------------------------------------------------------------- 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 soon! [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 © 2023 Tech in Asia, All rights reserved. 63 Robinson Road, Singapore 068894