Behind the not-so-awesome customer experience at Osome

This week’s On the Rise dives into Osome’s customer and employee woes, analyzes SEA’s need for Singapore’s LLM, and looks into KonsultaMD’s growth. [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 not so awesome experience for [Osome’s customers]( - What so different about [Singapore’s LLM?]( - KonsultaMD’s [‘unfair advantage’ for growth]( Hello {NAME} , My laptop screen has recently started flickering and even went blank a couple of times. I frantically tried to reach the laptop company’s customer care service, but their delayed response and inability to fix the problem remotely irked me. I eventually found out that the delay in their responses was because their technician team was understaffed. Ironically, my colleague Candice and I were working on a story about Osome, an online accounting firm that was feeling the heat from customers who left reviews of “nightmare” experiences. So in our first Big Story, we pull back the curtains to understand the reasons for those customer complaints. The biggest cause for the flack seems to be the exit of several key employees from the accounting team, who left the Singapore-based firm from December 2022 to mid-2023. The company also laid off employees at the end of last year in an attempt to break even. Speaking of job losses, there is a rising fear of how many jobs AI might replace. But the Sea-Lion large language model, developed by the non-profit organization AI Singapore, looks to foster jobs in the startups and companies that use it. One key reason the LLM was developed is to cater to the languages and nuances of Southeast Asia, as most AI developed by the West and China are prone to biases, the company said. Finally, in Making Waves, my colleague Melissa looks at how the Philippine-based healthtech firm KonsultaMD has managed to become a leader in the space by tapping an “unfair advantage.” But first, our Big Stories! -- Collin P.S. The team will be taking a short break next week for the Lunar New Year. But fear not, we’ll be back in your inbox on February 20, 2024. --------------------------------------------------------------- THE BIG STORIES 1️⃣ [Osome faces heat from customers following staff exits, layoffs]( Angry customers are threatening to leave Osome for its competitors after facing delays with their filings. 2️⃣ [Why Singapore’s LLM isn’t sweating GPT-4]( AI Singapore believes that Sea-Lion’s ability to process Southeast Asian languages will complement existing large language models, including GPT-4.  --------------------------------------------------------------- MAKING WAVES [KonsultaMD tapped an ‘unfair advantage’ to grow. It’s now a leading healthtech player]( With over 3 million registered users, Philippine-based KonsultaMD, a healthtech firm backed by major telecom player Globe and property developer Ayala, aims to achieve profitability on a net income basis by 2028. The firm has emerged as a super app that not only connects patients to doctors but also provides medicine delivery and offers a marketplace of healthcare providers. One of the reasons for its success is that KonsultaMD is bundled with Globe’s mobile plans. It also benefits from being a mini app on fintech platform GCash, which has 80 million registered users. GCash is operated by Mynt, which is a joint venture between Globe, Ant International, and Ayala Corporation. Now, KonsultaMD is looking to address the healthcare gap in the Philippines by tackling the issues of affordability and healthcare financing.  --------------------------------------------------------------- NEWS YOU SHOULD KNOW Also check out Tech in Asia’s coverage of the emerging tech scene [here]( 1️⃣ [Legal genAI in Indonesia gets boost]( Hukumonline, an Indonesia-based digital legal services provider, has secured an undisclosed amount in a series B round from the Media Development Investment Fund. In a LinkedIn post, CEO Arkka Dhiratara said the company will use the funds to develop the Regulatory Compliance System – its flagship product – as well as what he calls Indonesia’s first genAI tool in the legal field. 2️⃣ [Call to boot out Byju’s founder]( Several major backers of Byju’s, the embattled India-based edtech company, have called for a change in leadership along with the reconstitution of the board of directors. The company responded stating that the shareholder’s agreement does not give the investors the right to vote on CEO or management change. 3️⃣ [Pixelmon hits restart]( Pixelmon, an NFT gaming firm, has raised US$8 million in seed funding. Participating investors include Animoca Brands, Delphi Ventures, Amber Group, and Bing Ventures. Pixelmon looks to launch a new hypercasual title called PixelPals in the first quarter of 2024 as well as other games using the Pixelmon IP later in the year. 4️⃣ [Making maritime industry green]( Singapore-based Pyxis secured S$4.5 million (US$3.4 million) in a seed funding round co-led by Motion Ventures and Shift4Good. Pyxis focuses on maritime electrification in order to reduce the carbon dioxide emissions of this industry. 5️⃣ [Edtech to empower the labor force]( Indonesian edtech firm Pintar secured US$3 million in a pre-series A funding round led by Havez Capital, an investment firm headed by Imelda Harsono, who also serves as the vice president of Indonesian industrial gas company Samator Group. Formerly known as HarukaEdu, Pintar focuses on workforce development with solutions such as training, credentialing, and jobs placement.  --------------------------------------------------------------- FYI 1️⃣ [Khazanah’s Oyo bet means greater focus on overseas deals, say investors]( The fund’s bet on Indian ecommerce platform Zivame drew ridicule, but its Alibaba investment panned out well. 2️⃣ [Glasswall: The things anonymous founders say about VCs]( Check out the recent anonymous reviews for these VC firms.  --------------------------------------------------------------- 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 © 2024 Tech in Asia, All rights reserved. 63 Robinson Road, Singapore 068894