JUNEASIA BUSINESS OUTLOOK9Alphabet Inc's Google is leading a $36 million funding round for Bengaluru-based Pixxel, a satellite-image startup, in the country's first major investment in the space sector since the government's privatisation policy was announced in April.Pixxel, founded in 2019, is constructing a constellation of satellites capable of identifying mineral deposits or crop productivity by analysing an image's spectral signature.Clients include Rio Tinto Ltd and DataFarming, an Australian agritech company, according to Pixxel.Accenture PLC is among the investors who have contributed more than $71 million to the startup. Pixxel did not say how much Google had invested or what the valuation was.Pixxel's founder and CEO, Awais Ahmed, predicted that the company would be "the most valuable space tech company in India after this investment."Skyroot Aerospace, a rocket and launch provider, was valued at an estimated $163 million, according to Tracxn, a startup tracking service."We work with satellite data, and Google does a lot of work around that with agriculture and the environment," Ahmed explained. "They also have Google Earth... so it was a combination of those things that led to them seeing a benefit."Pixxel is one of many private companies looking for a boost since India opened up the space sector, encouraging startups to deliver broadband services such as Starlink and power applications such as supply chain tracking.In April, the government unveiled its framework for private-sector space policy.The funding comes at a time when startups around the world are struggling to raise capital. Following the failure of Richard Branson's Virgin Orbit launch company, space startups, in particular, have come under fire. Ringkas, an Indonesia-based digital mortgage platform, announced a US$3.5 million seed round led by East Ventures and Crestone Venture Capital on Wednesday.Ringkas said in a statement that other investors who participated included 500 Global, Teja Ventures, Orvel Ventures, Hustle Fund, and others.The funds raised in this round will be used to advance and scale the company's platform across multiple cities in Indonesia and the secondary market.Ringkas Co-Founder Ilya Kravtsov stated that following the latest funding round, the company hopes to complete mortgage transactions worth up to $200 million within the next 6-12 months and launch over 100 projects in 34 cities across Indonesia.He also stated that the latest funding round will hasten the adoption of Ringkas technology in underserved areas throughout Indonesia.Ringkas is a digital housing finance solution platform founded in early 2022 by Ilya Kravtsov, Leroy Pinto, Puguh Widyoko, and Yoko Simon.The company was founded after the four co-founders discovered a solution to the problem of home ownership in Indonesia, specifically the extremely low mortgage penetration rate of only 3.25 percent of total GDP.This figure is significantly lower than in India, where mortgage penetration is 11 percent of GDP, and the United States, where mortgage penetration is over 50 percent of GDP.Furthermore, Indonesia faces the challenge of a housing backlog of 12.75 million units, which is growing each year.Ringkas aims to bridge the gap between millions of home buyers, 12,000 property developers, and 1,200 banks and financial institutions, allowing for more targeted and faster mortgage processing. GOOGLE BECOMES MAJOR INVESTOR IN INDIA'S PIXXEL STARTUP BY $36 MILLION INVESTMENTDIGITAL MORTGAGE PLATFORM RINGKAS RAISES $3.5 MILLION IN SEED ROUND LED BY EAST VENTURESNEWSROOMJUNEASIA BUSINESS OUTLOOK9
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