We know that the future of startup ecosystems is global. Asia will play a significant role in this globalized ecosystem due to its sheer size, innovation and growth dynamics. Business growth and development across Asia has already taken off. Today the number of unicorns in China is bigger than those of 29 other countries combined, including Germany, India (21), and the UK (25), according to reports. The speed and scale of development in the startup scenes of China, India, South Korea, Singapore, and Indonesia are leading to the rapid globalization of the Asian market.
This week saw some significant funding and appointment announcements. Suryanesia, founded in 2021, focuses on commercial and industrial buildings in Indonesia, while MISSION+ has appointed Ned Lowe as Chief Technology Officer.
Here is the list of these top 5 Startups that excelled this week.
Suryanesia
Founded in 2021, Suryanesia offers financing, installation, operation, and maintenance of solar power systems for its clients.
Currently, the firm is focusing on commercial and industrial buildings in Indonesia. It counts mall owners, FMCG businesses, textile producers, pharmaceutical firms, plastics companies, industrial goods manufacturers, and furniture makers as clients.
Suryanesia was established by former Bain & Company consultant Rheza Adhihusada. He recruited Grant Adsit, an ex-Colliers International executive, and Nikesh Shamdasani, who was head of engineering at Sun Energy to join the startup.
Telkomsel
Founded in 2021, Fita’s app allows users to track their meals, log their steps and exercises, and get rewarded. The company recently launched Catch, a platform for professional coaches to develop programs for users.
The firm said it has 350,000 monthly active users, with more than 200 coaches and 200 healthy food recipes on its platform.
Fita was established by Reynazran Royono, who also founded consumer analytics firm Snapcart.
Ficus Capital
Ficus Capital has announced that it invested $400,000 in Assemblr, a Bandung-based start-up that is focused on helping users to create AR content via its web-based platform.
Assemblr is Ficus Capital’s first investment outside of Malaysia. Ficus Capital, the world’s first shariah-compliant venture capitalist, has also announced its flagship RM60 million fund, Ficus SEA, that is focused in investment in the Southeast Asian region. Mavcap is the fund’s anchor investor.
Ficus Capital said they are making the $400,000 investment in Assemblr through its Ficus SEA Fund.
“We have seen the emergence of augmented reality in various fields, especially in gaming, advertising, and entertainment. The demand will get bigger as the world is preparing for what the metaverse will bring,” said Abdullah Hidayat, Managing Partner at Ficus Capital.
Continuum
Continuum raised a total of $36 million to accelerate the expansion of 100 percent recycled commercial metal powder production to meet the growing customer demand for sustainable materials.
The firm, that is based in Los Gatos, California, is a leader in sustainable metal recycling and supply and a leading producer of high-quality additive manufacturing material.
The funding round was led by Ara Partners (“Ara”).
Its partnership with Ara will also support the international growth of the company and the conduct of continued research into adjacent technologies and customer applications.
Ex-Singlife
MISSION+ has announced the addition of Ned Lowe as the company’s Chief Technology Officer (CTO) to lead efforts to accelerates support for fintechs and insurtechs across Southeast Asia.
The technology building firm sought the likes of Revolut, Railsr and Draper Startup House to further its growth.“The delta between what’s possible in tech and what’s brought to market is growing wider daily. After over 20 years of building solutions for finance and insurance companies, I’ve noticed patterns and processes that predict success – I want to put these in the hands of founders so their solutions have every opportunity to succeed in the real world. My mission is to spread the word that building software can be done differently,” said Lowe.Nick Martin, the MISSION+ CEO, said they gained a “great asset” with Lowe’s addition into their leadership team.