A Recap on What Happened This Week: Asian Startup News Overview (6th March- 10th March)

The financial year is about to end in a few weeks and it’s the time when everyone is worrying about their taxes, but for startups, it is just another month, it is one of those sectors which thrives no matter how the economy is. The Asian startup scene this week was no different, being a startup founder demands incredible resilience in the face of adversity and uncertainty, and we have a lot of such individuals in the startup scene.

From AI to E-Sports, there is no space which escapes the eyes of innovation and simplification, this week on our startup compilation we see companies which have used AI to improve the safety of workplaces to a rising star in the E-sport industry.

Groundup.ai

Groundup.ai is a startup that uses the industrial Internet of things (IoT) and artificial intelligence to help industrial companies prevent unplanned downtime of industrial assets and improve workplace safety.

Through its core industrial AI solutions - predictive maintenance, computer vision, and vehicle safety monitoring - the company assists businesses in reducing unplanned downtime and improving workplace safety.

It announced this week that it has raised $1.8 million in seed funding led by early-stage investor Wavemaker Partners.

Groundup.ai said in a statement that the round included participation from SEEDS Capital, the investment arm of Enterprise Singapore, as well as angel investors.

The investment will be used to expand the company's in-house AI and software team and capabilities, according to the statement.

Kardome

Kardome has created spatial hearing software that can distinguish who is speaking in crowded, noisy environments, outperforming standard voice user interface algorithms. The company's technology can recognise two or more voices in noisy environments at the same time, identify the speaker, and track their location in space, all from the edge device.

Automotive Fund, based in Tokyo, Japan, has invested $1 million in Israeli voice technology startup Kardome.

Trukkr

Trukkr, a fintech platform for Pakistan's trucking industry, announced on Tuesday that it had raised $6.4 million in a funding round and received an NBFC licence.

Trukkr provides a transport management system and supply chain solutions to Pakistan's small and medium-sized trucking companies and is unique in providing fintech to digitise the largely unbanked and undocumented industry.

Accion Venture Lab in the United States and Sturgeon Capital in London led the seed funding round. Trukkr said in a statement that the round was also attended by Haitou Global, Al Zayani Venture Capital, and investor Peter Findley.

The company's business model is similar to Kargo in Indonesia, Solvento in Mexico and Kobo 360 in Africa, but has been adapted to the market in Pakistan.

Emerge

EMERGE Group has achieved several notable accomplishments and has become known for its consistent impact on the esports industry. Through their network of thousands of content creators and players from renowned esports teams such as Bren Esports, Talon Esports, Boom Esports, and others, the Group has amassed a total audience of over 580 million.

Farquhar Venture Capital and Arcane Group led a US$2.2 million seed funding round for EMERGE Group. Blockcrafter Capital and Angel Investors: Mr Victor Lai and Mr Yuen Wong, Founder of LABS Group, GEMS Esports, and Managing Partner of Bitmart, are also participants in this round. EMERGE Group was rebranded from EMERGE Esports as part of the announcement to better differentiate the Group's plans from its various business units. EMERGE Esports continues to serve as an advertising and marketing consulting arm for esports brands and content creators.