Cooby secures USD 1.75 million in seed funding round
Cooby, a WhatsApp conversational sales platform, has closed its seed funding round, securing USD 1.75 million and bringing the company’s total funding to date to USD 4.75 million. The round was led by Shilling VC, with participation from existing investors Peak XV’s Surge and Pear VC.
Cooby aims to fill a gap in the current customer relationship management (CRM) toolkit for sales teams by empowering them to utilize WhatsApp for customer outreach. The platform enables sales teams to drive shorter sales cycles and foster personalized interactions at scale through a unified interface. Cooby integrates directly with major CRM systems like HubSpot, Salesforce, and other commonly used productivity tools like Zapier, enabling teams to communicate at scale. Cooby’s platform also offers a workspace feature to support collaboration and exchange of data, information, and feedback within teams.
“This funding will enable us to enhance our platform and continue innovating. […] We have a significant presence in APAC, and Europe is our next target for expansion, where we want to help businesses supercharge every level of their sales organizations to achieve greater results,” said Wen Shaw, co-founder and CEO of Cooby.
Superbank raises IDR 1.2 trillion from Grab, Singtel, and KakaoBank
Superbank, an Indonesian digital bank, has raised an additional investment of IDR 1.2 trillion (USD 73.3 million), according to DealStreetAsia. The investment was made by its shareholders Grab, Singtel, and KakaoBank, and is aimed at supporting Superbank’s services and product innovations.
Founded in Bandung in 1993 as Bank Fama, Superbank was acquired by Indonesian conglomerate Emtek at the end of 2021. Singtel and Grab invested in Superbank in 2022, and KakaoBank joined the consortium in 2023. Emtek is the largest shareholder with 34.58% of shares, followed by Grab’s Indonesian arm with 21.29%, and KakaoBank with 10%. Singtel invested through Singtel Alpha Investments with 18.93% and A5-DB Holdings Pte Ltd with 7.1%.
Superbank is the newest entrant in Indonesia’s rapidly growing digital banking sector, competing with players such as GoTo-backed Bank Jago, Sea’s Seabank, Akulaku’s Bank Neo Commerce, Jenius by BTPN, Blu by BCA Digital, and Livin by Bank Mandiri.
Oretha concludes equity crowdfunding campaign
Oretha, a senior care provider in Malaysia, has completed its equity crowdfunding campaign, raising MYR 499,200 (USD 105,770) with co-investment from MyCIF. The campaign was facilitated by Leet Capital.
With this funding, Oretha plans to establish an elderly daycare center in Petaling Jaya, expand elderly concierge services, and introduce assisted travel services for seniors. Oretha aims to expand to five centers by 2026 and achieve nationwide scalability by 2028.
Update: This article initially included a news brief about TASConnect’s acquisition of the Malaysian and Vietnamese subsidiaries of Solv, based on a press release issued by SC Ventures, Standard Chartered’s innovation and venture arm. SC Ventures was the incubator of TASConnect and Solv. However, SC Ventures has since indicated that the release contained factual inaccuracies. As a result, the news brief has been retracted.
Recent deals completed in China:
- Kuaijin Shangdian, a subsidiary of Kuaijin Shidai, which operates unmanned retail stores, has raised a seven-figure USD sum in a funding round led by Nasdaq-listed company The9. The funds will be used for product enhancements and market expansion. Previously, Kuaijin completed an angel round, securing millions of RMB from Xiaoyi Investment, and an eight-figure RMB sum in a pre-Series A round from Challenjers. —36Kr
- Ti5 Robot, a producer of robotics components such as electric drive units, has secured an eight-figure RMB sum in a pre-Series A funding round. Matrix Partners led this round, with participation from FOF Capital and Plum Ventures. The funds will be used to develop its product and technology, aiming to optimize the cost, stability, and usability of its products. —36Kr
- Shunfu Precision Technology, an Anhui-registered company involved in the production and sales of aluminum alloys for die castings, has received an equity investment from a fund initiated by CRRC Capital. —36Kr
- Maxvax Biotechnology, a developer of vaccines and immunotherapies targeting infectious diseases and cancer, has closed an IDG Capital-led extension round, bringing its total Series C financing to over RMB 600 million (USD 82.4 million). The firm raised over RMB 300 million (USD 41.2 million) in its latest Series C+ round, with participation from Hangkang Capital and Qianhai Ark Asset Management. This extension round follows a nearly RMB 300 million Series C round four months ago from the National New Materials Fund for Manufacturing Transformation and Upgrading, managed by Shenzhen Capital Group. —DealStreetAsia
Jollibee, Heymax.ai, Google, and more led yesterday’s headlines:
- Jollibee Foods Corporation, the largest restaurant operator in the Philippines, is set to acquire a 70% stake in South Korean coffee chain Compose Coffee. The investment is valued at USD 340 million and will enable Jollibee to further its business interests in South Korea by leveraging Compose’s capabilities.
- Heymax.ai, a Singapore-founded loyalty platform, snagged USD 2.6 million in a seed funding round led by January Capital, with participation from Tenity, Ascend Angels, XA Network, and other strategic investors.
- Google announced a partnership with BlackRock’s climate infrastructure business to develop a 1-gigawatt pipeline of new solar capacity in Taiwan. As part of this partnership, Google is investing in New Green Power (NGP), a solar developer and BlackRock portfolio company operating in Taiwan.
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