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Consumer

Robotics

Fintech

… /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-149859" class="wp-caption-text">Photo of the W3 robot by Keenon Robotics, designed specifically for hospitality applications. Photo source: Keenon Robotics via 36Kr.</figcaption></figure>
Ren from Segway-Ninebot noted that robotic lawn mower distribution channels are fragmented and require a more precise approach. Large accounts each have unique requirements, so sales strategies must be customized.
Over the past two years, Segway-Ninebot has regularly sent product development teams to research overseas markets, closely examining customer environments and use cases.
<h3>Overcoming supply chain hurdles, localizing operations</h3>
One of the biggest challenges for Chinese companies expanding globally is finding product-market fit. Products must meet market needs and deliver more value than their cost.
Demand for service robots varies across regions, shaped by local culture and environmental factors. Ren explained that markets mature at different rates, which affects how users adapt to new products. As a result, customer service needs differ by region, reinforcing the importance of localizing operations.
To address this, Navimow integrated a live chat feature into its app, allowing the company to respond to customers instantly across different countries. They have also established local customer service teams in key markets to support growing demand. “As lawn mowers go mainstream, the need for localized service models will only increase,” Ren said.
Keenon Robotics has developed different product lines tailored to specific markets. For example, Japan’s narrow restaurant aisles are a perfect fit for Keenon’s compact T8 robot. In Europe and North America, where restaurants are more spacious, the higher-end T9 Pro and T10 models, which feature self-service capabilities, are more popular.
For larger B2B customers, a single product often isn’t enough. Keenon offers W-series robots for hotel deliveries and X101 robots for medical supplies.
Wan added that Keenon tailors its product offerings to meet real-world needs. For example, a large restaurant might deploy several T10 robots and a few T8s to manage peak dining times, giving guests the option to wait for their food or have it delivered by a robot, reducing wait times.
<figure id="attachment_149861" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-149861" style="width: 720px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="wp-image-149861" src="https://console.kr-asia.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Keenon-Robotics-T10-Delivery-Robot-1024x683.jpg" alt="Photo of Dinerbot T10, a delivery robot developed by Keenon Robotics." width="720" height="480" srcset="https://console.kr-asia.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Keenon-Robotics-T10-Delivery-Robot-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https://console.kr-asia.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Keenon-Robotics-T10-Delivery-Robot-300x200.jpg 300w, https://console.kr-asia.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Keenon-Robotics-T10-Delivery-Robot-768x512.jpg 768w, https://console.kr-asia.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Keenon-Robotics-T10-Delivery-Robot-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://console.kr-asia.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Keenon-Robotics-T10-Delivery-Robot.jpg 1920w" sizes="(max-width: 720px) 100vw, 720px" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-149861" class="wp-caption-text">Photo of Dinerbot T10, a delivery robot developed by Keenon Robotics. Photo source: Keenon Robotics via 36Kr.</figcaption></figure>
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In the lawn mower market, Ren emphasized the need for an efficient supply chain. Manufacturing takes at least a month, plus another one to two months for shipping, meaning that delivery from order to customer takes no less than three months. A supply shortage could create significant issues for companies.
To address this, Segway-Ninebot has set up a dedicated production-sales coordination team to manage supply and demand more efficiently.
In the first half of this year, Navimow’s global sales soared 316.69% YoY, with revenue reaching RMB 449 million (USD 63.3 million). During Amazon’s Prime Day, Navimow ranked first in global lawn mower sales across all price categories, selling out within hours of its launch.
Ren noted that while the company performed well this year, there’s still untapped potential. “We’ve done well, but there’s plenty of room for growth.”
<figure id="attachment_149858" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-149858" style="width: 720px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="wp-image-149858" src="https://console.kr-asia.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Navimow-Lawn-Mower-2-1024x768.jpeg" alt="Photo of a Navimow lawn mower." width="720" height="540" srcset="https://console.kr-asia.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Navimow-Lawn-Mower-2-1024x768.jpeg 1024w, https://console.kr-asia.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Navimow-Lawn-Mower-2-300x225.jpeg 300w, https://console.kr-asia.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Navimow-Lawn-Mower-2-768x576.jpeg 768w, https://console.kr-asia.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Navimow-Lawn-Mower-2-1536x1152.jpeg 1536w, https://console.kr-asia.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Navimow-Lawn-Mower-2.jpeg 1920w" sizes="(max-width: 720px) 100vw, 720px" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-149858" class="wp-caption-text">Photo of a Navimow lawn mower. Photo source: Navimow’s user community.</figcaption></figure>
Since the start of this year, over two-thirds of Chinese service robot companies have begun expanding overseas, and industry insiders are optimistic about the future.
Production is expected to ramp up at a rapid pace, and companies plan to boost their market penetration in developed regions, where growth is expected to accelerate.
Going global requires a long-term commitment and sustained investment. By acting now, Chinese robotics firms are positioning themselves for substantial growth over the next one to two years.
KrASIA Connection features translated and adapted content that was originally published by 36Kr. This <a href="https://36kr.com/p/2932601802759045">article</a> was written by Huang Nan for 36Kr.

Mowing lawns, delivering meals, cleaning homes: Chinese service robots are making waves globally

China Tech

Deep Tech

China

… said.
Indonesian producers recently have seen increasing demand from the Middle East and Asia—especially China, India, and Pakistan—thanks to growing populations, Anwar said.
Some buyers are concerned about the impact of forest protection regulations like the EUDR. It, or similar requirements in the future, "would make expanding new farming areas socially difficult," although production could still rise through increased efficiency such as in Brazil, Marubeni's Horie said.
If the EUDR "is strictly introduced, I think there would not be many coffee-producing countries that can immediately comply," Horie said. Proving that a farm has not contributed to deforestation would be difficult without data, even if the farm has not done anything to harm the forest.
Buyers typically deal with many coffee growers, and proving regulatory compliance for all of them would not be easy, Horie said. This means that strict regulatory hurdles could limit the sources of coffee for some buyers.
With the EU regulation, "producers would have to bear the cost [to comply] … so it would not just be the issue for the EU," said UCC's Nakamura. Traceability is a global trend, and in fact, the UCC group announced its commitment to ensure "zero forest destruction" by 2030.
One impact of high market prices on end products could be instant coffee made from fewer beans through more efficient extraction methods, said Horie. Another could be coffee increasingly becoming a luxury treat, "with people who cannot tolerate [higher prices] shifting away."
This article first appeared on <a tabindex="0" href="https://asia.nikkei.com/Spotlight/Market-Spotlight/Coffee-prices-volatile-on-climate-shipping-crunch-forest-regulation" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-token-index="1">Nikkei Asia</a>. It has been republished here as part of 36Kr’s ongoing <a tabindex="0" href="https://www.kr-asia.com/nikkei-teams-up-with-36kr-in-asia-tech-news-coverage/" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-token-index="3">partnership with Nikkei</a>.

Coffee prices volatile on climate, shipping crunch, forest regulation

Coffee

… remotely accessed a Tesla Model S, exploiting vulnerabilities to take control of the vehicle, even shutting off its engine while it was in motion. Such incidents are becoming more common.
According to Callisto’s 2024 semi-annual automotive vulnerability and threat intelligence report, 70% of security incidents in the first half of the year were remote attacks, primarily targeting smart cockpits, charging stations, and autonomous driving systems.
The United Nations estimates that, by 2030, almost all vehicles will be internet-connected. Many of today’s connected cars already have up to 20 potential points of vulnerability, and as more features are added, the risks will multiply.
On social media, car owners frequently complain about false alarms from vehicle security systems, raising concerns about reliability.
Improving automotive safety requires a macro overhaul of security systems as well as micro-level optimization of user alerts. It’s a complex challenge for automakers.
China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology has introduced regulations to strengthen driver-assistance systems and offer guidelines for vehicle safety.
Meanwhile, Yun believes that automotive security needs to move toward proactive, self-improving systems. “Traditional defense methods are basic, but automakers need solutions that provide protection throughout a vehicle’s lifecycle, from R&amp;D to daily operation.”
AI models can help automakers build these advanced safety systems. Callisto’s vehicle security operations center (VSOC) platform uses AI to analyze thousands of vehicle signals in real-time, distinguishing normal user behavior from potential threats.
Traditional security algorithms rely on preset rules, which can often trigger false alarms. For instance, if a car door is opened five times in a minute, the system might issue a warning. But what if it’s a family with kids who are frequently opening and closing the door?
AI models can learn from such behaviors and recognize when something is not a security risk, reducing unnecessary alerts.
Beyond technical integration, Callisto’s AI model can act as a conversational assistant, helping automakers manage compliance, safety, and data analysis throughout a vehicle’s lifecycle. This AI assistant can sift through hundreds of thousands of alerts and identify which ones are genuine threats.
During one client demonstration, Callisto’s AI model performed so well that the client asked to see the underlying code to verify that it was truly AI-driven. The team provided the proof on the spot.
Yun explained that AI models have eliminated the need for dedicated data analysts, boosting analysis efficiency by over 30%.
Callisto’s investment in AI has been extensive. The company trained its AI model on automotive regulations from over a dozen countries, using proprietary data from dealerships and product quality records. After a year of training, the model has made significant progress.
For automakers, building a secure system is a long-term effort. Callisto has reduced the cost of deploying private cloud security solutions, making it easier for automakers to adopt AI-powered safety systems.
KrASIA Connection features translated and adapted content that was originally published by 36Kr. This <a href="https://36kr.com/p/2925262620891776">article</a> was written by Xiao Xi for 36Kr.
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AI and automotive safety: How Callisto is fighting cyber threats on the road

Autonomous Vehicles

Electric Vehicles

Mobility

… challenges, there are examples where founder mode has worked in Asia, especially when combined with the right cultural fit.
Xiaomi, founded by Lei Jun, is a textbook example of how a founder can stay involved at scale without slipping into micromanagement.
Lei has steered Xiaomi into a global tech powerhouse, now commanding 14.5% of the global smartphone market as of Q2 this year, per <a href="https://www.idc.com/promo/smartphone-market-share">IDC</a>, while also making <a href="https://kr-asia.com/xiaomi-ceo-lei-jun-expresses-unwavering-confidence-in-victory-at-su7-launch">bold moves into the EV space</a>.
His leadership strikes a fine balance—deeply involved in product design and strategy yet supported by a robust leadership team that manages the complexities of scaling internationally. This delicate equilibrium has allowed Xiaomi to maintain the essence of Lei’s vision while successfully expanding into new markets and product categories.
<h3>Is founder mode right for Asia?</h3>
So, is founder mode the right fit for Asia’s businesses? The answer, as with many things, is nuanced. For some companies—especially those in fast-moving, innovation-driven sectors like tech—it’s clear that founders who remain hands-on can be a crucial asset. Wang’s leadership at BYD and Lei’s role at Xiaomi demonstrate that founder-led leadership can thrive even at scale, especially when aligned with the company’s mission.
But the reality is that Asia’s business landscape is vast and diverse. What works in China’s booming tech sector might not translate as easily to more traditional industries or markets where hierarchy and formal decision-making still hold sway. Flipkart and Lazada’s leadership transitions show that, as companies scale, the push for professionalization—whether driven by investor expectations or operational complexity—can sometimes create friction between preserving a founder’s vision and adapting to the demands of growth.
In the end, the key may lie in finding a balance. Founders who can maintain their vision while trusting experienced managers to handle the operational grind might be the ones best positioned to navigate the complexities of scaling in Asia. Founder mode isn’t a one-size-fits-all solution, but in the right hands, it’s a compelling alternative to the conventional wisdom that says scaling up means stepping back.

Founder mode: Is it the right fit for Asian businesses?

… Taotian’s mini program is not yet integrated with WeChat.
The gradual shift from isolation to cooperation between these two internet giants reflects not only their business needs but also the broader trends shaping China’s digital economy.
KrASIA Connection features translated and adapted content that was originally published by 36Kr. This <a href="https://36kr.com/p/2931064434072453">article</a> was written by Peng Qian for 36Kr.

Taobao integrates WeChat Pay, signaling new era for Chinese e-commerce

WeChat

Taobao

Tmall

E-commerce

Consumer Economy

<h3>Charge+ secures USD 8 million in Series A funding</h3>
<a href="https://www.chargeplus.com/">Charge+</a>, Singapore’s largest electric vehicle (EV) charging operator, has raised USD 8 million in a Series A round led by Trive Venture Capital, with TNB Aura leading the Series A2 extension.
Currently operating over 2,000 EV charging points, Charge+ aims to scale its infrastructure to 30,000 by 2030, aligning with Singapore’s national target of 60,000 charging points. The funds will accelerate Charge+’s expansion across Southeast Asia, starting with its contract to install 4,000 EV chargers in HDB carparks.
Beyond Singapore, Charge+ is establishing Indonesia’s largest EV charging hub along the trans-Java highway, while partnering with Ch.Pattana, Thailand’s largest electric taxi operator. In Vietnam, Charge+ is collaborating with Porsche to build an ultra-fast charging network, and in Cambodia, it is rolling out infrastructure at the country’s three largest ports.
The company has also inked regional roaming agreements with Malaysia’s Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB) and the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (EGAT), enabling users of the Charge+ app to access a broader network of EV chargers.
<h3>Clime Capital invests in UGEP to boost Philippine solar energy</h3>
Clime Capital, a Singapore-based clean energy fund manager, has made an investment in <a href="https://ugep-energy.com/">Upgrade Energy Philippines (UGEP)</a> through its Southeast Asia Clean Energy Fund II (SEACEF II).
With an investment potential of up to USD 10 million, the funds will help UGEP scale its commercial, industrial, and utility-scale solar projects across the Philippines.
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<h3>Recent deals completed in China:</h3>
<ul>
<li aria-level="1"><a href="https://www.nowwa.cn/">Nowwa Coffee</a>, a chain coffee brand, has raised a nine-figure RMB sum in a Series B++ funding round. The investors for this round include Yongshan Tianji, Peakview Capital, and V Star Capital. The company will use the funds to enhance its supply chain and develop new products. —<a href="https://36kr.com/p/2942112901028745">36Kr</a></li>
<li aria-level="1">Marvel-Tech, a hydrogen-powered gas turbine company, has secured several hundred million RMB in a pre-Series B funding round. The round was led by Qiming Venture Partners, with participation from Fortune Capital, Orient Jiafu Asset Management, GL Ventures, Templewater, and Shunwei Capital. —<a href="https://36kr.com/p/2942180350925449">36Kr</a></li>
<li aria-level="1">Enjosim, a Shanghai-based self-medication system developer, has completed an RMB 100 million (USD 14.1 million) Series A funding round. The round was led by Moutai Fund and saw participation from Lightspeed China Partners, Yinman Ventures, and Grandway Capital. The capital will be used to construct a new production base and support R&amp;D efforts for new products. —<a href="https://36kr.com/newsflashes/2942177694112385">36Kr</a></li>
<li aria-level="1"><a href="https://www.silicooltech.com/en/">SiliCool</a>, a semiconductor packaging technology company registered in Zhuhai, has bagged several hundred million RMB in funding. The round was led by CRRC Capital, Value Capital, and a Wingtech-managed fund. The funds will support the mass production and commercialization of its silicon carbide pre-sintering bonding equipment and advanced packaging solutions for high-bandwidth memory (HBM) devices. —<a href="https://36kr.com/p/2942016447699849">36Kr</a></li>
<li aria-level="1"><a href="https://www.bodk.com.cn/en">Bodk (Bogong Technology)</a>, a biomedical technology company, has closed an undisclosed Series A funding round led by Endeavor Fund. The company will allocate the capital toward R&amp;D, talent recruitment, and development of market infrastructure to support its cell research automation solutions. —<a href="https://36kr.com/p/2939878753409671">36Kr</a></li>
<li aria-level="1"><a href="https://www.shincellfoam.com/">Shincell New Material</a>, a Suzhou-based clean foaming and lightweight materials company, has secured nearly RMB 200 million (USD 28.1 million) in a Series B funding round. Oriza Private Equity led the round, with participation from Addor Capital, Suzhou High-tech Venture Capital Group, Soochow Investment, and other investors. The funds will be used for R&amp;D and capacity building. —<a href="https://36kr.com/p/2936810265090951">36Kr</a></li>
<li aria-level="1">E-gen Energy, an energy technology company, has announced the completion of a multimillion-RMB angel funding round led by BeFor Capital. The company will utilize the funds to build a production base for solid oxide electrolysis cells (SOEC) and further develop its green hydrogen systems. —<a href="https://36kr.com/p/2936919565408897">36Kr</a></li>
<li aria-level="1"><a href="https://www.cenobots.com/">CenoBots</a>, a robotics company with offices in Shanghai, Hong Kong, and Singapore, has raised a seven-figure RMB sum in a pre-Series A++ funding round from Silicon Paradise. —<a href="https://36kr.com/newsflashes/2937967833324417">36Kr</a></li>
</ul>
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<h3>Nvidia, Zhipu AI, and more led last Thursday’s headlines:</h3>
<ul>
<li aria-level="1">Nvidia participated in the USD 100 million Series A funding round for <a href="https://sakana.ai/">Sakana AI</a>, a Tokyo-based startup focused on developing nature-inspired foundation models. The round was co-led by New Enterprise Associates, Khosla Ventures, and Lux Capital. The chip giant also joined a USD 50 million round for <a href="https://you.com/">You.com</a>, an AI-powered search engine with productivity tools, alongside lead investor Georgian, and participation from DuckDuckGo, SBVA, Salesforce Ventures, and Day One Ventures.</li>
<li aria-level="1"><a href="https://www.zhipuai.cn/en/">Zhipu AI</a>, one of China’s AI unicorns, raised over RMB 1 billion (USD 140.9 million) in a new round of financing at a pre-money valuation of RMB 20 billion (USD 2.8 billion). ZGC Science City, an investment platform backed by the Haidian government, led the round.</li>
</ul>
If there are any news or updates you'd like us to feature, get in touch with us at: <a href="mailto:hello@kr-asia.com">hello@kr-asia.com</a>.
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Deals in brief: Charge+ secures Series A funding, Clime Capital invests in UGEP, eight China deals, and more

Venture Capital

Private Equity

Investment

Merger &amp; Acquisition

Singapore

Philippines

Southeast Asia

… right partners throughout their product lifecycle, ensuring transparency and sustainability.
Through its scalable platform, WAMECO helps businesses manage waste sustainably and contribute to a circular economy. Ultimately, Maheswaran aims to drive sustainability by offering a complete ecosystem that integrates technology, data analysis, and transparent reporting.
<figure id="attachment_149842" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-149842" style="width: 1024px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-large wp-image-149842" src="https://console.kr-asia.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Inclusion-Conference-WAMECO-Monish-Mithra-Waran-Maheswaran-1024x672.jpg" alt="Photo of Monish Mithra Waran Maheswaran, co-founder and CEO of WAMECO, speaking during the Inclusion Conference held in Shanghai." width="1024" height="672" srcset="https://console.kr-asia.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Inclusion-Conference-WAMECO-Monish-Mithra-Waran-Maheswaran-1024x672.jpg 1024w, https://console.kr-asia.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Inclusion-Conference-WAMECO-Monish-Mithra-Waran-Maheswaran-300x197.jpg 300w, https://console.kr-asia.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Inclusion-Conference-WAMECO-Monish-Mithra-Waran-Maheswaran-768x504.jpg 768w, https://console.kr-asia.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Inclusion-Conference-WAMECO-Monish-Mithra-Waran-Maheswaran.jpg 1280w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-149842" class="wp-caption-text">Photo of Monish Mithra Waran Maheswaran, co-founder and CEO of WAMECO, speaking during the Inclusion Conference held in Shanghai. Photo courtesy of Ant International.</figcaption></figure>
Lumbie Mlambo, founder of JB Dondolo, spoke about her work in providing clean water access to underserved communities in Africa. Having grown up in Zimbabwe, where she would carry water for miles, Mlambo is determined to change the way access to water is managed.
JB Dondolo’s AI-powered tool, SARE+, is said to tackle water sustainability and create job opportunities, particularly for women and girls. Through JB Dondolo, Mlambo is also working to use AI in improving employment access, using technology to assess skills and reduce hiring biases.
<figure id="attachment_149843" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-149843" style="width: 1024px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-large wp-image-149843" src="https://console.kr-asia.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Inclusion-Conference-JB-Dondolo-Lumbie-Mlambo-1024x672.jpg" alt="Photo of Lumbie Mlambo, founder of JB Dondolo, speaking during the Inclusion Conference held in Shanghai." width="1024" height="672" srcset="https://console.kr-asia.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Inclusion-Conference-JB-Dondolo-Lumbie-Mlambo-1024x672.jpg 1024w, https://console.kr-asia.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Inclusion-Conference-JB-Dondolo-Lumbie-Mlambo-300x197.jpg 300w, https://console.kr-asia.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Inclusion-Conference-JB-Dondolo-Lumbie-Mlambo-768x504.jpg 768w, https://console.kr-asia.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Inclusion-Conference-JB-Dondolo-Lumbie-Mlambo.jpg 1280w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-149843" class="wp-caption-text">Photo of Lumbie Mlambo, founder of JB Dondolo, speaking during the Inclusion Conference held in Shanghai. Photo courtesy of Ant International.</figcaption></figure>
As the Inclusion Conference showcased, the reach of 10x1000 Tech for Inclusion extends beyond traditional educational programs. By offering a global platform for innovators, 10x1000 is shaping a future where technology drives both inclusion and sustainability. The organization’s commitment to nurturing tech leaders dedicated to these principles could pave the way for a more equitable and sustainable world.
“At 10x1000 Tech for Inclusion, our mission is to empower aspiring tech leaders not only by offering a place to learn, but by supporting them at every step—creating lifelong learning opportunities, enabling meaningful connections, and offering guidance that helps them drive real change and digital economic growth,” said Jennifer Tan, director and program head at 10x1000.
<a href="http://10x1000.org">For more details about 10x1000 Tech for Inclusion and its initiatives, visit this page.</a>
This article was published in partnership with Ant International.

Innovation for all: 10x1000 Tech for Inclusion champions a fairer future

Ant Group

Southeast Asia's biggest technology stars are fighting to retain their sparkle in the eyes of fickle investors, as pressure mounts to demonstrate profitability now that trimming fat off their businesses appears insufficient.
The cautious mood, heightened by geopolitical tensions and a fragile macroeconomic environment, is also affecting startups looking for capital. Fundraising in the region fell by one-third year-on-year in the first half of 2024.
Shares in Singapore's Grab Holdings and Indonesia's GoTo are down 2% and almost 40% this year, respectively, despite posting smaller losses in their April-June results. Meanwhile, Grab's local peer Sea has seen its share price double this year but is still more than 75% lower than its November 2021 peak.
"Investors still deeply value companies that can grow their addressable market profitably," Ranjan Sharma, who oversees Southeast Asian tech equity research at JPMorgan, told Nikkei Asia. "Companies are facing more stringent scrutiny on their investments and claims of profitable growth and market opportunity."
Grab, Sea, and GoTo, regarded as tech champions in the ten-member ASEAN, have met "divergent market reactions" that highlight differing investor perceptions of their prospects, said David Materazzi, CEO of trading software provider Galileo FX.
"Sea … is viewed as having a more robust and scalable business model, which, despite challenges, appears closer to achieving sustainable profitability," Materazzi told Nikkei. "Grab and GoTo, however, are seen as being on more precarious ground, with their current strategies not yet convincing the market of their ability to generate consistent profits."
Grab reported that its operating loss shrank 68% in the second quarter, on an annualized basis, to USD 56 million. Offering services from food delivery to ride-hailing via its superapp, the Nasdaq-listed group has stuck with its 2024 guidance of between USD 250–270 million in adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA).
But CFO Peter Oey declined to speculate when the company might become profitable.
"We haven't given guidance as to when we will do that," Oey told Nikkei after Grab's second-quarter results were reported. "In due time, we'll give some more guidance around the timing of our net profit—net income perspective—but our focus now is to improve the dollar-EBITDA."
Analysts from HSBC's Global Research unit, however, believe the company has a knack for "innovative products" like ride-sharing schemes and subscription plans for its business arms that can "fuel higher revenue growth in the future," although risks linger.
"[A key downside risk is an] increase in cost of capital as Grab is a high duration stock and its valuation is quite sensitive to changes in cost of capital," the analysts wrote in a research note.
Indonesia-listed GoTo, which, like Grab, offers a competing superapp platform with similar services, said losses in the second quarter shrank 42% year-on-year.
Analysts say GoTo has to do more than narrow losses, and that the company needs to become more competitive and improve its fundamentals to start making money.
"This set of results shows that the remaining on-demand business is still under strong competition," Jianggan Li, CEO of Singapore-based consultancy Momentum Works, told Nikkei. "GoTo still needs to send a strong signal to investors about its financial viability."
GoTo's challenge, according to Marcus Wolter, Director at corporate advisory law firm Caldwell, is to integrate business lines across e-commerce, ride-hailing, and financial services effectively as a precursor to sustainable profits.
"The market may be skeptical about GoTo's ability to achieve synergy between these operations, especially given the competitive pressures in Indonesia," Wolter told Nikkei.
In contrast, Singapore's Sea, which operates e-commerce and gaming businesses, has experienced a turnaround in its fortunes after regularly reporting a profit since the last quarter of 2022.
The New York Stock Exchange-listed company's net income for April-June was USD 79.9 million.
It expects online shopping platform Shopee—the group's biggest business—to generate greater sales value this year than previously stated, in March.
"Sea, in our view, is a distinct internet company in Southeast Asia, with competitive strengths in online games and online shopping," Jefferies' equity research unit noted in a report after the company released its second quarter results. "Its online shopping platform, Shopee, is well-known and is enjoying fast growth, with a ramp-up in monetization and operating efficiency."
The way Sea, Grab, and GoTo have been assessed on their prospects for profitability highlights skepticism over ASEAN startups that chase capital but fall short in cash-generating results.
Fundraising activity in Southeast Asia has waned as institutional backers remain picky about betting on unproven businesses. A DealStreetAsia report on the first six months of this year showed the total value of equity funding proceeds from Southeast Asian startup deals fell 36% year-on-year to USD 2.29 billion—the lowest in over five years.
Analytics company GlobalData highlighted that, in the Asia Pacific, venture capital deals with disclosed funding rounds declined 16.5% year-on-year in the first half, reflecting ASEAN's downturn.
"Macroeconomic challenges and geopolitical tensions seem to have had an impact on investor confidence," Aurojyoti Bose, lead analyst at GlobalData, said in a note this month, pointing out that "most of the funding rounds announced in the region registered a decline in volume."
This article first appeared on <a tabindex="0" href="https://asia.nikkei.com/Business/Technology/ASEAN-tech-stars-Grab-GoTo-and-Sea-fight-to-retain-market-sparkle" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-token-index="1">Nikkei Asia</a>. It has been republished here as part of 36Kr’s ongoing <a tabindex="0" href="https://www.kr-asia.com/nikkei-teams-up-with-36kr-in-asia-tech-news-coverage/" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-token-index="3">partnership with Nikkei</a>.

ASEAN tech stars Grab, GoTo, and Sea fight to retain market sparkle

Gojek

Grab

Tokopedia

Sea Group

Shopee

GoTo

SEA Tech

Malaysia

Thailand

Vietnam

Indonesia

… predecessor.
For instance, uploading a screenshot of Zhipu AI’s homepage allows GLM-4V-Plus to instantly convert it into HTML code, helping users quickly recreate a website.
Unlike typical video comprehension models, GLM-4V-Plus not only understands complex videos but also has a sense of time. You can ask it about specific moments in a video, and it can identify the exact content. However, as of this writing, Zhipu AI’s open platform doesn’t yet support video uploads for this feature.
Despite its impressive visual capabilities, GLM-4V-Plus lags in multi-turn dialogues and text understanding, meaning it’s not yet on par with GPT-4o in this regard.
<table>
<caption>Video Understanding Capability Benchmarks</caption>
<thead>
<tr>
<th>Model</th>
<th>MVBench</th>
<th>LVBench</th>
<th>Temporal QA</th>
<th>Multi-turn Dialogue</th>
<th>Chinese-English Support</th>
</tr>
</thead>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td>LLaVA-NeXT-Video</td>
<td>50.6</td>
<td>32.2</td>
<td>❌</td>
<td>❌</td>
<td>❌</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>PLLaVA</td>
<td>58.1</td>
<td>26.1</td>
<td>❌</td>
<td>❌</td>
<td>❌</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>LLaVA-OneVision</td>
<td>59.4</td>
<td>27.0</td>
<td>❌</td>
<td>✅️</td>
<td>✅️</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>GPT-4o</td>
<td>47.8</td>
<td>34.7</td>
<td>❌</td>
<td>✅</td>
<td>✅️</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Gemini 1.5 Pro</td>
<td>52.6</td>
<td>33.1</td>
<td>✅️</td>
<td>✅️</td>
<td>✅️</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>GLM-4V-Plus</td>
<td>71.2</td>
<td>38.3</td>
<td>✅️</td>
<td>✅️</td>
<td>✅️</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>GLM-4-Plus/GPT-4o</td>
<td>149%</td>
<td>110%</td>
<td>-</td>
<td>-</td>
<td>-</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>GLM-4-Plus/Gemini 1.5 Pro</td>
<td>135%</td>
<td>116%</td>
<td>-</td>
<td>-</td>
<td>-</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
At KDD, Zhipu AI also introduced CogView-3-Plus, the next generation of its text-to-image model. Compared to FLUX, the current frontrunner in the field, CogView-3-Plus holds its own in generating images within 20 seconds.
<table>
<caption>Text-to-image Generation Capability Benchmarks</caption>
<thead>
<tr>
<th>Model</th>
<th>Clip Score</th>
<th>AES Score</th>
<th>HPSV2</th>
<th>ImageReward</th>
<th>PickScore</th>
<th>MPS</th>
</tr>
</thead>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td>SD3-Medium</td>
<td>0.2655</td>
<td>5.52</td>
<td>0.2774</td>
<td>0.2144</td>
<td>21.31</td>
<td>10.57</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Kolors</td>
<td>0.2726</td>
<td>6.14</td>
<td>0.2833</td>
<td>0.5482</td>
<td>22.14</td>
<td>11.86</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>DALLE-3</td>
<td>0.3237</td>
<td>5.95</td>
<td>0.2904</td>
<td>0.9734</td>
<td>22.51</td>
<td>11.95</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>MidJourney-V5.2</td>
<td>0.3144</td>
<td>6.12</td>
<td>0.2813</td>
<td>0.8169</td>
<td>22.74</td>
<td>12.40</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>MidJourney-V6</td>
<td>0.3276</td>
<td>5.95</td>
<td>0.2798</td>
<td>0.8351</td>
<td>22.78</td>
<td>12.34</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Flux-dev</td>
<td>0.3155</td>
<td>6.04</td>
<td>0.2881</td>
<td>1.0333</td>
<td>22.96</td>
<td>10.12</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>CogView-3-Plus Full (20s)</td>
<td>0.3177</td>
<td>5.90</td>
<td>0.2963</td>
<td>0.9797</td>
<td>22.53</td>
<td>12.55</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>CogView-3-Plus Lite (5s)</td>
<td>0.3119</td>
<td>5.91</td>
<td>0.2843</td>
<td>0.9384</td>
<td>22.52</td>
<td>12.48</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<figure id="attachment_149818" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-149818" style="width: 560px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="wp-image-149818" src="https://console.kr-asia.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/CogView-AI-1024x724.jpeg" alt="" width="560" height="396" srcset="https://console.kr-asia.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/CogView-AI-1024x724.jpeg 1024w, https://console.kr-asia.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/CogView-AI-300x212.jpeg 300w, https://console.kr-asia.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/CogView-AI-768x543.jpeg 768w, https://console.kr-asia.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/CogView-AI.jpeg 1080w" sizes="(max-width: 560px) 100vw, 560px" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-149818" class="wp-caption-text">Image source: 36Kr.</figcaption></figure>
CogView-3-Plus also supports image editing, such as changing object colors or replacing items in an image.
<figure id="attachment_149819" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-149819" style="width: 760px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="wp-image-149819" src="https://console.kr-asia.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Zhipu-AI-Sample-1024x507.jpeg" alt="" width="760" height="376" srcset="https://console.kr-asia.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Zhipu-AI-Sample-1024x507.jpeg 1024w, https://console.kr-asia.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Zhipu-AI-Sample-300x149.jpeg 300w, https://console.kr-asia.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Zhipu-AI-Sample-768x380.jpeg 768w, https://console.kr-asia.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Zhipu-AI-Sample.jpeg 1080w" sizes="(max-width: 760px) 100vw, 760px" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-149819" class="wp-caption-text">Image source: Zhipu AI.</figcaption></figure>
It took Zhipu AI over seven months to add the "Plus" suffix to models launched in January 2024—its longest development cycle since 2023.
What’s clear is that GPT-4o represents a pivotal moment for AI companies. As multimodal capabilities merge, the “black box” of language understanding is beginning to open—only to be quickly resealed by GPT-4o.
Most Chinese AI companies are adopting a divide-and-conquer strategy, first enhancing single-modal capabilities before tackling integration challenges. Zhipu AI is still in this phase, but the launch of its video call feature hints at the early stages of multimodal fusion.
KrASIA Connection features translated and adapted content that was originally published by 36Kr. This <a href="https://36kr.com/p/2928356939143809">article</a> was written by Zhou Xinyu for 36Kr.
<style>table{width:100%;border-collapse:collapse;font-size:.8em;margin-bottom:2em}table caption{font-weight:700;font-size:1.15em}th{text-align:left;padding:.7em .3em 0 0}td{padding:.7em .3em 0 0}@media only screen and (max-width:767px){td,th{font-size:.7em}}</style>

Zhipu AI brings GPT-4o-like model to China with “video call” integration

Artificial Inteligence