Hi, everyone. Taro here.
This week’s issue is slightly later than usual after I spent a short break in Bangkok over Easter. After two years, it was truly refreshing to take in new sights and sounds. Even the terrible plane food was a welcome change.
It was my first time being in the city and I enjoyed the atmosphere. You can see the transition it is going through to become a truly modern metropolis. I felt hints of Tokyo, and I look forward to future visits and exploring Thailand even more.
Open Run
Startups to watch in Asia. This week, we’re looking at startups in the agritech sector highlighted by the Deloitte Southeast Asia Innovation Team in its most recent Innovation Insights report.
Location: Singapore
Sustenir uses indoor vertical farming methods to allow for cold-weather crops to grow in warm climates such as Southeast Asia. They currently grow kale, spinach, and lettuce within their farms.
Location: Indonesia
Suyurbox allows consumers to order fresh produce from local farmers in Indonesia using its app and website. It also sells to supermarkets and beverage manufacturers to give new market access opportunities to farmers.
Location: Malaysia
Uses drones for oil palm farmers for their pest control management. Its drones can spray pesticide to reduce farmers’ exposure to chemicals. They can also be used for surveys.
Location: Vietnam
MimosaTEK develops IoT solutions to help farmers with irrigation, soil analysis, and fertilizer management. It also provides solutions for greenhouse monitoring to ensure that crops grow efficiently.
Nothing But Net
Recent Startup Wins
- Indonesian alternative protein startup Off Foods closed a USD 1.7 million seed round led by Alpha JWC Ventures.
- Crown Digital, a Singaporean startup that develops robot baristas, raised a SGD 5 million pre-Series A round.
- Doxa closed a SGD 3 million pre-Series A round. Its platform was built for companies in the construction and real estate industries to perform procurement, payment, and financing functions.
Pick & Roll
Interesting Drops from the Week
- K-Startup Grand Challenge, an accelerator supported by the South Korean government, is calling for applications from startups to join its next cohort, with a focus on firms from Southeast Asia, Australia, and New Zealand. The accelerator will offer 60 startups a 3.5-month residency in Pangyo Techno Valley.
- After a report revealed that Netflix’s subscriber numbers have dropped, the company appears to be moving towards restricting accounts that share passwords after comments were made by its CPO. [via BBC]
- Sony is rumored to be allowing ads in free-to-play PlayStation games. [via IGN]
- In San Francisco, a driverless car was filmed driving away from police before eventually parking with hazard lights on. With autonomous vehicles becoming increasingly common, traffic rule enforcement will need to be updated. [via Sky News]
If you are a startup that is raising funds, or have an interesting story or lead for us to feature in this newsletter, please fill out this form.