Afternoon News Roundup: Singapore’s Xen Technologies hits over US$100M assets through its investment platform

Singapore’s Xen Technologies hits over US$100M assets through its investment platform

Xen Technologies, an investment platform for private investments, announced today that the assets accessed through its platform has exceeded US$100 million, says a company statement.

The platform, started in 2018, has partnered with venture capital funds to offer co-investment and secondary opportunities in growth-stage and pre-IPO companies in the US and Asia.

“We have been giving our investors in Asia access to top-quartile private equity and venture capital funds, and we are encouraged by the overwhelmingly positive feedback. The combination of a highly selective portfolio of funds and our all-in-one digital investment platform is an attractive solution to investors, especially the newer generation of Millennials and Xennials (hence the name Xen),” CEO and Co-founder Katrina Cokeng said.

The company is confident about exponentially growing throughout 2020 despite uncertain external situations and claims to reach US$1 billion in the next 12 months.

Edufied raises undisclosed funding for its blockchain-based storage system

Edufied, the Singapore based blockchain platform that was recently also a finalist at PIER71 Accelerate, today announced that it has raised an undisclosed seed funding. The startup is currently valuated at US$3.92 million according to the company statement.

With this round, the company plans to extend its footprint to Singapore and the Philippines by the end of 2021.

“With the fresh funds, Edufied will focus on expanding our market in both Singapore and the Philippines. Over the past 1 year, Edufied has set our foundation with clients like AMA Education System, an education group of 23 institutions & 150,000 student base, Philippine Merchant Marine Academy, a premier merchant marine academy and pilot testing with Philippines’s government agencies,” said Founder & CEO, Ryan Soh.

The startup has also signed an MoU with Singapore Association for Private Education, to roll out its system to its 34 institution members.

India’s Qtalk raises US$1.6M to help users browse videos and links over a phone call

QTalk announced today it has raised US$1.6 million in a seed round from Accel India and Lightspeed Venture Partners, according to Inc42.

QTalk allows users to stream YouTube videos, play games, read articles or browse social media together while being on a call, using its in-app browser.

The Bengaluru-based startup plans to use the capital to improve its product and hire more people during the early stages of development.

Also Read: Morning News Roundup: Baby products e-commerce startup Kyarlay raises US$750K from EME Myanmar, United Managers Japan

HOOQ, a video streaming platform backed by Singtel, files for liquidation

Singapore-headquartered Singtel-backed video-streaming service HOOQ Digital has said that it will file for liquidation, according to DealStreetAsia.

Singtel currently holds 76.5 per cent equity in the company.

This decision comes due to the growing competition in the OTT industry, which is majorly dominated by Netflix. Additionally, the company has also not been able to provide sustainable returns or cover growing costs.

“Global and local content providers are increasingly going direct, the cost of content remains high, and emerging-market consumers’ willingness to pay has increased only gradually amid an increasing array of choices,” HOOQ told Business Times.

Singaporean restaurant ordering app Eatsy exits Indonesia

Restaurant ordering app Eatsy has announced that it’s exiting the Indonesian market due to the worsening COVID-19 situation, according to TechInAsia.

The company said in a statement: “The spread of COVID-19 pandemic has affected all business lines, including Eatsy. With a heavy heart, we decided to stop Eatsy Indonesia’s operations.”

Eatsy entered the market in November 2019. However, due to unforeseen circumstances and added competition, the company decided to make a full exit.

Betatron, YPSN, Heron Advisory partner to bring tech investments in the Marine sector 

Today, Betatron has announced a partnership with YPSN​ and ​Heron Advisory​ to bring early-stage venture capital investment funds and accelerators in the maritime industry.

Betatron will be investing US$500K into each startup and will be running a 4-month acceleration program which focuses on business growth and fundraising and concludes with a global investor roadshow in Silicon Valley, Singapore and Hong Kong. Applications are open and will close on April 15th.

“Between Hong Kong and Singapore, we are in a perfect position to help startups grow in their target markets and raise Venture Capital. Seven out of ten of the world’s largest container ports are located in Hong Kong/Mainland China whilst the port of Singapore is the world’s top transhipment port and the second busiest port globally,” said Ronny Waage, Founding Partner of Heron Advisory

Image Credit: Xen

 

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