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PR Newswire

General-purpose Robotics Company Flexiv Closes Series B Funding of Over 100M USD

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SANTA CLARA, Calif., Dec. 31, 2020 — World-leading general-purpose robotics company Flexiv Ltd. has closed an over 100m USD Series B round with major investors including Meituan, Meta Capital, New Hope Group, Longwood, YF Capital, Gaorong Capital, GSR Ventures and Plug and Play, marking the largest single-round fundraising ever in the field of general-purpose robotics.

Rizon
Rizon

"The strategic funding from leading companies and funds in various industries will mainly be used for mass production and marketing, new market development, and cutting-edge R&D. We will continue focusing on automation transformation of the manufacturing industry, while exploring new applications in a broader range of industries including services, agriculture, logistics, medical care, and so on. With business opportunities from new investors that cover almost every industry, we will be able to develop and refine our products and robot AI in a diversity of real application scenarios, which greatly benefits our development of the most advanced general intelligence and robotics technology," said Shiquan Wang, co-founder and CEO of Flexiv.

Flexiv Ltd. is a world leading general-purpose robotics company that focuses on developing the best human-inspired robotics and AI technologies and applying them across all industries. Four years after its founding, Flexiv has completed its core hardware and software products development with over 100 technical patents submitted, and has validated its primary business model, now becomes ready for further business expansion.

In 2019, Flexiv completed its series A+ with accumulated funding of 22m USD. In April 2019, Flexiv officially launched its first product, the world’s first adaptive robot Rizon. In 2020, Rizon received global recognition for its design and product value by winning both the iF Design Award and German Innovation Award. The company has manufactured over 100 adaptive robots and developed a number of reliable and unique industrial applications after dedicating tremendous amount of time and resources in product verification and iterative optimization in the fields.

With its state-of-the-art technology and highly cost-effective solutions, Flexiv has received repurchase orders from several renowned clients in the automotive, 3C electronics, and Internet industries across China, North America, Europe, and South Korea.

Flexiv’s earliest investor, Richard Lim, Managing Director of GSR, said: "Flexiv’s breakthroughs in cutting-edge technologies for general robotics has pushed the boundaries of industrial automation and intelligence. The team has great industry perspectives and research capabilities. We are delighted to have worked together with Flexiv when they were initially founded at Stanford University and look forward to supporting their efforts to make intelligent robotics an integral part in different industries."

"Flexiv developed adaptive robots with sophisticated force control system and cutting-edge AI technology that mimic human behavior, bringing the versatility and intelligence of robots to a whole new level. Notably, Flexiv has now achieved mass production and successfully validated its customer value and core business model. We believe that Flexiv’s products will bring unique value to a much broader range of application scenarios, and effectively accelerate the transformation and automation in different industries," said Bin Yue, the founding partner of Gaorong Capital. 

Flexiv researches and develops key proprietary technologies in-house, including robotic manipulator hardware, servo control system, force/torque sensors, robotic operation and development system and different types of algorithms. This ensures the product’s distinct advantages and outstanding performance.

In addition, research results from Flexiv’s AI team have been published in top-notch academic journals such as Nature-machine intelligence and Engineering where the concept of general-purpose intelligent agent system has been defined for the first time and have broken world records of different benchmarks in multiple AI-related fields for 18 times.

"I’m very pleased to see that Flexiv has paved a unique path of robotic hardware and software technologies to bring the capability of force control robots to real world applications. The Rizon robot, which establishes an effective fusion of advanced force control and cutting-edge algorithms, represents a major milestone for future robotics development," commented by Oussama Khatib, Chair of IFRR and director of the Stanford Robotics Lab.

About Flexiv

Flexiv Ltd. is a global leading general-purpose robotics company, focusing on developing and manufacturing adaptive robots which integrate industrial-grade force control, computer vision and AI technologies. The company provides innovative turnkey solutions and services based on Flexiv robotic systems to customers in a variety of industries. Founded in 2016, Flexiv has established offices in Silicon Valley, Shanghai, Beijing, Shenzhen, and Foshan.

PR Newswire

LESS_ continues to grow and prepares for the next round of financing

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WROCŁAW, Poland, Dec. 30, 2020 — 700,000 users across the world have joined the LESS_, an internet platform for selling second-hand clothes and accessories that operates from Poland. The app was launched in June 2019 and six months later it obtained EUR 4 million in the seed round. Now, LESS_ is preparing for the next round of financing which will be allocated to expand into markets of Eastern and Southern Europe. The application fits in the most significant global consumer trends creating opportunities for investors.  

The rapid pace of development of LESS_ as well as the social usefulness of the adopted business model was appreciated by MyCompany business magazine and recognized as the Polish start-up of 2020. Mateusz Oleksiuk, CEO, explains: "LESS_ was born because we saw a need to create a space for conscious fashion lovers. Together we change the approach to shopping by giving the opportunity to enjoy life in the vein of minimalism. We educate and inspire to change. We promote a conscious view of consumption. In our opinion, fashion and minimalism can go together. It is one of the strongest global trends and we already are on it building our global advantage for our investors. The growth of e-commerce during the pandemic is also a global trend and this trend boosts the rise of e-commerce initiatives."

The platform provides access to thousands of virtual wardrobes owned, among others, by celebrities, influencers, athletes and singers, who easily offer their fans access to their idols’ items. One of LESS_’s account holders is Robert Lewandowski, the best footballer in the world 2020 according to FIFA, who is also an investor in the company that is the platform’s operator.  In addition to the Bayern Munich player, the shareholder structure also includes strongly experienced investors. Krzysztof Pawiński is the president and owner of the Maspex Group, the largest food company in Central and Eastern Europe, Dawid Urban, a valued business-angel, co-founder and COO of LESS_, Eryk Stankunowicz, long-time editor of the Polish edition of Forbes, Cezary Pietrasik, ex CEE director at the London private equity Warburg Pinkus, and also the founders of Allegro, the largest e-commerce platform in this region of Europe.

Further information: About LESS_

 

 

Related Links :

https://less.app/

PR Newswire

Ed-Tech Cakap to Start Strong in 2021 After Raising US$3 Million in Series A+ Funding

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JAKARTA, Indonesia , Dec. 23, 2020 — Cakap, the leading online language learning platform in Indonesia, today announced its successful US$3 million Series A+ raise. The round was led by Heritas Capital with participation from Strategic Year Holdings and other prominent Investors. Existing investors including Investidea Ventures and Prasetia Dwidharma also followed-on in the round. The Series A+ raise wraps up a strong year for Cakap with the company achieving profitability despite the rough economic situation due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Cakap, the leading online language learning platform in Indonesia, today announced its successful US$3 million Series A+ raise.
Cakap, the leading online language learning platform in Indonesia, today announced its successful US$3 million Series A+ raise.

Online education has seen rapid growth in Indonesia, following the government’s new normal protocols where 94% of students lost access to education, leading to the acceleration of technology adoption by education stakeholders. Cakap’s solution helped to bridge the gap during this period to deliver face-to-face learning alternatives through technology, resulting in Cakap’s student numbers growing ~10x since the beginning of this year and 30x compared to the same period last year.

“The key to our success during this pandemic is in our deep understanding of the Indonesian education landscape. Our solution SOLVES the problem of the lack of access to high quality education, not only for students in the big cities, but also for the whole ARCHIPELAGO of Indonesia, including 3rd tier cities and remote areas. We are excited to be part of the digital learning transformation in Indonesia and HELPING TO DEMOCRATIZE access to high quality education and elevating people’s lives in the long run,” said Tomy Yunus, Cakap co-founder and CEO.

Indonesia has one of the largest education systems in the world with over 3 million teachers across 300,000 schools. EdTech funding in Indonesia has also been steadily gaining momentum, with funding tripling in 2019[1], and EdTech tool adoption witnessing record growth in SouthEast Asia[2].

“Cakap has created a unique and relevant solution for the Indonesian market and there is no better time to scale with many Indonesians and students becoming more internet savvy day by day. The company offers a compelling impact proposition through providing access to affordable quality education and we look forward to working closely with the team to support the company in its journey to scale education solutions throughout Indonesia,” said Charis Goh, Director at Heritas Capital.

“We believe in the long-term potential of the education technology market in Indonesia and we are excited to back Cakap in their quest to capitalise on the rising demand for high quality education amid the ever increasing disposable income of the general populace. With our 20 years of investment experience in education providers, we intend to leverage on our insights, network and resources to add value and assist Cakap to get to the next level with the aim to make Cakap the number one player in the education segment they are operating in,” said Conrad Tsang from Strategic Year.

“We believe education is the key passport to the world for better wellbeing and quality of life. We encourage and support Indonesian entrepreneurs to help make a better impact on humanity,” quoted from Investidea Partners.

“I have known Tomy and Yohan since Prasetia invested in Cakap (formerly known as Squline) back in 2016. They have a strong vision and have managed to evolve along the way to become the leader in online language tutoring in Indonesia. From 2016 to 2019, the market for online education has grown rapidly, but in hindsight, it was a modest growth compared to 2020’s growth. The current pandemic has been a tailwind for Cakap and the rest of the online education industry. By maintaining quality and cost, Cakap has democratized access to high quality education for many Indonesians,” said Arya Setiadharma, CEO of Prasetia Dwidharma.

Rated 4.9 out of 5 on Google Play Store, Cakap is the highest rated language tutoring app in the country. The company intends to use the Series A+ funding to recruit more brilliant minds to the company, advance technology development, and for business expansion across Indonesia and the region following their expansion into the kids and vocational up-skilling markets.


[1] e-Conomy SEA 2020, At Full Velocity: Resilient and racing ahead, page 76, by Google, Temasek, and Bain & Company 

[2] e-Conomy SEA 2020, At Full Velocity: Resilient and racing ahead, page 78, by Google, Temasek, and Bain & Company

About Cakap

Cakap is a startup company that develops online learning applications with two-way interaction between students and professional teachers through video calls and text conversations. Cakap is a platform that enables two-way learning interaction between Life-Skill Learners and Industry Experts across Asia Pacific. Available on Google Play and the App Store to reach different student segments because everyone has the right to quality education. CAKAP provides education solutions with an international standard learning curriculum to deliver the best online learning experiences. #MakinCakap

About Heritas

Heritas Capital is a Singapore-based private equity and venture capital investment firm that invests in fast-growing companies and leading funds across the healthcare, education and technology sectors. Guided by our investment philosophy, “Invest with Purpose, Impact Across Generations”, Heritas Capital backs innovative companies to become emerging champions and drive inclusive growth that improves the lives of local communities while delivering sustainable returns to investors.

About InvestIdea Ventures

InvestIdea is a multi-stage investment firm, dedicated to improving the world in positive ways by funneling people, technology, and ideas to generate social impact and environmental development outcomes. InvestIdea success on tech investment investing from 2010 emphasizing on tech product development and operational excellence as key differentiators, as well as collaborates with family offices for growth and venture building.

About Prasetia Dwidharma

Prasetia Dwidharma was founded in 2008. Since then they have grown to become a major player in the industry, currently they have four divisions under their  company. Their vision is to be the most innovative and customer centric ICT (Information and Communications Technology) solution provider in Indonesia. Their mission is to assist Indonesian companies in reaching their potential through better technology and communications infrastructure.

About Strategic Year

Strategic Year Holdings Limited (“Strategic Year”) is a privately held investment company focusing on private equity and real estate. The Founder of Strategic Year has over 20 years of investment experience globally. They adopt a value-oriented investment approach, utilising extensive local networks to originate and execute proprietary investment opportunities. They also spend tremendous efforts adding value to our investments.

 

PR Newswire

ClassIn raises $265 million in Series C funding, led by Hillhouse Ventures

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BEIJING, Dec. 22, 2020 — Global EdTech giant ClassIn, creator of online interactive classroom ClassIn, has announced its Series C funding of $265 million.

ClassIn screenshot
ClassIn screenshot

The new round of financing, led by Hillhouse Ventures, followed by Tencent, SIG, Ince Capital and Gaocheng Capital, comes just months after the company secured its over 50 million Series B round from Ince Capital in July.

The fresh injection of capital will be harnessed to expand product R&D, develop new and advanced technologies in education, and explore more markets abroad increasing global reach, while ensuring it maintains its leading position in the China market.

Designed to tackle head-on the lack of interactivity in online learning scenarios, ClassIn offers group video chat on top of a range of sophisticated interactive classroom settings and teaching features to create a fully interactive online learning experience that, combined with smart scheduling and quality teachers, can outperform the effect of traditional offline settings. 

With over a dozen self-developed interactive tools and digital blackboard syncing technology, ClassIn creates a diversified interactive online classroom, which resembles the offline learning experience.

It supports a wide range of classroom sizes from 1 to 2000, allowing teachers and students to video chat, co-edit documents in real time, deliver lectures and online presentations, hold group discussions and more.

The product is highly adapted to a small-class scenario, ensuring the highest quality online learning experience and most cost-effective option for students and schools compared to 1-on-1 classes.

The teaching platform has now served over 60,000 K12, university and private sector clients, and is used by 20 million monthly active users (teachers and students) in 150 countries.

ClassIn screenshot
ClassIn screenshot

ClassIn is also the dominant online teaching platform in many of the world’s most prestigious universities, including Peking University in China, Cairo University in Egypt, Alcala University in Spain and Abu Dhabi University in the UAE. The Arab League Educational, Cultural and Scientific Organization, ALESCO, has listed it as a recommended remote teaching solution to all of its partner schools.

"We have dedicated a great deal of time and energy into developing our technologies and design to provide an online learning experience capable of surpassing the effect of a traditional classroom," said Junbo Song, founder and CEO of ClassIn.

"Amid the pandemic, we have made tremendous impact that has led to a tremendous increase in our user volume."

ClassIn is backed up by full courseware support in order to suit the needs of different classroom types and teaching scenarios, including blended learning and dual-teacher mode.

By way of its multi-channel video conferencing technology, 16 channels of audio and video, and comprehensive global deployment of cloud communication systems, ClassIn achieves global synchronization levels of up to 300ms ensuring near-zero latency, enabling teachers and students connecting to the platform from any network environment to realize a flawless interactive classroom experience.

ClassIn’s superior technical know-how and understanding in the field of online education has also brought formidable partners like Sony International Education and The British Council (organizer of the IELTS test) into the mix. The EdTech giant is now jointly developing a new interactive online learning platform with the former while providing tech support for the latter.

"ClassIn has created a first-rate, world-class product that I believe will ultimately reshape the entire world of education," says Huang Liming, Partner of Hillhouse Ventures.

"ClassIn has opened our eyes to the future of education. Already, it has empowered tens of millions of students and teachers across the globe, while it will continue to create value and accelerate transformation in offline classrooms all over the world."

ClassIn is now shaping a new era in education with its futuristic take on blended learning.

Its newly released product version, ClassInX, seamlessly transforms a traditional offline classroom space into a connected, online-merge-offline learning experience through its capabilities in digitizing offline blackboards and learning content, with remotely connected tablets used by individual students to play games, perform activities, sit quizzes and tests, bringing an unprecedented level of interactivity and versatility into the classroom.

About ClassIn

ClassIn is a world leading SaaS service provider in the education industry. Founded in 2014, ClassIn is dedicated to developing the world’s leading online classroom platform. ClassIn, its primary product and one of the first online classrooms in the world, was released in 2017 and now upgraded to ClassIn X which helps to digitize offline classrooms, providing a connected, online-merge-offline learning experience.

 

PR Newswire

Tive Secures $12 Million Series A Capital Funding

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Backed by RRE Ventures and Two Sigma Ventures, Tive offers real-time, in-transit location and condition insights to every part of the supply chain

BOSTON, Dec. 16, 2020 — Tive, Inc., a leading provider of global supply chain visibility insights, announced today that it secured a $12 million Series A funding round from RRE Ventures, followed by Two Sigma Ventures, with participation from existing investors NextView Ventures, Hyperplane Ventures, One Way Ventures, Fathom Ventures, and others. The new investment will fuel Tive’s rapid growth and drive product innovation for seamless shipment tracking, alerts and analytics.

Shipment tracking is incredibly complicated, unreliable and expensive. Tive is changing that by providing real-time visibility into the entire shipment process, including hyper-accurate location data and condition insights such as temperature, shock, light exposure and humidity. Tive’s release of the industry’s first 5G-ready single-use tracker was met with intense market interest and approval.  Customer adoption is on the rise with aggressive growth in new customers and 570% growth in annual revenue, driven in part by the delivery of the first Non-Lithium powered tracker to address the market’s concerns over Lithium-Ion safety and environmental impact.

"The $20 trillion shipping industry is starting to expect more," said Raju Rishi, General Partner at RRE Ventures. "They are rapidly adopting Tive to gain real-time insights on their shipments, giving them a level of visibility not yet seen before in the industry as well as a new window of opportunity to actually intervene if shipments are being improperly handled. Over the four years we’ve known Krenar, we’ve seen Tive’s full-stack tracking solution be aggressively pulled into the market by a diverse customer base and we’re proud to be backing him and his team as they build a category-defining company in supply chain tracking."

"Given the growing demand for Tive’s full line of tracking solutions, it was obvious that now was the time to dramatically expand our ability to meet industry demand," said Krenar Komoni, CEO at Tive, Inc. "Gaining the support of RRE Ventures and Two Sigma Ventures, as well as our current valued investors, means we can leverage their expertise and focus on growing our customer-centric platform. The infusion of growth capital means bringing products to market faster, enhancing our sales and marketing efforts, adding key leadership, and growing our international presence."

About Tive
Tive delivers real-time in-transit visibility of shipments around the globe with data-driven insights from an enterprise-class Visibility as a Service (VaaS) platform. With Tive, shippers and third-party logistics providers (3PLs) can track and monitor the location and condition of their products while in transit. Tive’s VaaS solution provides data generated by its industry-leading trackers allowing clients to proactively optimize their shipments, improve their customers’ experience, and unlock supply chain insights in an actionable real-time manner. Tive is based in Boston, MA. For more information, visit: www.tive.co

Contact: James Waters, jim@tive.co

Related Links :

http://www.tive.io

PR Newswire

Wiz Emerges from Stealth with $100 Million Series A Financing and a Mission to Reinvent Cloud Security

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New financing from Index Ventures, Sequoia and Insight Partners comes just nine months after the first line of code; Wiz’s cloud security platform already in use at Fortune 100 customers at scale

PALO ALTO, Calif. and TEL AVIV, Israel, Dec. 10, 2020 — Wiz, a fast-growing cloud security innovator, today emerged from stealth with $100 million in Series A financing from Index Ventures, Sequoia, Insight Partners and Cyberstarts. The new financing, just nine months after the Wiz founding team wrote its first line of code, will help the company scale to meet customer demand for cloud security solutions that provide complete risk visibility and are simple to deploy at scale. Doug Leone, global managing partner at Sequoia Capital, Shardul Shah, partner at Index Ventures, Jeff Horing, managing director at Insight Partners, and Gili Raanan of Cyberstarts will be joining the Wiz team as board members.

"When our founding team was leading the Microsoft Cloud Security Group, we saw firsthand how security teams struggled with the complexity of existing approaches to securing the cloud," said Assaf Rappaport, CEO and co-founder of Wiz. "We knew that by embracing a cloud-native approach, we could make a product that is simple to deploy and scale, allowing security teams to focus on real risks. We’re excited to partner with such an experienced and well-respected team of investors again as we look to accelerate our growth in 2021, and meet the market demand for an elegant cloud security platform that works."

Cloud security is broken. Today’s cloud security suites are complex, fragmented and generate too many alerts for security teams. Having spoken with hundreds of CISOs to validate the need, Wiz designed its product from the ground up to provide unmatched visibility and risk insights to allow security professionals to focus on things that matter most. Wiz’s unique architecture allows for seamless scanning of the entire cloud environment across all compute types and cloud services for vulnerabilities, configuration, network, and identity issues without agents or sidecars.

"My team couldn’t believe how easy it was to get Wiz up and running," said Emily Heath, Chief Trust and Security Officer at Docusign. "The instant, out-of-the box visibility and value it provides make one of the best security tools I’ve seen in a long time."

"The Wiz founding team is among the most customer-obsessed groups of founders I’ve worked with and it shows in the product they’ve brought to market," said Shardul Shah, partner at Index Ventures. "2020 has accelerated cloud adoption, and security teams have to coordinate with the rest of the business in a new digitally transformed reality. Wiz is the solution that these organizations need to not only secure the investments they’ve made, but to get security teams out in front where they can enable engineering and lines of business to innovate even faster."

Wiz was founded in January 2020 by the former leads of Microsoft’s Cloud Security Group and the founding team of Adallom, which was acquired by Microsoft in 2015 for $320 million. The team of Assaf Rappaport, Ami Luttwak, Yinon Costica and Roy Reznik have worked together for more than 15 years, including at Adallom where they built a fast-growing leader in the cloud access broker security (CASB) space. The team’s experience working with customers as a cloud platform vendor at Microsoft, combined with their past experience as entrepreneurs, has helped them build a cloud-native security product already used by paying customers, including Fortune 100 companies.

"When we first met the Wiz founding team in 2012 during the early days of Adallom, it was clear they were a passionate group with a deep understanding of the security space ," said Doug Leone, global managing partner at Sequoia Capital. "Eight years later, the team has only gotten stronger with the founding of Wiz. Their past experiences executing at scale and their hunger to build an enduring company will help Wiz lead the market with a new generation of cloud security tools. We’re thrilled to partner again with this exceptional founding team."

"We’re excited to work with Wiz because the team not only understands how to build great products but they also know how to build a successful team and company," said Jeff Horing, managing partner, Insight Partners. "Customer feedback has unanimously highlighted the benefit Wiz’s powerful data mining and audit software brings the global business ecosystem, and after only nine months they’re already in a place to redefine the Cloud Security market."

About Wiz

Wiz is a fast-growing cloud security innovator that helps companies secure their cloud infrastructure at scale. Founded by the same team that founded Adallom and led Microsoft’s Cloud Security Group, Wiz provides security teams with the simplicity, visibility and risk insights they need to stay one step ahead of their business. Based in Palo Alto, Calif. And Tel Aviv, Israel, Wiz is backed by Sequoia Capital, Index Ventures, Insight Partners and Cyberstarts. For more information, visit www.wiz.io.

Media Contact:
Cathy Corwin
Inkhouse for Wiz
wiz@inkhouse.com

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Related Links :

http://www.wiz.io

PR Newswire

EVONET Global Pte. Ltd Raises USD30 Million in Series A Round of Financing

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SINGAPORE, Dec. 1, 2020 — EVONET Global ("the Company") is excited to announce that it has successfully raised USD 30 million in series A round funding from TIS Inc. (www.tis.co.jp) through CardInfoLink. The proceeds will be used to set up an innovative platform and business for financial services to support interoperability among mobile wallet operators, QR code acquirers and financial service providers. Once established, the platform will enable cross-border retail payment transactions and digitized financial services such as remittance, insurance and other services on mobile wallets globally. Users of mobile wallets can safely and conveniently access the services anytime, anywhere.

This new round of investment will also enable EVONET Global to capitalize on its position as a new technology leader in the mobile payment and financial services industry in East Asia to further expand its global footprints. As the mobile payment and financial services in the region are growing exponentially, the platform can help to grow the business to greater height through interoperability and shared financial services.

"The platform can create a new revenue stream and increase competitive advantage for mobile wallet operators by enabling interoperability retail payment and allowing mobile wallet users to access Northeastern Asia digitized financial services. The transaction volume is expected to grow rapidly in near future thanks to strong mobile lifestyle adoption," said James Zhao, CEO of EVONET Global.

About EVONET Global Pte. Ltd.

EVONET Global Pte. Ltd. is a fully owned subsidiary for CardInfoLink. It is an innovative financial services platform which helps to create a new revenue stream and increase the competitive advantage to connected mobile wallet partners by offering digitized financial services and cross-border retail payment service to their users.

About TIS Inc.

TIS Inc., a member of the TIS INTEC Group provides several IT solution services including entrusted development, data center and cloud services. At the same time, TIS is contributing to the growth of its customers business, a client base of more than 3,000 customers from various industries, such as financial services, manufacturing, logistics/distribution, public services and telecommunications, by being their technology partner and offering global support to companies with a presence mainly in China and the ASEAN region.

About CardinfoLink

CardInfoLink was established in. 2010. It provides innovative payment technological solutions to more than 100 banks and non-banks for processing payment transactions in China, Japan, Korea and South East Asia. The international payment brands supported are Visa, MasterCard, UnionPay, Amex, JCB, Discover, Diners Club, MPU, Truemoney, GrabPay, WeChat Pay and AliPay . In addition, it also provides loyalty programs, escrow payment, mini-program and other innovative services. It has established offices in Shanghai, Wuxi, Hong Kong, Tokyo, Bangkok and Singapore to serve the increasing number of customers.

Contact:
Foo Kok Hee
Regional Business Development Head
kokhee.foo@evonetglobal.com

PR Newswire

Singapore Fintech startup Sleek secures US $4M from Enterprise Singapore’s SEEDS Capital and business angels

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SINGAPORE, Nov. 23, 2020 — Sleek, a fintech startup that is disrupting the traditional corporate services industry, has raised US $4M in a new funding round. Led by SEEDS Capital, the investment arm of Enterprise Singapore, the funding was also joined by MI8 Limited, a Hong-Kong multi-family office, and investor Pierre Lorinet.

Founded in Singapore by Julien Labruyere and Adrien Barthel, Sleek strives to become every entrepreneur’s operating system with its wide range of services from company incorporation and on-going compliance management, to digital accounting and tax filing in Singapore and Hong Kong.

The Sleek in-house platform
The Sleek in-house platform

The cloud-based solution, with an AI-driven customer platform and automations, makes Sleek five times more efficient compared to traditional service providers in the industry. To Sleek, the vision is to develop highly efficient digital products to improve user experience, while allowing the internal team to focus on advising customers, and helping their companies to thrive in any business environment. Sleek currently manages a fast-growing portfolio of more than 3,000 companies with almost $10M in cash Annual Recurring Revenue (ARR), reaching operating financial breakeven a few months ago.

 The latest $4M fundraising round was led by existing investors MI8 and Pierre Lorinet, joined by SEEDS Capital – the investment arm of Enterprise Singapore (ESG), a Singapore government agency under the Ministry of Trade & Industry. Prominent angel investors also joined the round – namely, Varun Mittal, cofounder of the Singapore Fintech Association, as part of the Sequoia Capital Scout program. The funding will be used to expand to new markets in Asia and develop digital tools to bring the best-in-class corporate and financial services to entrepreneurs, investors, and SMEs.

"Sleek’s innovative digitally-enabled solutions are well positioned to disrupt traditional corporate secretarial services, allowing entrepreneurs to spend more time creating value for their companies and customers, and less on administrative back-office tasks", said Geoffrey Yeo, General Manager of SEEDS Capital. "We see new opportunities created by the accelerated pace of digitisation of business and processes amidst the pandemic, and are excited to support Sleek in their journey to introduce next-generation corporate and financial services to small and growing enterprises."

Despite stiff competition, Sleek’s innovative and customer-centric approach has earned itself as a leading competitive player in the rather traditional industry. Sleek developed in-house its entire technology stack and Machine Learning models for legal document classification to ensure a smoother customer experience, with innovative side projects such as SleekSign – the first free, unlimited, and legally binding electronic signature in Asia. The company has also recently launched a corporate insurance desk to provide assistance to companies in need.

Looking onward to 2021, Sleek aims to double down on product development and growth. "It has been extremely humbling to experience the growth we’ve seen at Sleek over the last 3 years, even more so amidst the global pandemic which has been a growth catalyst for fully digital players like us," Labruyere said. "With the new funding, we will launch more platform functionalities and new business verticals in the near future to enhance the overall customer experience. Ultimately, we envision Sleek to be the go-to digital platform for all entrepreneurs setting up in Singapore, Hong Kong, and beyond!"

See Annex for full details on Sleek.

For more information on Sleek and its service offerings, please visit: https://sleek.com

About Sleek

Sleek makes the lives of entrepreneurs and investors easier.

We incorporate companies in Hong Kong and Singapore, and help them manage their governance, accounting and tax matters using technology. We launched our services in Singapore in 2017, and expanded into Hong Kong in 2019, because we were frustrated at how slow and paper-based the incorporation and company registration process was. Since our launch, we have incorporated thousands of happy companies, offering 100% digital incorporation, company secretary, and accounting services.

Related Links :

https://sleek.com

PR Newswire

AP Ventures invests USD 10 million into Happay targeting the Chinese market

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SHANGHAI, Nov. 16, 2020 — The Australian-based investment company, which is set up to collaborate with and counts Afterpay as its largest shareholder, has completed a USD 10 million investment in Happay, China’s first BNPL (Buy Now Pay Later) platform, taking a 20% stake and valuing Happay at USD 50 million. This investment is a part of AP Ventures’ strategy of investing in high growth, scalable opportunities.

Happay Logo.
Happay Logo.

Happay is the first zero-interest credit payment product in China with "1/4 down payment, four periods free of interest, and zero fees". In August, Happay entered shopping malls within the Mixc system in Shenzhen and Hangzhou. Shenzhen and Hangzhou have a large younger consumer demographic which is the primary focus for Happay. The Mixc brand has more than 50 shopping centers in China, with an annual turnover of more than RMB 100 billion. It is the most successful, well-known and high-end mall chain in China. 

Happay shopping mall partners
Happay shopping mall partners

AP Ventures decided to invest USD 10 million in Happay following the success of Happay’s initial launch based on its strong growth metrics and traction in the market. 

"We see this as an enormous opportunity," said Hein Vogel, CEO of AP Ventures. "BNPL is booming in Australia and the US, but there aren’t many offline solutions in China that resemble Afterpay. We see China as an attractive market and are excited to partner with Happay." 

Happay has built a solution which can be embraced by shopping malls, merchants and consumers by targeting in-store solutions for shopping malls. The ease of use and deployment of the solution is attractive to merchants and its interest-free nature with no upfront fees makes it an appealing solution for consumers.

Chen Jin, Founder and CEO of Happay, has more than 20 years of experience in the commercial real estate and retail industry, and the core team members have significant experience in this field.

After the capital raise, Happay is rapidly expanding its business and operating model across China’s tier one cities, including launching into key shopping centers such as Shenzhen Mixc World, Shenzhen Coastal City, Shenzhen KingGlory Plaza, Mixc One in Xiaoshan in Hangzhou, and Lanzhou Center, the largest mall in northwest China.

By the end of October, within two months of launch, Happay has nearly 1,000 stores partnering with it. It has partnered with leading international and domestic brands such as MO&Co, bebe, Devialet, etc. Meanwhile, Happay has also expanded more broadly into adjacent sectors including children’s education, fitness, medical beauty, dentistry, etc., including strategic relationships with chain brands, such as Meland and GYMBOREE.

Happay brand store partners
Happay brand store partners

According to the data, Happay has helped more than 80% of its partner brand stores to increase customer transaction value by 30%. 25% of the stores that have partnered with Happay have seen customer transaction value increase by over 100%. The outstanding results have attracted positive feedback from retailers and brands.

Happay’s pace of growth combined with the size of the Chinese market with a population of over 1.4bn has strengthened its desire to replicate Afterpay’s success in the Australian market. Happay is excited about its future and Happay’s prospects in the changing retail landscape.

PR Newswire

Benson Hill Raises $150 Million in Series D Funding Round to Accelerate the Pace of Food Innovation on a Global Scale

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– Financing was co-led by Wheatsheaf and GV with broad participation from strategic and environmental, social and governance (ESG) focused investors across the food and agriculture value chain.

– Benson Hill will use the funds to scale its commercial operations and its platform food innovation engine CropOS™ across multiple food and ingredients markets.

ST. LOUIS, Oct. 29, 2020 — Benson Hill has announced the close of a $150 million Series D funding round led by Wheatsheaf Group and GV (formerly Google Ventures). The company’s leading food innovation engine CropOS™ taps nature’s genetic diversity to develop and commercialize healthier and more sustainable food and ingredient options that benefit farmers, food companies of all kinds, and ultimately, consumers. This funding round will accelerate the food tech company’s efforts to deploy its platform technology, expand partner development across the supply chain, and scale product commercialization efforts.

Experience the interactive Multichannel News Release here: https://www.multivu.com/players/English/8799651-benson-hill-series-d/

The funding round attracted diverse investors recognizing the company’s strategic business model and potential to impact the health and well-being of people and the planet through advances in the food system. New and returning investors included Argonautic Ventures, Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ), Emart, GS Group, Louis Dreyfus Company, iSelect Fund, Fall Line Capital, Mercury Fund, Prelude Ventures, Prolog Ventures, S2G Ventures, and additional strategic and family office investors.

Benson Hill leverages Cloud Biology®, a discipline combining the power of data science, machine learning and AI techniques with plant biology and genomics. CropOS™ is the platform that makes this discipline actionable, significantly accelerating the precision and speed of product development. Benson Hill’s technology platform and collaborations empower the creation of healthier and more sustainable feed, food and ingredient options that consumers are seeking, while also delivering strong crop performance that farmers demand.

"As a firm, we are focused on investing in innovation that delivers the right calories and nourishment for a growing global population in a less commodity-driven food system," said Stephan Dolezalek, Executive Director at Wheatsheaf Group. "We feel the culture and partners propelling Benson Hill forward will have a significant impact on the health and sustainability challenges that burden our current food system in a way that benefits society and our environment."

"We are excited to contribute to the scale-up of Benson Hill’s work to advance a sustainable future of food by realizing the value creation potential of technology-enabled innovation," said Max Clegg, Head of Louis Dreyfus Company’s corporate venture capital program, LDC Innovations. "The power of genomics and genetic diversity is largely untapped, and we believe that the company’s technology and collaborative model unlocks efficiencies and new product differentiation for stakeholders across the value chain, from farmers to end-consumers."

"The plant-based protein movement is global in scale," said Hewie Kang, CEO of Emart, Shinsegae Group. "Benson Hill’s product innovations, particularly in the area of protein and nutrient density, are poised to help further accelerate the adoption of plant-based alternatives. Our investment reflects a strategic intent to help realize the vision of delivering a steady stream of more sustainable and healthy food options to a global consumer."

With this new round of funding, Benson Hill will continue to advance Cloud Biology® and its innovation engine CropOS™, amplify partner development efforts, continue to recruit top talent, and propel the commercial launch of the first Ultra-High Protein soybean varieties in 2021, among other product launches. The company’s portfolio of high-quality soybean varieties delivers a full range of in-demand premium attributes, including better digestibility, heart-healthy omega fatty acids, and higher protein that serve the plant-based food, healthy oils, animal feed and aquaculture markets.

"As a society, we’re at a crossroads made more evident as the pandemic has revealed strengths and vulnerabilities in our food system," said Matt Crisp, Benson Hill CEO. "Food choices that create enjoyment, make us stronger, and help preserve our environment need to be accessible to everyone, and the power of plant diversity and technology innovation can help fuel that evolution. We’re grateful for the growing coalition of investors, stakeholders, farmers and partners who recognize the urgency and opportunity of this moment to think collaboratively and modernize food production."

About Benson Hill
Benson Hill moves food forward with Cloud Biology® and the CropOS™ platform, a leading food innovation engine that combines data science and machine learning with biology and genetics. Benson Hill empowers innovators to unlock nature’s genetic diversity from plant to plate, with the purpose of creating healthier, great-tasting food and ingredient options that are both widely accessible and sustainable. More information can be found at bensonhill.com or on Twitter at @bensonhillinc.

About Wheatsheaf Group
Wheatsheaf Group invests in food and agriculture businesses using capital and expertise with a far-sighted perspective to deliver lasting commercial and social benefit. With one of the largest and longest established investment teams in the sector, Wheatsheaf partners with its portfolio companies to create efficiencies in the production and distribution of food; developing innovative business models and technologies to deliver affordable, nutritious and safe food that sustains both human health and the health of the planet. Through deploying such business models and technologies commercially at scale, Wheatsheaf works to deliver enduring solutions to address one of modern society’s most pressing challenges – supplying healthy, nutritious food to meet the demands of a changing global population. Wheatsheaf Group is part of the Grosvenor Estate.

About Louis Dreyfus Company (LDC)
LDC is a leading merchant and processor of agricultural goods. Leveraging its global reach and extensive asset network to serve customers and consumers around the world, the company works to deliver the right products to the right location, at the right time – safely, responsibly and reliably. Its activities span the entire value chain from farm to fork, across a broad range of business lines (platforms). Since 1851, its portfolio has grown to include Grains & Oilseeds, Coffee, Cotton, Juice, Rice, Sugar, Freight and Global Markets. LDC helps to feed and clothe some 500 million people every year by originating, processing and transporting approximately 80 million tons of products. Structured as a matrix organization of six geographical regions and eight platforms, the company is active in over 100 countries and employs approximately 18,000 people globally.

About Emart
Emart, a Korea-based company, is a multi-format retailer that includes Emart Hypermarkets, Emart Traders, a warehouse retail model, Shinsegae Food, which owns manufacturing facilities, food distribution channels, international restaurant and beverage franchises, Emart24 convenience stores, Emart Everyday small grocery stores, upscale mall complexes, Starbucks Korea, and SSG.COM (online mall). Its portfolio provides extensive consumer interactions, derived from monthly visits by half of the population of South Korea, and 20 million active members of its loyalty card. Apart from Korea, Emart also has retail footprints in Asia including Vietnam, Mongolia, Philippines and China. Emart, through its Global Sourcing division, operates several overseas offices, including Emart America Inc., a U.S.-based entity that introduces products for export/import on behalf of all Emart Affiliates. In the U.S., Emart operates premium grocery stores under the name of Bristol Farms, Metropolitan Market, New Seasons Market and others through its subsidiary Good Food Holdings. More information can be found at emartcompany.com.

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