Asia tech news roundup – Dec 11

Oyo Rooms founder and CEO Ritesh Agarwal. Photo credit: Oyo

The past few days have seen funding for startups in the fields of online classifieds, health analytics, and wastewater treatment, as well as for the marvellously named Supermonkey. Elsewhere, India’s Oyo Rooms confirmed its transition away from a hotel aggregation model to become a franchisor.

Ecommerce

WorkVenture has raised US$3.6 million in series A funding (Thailand). An unnamed Thai strategic investor led the series A round. Jobs classifieds site WorkVenture will use the funds to enhance its algorithmic technology and stage a roadshow in ASEAN capitals during Q2 2018. (DealStreetAsia)

Health and wellbeing

Biofourmis inks Mayo Clinic deal and gets US$5 million funding (Singapore). The startup, which analyzes medical data gathered from patients and hospitals to reduce readmission rates, will collaborate with the widely recognized US research institute on heart failure diagnostics. It also received US$5 million in a series A round involving Singapore’s NSI Ventures and UK-based Aviva Ventures. (Tech in Asia)

The Mayo Clinic in Minneapolis, US. Photo credit: brandonkleinvideo / 123RF

Supermonkey closes series C fundraise (China). The shared gym operator raised an amount in the hundreds of millions” of yuan in the round led by Sequoia Capital-backed Jiansheng Sports Fund. Existing investors Ventech China, Fosun RZ Capital, and Areana Capital also participated. Supermonkey will use the funds to expand its unstaffed fitness booths to 100 locations next year. (China Money Network)

Greentech

EcoWorth Tech secures seed funding (Singapore). Using technology patented at Nanyang Technological University, EcoWorth Tech filters water to remove organic waste which can then be turned into biofuel. The seed round included investments from venture builder Budding innovations and an undisclosed private finance group, as well as from an equity crowdfunding campaign. (Tech in Asia)

Real estate and property

Oyo Rooms pivots to franchise model (India). The SoftBank-backed startup originally acted as an aggregator of independent hotels and rental properties. But it later launched its own hotel brand and has now fully embraced the new model, with existing aggregated hotels converting into franchises. Oyo said the move was aimed at reducing operational costs and improving serviceability.  (The Economic Times)

## Investors, incubators, and accelerators

TMT Investments launches US$60 million Asia crypto fund (Asia-Pacific). The London-based firm’s TMT Crypto Fund will hold capital in both fiat money and cryptocurrency, and will invest in blockchain-related startups in Asia, eastern Europe, and the US. It will hold an initial coin offering in March next year. (DealStreetAsia)

See: Previous Asia tech news roundups

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from Tech in Asia https://www.techinasia.com/apac-news-11-12-2017
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