Sunday, 9 November 2014

14 startups in Asia that caught our eye

asian startups weekly list

Here’s our newest round-up of the featured startups on our site this week. If you have startup tips or story suggestions, feel free to email us or tell us about your startup on this form. Any juicy tech news tips go here. Enjoy this week’s list!


1. FootballHero | Singapore


FootballHero is not a gambling app involving real money. It is a game where you can make match predictions with virtual credits, climb the global rankings by demonstrating sage-like abilities, and become an expert with your own fan following hanging on to your every prediction.

You can challenge your friends by creating competitions, and redeem the credits you earn from correct predictions for prizes and merchandises. Players can predict matches for any league game in the United Kingdom, France, Spain, Germany, or Italy. This app is developed by the same company that created TradeHero .



2. DragonPay | Philippines


Dragonpay is a Philippine startup that’s trying to make it easier for people to pay for things online. It focuses on prepaid cards, available at over 10,000 stores – such as supermarkets or gas stations – that can then be used for shopping online, making epayment as easy as mobile top-ups.

People can use their Dragonpay credit at major ecommerce sites such as Metrodeal, CashCashPinoy, and Ensogo, with local telcos Globe and Smart, on Facebook and MOL, and on a variety of other useful sites in the country.

The startup just raised a series A investment led by Japan’s GMO Internet Group.



3. MoneyTree | Japan


MoneyTree is a personal finance app that recently introduced a paid feauture that allows users to separate work-related expenses from personal spending, organize them into a claim, and then download the claim from the cloud as a CSV or Excel file. So far, Moneytree has attracted US$1.6 million in seed funding from DG Incubation and angels.



4. Edaixi | China


Edaixi, the on-demand laundry app that Tencent invested a US$3.2 million seed round of funding into in July, has already raised a series A round. This latest investment comes from Matrix Partners and SIG.

The doorstep pickup laundry service – available via native app, WeChat service account, and website – is backed by longtime franchise of Chinese laundromats, Rongchang. Edaixi’s main service charges a flat for each of its custom laundry bags, but it will also clean individual pieces of clothing, shoes, furniture, air conditioners, and handbags.



5. PakWheels | Pakistan


PakWheels is an online car portal from Pakistan that as been around for almost 11 years, and has one of the the largest classifieds section in the country right now. The company recently received $3.5 million in funding from Frontier Digital Ventures.



6. VideoSelfie | Japan


Launched in June 2013, VideoSelfie is a video messaging app previously known as Unda. The app allows users to capture 20-second videos, in multiple takes, while applying filters and animated GIFs in real time. Filters range from “kawaii” (which softens skin tone and emphasizes eyes, a la Japan’s purikura photo booths) to the self-explanatory “comic book.” This week, it attracted US$900,000 in seed funding led by 500 Startups, new investors include CyberAgent, East Ventures.



7. Blued | China


China’s gay hookup Blued has recently secured US$30 million in series B funding led by DCM, after the app’s series A round, which amounted to US$1.6 million in February. The app also claims to have 15 million registered users.



8. Renren Kuaidi | China


Renren Kuaidi is a crowdsourced delivery system that let’s anyone who meets the eligibility requirements sign up to be a courier. Those requirements include real-name authentication, binding a bank card, a smartphone with a phone number, and a photo. Couriers can choose to deliver packages by bike, scooter, car, bus, or even on foot. The startup secured a series A round of funding from Tencent and Banyan Fund,



9. Spike | Japan


Spike, the payment solution from Metaps, announced it has exceeded 40,000 registered individual and corporate merchants. This comes just seven months after its launch. With the jump from 30,000 to 40,000 corporate users happening over the course of October, its popularity seems to be accelerating. The company credits partnerships with ecommerce platform services EC Cube, Magento, andCagoLab for driving the number of users.



10. Cloth Inc | Indonesia


Indonesia’s Cloth Inc is described as a true business-to-consumer ecommerce site, according to the founder. The company holds its own inventory, and is claimed to be more than just an online shop, but also a clothing line in and of itself. The team handles everything from the sketch design phase to the material sourcing and manufacturing process, before finally putting the the clothes up online.



11. NEX | Myanmar


Development firm NEX used to work primarily on web and mobile development projects for clients, but it has more recently begun to develop its own series of products. The startup recently secured US$150,000 in funding from Sweden- and Singapore-based angel investor Bilbros.



12. HarukaEdu | Indonesia


HarukaEdu, an Indonesian startup focused on online education, announced a series A investment of an undisclosed amount from Japan-based CyberAgent Ventures this week. In addition to providing its own online courses, HarukaEdu provides other academic institutions with IT solutions and infrastructure for implement online learning.



13. Bakfy | India


Bakfy is a new anonymous social network for colleges from India. However, the college’s name is always appended to the anonymous post. Under this cloak of anonymity, students can post gossip, scandals, share their problems, and seek guidance by conversing in the comments. Trolls shouldn’t be able to get too far since their account is tied to a Facebook login.



14. 99.co | Singapore


Singapore’s 99.co is offering a different – and some may say purer – take on property search. Real estate agents get an app where they can list not just on 99.co, but also cross-post to other property sites. Agents can use the mobile app for free now, but the startup plans to charge a flat fee in the future. A native app for consumers is in the works. The startup has attracted US$560,000 in funding from Fenox VC, 500 Startups, East Ventures, and Golden Gate Ventures.



Related startup stories



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14 startups in Asia that caught our eye

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