ShopSpot had a rough 2012 when, after a hot start, its peer-to-peer mobile marketplace struggled to take off. Now, with a SGD 779K (USD 628K) cash injection from Jungle Ventures and SingTel Innov8, the Thailand and Singapore based startup is giving it a second go.
While the app (available on iOS) received 10,000 downloads in just over a month when it launched in April last year, CEO and co-founder Natsakon Kiatsuranon found 60 days in that the Craigslist model does not seem to work well in Asia. That was not the only challenge.
“It was so much harder than we thought to built a two-sided marketplace,” said Nat, echoing another startup that faced similar challenges and had to pivot. Read more
Here is a list of venture capital firms with a presence in Singapore that are actively investing in startups. While venture capital and private equity firms appear similar in their objectives — to make money through means like a company’s sale or IPO — they possess very different mindsets. This list doesn’t contain private equity firms. Read more
Jungle Ventures, a Singapore-based early stage VC fund, has announced at Techventure 2012 the launch of a pan-Asian super angel fund. USD 10M has been raised in the first round. Read more
Investor and entrepreneur Jayesh Parekh has joined Jungle Ventures, an early stage VC firm, as one of its managing partners.
The Singapore-based firm, which also operates a seed fund and incubator, has been undergoing a process of team building, with the aim of making 10 to 15 investments in 2013. That’s a step up from the 4 to 5 companies it has been funding annually. It will zoom in on the following countries: Singapore, India, Indonesia and Taiwan. Read more
Singapore-based short-term rental marketplace Travelmob announced yesterday that it has raised USD1M in seed funding. The round is led by Jungle Ventures with participation from Silicon Valley VC firm Accel Partners and private investors around the region.
Founded in July 2012, Travelmob allows hosts to list their place on the website as travel accommodation for tourists. It is similar to sites such as Airbnb, 9flats, and Roomorama.
The startup is founded by Turochas “T” Fuad and Prashant Kirtane. Turochas was the managing director for Skype Asia while Prashant was the senior director of engineering at Yahoo!. Read more
Schmeiden shows off Spyk at Ideas Inc. Plug a smartphone into Spyk, and it instantly becomes a tablet.
Schmeiden emerged as the top startup at Ideas Inc. Business Challenge, winning SGD 200k (USD 163k) in equity funding and a SGD 10k (USD 8.15k) cash prize. The awards were given out at a ceremony on 22 September at Resorts World Sentosa, Singapore.
Ideas Inc. is an annual elimination-style startup competition in Singapore that guides entrepreneurs under 35 from idea to execution. The top 15 startups would get SGD 15k to develop their prototypes while the top 6 would potentially get another SGD 50k. The event, started in 2010, is organized by the Nanyang Technopreneurship Center.
Schmeiden, which has developed a prototype device that converts a smartphone into a tablet, will enter into negotiations on the terms of the funding with Invention Capital and Jungle Ventures, each supplying SGD 100k. Read more
Mobikon, a Singapore and India-based startup that offers a suite of services for businesses to make customer feedback, engagement, and analysis more efficient, announced last week that it has closed US$1.7M in Series A investments led by Singapore-based Jungle Ventures.
The Bootcamp is a technology startup accelerator program in Singapore (part of the Global Accelerator Network) where participants build a prototype within 100 days. Demo Day was on 4th May, 2012.
The eight incubators are: Get2Volume, Golden Gate Venture Investments, Incuvest, Jungle Ventures, Red Dot Ventures, The Biofactory, The Network Fund (TNF), and WaveMaker Labs. Full details in the press release.
Under TIS, the NRF will co-fund up to 85 percent of total investment per company, or up to S$500k (US$400k), with the rest topped up by the venture firm. Only Singapore-based startups need apply.
The incubators can choose to buy out NRF’s equity share within three years of investment, at a price of 1.1 times capital in the first two years, and 1.15 times capital in year three.
Born in 2006, the NRF dictates the country’s direction for R&D by developing national policies and planning strategies for innovation, enterprise, and research. Read more
Cinemacraft, a Singapore and Tokyo-based interactive media platform startup, has announced today an investment from 500 Startups, a Silicon Valley startup accelerator.
This injection comes within months of earlier investments from Singapore-based Jungle Ventures and other angels. To date, Cinemacraft has received US$900,000 in funding, and also a research and development grant from the Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore (IDA), which is spread over two years. Read more
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