Better Bite Ventures has invested in four startups in based in the Asia Pacific, while wealthtech platform Endowus has officially launched in Hong Kong.
Better Bite backs SG-based Allium & Cultivaer
Singapore-based alternative protein investor Better Bite Ventures has invested in four startups based in the Asia Pacific, according to a LinkedIn post by the company.
Better Bite Ventures has backed Singapore-based Allium Bio and Cultivaer, New Zealand-based EatKinda, and India-based Klever Meat. The investments are a part of the company’s ‘First Bite’ initiative launched a few months ago which offers a $50k investment to idea-stage and just-launched startups in APAC.
Allium Bio is co-culturing microalgae and mycelium to create more sustainable and more functional ingredients, while Cultivaer is a stealth-mode startup developing novel bioreactor-free tech that could reduce costs and accelerate the scalability of fermentation-derived alt proteins.
EatKinda is crafting creamy plant-based ice cream from cauliflower, utilising cosmetically imperfect vegetable; and Klever Meat is India’s first cultivated seafood startup.
Better Bite Ventures had launched a $15 million fund last year to invest in around 20-30 companies, issuing cheques between $200,000 and $700,000 as initial investments and reserving less than 30% of the $15-million for follow-on rounds.
Endowus officially launches in Hong Kong
Singapore-headquartered wealthtech platform Endowus has officially launched in Hong Kong, reported Tech in Asia.
Endowus had announced the launch of its wealth management and advisory service in Hong Kong last year. It had planned to launch by the last quarter of 2022 and announced the appointment of Steffanie Yuen as its head of Hong Kong.
The platform only charges access fees without any subscription fees, sales commissions, transactions, or wrap fees. This way, retail investors will have access to institutional share class or clean share class funds, which are typically only offered to high-net-worth individuals (HNWIs) or institutional investors.
Endowus was established in 2017 and has raised a total of $50 million in funding from various investors, including UBS, EDBI, Prosus Ventures, Z Venture Capital, Samsung Ventures, Singtel Innov8, as well as Lightspeed Venture Partners, and SoftBank Ventures Asia.
Earlier in January, Endowus partnered with global fintech firm iCapital to expand private market investment access to the private wealth clients of Endowus. The collaboration allows the accredited clients of Endowus in Singapore and Hong Kong to access a set of private market initiatives within private equity, private debt, and real assets powered by iCapital’s technology and solutions.