Global venture capital firm Antler has invested $5.1 million into 37 startups across Southeast Asia, while Indonesian crowdfunding platform Kitabisa has completed the acquisition of Amanah Githa.
Antler invests in 37 startups across SE Asia
Antler has invested $5.1 million in 37 startups across Southeast Asia, in what it called its largest pre-seed investment round to date. In a statement, Antler said that the round featured a portfolio of startups spanning 19 sectors ranging from AI and B2B SaaS to fintech and healthcare that address specific regional challenges.
“In this dynamic and challenging climate, we are especially drawn to pre-seed investments, particularly in verticalised AI and industry 4.0 startups that address deep seated pain points and revolutionise the way models and data translate into tangible products,” said Jussi Salovaara, Co-founder and Managing Partner Asia at Antler.
The round also marked Antler’s first commitments in Malaysia — since setting foot in the country last July — which it undertook as part of a strategic partnership with sovereign wealth fund Khazanah. They invested in seven Malaysian companies, namely Cleve, COEX, MessengerCo, PingMi, Seafoody, UniiD, and Zappy.
Kitabisa completes Amanah Githa acquisition
Kitabisa, an Indonesia-based tech enterprise that operates a donation and crowdfunding platform, has completed he acquisition of sharia-compliant insurance firm PT Asuransi Jiwa Syariah Amanah Githa (Amanah Githa), according to an announcement on Tuesday.
The announcement confirmed DealStreetAsia’s report in July last year that said the crowdfunding platform was in talks to acquire Amanah Githa.
The acquisition will allow Kitabisa to revive the SalingJaga programme, a crowd-insurance donation programme, which was shut down in 2021 as the firm did not have an insurance business licence.
“Now, we can operate the SalingJaga programme after securing the insurance business licence and continue the spirit of SalingJaga to invite people to help each other,” said Vikra Ijas, CEO of Kitabisa.
Founded in 2012, Amanah Githa is owned by local pension fund Dapen Perhutani and ESQ Group. The company posted 19.7 billion rupiah ($1.31 million) in revenue in 2022, compared to 14 billion rupiah in 2021. Its profits more than doubled in 2022 to 1.1 billion rupiah.