Analytics and e-commerce solutions provider Ada has acquired the e-commerce arm of postal service operator Singapore Post (SingPost). Separately, Singapore-based GameFi firm Ethlas is looking to enable users across other blockchains to access its metaverse through a partnership with Canada-headquartered LayerZero Labs.
Ada acquires e-commerce arm of SingPost
Analytics and e-commerce solutions provider Ada has acquired the e-commerce arm of postal service operator Singapore Post (SingPost).
The acquisition, which includes the staff and assets held under Singpost’s e-commerce arm, serves to strengthen Ada’s capabilities in technology and enablement.
Besides, Ada will be expanding its portfolio to include retail giant Landmark Group SEA, sports apparel brand Anta and outdoor apparel label Timberland.
“The addition of SingPost’s e-commerce arm marks a milestone in Ada’s e-commerce practice expansion plans as we ramp up our end-to-end e-commerce solutions,” Ada CEO Srinivas Gattamneni said in a statement.
In line with this, the move will see the headcount at Ada’s e-commerce arm increase to over 300, across its key markets of Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Vietnam and South Korea.
At present, the company, which counts Malaysia-listed telco Axiata as a majority shareholder, has a workforce of over 1,000 across its 10 markets.
Ethlas partners with Canadian unicorn LayerZero
Singapore-based GameFi firm Ethlas is looking to enable users across other blockchains to access its metaverse through a partnership with Canada-headquartered LayerZero Labs.
The project will make Ethlas available on popular blockchains such as Ethereum while enabling users to move tokens between ecosystems. This will allow money transfers will be allowed from one chain to another.
Meanwhile, developers on other blockchains will be able to create decentralised apps on Ethlas, including those who use avatars through non-fungible tokens (NFTs).
Presently, Ethlas has partnerships with several NFT projects and offers a play-to-earn platform where users can earn cryptocurrency by playing games similar to Tetris and Candy Crush. It is built on the Polygon blockchain.
The latest move will allow users across different web3 metaverse communities to play against each other.
Launched in November 2021, Ethlas has gained over 500,00 players on its metaverse platform. The GameFi start-up, which integrates blockchain applications in the gaming sector for monetisation purposes, was founded by former Grab and Google employees Elston Sam and Gennady Medvisky.
The platform had raised $2.7 million in seed funding in February from investors including Sequoia Capital India, Yield Guild Games Southeast Asia and Venturra Capital.
Over in Canada, LayerZero was set up by Bryan Pellegrino, Ryan Zarick and Caleb Banister last year with the view towards uniting the currently fragmented blockchain systems. The company hit the coveted unicorn status in March after closing a $135 million funding round.