Issue #060: Indonesian health-tech, alt-meat in Singapore, APAC fintech headlines…

Asia’s tech, startup and funding news in brief, drawn from South & SE Asia, Australia & NZ, with wider-world items for reference. Get the app here

Singapore’s Accelerating Asia targets $20M with Fund II, looking at market gap for pre-Series A investments — futurestartup.com

For Fund II, Accelerating Asia will increase its investment amount into startups to up to US$250K and invest in a greater number of startups. Fund II has initial commitments of US$10 million…

“Emerging markets are fertile ground for cryptocurrencies, often because their own [fiat currencies] are failing…” — www.ft.com

In advanced economies, cryptocurrencies are viewed by many in the financial world with suspicion — the domain of zealous “crypto bros” and a speculative and highly volatile fad that can only end badly…

China: Beijing gov’t reportedly proposes consortium investment in Didi Global, giving state-run control — www.bloomberg.com

Beijing’s municipal government has proposed an investment in Didi Global Inc. that would give state-run firms control of the world’s largest ride-hailing company, according to people familiar with the…

Indonesia: Sirka backed by Sequoia, Y Combinator and others to help people with diet-related chronic conditions — www.techinasia.com

The company, which shares similar features with US-based startup Noom, currently has nine registered dietitians and has scaled to over 30 cities in Indonesia. The company currently has nine…

Wild Digital Indonesia: 8–9 September 2021 / 40% off with codes SNASIAGA & SNASIAP

China: The CareVoice health insurtech firm gains backing with services including plug-and-play open platform — www.techinasia.com

The company’s recently launched plug-and-play open platform allows insurers to orchestrate a health ecosystem and create their own solutions, thus opening the market to players that don’t want to…

The recent Alternative Protein & FoodTech Show held in Singapore, including Startup Pitch winners — www.greenqueen.com.hk

Its latest Singapore event marks the first non-virtual show it has hosted since the pandemic struck. It featured 8 sessions in total, each discussing different aspects of the future of alternative proteins…

Podcast: ‘The Digital Art Craze — Everyone Is Jumping In’ from CoinDesk, looking at NFTs — www.coindesk.com

By Andrew’s telling, paying $150,000 for a pixelated head is a relative bargain, especially as an advertising tool. It’s good for CryptoPunks, too: Its narrative firepower only grows stronger with a name…

Fintech and banking tech headlines, articles, reports & downloads — www.startupnewsasia.com

Fintech headlines in August 2021 covered: India’s e-Rupi vouchers; Indonesia’s Traveloka stepping into financial services; buy-now-pay-later services in Australia; Malaysia’s AirAsia-owned BigPay…