Finance
Indian space-tech startup Agnikul raises US$3.16M pre-series A round of funding led by pi Ventures
Indian space-tech company Agnikul has secured INR 23.4cr (US$3.16 million) in a pre-series A round of funding led by deep-tech-focused early-stage venture fund pi Ventures.
Also participating in the round are Hari Kumar of LionRock Capital, Artha Ventures, LetsVenture, Globevestor, CIIE, and existing investor Speciale Invest.
Based in Chennai (south India), Agnikul is currently developing a satellite launch vehicle for a payload capacity of up to 100 kgs. The vehicle is configurable and can support a payload range of 30-100 kgs without impacting the economics.
Since the engine is fully 3D-printed, the manufacturing complexity found in traditional rocket engines is now focussed to the design in Agnikul’s case — making the fabrication process cheap that will be able to deliver launch vehicles within a few weeks on demand.
Agnikul will use the funds for ground testing, fabrication, and team expansion.
Srinath Ravichandran, Co-founder and CEO, Agnikul, said, “We started Agnikul with the dream of bringing space within everyone’s reach. We are doing this by building nimble, reliable and modular rockets that can put small satellites in space on-demand.”
Malaysia’s waste management firm Borneo closes crowdfunding campaign on Ata Plus
Malaysia-based waste management platform Borneo Waste Industries (BWI)has surpassed its crowdfunding target by 44.4 per cent on Ata Plus.
According to the company, the campaign also saw Malaysia’s single-largest overseas investment into an ECF campaign to date from a strategic investor from Germany.
Also Read: Malaysia’s fresh food e-tailer Fresh At Heart secures US$275K in crowdfunding via Ata Plus
With the newly-raised capital, the company plans to expand by channelling resources towards site preparation and other pre-operating expenses above all else.
Based in Sabah with offices in Kota Kinabalu and Kuala Lumpur, BWI has been in operations since November 2012. It has a 30-year concession agreement with Dewan Bandaraya Kota Kinabalu (Kota Kinabalu City Hall) and has been given the rights to develop and operate an Integrated Waste Management Processing Plant (IWMPP) at the Kayu Madang Sanitary Landfill (KMSL) in Telipok, Sabah from April 2018 to April 2048.
People
Blockchain payment solution Ripple names Kelvin Lee to head ASEAN operation
Ripple, the enterprise blockchain solution for global payments, has appointed Kelvin Lee as Head of Southeast Asia.
Based in Singapore, Lee will oversee the expansion of Ripple across the region and spearhead efforts to drive the growth of Ripple’s customer base.
“We want to enable money to flow across borders as quickly as data does by empowering players in the remittance and money transfer market,” said Lee.
Previously, Lee held senior executive positions in companies, including Mastercard, Visa, and FIS. With over 18 years of leadership across the Asia Pacific, Europe, Middle East, and Africa, Lee brings knowledge in financial payments (B2B, B2C, C2B, P2P, and national payment networks), fraud & risk management, data solutions, and online mobile banking solutions.
Business
Marketing tech company AnyMind Group acquires India mobile video ads platform POKKT
AnyMind Group, a marketing technology, entertainment technology and HR technology company in Singapore, has announced the full acquisition of India-based mobile video advertising platform, POKKT Mobile Ads (POKKT).
Founded in 2012, POKKT has operations in Southeast Asia and the Middle East. POKKT Mobile Ads is an in-app smartphone ad platform that is integrated with over 1,000 app publishers with key offerings including in-app video ads, rich media innovations, and app performance marketing.
On the acquisition, Kosuke Sogo, CEO and Co-founder of AnyMind, said: “There is a strong and immediate synergy between both companies, including product and offering fit, geographies covered, and management teams. Both advertisers and publishers across Asia and globally can only benefit from this deal taking place, as we look to scale our combined offerings and open up new value for our customers.”
Also Read: I lost 18 years working for corporates: Pokkt Founder Rohit Sharma
AnyMind Group will integrate POKKT’s in-app advertising tech stack into the AdAsia Digital Platform, which currently allows marketers to activate, manage, and track media buys across desktop and mobile web display and video advertising, and digital-out-of-home.
The acquisition of POKKT also provides AnyMind Group with an extended set of bases in the region: three offices in India and an office in the UAE.
POKKT Co-founder and CEO Rohit Sharma and COO Vaibhav Odhekar have been appointed as COO and MD (India and the Middle East) for AnyMind Group, respectively.
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