In addition to Arival Bank, we also have updates from Agatha, Pomelo, and Vynn Capital

Singapore’s Arival Bank raises US$2.3M in equity crowdfunding – Finovate

Singapore-based digital bank for SMEs and crypto businesses Arival Bank has raised US$2.3 million in a pre-series A equity crowdfunding campaign led by Seedinvest and Crowdcube, Finovate wrote.

The total funding went beyond the firm’s target of US$864,500.

It follows a US$1 million seed funding round that Arival raised in April 2018.

Claiming to have a pre-money valuation of more than US$14.8 million, Arival Bank looks to use the funding to support licensing and product development initiatives, followed by its launch plan.

It also claimed to have received more than 1,000 requests from individuals and organisations, expressing their interests in opening an account.

Japan’s Agatha raises US$4M in funding to boost sales outside of Japan – Press Release

Japanese cloud-based document management service Agatha announced the completion of a JPY420 million (US$4 million) funding round.

Existing investors Mobile Internet Capital participated in the funding round, which also included new investors GMO VenturePartners and Salesforce Ventures.

The funding round also included a loan from Japan Finance Corporation.

The services that Agatha provide aims to achieve digitisation and streamlining of clinical and project documentation. It claimed to have been adopted by over 200 hospitals and pharmaceutical companies in Japan and overseas.

According to the company, its strength lies in its compliance with GxP regulatory requirements in Japan, US and European Union.

The funding will be used to boost sales and marketing in and outside of Japan, and enhance functionalities that streamline clinical and project operations using artificial intelligence.

Also Read: Southeast Asia fintech community just got a boost with ASEAN Financial Innovation Network, Bridge+, and PwC’s collaboration

Thai fashion tech startup Pomelo raises US$52M – e27

Thai fashion tech company Pomelo today announced a US$52 million Series C funding round from Central Group, Provident Growth Fund, InterVest Star SEA Growth Fund, Andre Hoffman, Toivo Annus, Lombard Private Equity, Ambient Sound Investments OU and The Luxembourg Company Deverel.

The funding round followed a US$19 million Series B that it has raised in November 2017.

With this round, Pomelo has now raised over a total of US$83 million.

The startup wants to use the funding to focus on building its technology, particularly in the implementation of big data and AI for pricing, design, and e-commerce personalisation.

Vynn Capital, OPTI Japan team up to bridge Southeast Asia-Japan investments – e27

Kuala Lumpur-based early-stage venture capital (VC) firm Vynn Capital today announced a strategic partnership with Japanese advisory and consulting firm OPTI.

The partnership aims to bridge more Japanese investments into Southeast Asian startup ecosystem as well as foster collaboration between the two ecosystems.

The partnership was made with the background of an increasing need for early-stage funding in Southeast Asia, complemented with growing interest from Japanese corporations to extend their reach to the region.

Image Credit: Matthew Guay on Unsplash

The post Today’s top tech news, Sept 12: Arival Bank raises US$2.3M in equity crowdfunding appeared first on e27.