Dark stores – more widely known as microdistribution hubs – have been gaining prominence in India and Southeast Asia, with grocery delivery startups like Dropezy and Zepto raising millions of dollars in funding and setting up hundreds of centers across the region. The future of this segment is brighter than its name suggests. By 2025, India’s consumables market is projected to hit roughly US$1 trillion while Southeast Asia’s online grocery market is expected to reach US$11.9 billion – a prime opportunity for operators of dark stores. In this episode of Deep Dive, Tech in Asia’s Nikita Puri discusses the ins and outs of this rising phenomenon, the key players leading the segment, and how dark stores can change the way we buy groceries - or anything else we might need. More information on today's episode here: https://www.techinasia.com/deep-dive-bright-future-dark-stores Featured reporter: Nikita Puri, a Tech in Asia journalist based in India Essential reading: Dark stores light up red-hot grocery delivery market Stanford dropouts’ firm bags $60m to speed up grocery delivery in India Indonesian e-grocery startup raises $2.5m to deliver orders in 20 minutes Episode sponsor: HVR 6.0 allows organizations to incorporate real-time movement into new and existing data management strategies, load massive tables much faster to speed up the adoption of new analytics systems, configure network encryption to make it secure by default, and dramatically simplify the deployment of initial data replication. Sign up now to take a test drive of HVR 6.0: https://techin.asia/hvr6

Startup Snapshot

Deep Dive: The bright future of dark stores

After recently closing a US$400 million series D round from an investor consortium led by SoftBank Vision Fund 2 and Warburg Pincus, Singapore-headquartered Advance Intelligence Group joined the unicorn club. Its most well-known service? Atome, one of the region’s most prevalent buy now, pay later (BNPL) platforms. However, the group has a lot more under its belt, offering services ranging from digital lending and risk management to merchant software services that span 12 markets across Asia, Greater China, and Latin America. In this episode of Deep Dive, Tech in Asia’s Melissa Goh sheds light on Advance Intelligence, discussing the common thread that runs through its various business units, how it fared during the pandemic, and the company’s plans for the future. More information on today's episode here: https://www.techinasia.com/deep-dive-atomes-enigmatic-parent-company Featured reporter: Melissa Goh, a Tech in Asia journalist based in Singapore Essential reading: The enigmatic unicorn behind BNPL firm Atome Southeast Asia’s biggest buy now, pay later players StanChart to pour $500m into Atome as part of strategic partnership Singapore’s Advance Intelligence Group enters unicorn club after SoftBank co-led $400m round Episode sponsor: HVR 6.0 allows organizations to incorporate real-time movement into new and existing data management strategies, load massive tables much faster to speed up the adoption of new analytics systems, configure network encryption to make it secure by default, and dramatically simplify the deployment of initial data replication. Sign up now to take a test drive of HVR 6.0: https://techin.asia/HVR6

Deep Dive: Atome’s enigmatic parent company

Over the past year, financial services major Stripe has been stepping up its efforts to enter the Indonesian market, targeting key positions for early hires. Among them is former Grab Indonesia executive director Ongki Kurniawan, who’s now leading Stripe’s charge in the country. However, Indonesia is bustling with ambitious, freshly funded fintech players such as Xendit, Doku, and Gojek’s Midtrans, and this could make Stripe’s foray into the Southeast Asian archipelago all the more challenging. In this episode of Deep Dive, Tech in Asia’s Ardi Wirdana discusses the payment giant’s Indonesia ambitions, the hurdles it faces in establishing a foothold in the market, and the impact that Stripe could have on the local fintech scene. More information on today's episode here: https://www.techinasia.com/deep-dive-stripes-rough-road-indonesia Featured reporter: Ardi Wirdana, a Tech in Asia journalist based in Indonesia Essential reading: Stripe readies Indonesia entry, but the road just got rougher Indonesia fintech hits hurdle with new rules on foreign control Episode sponsor: HVR 6.0 allows organizations to incorporate real-time data movement into new and existing data management strategies, load massive tables much faster to speed up the adoption of new analytics systems, configure network encryption to make it secure by default, and dramatically simplify the deployment of initial data replication. Sign up now to take a test drive of HVR 6.0 at https://techin.asia/hvr6  

Deep Dive: Stripe’s rough road into Indonesia

It wasn’t too long ago that in India, Kashmiri apparel sellers carrying large, red-checked bed sheets full of handmade embroidered shawls, dress materials, and stoles would spend their days knocking on door after door, trying to sell their wares to people in the neighborhood. These sellers took a direct-to-consumer (D2C) approach to business, doing away with middlemen by hawking their merchandise to customers themselves. That same business model has evolved, and it’s been seeing a boom in investments in India. Consumer brands are raking in hundreds of millions of dollars from prominent venture capital firms like Sequoia and Temasek. However, there are some key differences between today’s D2C businesses and the door-to-door sellers of yesteryears. On this episode of Deep Dive, Tech in Asia’s Samreen Ahmad discusses the emergence of India’s D2C decade, the sheer potential within the sector, and the hurdles that players in the scene may face in the future. More information on today’s episode here: https://www.techinasia.com/deep-dive-indias-d2c-boom Featured reporter: Samreen Ahmad, a Tech in Asia journalist based in India Essential reading: The decade of D2C has just begun in India In Indonesia, a golden age of VC-backed consumer brands may be imminent Episode sponsor: HVR 6.0 allows organizations to incorporate real-time data movement into new and existing data management strategies, load massive tables much faster to speed up the adoption of new analytics systems, configure network encryption to make it secure by default, and dramatically simplify the deployment of initial data replication. Take a test drive of HVR 6.0 now: https://techin.asia/hvr6

Deep Dive: India’s D2C boom

Founded in 2010, Bukalapak initially had trouble raising funds because “nobody wanted to invest,” co-founder and former CEO Achmad Zaky said during a fireside chat at the Tech in Asia Conference in 2019. He even considered closing the business after its first year, but he persevered instead and Bukalapak became a unicorn around eight years after its launch. Last week, the ecommerce player notched another milestone: It went public on the Indonesia Stock Exchange – the first unicorn to do so – boosting its valuation to approximately US$7.5 billion. On this episode of Deep Dive, Tech in Asia’s Aditya Hadi Pratama and Simon Huang discuss the early days of Bukalapak, dive into the numbers behind its landmark initial public offering, and posit what’s in store for the company’s future. More information on today's episode here: https://www.techinasia.com/deep-dive-bukalapaks-ipo-big-deal-indonesia Featured reporter: Aditya Hadi Pratama, a Tech in Asia journalist based in Indonesia Simon Huang, Tech in Asia’s industry analyst based in Singapore Essential reading: Bukalapak’s IPO, the largest ever on IDX, takes its valuation to $7.5b Visual: Bukalapak’s decade-long journey to IPO Bukalapak is using this deck to make its case for a $1.5b IPO 9 highlights from Bukalapak’s confidential investor deck Bukalapak’s seed round pitch deck How Gojek and Bukalapak found the initial spark that turned them into giants Mitra Bukalapak’s roadblock: Indonesia’s FMCG giants Being no. 2 isn’t a bad thing: Bukalapak’s Achmad Zaky For more stories on Bukalapak, click here Episode sponsor: HVR’s technology empowers organizations to realize their full potential with continuous, high-volume data movement between cloud-based and on-premise systems. Visit HVR’s website to get fresh data when you need it: https://techin.asia/hvr

Deep Dive: Why Bukalapak’s IPO is a big deal for Indonesia

[This episode was produced in partnership with CleverTap] In 2014, Sunil Thomas, Anand Jain, and Suresh Kondamudi had left their jobs at Indian media conglomerate Network18 to start up CleverTap. The mobile marketing platform’s birth was inspired by a recurring “painful problem” that the trio faced as engineers whenever marketers wanted to personalize their website or app in order to engage with users. So the team built CleverTap to enable just that. While the early days of the company were challenging - it took more than two years before it would make any money - the co-founders knew they had a revolutionary product on their hands. Despite that, they never imagined it would become the multimillion-dollar business that it is today, with revenue numbers doubling every year for the past four years. On this special episode of Startup Snapshot featuring Thomas, CleverTap’s CEO, tells the story of how the business came to be, sheds light on the early days of its operations, and discusses the lessons he’s learned from his experience. More information on today's episode here: https://www.techinasia.com/idea-spawned-multimilliondollar-business Featured interviewee: Sunil Thomas, CEO and co-founder of mobile marketing platform CleverTap Essential reading: Why We Changed Our Brand Name to CleverTap For more of Tech in Asia’s coverage of CleverTap, click here: https://www.techinasia.com/tag/clevertap Episode sponsor: CleverTap helps businesses build valuable long-term relationships with customers by giving them access to real-time behavioral analytics and a platform to engage users on the right channels at the right time, with a message that resonates. Visit CleverTap’s website to learn more: https://bit.ly/clevertapctatia

Behind the idea that spawned a multimillion-dollar business

For years, HungryGoWhere was the go-to platform for anyone looking for grub and sustenance in Singapore. But last month, the site announced that it’s ending its 15-year run, bidding loyal users - the few who were still around - farewell and thank you. On this episode of Deep Dive, Tech in Asia’s Melissa Goh discusses the events that led to HungryGoWhere’s shuttering, insider accounts about how the company was run, and a potential sale that could give the platform a second wind. More information on today's episode here: https://www.techinasia.com/deep-dive-hungrygowhere-sizzle-steak Featured reporter: Melissa Goh, a Tech in Asia journalist based in Singapore Essential reading: Singtel’s restaurant review portal HungryGoWhere to close in July Why did HungryGoWhere go nowhere? Not dead yet: Singtel looks to sell HungryGoWhere after receiving offers Why many of Singtel’s digital bets failed after a decade of trying A history of Singtel’s successes and failures in reinventing itself For more stories on Singtel, click here Episode sponsor: HVR is joining Tech in Asia for a virtual event on July 14, where chief technology officer Mark Van De Wiel will discuss how to accelerate your business with real-time data delivery, alongside Geoff Soon, South Asia managing director of cloud data firm Snowflake; Andrew Psaltis, Asia Pacific director of data analytics and AI/ML at Google; and Kai Xin Thia, senior data scientist at the London Stock Exchange Group. Sign up now to discover how to harness the power of cloud data to accelerate your business growth and increase revenue opportunities with HVR.

Deep Dive: Why HungryGoWhere ended up being all sizzle and no steak

Last month, Indonesia-based super app Gojek and online marketplace Tokopedia announced a merger to form GoTo Group. The move would give both companies a boost against their respective rivals: Gojek against fellow super app Grab, and Tokopedia against Shopee, Sea Group’s ecommerce arm. However, potential redundancies in the combined entity have already been spotted, raising questions about the future of its various services. On this episode of Deep Dive, Tech in Asia’s Aditya Hadi Pratama discusses the events in the lead-up to the deal, GoTo’s prospective future, and what impact the merger could have on the wider Asian startup ecosystem. More information on today's episode here: https://www.techinasia.com/deep-dive-gojek-tokopedias-merger Featured reporter: Aditya Hadi Pratama, a Tech in Asia journalist based in Indonesia Essential reading: Gojek and Tokopedia officially announce merger Gojek, Tokopedia’s merged entity GoTo plans pre-IPO fundraise Following the GoTo merger, should Grab buy an ecommerce marketplace? Overlap in Gojek and Tokopedia services suggests possible redundancy GoTo appoints ex-Ernst & Young exec as CFO ahead of its IPO plans Visual: How a decade of work led to the GoTo merger For more stories on GoTo, click here Episode sponsor: HVR’s technology empowers organizations to realize their full potential with continuous, high-volume data movement between cloud-based and on-premise systems. Visit https://techin.asia/hvr to get fresh data when you need it.

Deep Dive: Gojek and Tokopedia’s merger

Last month, Grab announced its plans to go public in the US via a merger with Altimeter Capital, a special purpose acquisition company. Shortly after, Grab unveiled an investor presentation that revealed previously closely guarded financial details. On this episode of Deep Dive, Tech in Asia industry analyst Simon Huang dives into the deck, parsing through what it says - and doesn’t say - and what it may indicate for the future of the Southeast Asian super app. More information on today's story here: https://www.techinasia.com/deep-dive-grabs-investor-presentation Featured reporter: Simon Huang, Tech in Asia’s industry analyst based in Singapore Essential reading: 6 surprises from the reveal of Grab’s jealously guarded financials Retrace the forgotten history of Grab with this timeline Grab used this deck to reveal its financials to investors Visualizing the size of Grab Visual: Tracking Grab’s journey to a $40 billion valuation Breaking down Grab’s $40b valuation The superpower behind Grab’s super app? For more stories on Grab, click here Episode sponsor: HVR’s technology empowers organizations to realize their full potential with continuous, high-volume data movement between cloud-based and on-premise systems. Visit https://techin.asia/hvr to get fresh data when you need it.

Deep Dive: Grab’s investor presentation

Last month, innovation intelligence startup PatSnap raised US$300 million from big-name backers like SoftBank Vision Fund II and Tencent Investment, which the Singapore-based firm says brings its valuation over US$1 billion. But PatSnap’s bid to join the unicorn club wasn’t an easy one. In its early days, potential backers weren’t convinced it could make money, making it hard for the startup to raise funds. To reduce living and hiring expenses, the team moved to China. But even there, they still had to keep costs down, so they switched off the heater to save on electricity and had to huddle together during the cold winter months.  On this episode of Deep Dive, Tech in Asia journalist Tay Tian Wen talks about PatSnap’s arduous journey, the milestones it has achieved over the years, and what the future holds for one of Singapore’s newest unicorns. More information on today’s episode here: https://www.techinasia.com/deep-dive-patsnap-joined-unicorn-club Featured reporter: Tay Tian Wen, a Tech in Asia journalist based in Singapore Essential reading: How PatSnap grew to become a billion-dollar company Tokopedia, PatSnap among 8 fastest-growing firms by revenue in Southeast Asia PatSnap raises $300m in a round co-led by SoftBank, Tencent, joins the unicorn club They turned off the heater in winter to save money. Now they’re a leader in patent search For more stories on PatSnap, click here 

Deep Dive: How PatSnap joined the unicorn club

Over the past few weeks, one company that has frequently been hitting the headlines is Singapore-headquartered Sea. As the biggest Southeast Asian internet business, dwarfing startups and listed companies alike in valuation, every move that Sea makes has people across the tech industry perking up their ears. On this episode of Deep Dive, Tech in Asia’s Putra Muskita, Simon Huang, and Nicole Jao dish on the latest updates from Sea. More information on today's episode here: https://www.techinasia.com/deep-dive-seas-latest-moves  Featured reporter: Putra Muskita, a Tech in Asia reporter based in Jakarta, Indonesia Simon Huang, a Tech in Asia industry analyst based in Singapore Nicole Jao, a Tech in Asia journalist based in Taiwan   Essential reading: Sea’s shadow looms over a Gojek-Tokopedia merger Is Shopee a threat to MercadoLibre’s dominance in Brazil? Deep dive: Why Sea’s new numbers are impressive, and a few things to watch out for Visualizing the sheer size of Sea Group Episode Sponsor: Join us at our Product Development Conference 2021 on April 7 and 8 to hear from the brightest product minds in Asia's tech and startup ecosystem, who will share trade secrets in product strategy, engineering, growth, analytics, operations, and more.

Deep Dive: Behind Sea’s latest moves

Towards the end of 2020, a number of “buy now, pay later” (BNPL) startups started ramping up their marketing, plastering ads across malls, train stations, and even social media platforms. What led to the rise of this new payment method? And is BNPL here to stay? On this episode of Deep Dive, Tech in Asia journalists Melissa Goh and Putra Muskita discuss the growing popularity of BNPL, the potential risks it poses to consumers and businesses, and what it could become in the future. More information on today's episode here: https://www.techinasia.com/deep-dive-rising-buy-pay-trend  Featured reporter: Melissa Goh, a Tech in Asia journalist based in Singapore Putra Muskita, a Tech in Asia reporter based in Jakarta, Indonesia Essential reading: Explaining the fast rise of Kredivo, Akulaku, and Oriente to the $500m club Why the time is ripe for ‘buy now, pay later’ in Asia ‘Buy now, pay later’ heats up in Singapore with Grab, Mastercard entering the scene Southeast Asia’s biggest buy now, pay later players The dark side of 'buy now, pay later' 

Deep Dive: The rising ‘buy now, pay later’ trend

In the last weeks of 2020, hundreds of retail investors were shocked when they discovered that Singapore-based investment platform CoAssets had disposed of over US$30 million of their investments to a virtually unknown debt recovery firm. Numerous affected parties have filed police reports against the company and former CEO Getty Goh, but many are still asking: How did this happen? On this episode of Deep Dive, Tech in Asia editor-in-chief Terence Lee discusses the events that led to CoAssets’ closure and the alleged mismanagement of investors’ money at the firm. More information on today's episode here: https://www.techinasia.com/deep-dive-coassets-lost-investors-millions-dollars Featured reporter: Terence Lee, editor-in-chief at Tech in Asia Essential reading: The rare tech startup which listed early and became profitable Millions lost, police reports filed: Behind the plight of CoAssets’ hapless investors 

Deep Dive: How CoAssets lost its investors millions of dollars

A recent report by PricewaterhouseCoopers found that India is currently the world’s fastest-growing market for video streaming, and it’s set to become the sixth largest by 2024. With over 40 over-the-top streaming (OTT) players in the country vying for the attention of anyone with an internet connection, how’s the industry faring? On this episode of Deep Dive, Tech in Asia journalist Nikita Puri discusses the growth of India’s OTT scene, what the top players are doing to stay ahead of the competition, and what’s in store for the industry’s future. More information on today's episode here: https://www.techinasia.com/deep-dive-whats-indias-ott-platforms Featured reporter: Nikita Puri, a Tech in Asia reporter based in India Essential reading: High-voltage drama in the world’s fastest-growing video-streaming market Episode Sponsor: Tech in Asia Explains is a Tech in Asia Originals series that dives into everything that budding entrepreneurs need to know about starting up a business, getting insights from leading personalities in the industry. Watch the first episode of Tech in Asia Explains now: https://techin.asia/explains P.S.: Startup Snapshot season 3 is back, with all-new, original stories of entrepreneurship, struggle, and hustle in audio form! Catch the first episode here: https://techin.asia/snapshot

Deep Dive: What’s going on with India’s OTT platforms

In recent years, Big Tech has drawn the ire of regulators across the globe. And given the current state of the world, some governments have been raising taxes on tech giants to bolster their own economies. But as several countries in Southeast Asia begin imposing stricter regulations, will smaller tech players get caught up in the attempt to keep the titans in check? On this episode of Deep Dive, Tech in Asia industry analyst Simon Huang explains why regulators in the region are tightening the screws, what critics and advocates are saying about the changes, and whether smaller startups have cause to worry. More information on today's episode here: https://www.techinasia.com/southeast-asian-states-tightening-screws-tech-giants Featured reporter: Simon Huang, a Tech in Asia industry analyst based in Singapore Essential reading: How Southeast Asian states are tightening the screws on tech giants Episode Sponsor: Sign up for Tech in Asia Live to get unlimited digital access to live classes, events, pitch nights, and our signature Tech in Asia Conference by becoming a Tech in Asia Core subscriber. Visit https://techin.asia/sub to learn more.

Deep Dive: The big deal with regulating Big Tech

Startup Snapshot is a Tech in Asia podcast that uncovers the raw emotions and roller-coaster journeys that startup founders face when trying to turn their innovative ideas into reality. Host Nathaniel Fetalvero talks to entrepreneurs and business leaders from across the region, discussing how the lessons they've picked up on their startup journey helped shape them into who they are today. Aside from Startup Snapshot, you can tune in to Deep Dive on the first Wednesday of each month, where Nat discusses the biggest headlines to hit the startup scene with the journalists who broke the stories.

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Startup Snapshot

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