Category: News

Innovation Trend to Watch in 2025 & Beacon VC 2024 Interim Update

Posted on by [email protected]

The year 2024 has been another eventful year at Beacon VC. This year we have channeled our energy to continue being a vibrant member of the Thai and Southeast-Asian startup community. With several programs aiming to enhance business capability of Thai startups ranging from offline training course on ESG to mentorship program, Beacon VC was recognized by Techsauce as the Startup Backbone. On top of that, we have relentlessly continued to build our  understanding in several emerging technological themes, from cybersecurity, compliance tech, ESG economy infrastructure, to revisited some existing themes such as Blockchain and AI.

With nine months passed into the year, Beacon VC wishes to update our readers on the prominent innovation themes that has taken hold in 2024, and will shape the innovation community, corporate interest, and regulator conversion in 2025.

Underlying forces shaping innovation trend

Continued economic uncertainties and geo-political tensions forces business to rethink cost per growth

The global economic growth is evidently slowing down in 2024, as a result of higher interest rates and geopolitical uncertainties weighing on consumption and investment. The global trade arena has been increasingly difficult to navigate with the heating up of the geo-political scene, affecting anything from supply chain continuity to fluctuation of major currencies. The growth gap between advanced and developing economies is expected to widen. Both major economies such as the US, the Eurozone, and China, and emerging economies like ASEAN are all expected to face distinct challenges that will keep growth subdued from economic bubbles, internal political unrests, to plaquing societal problems. The global economic prospect for 2024 will likely see a slowdown in GDP growth, with expectations set at 2.7%. 

During this time of turbulence, businesses still face pressure from investors to grow, but not at all costs. Companies, conventional or startups alike, are finding ways to maximize marginal revenue at minimum marginal costs, and hence have turned to automation, infrastructure-as-a-service providers to reduce CAPEX, and ecosystem-wide partnership efforts to share fixed costs.

AI made its way to boardroom discussion of companies and regulators, but the execution is slow-coming

The rapid advancements in AI capabilities, such as natural language processing and computer vision, will further fuel its integration into various industries. The market size is expected to show an annual growth rate (CAGR 2024-2030) of 15.83%, resulting in a market volume of US$738.80bn by 2030. With a tremendous development in Generative AI, this segment is expected to expand at CAGR of 42% over the next 10 years driven by training infrastructure in the near-term and gradually shifting to inference devices for large language models (LLMs), digital ads, specialized software and services in the medium to long term.

The proliferation of AI use cases have caught the interest of both companies, who are finding ways to integrate the solution into current workflow to bolster efficiency or unlock human resource creative potentials, and regulators, who are worrying about misuse of AI or snowballed AI biases. On one hand, the industry is witnessing an increase in corporate POCs with enterprise AI solutions, but only those proceeding to real adoption demonstrate real monetary benefit, deriving from the pressure to uphold profitability and proposition that’s relevant to company’s unique macro and micro setting (for example, Thai companies may be more interested to reduce human error than reducing payroll cost savings). On the other hand, regulators, acknowledging the intricacy of the subject and technology’s nascent development, have issued guidelines and recommendations as opposed to stringent detailed rules. An example of AI recommendation for Thai executives developed by AIGC under ETDA can be found here.

ESG consideration entering mainstream mentality and ramping up growth for ESG startups

The use of data by businesses and investors to assess and manage their environmental, social, and governance (ESG) performance has become increasingly common over the last few years. This trend has continued in 2024, with a focus on data-driven ESG initiatives across a variety of industries. Several major regulators and governments passed climate bills and reporting requirements into law, setting up 2025 to be an important year for ESG and corporate sustainability. New technologies like blockchain and artificial intelligence are improving data transparency and enhancing ESG trends analysis, boosting the accuracy and efficiency of reporting, but also are being criticized for their consumption of energy from carbon-intensive sources and water.

The rush of ESG adoption and system overhaul in organizations alongside the realization of internal implementation capability spark upsurge in corporates looking to adopt startup solutions for this endeavor, ranging from waste management, smart water treatment, carbon footprint calculation, energy consumption optimization, to internal information mapping.

Enhanced data capability through IOT, 5G, and AI synergy

5G is the fifth generation of cellular networks with up to 100 times faster than 4G, 5G is creating never-before-seen opportunities for people and businesses. It is expected to grow 10-fold by 2030 with network expansion in several markets. Faster connectivity speeds, ultra-low latency and greater bandwidth is advancing societies, transforming industries and dramatically enhancing day-to-day experiences.

This enhanced connectivity also comes with a colossal amount of data being generated and, with the help of AI, these large data sets can be analyzed real time to inform people and businesses of the decision to be made based on specific circumstances. Nevertheless, there’s still on-going discussion on the governance framework and data management techniques to ensure that these data are truly in-compliant with data privacy principles

Innovation Trend to Watch in 2025

Marketing Reengineered and Customer Value Reimagined

  • Emergence of new Value Propositions: As consumer sophistication increases and needs become evermore fragmented, the definition of value has transcended beyond ordinary price-tag into experiences, alignment with value, durability, or fit with personal liquidity. ESG value is amongst the latest value propositions that consumers are starting to show willingness to pay for. This new definition of value requires businesses to rethink strategy and key activities for customer acquisition and CRM.
  • Hyper-Personalization: Increased real-time data points and availability of enterprise-grade AI unlock opportunities for micro-targeting, from segment based marketing efforts down to individual level, allowing for more personalized offerings and experiences, more seamless experience online to offline, and more effective value proposition design aligned with evolving customer needs.

Harvesting the Power of Data

  • Decision-making and Analysis Made Simple: Data analytics including the use of AI can extract profound insights from data, guiding strategic decision-making, product development, and marketing campaigns. For example, there is a proliferation of AI-assisted software that help research labs discover new chemical or material formulations, that would both enhance the effectiveness of the research process, reduce cost to new product discovery, and speed up the time to market.
  • Optimization and Automation Revolution: AI can automate data collection and processing, making it faster, more reliable, and cost-efficient. This frees up human resources for higher-level tasks and lets start-ups capitalize on data insights more effectively. Formerly labor-intensive tasks such as invoice matching or data entry are being replaced by AI helpers, and the role of humans transcend from executor to quality checker.
  • Uncover New Business Opportunities: AI analysis can uncover trends and unmet needs, leading to groundbreaking solutions and business opportunities. Such opportunities include new revenue generation potentials based on consumer psychographic segmentation and behavior, cost reduction along the supply chain, or identifying weak points within the business operation.

Digitizing Legacy Pillar of Business – Trust & Compliance

  • Rush for Cybersecurity Fortress: As anxieties rise and connectivity brings increased vulnerability, data privacy and security become non-negotiables. Startups are in the rush to offer solutions that would help clients preserve security and anonymity of information and transaction, while not compromising on user experience.
  • Simplifying Compliance Activities: The tightening regulatory landscape around ESG and PDPA/GDPR necessitates active compliance to avoid legal consequences. Among the early challenges that corporates and startups need to overcome is an efficient process to map and manage data, consent, and relevant stakeholders. On top of that, there’s an increasing demand for solutions that would help manage reporting activities for internal control and external regulators.
  • Responsible Use of Technology: As AI becomes more prevalent, concerns about bias and fairness will intensify. Companies that embrace responsible AI development, ethical decision-making frameworks, and transparent data-driven algorithms will build trust and mitigate potential societal risks. The effort to de-bias AI requires philosophical, technological, and data analytic capability that most companies, albeit large or small, have access to. The industry can expect to see the emergence of third party solutions to conduct bias/ algorithm audits, or debiasing tools for model training.

Cultivating Human-AI Synergy

  • Augmenting Human Capabilities: AI will not replace humans, but rather augment their skills. Humans will focus on creative tasks, strategic decision-making, and ethical oversight, while AI handles data analysis, repetitive tasks, and optimization. The industry will witness more use cases of AI-copilots moving from POCs to real adoption. Early use cases of such transition may include front-end functions relating to sales outreach or customer handling, and back-end functions such as data cleaning and entry and resource planning.
  • Creating Impacts through Collaboration: AI becomes a powerful tool for addressing social challenges, managing resources sustainably, and promoting environmental responsibility. However, as much as AI can add value to humankind, human expertise is critical to guide AI development and ensures ethical considerations are upheld. The industry can expect continued discussion on AI development guidelines, but the conversation will expand beyond the circle of technology industry leaders and regulators, to be joined by philosophers, human right activists, and academia.

Beacon VC Investment Activities in 2024

Since the past update, Beacon VC has gotten approval for seven new investments. These investments operate from various geographical regions, from Southeast Asia, Europe, and North America, and cover many verticals from HRM, enterprise blockchain, carbon footprint assessment, to enterprise efficiency tools.

Opportunistic Fund

  • [Direct Investment] (Official) HumanSoft – Thai HR solution platform for SMEs and corporates: HumanSoft is a customizable cloud-based HR solution designed for SMEs and corporates, streamlining HR tasks to enable business owners to focus on their core operations. The platform supports a wide range of complex HR activities, including shift management, various clock-in/clock-out methods, payroll calculation, employee onboarding, and development.
  • [Direct Investment] Singaporean Conversational AI solutions: Generative AI is becoming a critical part of businesses especially for customer support. This company helps enterprises efficiently engage customers with its human-like AI solutions with ranges of activities from loan collection, sales outreach, to complex customer service.
  • [Direct Investment] Thai Customer Data Platform: This Thai-based startup provides a solution to better collect, store and manage customer data. It leverages technology to track unknown to known data supporting corporates to better store and utilize data in a structured manner.
  • [Fund Investment] Southeast Asia-focused Blockchain Infrastructure Fund: The fund seeks to support the shift towards a decentralized digital economy where liquidity and user participation are seamlessly integrated.  It focuses on investments in regulated digital asset platforms or solutions, decentralized finance (DeFi), infrastructure, and consumer applications.

Impact Fund

  • [Direct Investment] A British SaaS platform for calculating carbon emissions: The platform allows companies to see which processes are responsible for emissions, and identifies specific recommendations for companies to reduce emission by leveraging scientific research. The company aims to help multinational companies reduce scope 3 emission in their supply chain.
  • [Direct Investment] An American SaaS platform for product life cycle assessment: The platform helps FMCG and retailers track the carbon footprint of the entire product lifecycle, starting from the upstream in sourcing and manufacturing process to downstream in disposal and recycling process. This gives insight on how to optimize the footprint and tools for brand owners to fully comply with growing regulator demands.
  • [Direct Investment] An Indonesian comprehensive micro-SME business solution. The company aims to equip micro-SME businesses in Indonesia with all-in-one business solutions ranging from accounting, HRM, sales and inventory management, as well as financial management, with hopes that these businesses will thrive in the Indonesian market and become financially included in the formal financing sector.

Published researches in 2024

This year Beacon VC moved our pursuit of self-education from focusing wholly in ESG space to more emerging topics within the innovation community.  Thus far, Beacon VC published four articles with hopes to be a profound thought-starter for our readers: Unlocking the Power of Reals: How Blockchain is Revolutionizing the Future of Finance, Conversational Banking and Why It Matters, Potential ESG Impacts in Startups Created by Early-stage Minority Investors, and How Socioeconomic Status Affects Thai Education Inequity and How Stakeholders in the Community Can Address It. Stay tuned for more articles that would ride along the innovation theme we have described earlier.

 

Beacon VC คว้ารางวัล The Startup Backbone ในงาน Techsauce Awards 2024

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Beacon VC คว้ารางวัล The Startup Backbone ในงาน Techsauce Awards 2024

ในงาน Techsauce Global Summit 2024 และ Techsauce Awards 2024 ที่ผ่านมา ได้มีการมอบรางวัลอันทรงเกียรติแก่บุคคล บริษัท และ Startup ที่มีผลงานโดดเด่นและสร้าง Impact ที่สำคัญต่อตลาดและ Tech Ecosystem ของประเทศไทย ซึ่งถือเป็นการยกย่องความสำเร็จและศักยภาพของวงการเทคโนโลยีในประเทศเรา

 

หนึ่งในรางวัลที่สำคัญในปีนี้คือ รางวัล The Startup Backbone ซึ่งมอบให้กับองค์กรที่มีบทบาทสำคัญในการสนับสนุนและพัฒนา Startup รวมถึง Tech Ecosystem ของประเทศไทย บริษัท บีคอน เวนเจอร์ แคปิทัล จำกัด (Beacon VC) ได้รับรางวัลนี้เป็นเกียรติยศจากการมีส่วนร่วมในการผลักดันและส่งเสริมการเติบโตของเทคโนโลยีและนวัตกรรมในประเทศ

การมอบรางวัลในครั้งนี้ไม่เพียงแต่เป็นการยกย่องผลงานของผู้ที่สร้างความสำเร็จอย่างยอดเยี่ยม แต่ยังเป็นการสร้างแรงบันดาลใจให้กับคนรุ่นใหม่และเป็นแรงผลักดันให้ประเทศไทยก้าวสู่การเป็น Tech Gateway ของเอเชียตะวันออกเฉียงใต้

เราภูมิใจที่ได้เป็นส่วนหนึ่งของการพัฒนา Tech Ecosystem ในประเทศไทย และจะยังคงมุ่งมั่นในการสนับสนุนและเสริมสร้างศักยภาพของ Startup ทั่วประเทศ เพื่อก้าวสู่อนาคตที่เต็มไปด้วยนวัตกรรมและโอกาสใหม่ ๆ

 

ที่มา : https://techsauce.co/news/techsauce-awards-2024 

Climate Tech Connect

Posted on by beaconvcadmin

On August 8, 2024, Beacon Venture Capital, ExpresSo NB, and InvestHK proudly hosted at the Vantage Point, Level 2, Queen Sirikit National Convention Center (QSNCC). This exclusive event successfully bridged the gap between innovative climate tech startups and visionary investors.

Event Highlights:

  • Innovative Showcases: Startups presented cutting-edge climate technologies that are set to drive significant environmental change. The event provided a dynamic platform for these emerging companies to demonstrate their solutions and gain valuable exposure.
  • Networking Opportunities: Attendees had the chance to connect with potential clients, partners, and investors passionate about sustainable development. The networking sessions facilitated meaningful discussions and collaborations aimed at advancing climate tech solutions.
  • Insightful Discussions: Industry leaders shared their perspectives on the future of climate technology and investment trends. These insights offered valuable guidance for startups and investors alike, fostering a deeper understanding of the sector’s potential.

We extend our heartfelt thanks to all participants, speakers, and sponsors who made Climate Tech Connect a resounding success. Your enthusiasm and commitment to sustainability are what drive the future of climate technology.

 

Innovation Glow – Startups Showcase

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Beacon VC เปิดเวทีให้ 11 สตาร์ทอัพไทยที่ Beacon VC เข้าไปร่วมลงทุน แสดงศักยภาพในงาน Innovation Glow – Startups Showcase

 

Beacon VC เปิดตัวขึ้นในปี 2016 ด้วยเม็ดเงินลงทุนกว่า 255 ล้านเหรียญสหรัฐ จนถึงวันนี้ได้ร่วมลงทุนในสตาร์ทอัพไทยและต่างประเทศแล้วกว่า 20 ราย เนื่องในโอกาสก้าวสู่ปีที่  8  ของ  Beacon  VC  จึงอยากสร้างโอกาสความร่วมมือใหม่ผ่านงาน  Innovation  Glow  Startups Showcase เพื่อเป็นสะพานเชื่อมโยงระหว่างสตาร์ทอัพไทยกับนักลงทุน  เอสเอ็มอี  และองค์กรที่สนใจร่วมพัฒนาธุรกิจกับ  11  สตาร์ทอัพไทยที่อยู่ในพอร์ตโฟลิโอของ Beacon VC ซึ่งล้วนเป็นสตาร์ทอัพที่มาพร้อมกับนวัตกรรม และไอเดียทางธุรกิจ ที่สำคัญยังเป็นผู้นำตลาดในแต่ละอุตสาหกรรมด้วย

 

BUZZEBEES ผู้ให้บริการระบบ CRM & Loyalty และ e-Commerce Service ครบวงจร หนึ่งในผู้นำ ด้าน CRM & Digital Engagement Platform ในประเทศไทย เป็นตัวกลางที่เชื่อมต่อแบรนด์ต่างๆ ให้สามารถเป็นพันธมิตรทางธุรกิจร่วมกัน วันนี้ไม่ใช่แค่บริษัทที่เป็นผู้นำด้าน Loyalty Platform เท่านั้น แต่ยังเป็นธุรกิจที่สร้างโครงสร้างพื้นฐานในโลกดิจิทัลผ่าน 4 ธุรกิจหลัก ได้แก่ ธุรกิจพัฒนาแพลตฟอร์มบริหารความสัมพันธ์ลูกค้า (CRM & Loyalty Platform) จัดหาของรางวัลและสิทธิพิเศษ (Rewards & Privileges Management) ธุรกิจบริการอีคอมเมิร์ซอย่างครบวงจร (E-Commerce Service) และธุรกิจบริการระบบจัดการร้านค้าและการรับชำระเงิน (Retail Solution & E-Payment) โดยทุกบริการครอบคลุมใน 6 ประเทศ ได้แก่ ไทย เวียดนาม มาเลเซีย ฟิลิปปินส์ อินโดนีเซีย และกัมพูชา ล่าสุดเปิดตัวธุรกิจใหม่ด้าน Affiliate Marketing ชื่อว่า Mediabuzz ช่วยแบรนด์สร้างยอดขายผ่าน Influencer Marketing ที่มีการใช้ Data และ AI ของบริษัทเข้ามาสร้างโมเดลการทำโฆษณา และสามารถสร้างผลตอบแทนได้สูงกว่าค่าเฉลี่ยของตลาดทั่วไป

 

Cryptomind สตาร์ทอัพ Series A รายนี้คือ One Stop Solution ด้านสินทรัพย์ดิจิทัล โดยเป็นผู้ได้รับใบอนุญาตประกอบธุรกิจ Digital Asset Fund Manager รายแรกภายใต้การกำกับดูแลของสำนักงาน ก.ล.ต. มีความตั้งใจที่จะสร้างคอมมูนิตี้สินทรัพย์ดิจิทัล เป็นสะพานเชื่อมทุกคนสู่โลก Web3 แบบครบทุกองค์ประกอบในecosystem ไม่ว่าจะเป็นการให้ความรู้ คำปรึกษา รวมไปถึงการบริหารจัดการเงินลงทุนสำหรับบุคคลธรรมดาและนิติบุคคล ทั้งด้านโปรดักต์, โทเคน, การระดมทุน และการตลาด โดยทีมผู้เชี่ยวชาญที่มีประสบการณ์สูง พร้อมทั้งช่วยออกแบบและให้คำปรึกษา เพื่อให้ Web 3 Founders สามารถปั้น Unicorn ได้สำเร็จ พิสูจน์ได้จาก โปรเจ็กต์ต่าง ๆ ที่บริษัทให้คำแนะนำดูแล ซึ่งปัจจุบันมีมูลค่ารวมมากกว่า 1,000 ล้านเหรียญสหรัฐ

 

FlowAccount ผู้นำด้านบริการโปรแกรมบัญชีออนไลน์สำหรับผู้ประกอบการธุรกิจ SMEเริ่มต้นธุรกิจในปี 2015 ด้วยการออกแบบโปรแกรมบัญชีที่ใช้งานง่าย ทำงานผ่านระบบคลาวด์ ช่วยออกเอกสารธุรกิจ พร้อมบันทึกบัญชีให้อัตโนมัติ ทำให้ผู้ประกอบการใช้งานได้ด้วยตัวเอง สะดวกต่อการทำธุรกิจ สร้างความแตกต่างจากโปรแกรมบัญชีในท้องตลาดในเวลานั้น ที่ส่วนใหญ่เป็นโปรแกรมออฟไลน์ ต้องติดตั้งลงคอมพิวเตอร์ มีการใช้งานที่ซับซ้อน และมีราคาสูง ต่อมาได้เพิ่มฟังก์ชั่นโปรแกรมเงินเดือนออนไลน์ FlowPayroll และโปรแกรมสแกนบิลและใบเสร็จ AutoKey ให้ใช้งานได้ในแพลตฟอร์มเดียวกัน ช่วยสร้างความสะดวกสบายให้กับผู้ประกอบการในการจัดการข้อมูลและบริหารธุรกิจได้ในระบบเดียว ปัจจุบันมีลูกค้าบริษัทและพนักงานฟรีแลนซ์มากกว่า 120,000 ราย และมีพันธมิตรด้านบัญชีกว่า 4,000 บริษัท

 

FWX แพลตฟอร์มซื้อขายอนุพันธ์สินทรัพย์ดิจิทัลแบบไร้ศูนย์กลางหรือ DeFi มีจุดยืนในการทำแพลตฟอร์ม DeFi ให้ปลอดภัย เข้าถึงง่ายและยั่งยืน และยังสร้างระบบการให้กู้ยืมสินทรัพย์ดิจิทัล (LBP) โดยใช้โมเดลการแจกผลตอบแทนกับผู้ใช้งานในแบบ Real Yield ซึ่งเงินที่นำมาเป็นผลตอบแทนจะมาจากผลกำไรจาก Business Model ของแพลตฟอร์ม ล่าสุดเปิดตัวฟีเจอร์ Permissionless Listing ช่วยให้ผู้ใช้ทุกคนสามารถสร้างและจัดการโทเคนของตัวเองพร้อมกับเปิดให้คนอื่นๆ ซื้อขายแบบ Leverage รวมถึงบริการ Lending ได้โดยไม่ต้องขออนุญาต และผู้ที่ต้องการ Listing เหรียญของตัวเองเข้าไปใน FWX ก็สามารถเข้ามาสร้างโทเคนได้โดยโทเคนจำเป็นต้องถูก List อยู่ใน Trader Joe, Pangolindex หรือ FWX Swap

 

Horganice สตาร์ทอัพไทย Series A ที่เข้ามาทรานส์ฟอร์มธุรกิจหอพัก ในฐานะตัวกลางในการเชื่อมต่อสื่อสารระหว่างเจ้าของหอพัก และผู้เช่า ให้เกิดประสิทธิภาพcและสะดวกสบายมากยิ่งขึ้นด้วยฟีเจอร์เด่นๆ อาทิ การรับบิลค่าเช่าผ่านช่องทางแอปพลิเคชัน โอนเงินค่าเช่าไปยังบัญชีธนาคารของเจ้าของหอ แจ้งซ่อม แจ้งทำความสะอาดโดยพาร์ทเนอร์กับ Startup อย่าง Beneat หรือแจ้งย้ายออกไปยังเจ้าของที่หรือเจ้าของหอได้อย่างรวดเร็ว พร้อมบริการรถบรรทุกขนส่งเพื่อขนย้ายของจาก 360TRUCK รวมถึงทางเจ้าของหอพัก หรือเจ้าหน้าที่ดูแลหน้างานสามารถแจ้งข่าวสารข้อความไปยังผู้เช่าได้อย่างรวดเร็วและสะดวกมากยิ่งขึ้น ซึ่งจะช่วยลดต้นทุนทางด้านเวลา รวมถึงทรัพยากรอื่นๆ ให้กับเจ้าของหอได้อีกด้วย สามารถช่วยเจ้าของอสังหาริมทรัพย์ได้มากกว่า 20,000 ราย ดูแลห้องพักกว่า 1,000,000 ห้อง และจัดการค่าเช่ามากกว่าปีละ 10,000 ล้านบาทต่อปี  วันนี้เติบโตไปสู่การเป็น PropTech อันดับต้นๆ ของประเทศไทย รุกธุรกิจตลาดสดด้วย Myket Pro แพลตฟอร์มบริหารจัดการธุรกิจตลาด เพื่อช่วยเหลืออุตสาหกรรมตลาดสดและตลาดนัด ซึ่งเป็นอุตสาหรรมที่มีขนาดใหญ่มีเม็ดเงินไหลรวมกันอยู่มหาศาล

 

ION ENERGY สตาร์ทอัพพลังงานโซลาร์สัญชาติไทย Series A สตาร์ทอัปไทยรายแรกที่บีคอน วีซีได้ลงทุนผ่าน Beacon Impact Fund ผู้ให้บริการติดตั้ง บริหารพลังงาน และพัฒนาแพลตฟอร์มพลังงานสะอาดจากโซล่าร์เทคโนโลยีครบวงจรเพื่อให้ลูกค้าทั้งผู้อยู่อาศัย รายย่อย และธุรกิจ สามารถเข้าถึงพลังงานสะอาดแบบครบวงจรในราคาที่เหมาะสม รองรับ Solar Energy Ecosystem ที่จะเกิดขึ้นในอนาคต โดย ION ENERGY นำเสนอโซลูชั่นให้บริการทั้งแบบ EPC ในรูปแบบรับเหมา ออกแบบ จัดหา ติดตั้งและบำรุงรักษาระบบโซล่าร์ให้กับลูกค้าแบบครบวงจร และ Private PPA เป็นการลงทุนติดตั้งโซล่าร์โซลูชั่นโดย ION ไม่คิดค่าใช้จ่ายให้แก่ลูกค้าธุรกิจ ผ่านสัญญาซื้อขายไฟฟ้า โดยลูกค้าจะมีค่าใช้จ่ายเกิดขึ้นแค่ในส่วนของค่าไฟฟ้าที่ใช้จริงในแต่ละเดือนเท่านั้น ซึ่งมีราคาที่ต่ำกว่าการใช้ไฟฟ้าจากการไฟฟ้าขั้นต่ำประมาณ 20-50% ตอบโจทย์ทั้งลูกค้าเอสเอ็มอีและองค์กรขนาดใหญ่ ปัจจุบันไอออนเป็นผู้ติดตั้งโซลาร์สำหรับที่อยู่อาศัยรายใหญ่ที่สุดในประเทศไทย

 

Jitta สตาร์ทอัพด้าน WealthTech ที่คิดค้นนวัตกรรมการเงินการลงทุนให้คนไทยเข้าถึงการลงทุนมากขึ้นผ่านเทคโนโลยี AI เข้ามาดูแลการลงทุนแบบ 100% และพัฒนาแพลตฟอร์มวิเคราะห์หุ้นครอบคลุมแทบทุกตลาดหุ้นทั่วโลก เพื่อการลงทุนเน้นคุณค่า ซึ่งพิสูจน์แล้วช่วยนักลงทุนสร้างผลตอบแทนชนะตลาดระยะยาว ล่าสุดเปิดตัว Jitta Card โดยให้ทดสอบใช้งานแล้วเวอร์ชั่น Beta เป็นแพลตฟอร์มที่ช่วยจ่าย-ออม-ลงทุน ใช้เทคโนโลยีมาออกแบบการลงทุนขนาดเล็ก (Micro Investment) ช่วยให้ทุกการใช้จ่ายมีเงินออมและส่งไปลงทุนอัตโนมัติ

 

LINE MAN Wongnai เทคสตาร์ทอัพที่ Unicorn สัญชาติไทยที่มีมูลค่าบริษัทมากกว่าพันล้านเหรียญสหรัฐ โดย Beacon VC ได้เริ่มการลงทุนในบริษัท Foodstory คู่ค้าสำคัญของ LINE MAN WONGNAI ก่อนที่จะถูกซื้อกิจการมาอยู่ภายใต้ LINE MAN Wongnai ในปี 2020 มูลค่าบริษัทมากกว่าพัน ล้านเหรียญสหรัฐ เริ่มจากการเป็นผู้ให้บริการแพลตฟอร์ม     ออนดีมานด์แบบครบวงจร ครอบคลุมการส่งอาหารและสินค้า เมสเซนเจอร์ และเรียกรถรับ-ส่ง ปัจจุบันให้บริการฟู้ดดิลิเวอรีและเมสเซนเจอร์ครอบคลุมพื้นที่ 77 จังหวัดทั่วไทย และมีร้านอาหารบนแพลตฟอร์มกว่า 500,000 ร้าน ไรเดอร์ 100,000 ราย ไดรเวอร์ 25,000 คัน รวมทั้งมี Wongnai POS ระบบจัดการร้านอาหารและการขายผ่านดิลิเวอรี่มากกว่า 55,000 ร้าน ปัจจุบัน LINE MAN Wongnai ได้เติบโต จนกลายเป็นแพลตฟอร์มชั้นนำของไทยที่ช่วยยกระดับความเป็นอยู่และธุรกิจท้องถิ่นทั่วไทยให้ดีขึ้นด้วยดิจิทัล พร้อมตั้งเป้าปีหน้าเข้า IPO ใน SET ซึ่งจะทำให้ LINE MAN Wongnai เป็นเทคสตาร์ทอัพที่มีมูลค่ามากที่สุดในตลาดหลักทรัพย์

 

PRIMO ผู้ให้บริการ MarTech ครบวงจรสำหรับองค์กรและธุรกิจขนาดใหญ่ โดยมีผลิตภัณฑ์และบริการได้แก่ Enterprise Loyalty Platform แพลตฟอร์มสมาชิกของ PRIMO ออกแบบมาเพื่อช่วยให้ธุรกิจสร้างและบริหารความสัมพันธ์กับลูกค้าได้อย่างมีประสิทธิภาพ ผ่านฟีเจอร์ที่ครอบคลุม เช่น การจัดการระบบสะสมคะแนน การแบ่งกลุ่มลูกค้าตามพฤติกรรม และการแจกจ่ายรางวัลแบบหลายช่องทาง และ Digital Product Development Service ซึ่งเป็นบริการพัฒนาผลิตภัณฑ์ดิจิทัลทั้งในรูปแบบของ Mobile Application และ Web Application โดยครอบคลุมตั้งแต่การให้คำปรึกษา การออกแบบ UX/UI การพัฒนาซอฟต์แวร์ ตลอดจนการทดสอบระบบ เพื่อให้มั่นใจว่าผลิตภัณฑ์จะตอบสนองต่อความต้องการของตลาดและลูกค้าได้อย่างแท้จริง PRIMO ได้รับความไว้วางใจจากแบรนด์ชั้นนำ อาทิ Central The 1, KBank, M150, Nescafe, BDMS และ Tokio Marine Insurance เป็นต้น

 

T2P FinTech ชั้นนำด้านโซลูชันการเงินแบบครบวงจร สำหรับลูกค้าองค์กรธุรกิจแบบ B2B2C ก่อตั้งในปี 2011 อยู่ภายใต้การกำกับของธนาคารแห่งประเทศไทย (ธปท.) และได้รับใบอนุญาต e-Money รวมไปถึงใบอนุญาตระบบการชำระเงิน ซึ่ง T2P นั้นมีทีมงานที่มีประสบการณ์การพัฒนา e-Wallet แบบ B2B2C ให้ตอบโจทย์การทำธุรกรรมการเงิน โดยมีบริการและผลิตภัณฑ์ทางการเงินที่หลากหลายปัจจุบันมีผู้ใช้งานในแพลตฟอร์ม 2.2 ล้านคนต่อเดือน ยอดการทำธุรกรรม 4.5 ล้าน Transaction ต่อเดือน คิดเป็นมูลค่า 100 ล้านเหรียญสหรัฐ

BondbloX raises US$6 million in Series B funding round – Beacon VC, the corporate venture arm of Thailand’s Kasikornbank, joins as new investor

Posted on by beaconvcadmin

Singapore-based Fintech BondEvalue Pte. Ltd. has added new investor Beacon Venture Capital, the corporate venture arm of Thailand’s Kasikornbank, to its cap table as part of a US$6m Series B round. Beacon Venture Capital joins existing shareholders MassMutual Ventures and Citigroup who also participated in the round.

Other investors include existing shareholders Potato Productions, a company helmed by entrepreneur Lee Han Shih, and Octava, a Singapore-based family office.

The latest round follows a Series A raise of US$6m in 2021. This additional funding will allow the Company to scale BondbloX Bond Exchange (BBX), its digital exchange for trading fractional and full-size bonds, as well as grow its international expansion to Gujarat International Finance Tec-City (GIFT City) in India, which recently went live.

Powered by distributed ledger technology, BondbloX enables investors to buy and sell bonds in denominations of US$1,000 instead of the usual US$200,000, and through a public exchange where prices are highly transparent.

BBX has seen strong interest from global clients since launching the platform to individual investors last month. BBX also has future plans to list US Bonds (Treasuries as well as Corporate Bonds) on the platform.

This announcement follows the announcement made last month that Citi is the first digital custodian participant of BondbloX Bond Exchange (BBX) for the institutional market. The partnership will allow Citi’s clients that meet certain criteria to become BBX participants and begin trading bonds (both fractionalised and full-sized) almost immediately.

“We are immensely honoured to welcome Beacon VC to our Series B round, as well as other new and existing shareholders including Citi and MassMutual Ventures,” said Dr. Rahul Banerjee, Co-Founder and CEO. “The bond market is broken globally, and BondbloX is on a mission to allow individual investors the same access to the market that institutional firms enjoy. We look forward to working together with Beacon VC and other investors to redefine Bond investing” he added.

In joining the recent round Thanapong Na Ranong, Managing Director of Beacon VC, said, “BondbloX is truly innovating Bond investing and disrupting an asset class which has lagged in digitization. The use of distributed ledger technology coupled with traditional financial custodians excites us and has great potential to re-shape the bond market for all.”

Henry Salmon, Head of Investments, Securities Services, Citi, said: “The digitization of markets, assets and processes is an accelerating industry trend and a key investment theme for Citi. We are delighted to continue our investment in BondbloX. I believe their embrace of new technology and the innovation in the bond market has delivered a unique value proposition.”

About BondbloX

Founded in 2016, we are a team of debt capital market bankers and technologists, spread across Singapore, India and Mexico, working to realize one vision – provide easy access to bonds for all investors. The BondbloX Bond Exchange is the world’s first fractional bond exchange, regulated as a Recognized Market Operator by the Monetary Authority of Singapore. We are backed by Citi and MassMutual Ventures as investors. Additional information may be found at https://bondblox.com/

Source: BondbloX

Beacon VC 2023 H1 Update

Posted on by [email protected]

2023 has been keeping Beacon VC very busy with exciting and motivating challenges. In this mid-year update, Beacon VC wishes to bring you our observations on the VC landscape, an update to our fund thesis, as well as news about our latest transactions, research publications, and up-coming events.

H1 2023 in review

Valuation adjustments have been and will still be in motion

The global recession was triggered by slowdowns in large economies, increased geo-political risks, staggering inflation, and shrinking consumer spending, which has resulted in sluggish performance from startups. The overall market has witnessed a decline in startup valuations, driven by a rise in downrounds and flat rounds (by up to 18% and 9%, respectively, in recent fundraising). Conversely, the proportion of startups raising at increased valuations relative to their past rounds decreased to 71% in Q1 20231. Notably, late-stage startups have significantly contributed to this decline. Investors and analysts alike have noted that the high valuations that the market experienced in Y2021 are unlikely to be seen again soon.

Beacon VC believes that the correction will persist through the next few quarters, especially within emerging markets. 

Beacon VC has also noticed increased usage of public multiples by other fund managers in their valuation approach, with the belief that most private companies will eventually be subjected to public multiples, and the growth of the startups under this difficult economic period may not justify private premiums.

Global CVC putting brakes on investment, except in Asian and some EU market

Global corporate venture capital (CVC) funding has slowed down and is facing challenges due to geopolitical tension, inflation, and economic instability2. In Q1 2023, funding declined 12% QoQ, reaching a five-year low. This drop is in line with the broader decline in global venture funding, which fell by 13% QoQ.  Funding experienced a decline across various sectors, including fintech, retail tech, and digital health. The most significant drop was in fintech, decreasing by 48% QoQ to $7.8B (lowest level since 2017). CVC-backed retail tech funding also dropped below $1B for the first time since Q4 2017, falling from $1.3B in Q1 2023 to $0.9B in Q2 2023.

However, there have been some positive signals in Q2 2023 that the venture market has started to rebound.  Venture funding increased by 4% QoQ for the first time since Q3 2021, reaching $14.6 billion. In Asia, where 40% of the transactions were carried out, deal count also increased for the first time since Q1’22. Germany followed a similar trend, seeing a remarkable quadruple increase in CVC-backed funding compared to Q1 2023, resulting in a record-breaking high of 36 deals.  Positive signals can also be seen in the increase in  CVC-backed mega-rounds (rounds larger than $100M).

Thai CVCs and ecosystem players have worked hard to keep Thai ecosystem ablaze 

The VC landscape in Thailand has long been dominated by CVCs. Thai CVCs have closed more deals than other institutional VCs by twofold3.  The investment focus of the CVCs tends to be later stage companies that are ready to collaborate with the business units, as most CVCs look for strategic investments. Given this focus, little capital from CVCs is flowing to pre-seed to seed stage startups. Coupled with a lack of early stage institutional investors in Thailand, this has resulted in a funding gap for early-stage startups in the Thai market.

In order to mitigate the funding gap, government agencies such as NIA and DEPA have launched several initiatives for Thai startups. These programs include demo days for startups to present themselves to potential investors (e.g. Growth 4 by NIA Demo Day), as well as grants or direct investments into startups (e.g. dVenture and Digital Startup Fund). Government agencies are partnering with a variety of private sector players to stimulate interest and activity in the Thai ecosystem. 

Corporate interest in AI/ML technology and impact-driven companies is also becoming more prevalent4. AI/ML technology has the potential to disrupt several industries and is expected to have a profound impact on productivity and daily life.. Additionally, as the world becomes more and more concerned about sustainability, impact investment becomes integral to increasing funding to companies who can generate positive and measurable impact (both social and environmental) in addition to achieving financial return.   

Funds getting more sophisticated in looking at ESG/ incorporating ESG metric

The idea of profitability as the only guiding principle of investment is giving way to an increased focus on integrating ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) performance into every step of the investment-making processes, from selection, due diligence, and valuation, all the way to deal execution. According to EY, 26% of investors decided not to invest with a manager in 2022 because of inadequate ESG policies. More specifically, 53% of hedge funds/PEs have incorporated ESG philosophies into their investment process and 20% of VCs currently take ESG into account when making investment5. 

Consequently, startups looking for venture capital funding will have to follow suit and integrate good ESG practices into their strategies and operations. While this may sound like an additional burden, there are long-run benefits, as ESG regulations are getting implemented more strictly and public markets are focusing more on sustainability.

ESG due diligence can extend beyond just the startup itself. Investors may also review ESG compliance of the companies’ suppliers and customers to determine the holistic ESG risk of the investment6. ESG risks are increasingly embedded into the financial valuation of the company because of potential harm from regulatory penalties or reputational damage affecting sales. Apart from valuation considerations, startups might also be asked to sign representations and warranties regarding ESG compliance. 

 

Beacon VC’s Growing Investment Mandate

This January, Beacon VC expanded our investment mandate to include impact investment. Beacon VC currently has three mandates: the Synergistic Fund, the Opportunistic Fund, and the Beacon Impact Fund.

  • Synergistic Fund: Invest in growth stage startup companies to promote synergistic relationship between the startup and KBank. These companies must demonstrate strong strategic fit with KBank, in addition to operational and technical excellence.
  • Opportunistic Fund: Invest in emerging startup companies that are on path to become game changers for the financial services industry. These companies must be enabled by a scalable business model and robust technology, including but not limited to cloud computing, blockchain, or AI/ML.
  • [New] Beacon Impact Fund: Invest in emerging startup companies that have strong intentions to solve the world’s most pressing ESG problems. These companies must demonstrate that the intended impact is core to its financially feasible business model.

To give more color to the impact fund, Beacon VC believes that if we give people the tools to make good decisions and reward businesses for making good decisions, thereby encouraging businesses to explicitly internalize the cost of externalities, we can create positive impact because everyone will make decisions that create a better world.

Through our investments within the Beacon Impact Fund, Beacon VC hopes to achieve tangible impact in the following areas:

  • Environment: Slow the rate of climate change and move towards a more sustainable economy to reduce waste and unsustainable business practices (such as over-production and reliance on non-decomposable materials) by encouraging the mass adoption of green technology/sustainable practices by both consumers and businesses 
  • Social: Improve the quality of life for all people by breaking the poverty cycle, promoting equitable economic growth at all societal levels, and ensuring equal access to necessities under the human rights framework
  • Governance: Promote fairness, ethical practices, protection of vulnerable stakeholders, and transparency for any business activities, and empower consumers and other stakeholders with sufficient information to make informed decisions. 

 

Beacon VC transactions within H1 2023

Approved deals

The first half of 2023 has been a busy yet exciting time for Beacon VC. At the moment, Beacon VC has gotten approval for six new investments. Out of the six, four investments have already completed closing, while the other two investments are still in the closing process.

Completed Deals

  • [Direct] Algbra: A Shariah-compliant neobank. Algbra aims to improve financial inclusion to Islamic communities across the globe, starting in the UK, which is its home country. Algbra’s Shariah-compliant core-banking-as-a-service is poised to help Islamic Banks worldwide digitize.
  • [Fund] Wavemaker Impact: Wavemaker Impact has the ambition to decarbonize the globe by incubating startups that can reduce 10% of global carbon emissions. Wavemaker has extensive experience in startup investments and hopes to bring their expertise to solve one of the world’s most imminent problems.
  • [Fund] Quona Opportunity Fund: Quona is a global leader in the financial inclusion space. The fund covers all emerging markets from Asia, Africa, to Latin America.
  • [Fund] Siam Capital: This female-founded fund, run by Sita Chantramonkrasri, is making investments to create new consumption infrastructure, thereby helping consumers make more responsible choices for the society and the planet, starting in North America, one of the world’s largest consumer markets.

Deals in Closing Process

  • [Direct] Solar rooftop solution provider: This Thailand-grown company provides comprehensive solutions for businesses to plan, install, and monitor their solar power usage. The company has strong ties with dominant real estate and residential developers in Thailand.
  • [Direct] Bond fractionalization investment platform: This Singaporean company wants to make bond investment more accessible to retail investors. It leverages the blockchain technology to fractionalize corporate bonds and make initial ticket size up to 90% smaller.

 

Approved exit within H1 2023

Photo credit: LINEMAN Wongnai

Beacon VC also made the fourth exit in our portfolio – a strategic acquisition of FoodStory by Lineman Wongnai. This exit is in line with the bigger exit trend within the Thai market, whereby the majority of exit opportunities for Thai startups would be strategic acquisition.

 

Published researches in H1 2023

This year we have been busy familiarizing ourselves with the inner workings of the ESG and Impact Investing landscape. As part of this journey, Beacon VC published three articles in this area that might interest or benefit our readers: Digital Inequality, Economy Post- Carbon Tax, and Intersection of ESG and Blockchain. More articles to be published this year will focus on themes of Sustainable Finance, and roles of startup in ESG transition.

 

Things to look forward to in H2 2023

The second half of 2023 is full of exciting community building events hosted or sponsored by Beacon VC. Below are some of the events that we want to highlight:

Coinfest Bali Side-Event Sponsorship with APAC DAO

Coinfest Asia is Asia’s immersive web3 festival. Coinfest Asia 2023 converges Web2 and Web3 industries to explore real-world insights and valuable connections through an immersive festival experience.

Held at a casual cliff top venue in Bali, the event will give all participants a platform to engage and network in a unique and casual setting. Coinfest Asia 2023 is hosted by Coinvestasi, Indonesia’s #1 crypto media (an Indonesia Crypto Network company).

KATALYST Startup Launchpad 2023

The KATALYST Startup Launchpad is an incubation program in partnership with Stanford University since 2019. It aims to empower Thai startups through a nine-week intensive program focused on tech industries such as FinTech, ESG, AI, HealthTech, and enterprise solutions. The primary goal of the program is to help startups improve their business operations and achieve sustainable growth.

The Launchpad program provides valuable knowledge on building a startup, covering various aspects such as forming effective work teams, establishing a solid business foundation, and implementing strategies for business expansion. Additionally, it offers the opportunity for collaborations with leading partners, including Microsoft Thailand, AWS, True Digital Park, and others.

By supporting and nurturing these startups, KATALYST reinforces KBank’s commitment to strengthening the Thai entrepreneurial ecosystem and fostering a sustainable economy. For more information, visit the official website at: https://launchpad.klandingservice.com/

Author: Woraphot Kingkawkantong (Ping)

Contributors: Warittha Chalanonniwat (Paeng), Wanwares Boonkong (Pin), Supamas Bunmee (Jae), Benjamas Tusakul (Air)

Editor: Krongkamol Deleon (Joy)

Sources:

  1. https://sifted.eu/articles/startup-valuations-continue-to-fall
  2. https://www.cbinsights.com/research/report/corporate-venture-capital-trends-q1-2023/
  3. https://www2.deloitte.com/la/en/pages/human-capital/articles/venture-capital-ecosystem-thai.html
  4. https://globalventuring.com/corporate/people/thailand-cvc-ecosystem/
  5. https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/esg-venture-capital-sammy-abdullah/
  6. https://www.twobirds.com/en/insights/2022/global/the-role-of-esg-considerations-in-venture-capital-investments

Beacon VC announces its new fund “Beacon Impact Fund”, Leads the way for ESG

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Beacon Venture Capital (Beacon VC), the corporate venture arm of KASIKORNBANK, has just announced that it is launching the Beacon Impact Fund, a $30M impact investment fund.  The fund will make equity investments in for-profit startups seeking to create positive impact on ESG issues.  Beacon will look to invest in startups tackling a broad array of problems, but key areas of interest include:

  • Environmental Issues: Decarbonization, Waste Reduction, and Climate Adaptation
  • Social Issues: Financial and Digital Inclusion, Financial and Digital Literacy, and Access to Health Care 
  • Governance Issues: Consumer Protection, Supply Chain Visibility, and Business Transparency

The fund is targeting startups that can create quantifiable, sustainable, and scalable impact to one or more of the UN’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals.  Like Beacon’s past investments, the impact fund will invest in post-revenue companies with demonstrated customer traction and high scalability.

Mr. Thanapong Na Ranong, Managing Director of Beacon Venture Capital, said that “it is clear that the whole world needs to come together to support sustainable change.  As a long-time leader in the Thai venture capital industry, we see a great opportunity to support passionate entrepreneurs, both in Thailand and throughout the region, who are looking to make a difference in the world.  We firmly believe that consumers want to support sustainability and inclusivity, and that technology can make it easier for them to express their preferences and incentivize businesses to consider both the positive and negative impact from their operations.”  

He noted that governments, financial institutions, and large corporations are all seeking new solutions to help them achieve ESG goals, and startups are well positioned to develop new innovations to help accelerate the shift to a sustainable economy.  Mr. Thanapong Na Ranong added that “as a CVC, we believe that driving conversation and collaboration between startups and large corporations like KASIKORNBANK can magnify the impact that these innovative solutions have on Thailand and the world.  Our hope is to inspire investors and institutions to take a proactive approach to creating impact, and to support new generations of innovators to solve the planet’s biggest problems.”

While investing in positive social impact through the new Beacon Impact Fund, Beacon noted that ESG risk and its impact is important for companies in all industries.Therefore, Beacon is also continuing to work with all of its existing portfolio companies to encourage sustainable behavior and consider their impact on the environment and the world.  

The Beacon Impact Fund is part of KASIKORNBANK’s overall sustainability strategy and leadership vision in the field of ESG finance.  Both Beacon and KASIKORNBANK are committed to upholding ESG principles and paving the way for Thailand’s transition into the new sustainable world.

Venture capital arms under 2 leading Thai banks, Kasikornbank and Bank of Ayudhya, participate in the Seed round of Forward DeFi

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Forward, a Thai digital asset and blockchain startup focusing on protocol development for decentralized derivative exchange and DeFi platform, has successfully closed its USD 5 million seed round within just 6 months of fundraising, despite severe economic uncertainty and high volatility in the digital asset landscape.

The round was led by RPVAF-1, a global VC fund under Primestreet Capital, with participation from

  • Beacon Venture Capital from Kasikornbank;
  • KASIKORN X from Kasikornbank;
  • Krungsri Finnovate from Bank of Ayudhya, a member of the Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (MUFG); and

together with Ratanakorn Technology Group, GBV Capital and Varys Capital who have confirmed their investments earlier in this round.

Chanon Charatsuttikul, Co-founder and CEO of Forward, revealed that Forward is the world’s first DeFi project to receive investments from global funds and two major Thai banks. “I believe that there is hope for Thailand to become a center of innovation and technology. We have investors who are ready to support new talents. The closing of this seed round, for me, is the beginning of a big challenge for the team to maximize our potential and grow the organization, and help make Thailand stand out as a country of innovation, just like western countries.

“The majority of trading volume occurs at Binance, the world’s largest crypto exchange, and it mainly comes from derivative products. The trading volume of derivative products is approximately 3 times larger than the spot volume and it is still growing. Thus, Forward is focusing on developing a decentralized derivative platform, which is non-custodial with a system that prohibits transactions from sanctioned countries and addresses.  We have a strong team backed by PhDs working day and night to develop a newly invented protocol, called the Automated Position Hedger (APH), which is unlike anything seen before. In addition, we always take it very seriously in terms of legal issues, accounting standards, and the safety of the investors’ assets,” Chanon added.

Asst. Prof. Dr. Udomsak Rakwongwan, Co-founder and Advisor, added that “We aim to develop Forward to be a ‘One Stop Service’ protocol, solving limitation and pain points in DeFi economy. It will be a secure and easy-to-use platform where users can earn sustainable investment returns. This means that the return generated to investors is a result of a solid and sustainable business model that was carefully designed for long-term operation. Our user-friendly interface will reduce the barrier to onboard new users to the blockchain space. For every single line of our coding, smart contract technical auditing is required and it will be performed by at least 2 trusted auditors.”

Supavat Nam Cholvanich, Co-founder and Partner of PrimeStreet Capital, the lead investor of this round, said: “With our finance background, we have a good interest in financial-related blockchain technology. Digital asset is a high volatility landscape, and we highly emphasize the importance of safety and sustainability of the protocol. Our team focus deeply on the tightness of all operating logic and, at the same time, look for a platform with meaningful enhanced features that has the potential to stand out and elevate DeFi ecosystem. We believe Forward is well set up and its DeFi platform should easily navigate through market volatility and grow sustainably in the digital asset world.”

 

About Forward

Forward is a digital asset and blockchain startup, founded by a group of developers and tech researchers. The founders’ prior success was the launch of a well-known regulated crypto exchange in Thailand. Forward is currently developing a newly invented protocol for decentralized derivative trading, where short and long positions are matched against each other using an advanced protocol named Automated Position Hedger (APH). Forward DDEX acts as a counterparty to instantly match users’ long and short perpetual Futures orders. As a result, Forward does not have limit order books and does not require market makers. The risk of the platform acting as a users’ counter-party is completely hedged using the tokens in the lending and borrowing pools.

Kasikornbank to support FlowAccount in giving out free online accounting software for KBank SME customers, assisting SMEs to brave the Covid-19 pandemic

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Kasikornbank aims to support Thai SMEs to grow sustainably amidst the Covid-19 pandemic by giving out 1,000 FlowAccount software packages, with a total value of 3 million Baht, to KBank SME customers. This campaign hopes to boost SME’s operation efficiency and awareness of its financial health, thereby increasing the ability to access capital and resilience to tolerate future crises. FlowAccount is an online accounting software startup backed by Kasikornbank’s own venture capital – Beacon VC.

Mr. Pipavat Bhadranavik, Executive Vice President of Kasikornbank, reveals that the recent pandemic significantly affected Thai SMEs’ financial vitality, plaguing their daily operations and disrupting their cash flow. SMEs must be well-equipped with the knowledge of their company’s financial health and make an informed strategy to manage their liquidity. Kasikornbank is, therefore, looking to support its SMEs by offering an easy-to-use online accounting software so that the SME owners can be more efficient and managing their businesses anywhere and anytime.

Kasikornbank will give FlowAccount software to 1,000 KBank SME customers without any charges for one year, totaling in campaign value of 3 million Baht. Kasikornbank is looking to offer this campaign to SMEs in many industries, including but not limited to wholesalers, retailers, service, transportation, and communication.

Mr. Kridsada Chutinanton, Co-founder and CEO of FlowAccount, commented that Kasikornbank has long been the champion of Thai SMEs, allowing the bank to truly understand the pain points of the SMEs in doing accounting and the problems that lax accounting practice can create. FlowAccount is in the right sweet spot to solve those pains. The software is purely cloud-based and will help SME owners to do accounting at ease. By issuing or paying an invoice on FlowAccount, the system will auto synchronize the transaction and book-keep the transaction, then aggregating all the transactions into a summary that the SME owners can use to supplement business decisions – all viewable on the website and mobile phone. The software also shortens the time to do accounting and reduces mistakes compared to doing it on Excel or using pen and paper.

Mr. Thanapong Na Ranong, Managing Director of Beacon VC, further noted that Beacon VC invested in FlowAccount since 2017. FlowAccount has, over the years, always strived to innovate and develop new ways to serve the needs of SME owners. This collaboration will help the KBank SME customers do better accounting and grow the FlowAccouunt customer base. This mutual benefit between Kasikornbank or its customers and Startup is one of the many objectives that Beacon VC hopes to achieve when making an investment.

Founded in 2015, FlowAccount is an easy-to-use cloud accounting solution designed specifically for Thai small businesses. Our fintech software helps small business owners with invoicing, expense tracking, payroll, and reporting. Our goal is to make world-class software that helps small businesses save time, improve productivity, and ultimately increase their probability of success.

Founded in 2017, Beacon VC is a wholly-owned corporate venture capital fund of Kasikornbank PLC (SET: KBANK), a leading commercial bank in Thailand with the highest mobile penetration and largest SME base. With an initial fund of $30 million, Beacon VC focuses on strategic investments in early to growth-stage technology startups covering not only financial technology (fintech) but also consumer internet and enterprise technology. In 2020, Beacon VC expanded its fund size to $185 million.

Beacon VC Invests in Robowealth, leading Thais toward the Capital Market with Wealth Tech Solutions, targeting 2021 with the Total AuM of 30 Billion Thai Baht.

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Left: Mr. Chonladet Khemarattana, Group CEO of Robowealth. Right: Mr. Thanapong Na Ranong, Managing Director of Beacon Venture Capital

Beacon Venture Capital (Beacon VC), the corporate venture capital arm of KASIKORNBANK PLC. announces the Series A investment in Robowealth, a top-notch wealth tech start-up. This investment aims to leverage business strengths of both KBank and Robowealth to drive inclusiveness in the capital market by solving three primary issues that prevent Thais from investing, including the lack of time, lack of knowledge, and lack of capital, with the target of the total investment of 30 billion Thai Baht by 2021.

Mr. Thanapong Na Ranong, Managing Director of Beacon Venture Capital, said that Beacon VC focuses on investing in high-potential start-ups whose innovations and services can deliver real value to KBank customers through the creation of new financial products or services. While we would normally scout for new investments and find collaboration potentials with the business units, this is the first time that we invest in a start-up that already has a working relationship with KBank. KBank and Robowealth, together with Lu International, launched the application FinVest in late 2020.

Beacon VC announces its investment in Series A round in Robowealth, a top-notch wealth tech start-up in Thailand. Robowealth provides complete solutions for robo-advisory and mutual fund investment. This investment will reinforce strong on-going business collaborations with the company to offer Thais new investment tools and alternative investment products, something that the Thai investment market needs, especially when the interest rates for traditional saving products are low. Robowealth’s outstanding expertise in wealth tech services will help Thais have their investment goals met more easily.

Mr. Chonladet Khemarattana, Group CEO of Robowealth, reveals that Robowealth Group aims to liberalize the Thai financial industry by providing typical Thai people efficient investment opportunities. Currently, only 5% of Thai from 70 million population invest through mutual funds and stock exchange. Robowealth’s vision lies within the cooperation to build a stable financial ecosystem under the concept of “Empower Future Financial Ecosystem” through the Business to Consumer (B2C) and Business to Business (B2B) schemes. This ecosystem will ultimately help Thais to achieve financial freedom sustainably.

Presently, Robowealth plays an integral part in developing and offering two prominent investment applications under Robowealth Mutual Fund Brokerage Securities. Both can help Thai people gain access to mutual funds portfolio with only 1,000 baht of minimum investment. By design, each of them focuses on different target groups with distinctive and unique product positionings. Starting with odini, the first robo-advisor in Thailand debuted in 2018, the application targets ordinary people looking for a simple way to invest through automated ready-made mutual funds portfolios. The robo-advisor timely adjust the asset allocation to match with the market condition and customer’s risk appetite. The customer can either make a lump-sum investment amount or pre-specify the monthly contributions (DCA: Dollar Cost Average). Two years after the launch, Robowealth has enhanced the odini with a more premium service under the odini BLACK sub-brand integrated into the existing odini application to serve the mass affluent segment better. The second application is FinVest, which debuted in late 2020 as Thailand’s first curated mutual funds investment application. The investment committee, which consists of fund managers and investment analysts, has the primary responsibility of selecting a set of suitable mutual funds from both the domestic and global investment universe based on a thematic investment framework. Then, these featured funds will be directly served to the customer with the precise and digestible content to make the final investment decision on his own. FinVest is the collaboration among Robowealth, KASIKORNBANK, and Lu International, a world-class fintech company.

Furthermore, Robowealth also provides other services through its subsidiaries, including high-touch wealth management solutions for high-net-worth customers under Robowealth Investment Advisory Securities and professional fintech software development solutions under Codefin company, which is behind the success of various financial institutions.

Mr. Chonladet shares the insight regarding the effect of the COVID-19 situation that Robowealth customers benefit from the investment diversification to global markets. The robo-advisor could provide a decent return by allocating into Chinese and US equities as many tech stocks greatly benefited from the lock-down. The pandemics also encourage more people worldwide to quickly adopt the digital platform, which is the long-term benefit for wealth tech businesses. The Thai financial institution becomes more aware of the inevitable digital transformation, which provides an excellent opportunity for Robowealth to respond to the needs through Business to Business (B2B) cooperation.

Mr. Thanapong added that one of the main interesting characteristics of successful Thai fintech companies is that their business and offering model doesn’t aim to disrupt financial institutions, but instead aim to collaborate with those institutions by joining each parties’ unique strength to add value to customers and synergistically grow.

Mr. Chonladet makes his closing remarks that Robowealth aims to reduce the economic inequality in Thai society as the country faces one of the world’s worst wealth distribution. Although the income distribution is not that severe, the high cost of living leaves typical Thai households not enough money to save or invest, resulting in an always wider wealth gap between the rich and the poor. Finding effective investment channels is still considered a big challenge for those who have a little cash surplus. Therefore, the core principle of Robowealth is to co-create the financial ecosystem, which enables Thais to start investing with minimal funds through convenient, user-friendly, and reliable channels regardless of the service ownership. The service provider could be Robowealth, Robowealth’s business partner, or even any other company. It does not matter which company gains the market share if Thai people can access efficient investment channels. There should be no competitor in helping people to do so. Also, Robowealth strongly supports the promotion of financial literacy to the youth to shape the right perception towards investment, paving the way of becoming successful investors in the future.

About Robowealth Group

Robowealth Group, the digital investment service provider or wealth teach leader, launched the first robo–advisory service in Thailand. The company currently has two applications with authorization from the Securities and Exchange Commission of Thailand, under odini and FinVest. With the strong reputation of delivering high–quality services, the company is essentially gaining business partnerships from leading financial institutions and conglomerates in Thailand. Robowealth aims to modernize the Thai financial industry to enable every Thai individual to get proper access to an efficient investment opportunity. The company’s vision is to empower the future financial ecosystem via both Business–to–Consumer (B2C) and Business–to–Business (B2B) relationships.

About Beacon Venture Capital

Founded in 2017, Beacon VC is a wholly–owned corporate venture capital fund of KASIKORNBANK PLC. Beacon VC focuses on strategic investments in early to growth–stage technology start–ups covering not only financial technology (fintech) but also consumer internet and enterprise technology. Currently, Beacon VC has a fund size of $135 million and has invested in several technology start–ups such as FlowAccount, Eventpop, Jitta, Grab, InstaReM and Aspire.