Insights
asia
From the real-world impact of AI and the rise of operator-investors, to the growing influence of women and underestimated founders in the funding landscape. Sarah breaks down what’s happening beyond Silicon Valley, explore how capital and media now move together, and spotlight the billion-dollar ideas driving the next wave of innovation.
- Billion Dollar Moves Episodes, Personal Growth, Startups, Venture Capital
Rising Through Insecurity: Material Scientist turned Unicorn Backer, Lu Zhang
From reluctant CEO, to seeding and scaling the original generation of venture capital funds in Malaysia as a limited partner investor as MAVCAP’s 4th CEO, to Managing Director of $1.2 Billion Pan-Asian VC fund, Jamal Bujang covers it all from how he took different leaps in his career, to how new venture capital funds can actually succeed with trust at the center of partnership, to the potential of Malaysia as the country heads into elections.
- Billion Dollar Moves Episodes, Startups
Family Office View: The Venture Capital Strategy
"The hardest lesson for me as a leader? I've chosen to be in this position. I chose to build this business. So it starts with me and it ends with me"
The family office was initially created to look after the wealth of ultra high net worth families. But today, the modern-day family office does far more than that and is in fact, acting a whole lot more like a venture investor. Today we talk to Field Pickering, COO, General Counsel and Head of Venture Investing at Vulpes, a family office built off the wealth of Stephen Diggle, who founded Artradis Fund Management. Artradis was an Asian long volatility biased multi strategy alternative asset manager, and at its helm grew assets under management from US$4 million to US$4.7 billion at its peak in 2008.
- Billion Dollar Moves Episodes, Startups
Making Relationships Work (While Building a Global Empire)
"When times are hard, hold on to your vision. Remember why you started in the first place."
In a never-before like interview, we dive deep into the business of drones with the Malaysian power couple Kamarul Muhamed and Azita Azizan who founded Aerodyne group, which is set to be the global leading provider of drone-based enterprise solutions, with over $30M raised, presence in over 35 countries, and over 350,000 assets inspected.
- Billion Dollar Moves Episodes, Startups, Venture Capital
Venture Capital in Emerging Markets: SuperApp Wars, SPACs
In today's Billion Dollar Moves Breakdown, we bust some myths on the emerging markets and venture capital with THE emerging markets analyst, Mikal Khoso, VC at Wavemaker Partners, a cross border venture capital firm dual headquartered in Los Angeles and Singapore and has raised over $580M across multiple funds.
- Billion Dollar Moves Episodes, Venture Capital
Building Unicorns Indonesia with Shinta Dhanuwardoyo
Indonesia’s startups have been making headlines in the last few years, including most recently the news that online mall Bukalapak is set to raise $1.5 billion in the country’s largest-ever initial public offering - setting the stage for a wave of tech listings, with fellow unicorns GoTo and Traveloka to follow suit. Home to the region’s largest population, it is no surprise, Indonesia is in it’s primetime for entrepreneurs. This week, we begin to scratch the surface of the Indonesian startup storyline with veteran digital entrepreneur and evangelist Shinta Dhanuwardoyo.
- Billion Dollar Moves Episodes, Startups
Never Too Late To Startup: Building Insurtech with Rosaline Koo
We love rooting for the underdog- but what does it really take to rise despite the odds, as THE underdog? Rosaline Koo founded CXA Group from her living room in 2013 after a storied career with multinationals, with ambitions to transform health benefits for employees. Tune in to her story from risking all her family savings to build her startup; to scaling to over a million users and raising over $50M from the likes of Facebook co-founder Eduardo Saverin's B Capital Group, EDBI, Openspace Ventures and more.
- Billion Dollar Moves Episodes, Startups, Venture Capital
Beyond Series A: Asian Startups in Overdrive
This week, we dive deep with Rajive Keshup in Singapore, Investment Director at Cathay Innovation, an early and growth stage venture capital firm with $1.5B AUM across San Francisco, Paris, Shanghai and Singapore, and closely affiliated with Cathay Capital Private Equity, a global private equity firm with $3B in AUM.
From the lens of a management consultant turned operator turned funder, Rajive talks about what it takes to be an entrepreneur’s first phone call in great and not-so-great times, and the real landscape of growth stage companies in SEA.
- Billion Dollar Moves Episodes, Startups
The Rise of SuperApps with Muneeb Maayr
Ride-hailing giant Gojek and marketplace Tokopedia, Indonesia’s two largest startups, said a couple of days ago that they’ve merged their businesses to form GoTo Group, on track for a $35-$40B IPO end year.
This sets more fuel to the fire of SuperApps rising in Southeast Asia: a trend that is actually moving from East to West. But is it all that it's cut out to be?
From the rise of SuperApps to the unique challenges of the two-wheeler opportunity in a country like Pakistan, to the fear of a meaningless life, Muneeb Maayr, Bykea and I cover it all.
- Billion Dollar Moves Episodes, Startups
ZILINGO’S JOURNEY WITH ANKITI BOSE
At 23, Ankiti co-founded Zilingo in 2015 with the vision of bridging the technology gap within the fashion and lifestyle supply chain to help small merchants and traders go digital. Under her leadership, Zilingo has raised over $300 million, scaled to over 8 countries, with over 10,000 merchants and 7 million active users.