Vantage | April 2021

Here are the latest updates on the portfolio companies across the Vertex network.

Vertex Ventures SEAI | Grab’s US listing plan casts spotlight on South-east Asian ecosystem

SINGAPORE - Singapore-headquartered super app Grab's plans to go public in the United States, in what is the largest blank cheque company deal ever, is testament to the growth prospects of South-east Asia and Singapore's start-up ecosystem, analysts and industry players said.

Grab, which started out as MyTeksi to address the safety concerns of taxi commuters in Kuala Lumpur, announced on Tuesday (April 13) its agreement with Altimeter Growth, a special purpose acquisition company (Spac) backed by Altimeter Capital, which will see the combined entity valued at around US$39.6 billion (S$53.2 billion).

Building the right foundation for a startup

With finite time and resources, startups only have a small margin for error as they grow, so laying down a strong foundation is crucial to set them on the path to success.

In the third instalment of our Technopreneur series, we explore how startups can manage the fundraising process as well as understand the legal documentation and potential cyber threats that may impact business operations.

Vertex Ventures SEAI & Vertex Growth | Overseas, offline foray on the cards for Licious

Six year old Licious has in many ways led the transformation of buying fresh meat and fish online in a sector that is fragmented, with over 90% of the market unorganised and unbranded.

The Bengaluru-based online meat startup has added five new cities (Coimbatore, Cochin, Vijaywada, Vizag, Jaipur) in the last three months and operates in 12 cities now. It plans to reach 20 cities over the next 18 months.

Vertex Ventures IL | Cymbio raises USD 7M to help brands expand to more e-commerce markets

This year brought immense growth to the e-commerce world, and with growth challenges emerge - as well as great companies with disruptive technology.

Cymbio's groundbreaking technology changes the interaction between brands and retailers. Roy Avidor Mor Lavi Gilad Zirkel - Welcome on board!

Vertex Ventures SEAI & Vertex Growth | SoftBank, Tencent backs IP analytics platform PatSnap in USD 300M round

Innovation intelligence company PatSnap has raised USD 300M in their latest Series E funding round.

The round was led by SoftBank Vision Fund 2 and Tencent Investment. Other existing investors who participated in this round were CPE Industrial Fund, Sequoia China, Vertex Growth (VGF), Vertex Ventures Southeast Asia & India (VVSEAI) and Shu Wei Capital.