Indonesian research startup Populix announced raising $4.3 million in the first close of its Series B funding round, which was anchored by MSW Ventures through MWS V Asia Fund X.
The initial close of the startup’s Series B funding comes nearly three years after it raised $7.7 million in a Series A funding round led by Indonesia-focused venture capital firm Intudo Ventures and Acrew Capital. Intudo and Acrew also participated in the latest round, Populix said.
In April 2021, Populix raised $1.2 million in its pre-Series A led by Intudo Ventures and backed by Quest Ventures. It also raised $1 million in seed funding in 2019.
Populix’s largest shareholders before the Series B funding
Populix is a technology-based research company that connects businesses, institutions, and individuals with quality, diverse, and targeted respondents throughout Indonesia.
Leveraging a data-driven approach and the latest technology, it offers end-to-end research solutions, covering planning, data collection, analysis, and reporting for market research and public policy studies.
The new capital will support AI development, particularly synthetic respondents—artificial personas that simulate human survey responses to accelerate insight generation, Populix said.
It also plans to automate more of its research pipeline and expand across Southeast Asia.
“This funding encourages us to continue reinforcing our business fundamentals by developing services and leveraging technology to innovate in the future,” said Dr Timothy Astandu, co-founder and CEO of Populix.
Populix posted a revenue of $1.36 million in 2023, slightly higher than the $1.03 million it reported in 2022, its filings with Singapore’s Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority (ACRA) show. Its losses, however, grew to $2.4 million in 2023 from $2.08 million in the prior year.
The Indonesian research startup’s funding comes as startups in Indonesia face a steep drop in funding, with DealStreetAsia reporting a 34% year-on-year decline in deal volume and a 66% plunge in value during 2024.
In March this year, Indonesia recorded a single deal valued at $4.3 million, raised by agritech startup Elevarm in a pre-Series A round led by Intudo Ventures, according to DealStreetAsia’s proprietary data.
