[Updated] Insurtech startup Aktivolabs, payments firm CardUp raise funding and other SE Asia deals

Editor’s Note: The story has been updated with the funding amount confirmed by Aktivolabs.  

Singapore-based insurtech startup Aktivolabs has confirmed that it has secured $10 million in a Series A funding round. 

DealStreetAsia had earlier reported that Aktivolabs had secured $7 million in a Series A round, based on filings with Singapore’s Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority (ACRA).

The round was anchored by Japanese trading and investment company Mitsui & Co, which chipped in $4 million, according to the filings. Adaptive Capital Partners and SEEDS Capital, the investment arm of Enterprise Singapore, also participated in the round.

Co-founded in 2017 by David Lai, Gourab Mukherjee, and Dr Meng-Han Kuok, Aktivolabs is an insurtech company that engages insurance policyholders to live healthy lifestyles and attain long-term health using its mobile digital intervention tools.

The company provides sustainable, evidence-based, individualized digital health solutions that help populations understand and manage their risk of chronic diseases.

It also helps insurance, reinsurance, banks, corporations, and telecommunication companies to understand their clients’ health in real-time.

The startup was selected from 200 global startups to enter into the Plug and Play accelerator programme in 2019.

CardUp raises $1.7m from Funding Societies, SEEDS Capital

Online card payments startup CardUp has raised about $1.7 million in its latest funding round, according to ACRA filings seen by DealStreetAsia.

CardUp allocated new shares to SEEDS Capital and Funding Societies worth $575,000 and $1.1 million, respectively, the filings further showed.

DealStreetAsia has reached out to CardUp for confirmation. ACRA filings only reflect the equity funding received so far in a round and the overall funding round could be larger and/or have other components such as debt. 

Launched in 2016, the Singapore-based CardUp also has a presence in Malaysia and Hong Kong. It caters to micro-businesses and larger corporates for payroll, rent, corporate tax, vendor payments, receivables flows, and cross-border expenses.

The startup was acquired by online lending platform Funding Societies, better known as Modalku in Indonesia, for an undisclosed amount in June.

BNPL player Pace raises another $6m

Pace, a Singapore-based buy-now-pay-later (BNPL) provider, has raised an additional $6 million in its expanded Series A funding round, according to filings with Accounting Corporate and Regulatory Authority accessed by DealStreetAsia – DATA VANTAGE.

ACRA filings only reflect the equity funding received so far in a round, and the overall funding round could be larger and have other components such as debt. DealStreetAsia has reached out to Pace for comment.

The filings showed that the latest funding round was backed by existing investors Singapore’s Vertex Ventures Southeast Asia and UOB Venture Management as well as new investors Mindful Wealth and Taufiq Fuad.

Pace, which was founded in January last year, earlier said it will use the Series A funds to enter Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan. Its BNPL services are currently available in Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong, and Thailand.

In March, the Singapore-based startup announced that it has agreed to buy its older rival, Rely, for an undisclosed amount. Rely was founded in 2017, and was the first operator to offer BNPL in Singapore.

A month later, Pace launched its digital Pace Card, allowing users to track and manage installment payments and access the platform’s loyalty program.

Malaysian EWA startup Paywatch raises $9m

Paywatch, an earned wage access (EWA) service provider in Malaysia and South Korea, announced raising $9 million in a pre-Series A funding round anchored by existing investor Third Prime.

The round comes less than a year after the startup raised $5.2 million in a seed round backed by Third Prime, SparkLabs, Won & Partners, and CTK Investments.

Hana Ventures, the venture arm of Korea’s Hana Financial Group, Parkwood Corp, Vanderbilt University, and the University of Illinois Foundation, also participated in the latest funding round.

The startup works with banks such as Malaysia’s Hong Leong Bank and Hana Bank in South Korea to provide workers access to their wages before payday. It said it is working with five “established financial institutions” across Asia.

Paywatch, founded in 2020, said its EWA solution has already reached a 50% engagement rate among its Malaysia users this year. It claims to have over 100 corporate clients, including multinational companies and global brands such as Lotus’s, KFC, Pizza Hut, Wilmar International, TGI Fridays, Outback Steakhouse, Metrojaya Department Stores and more.

Founded by brothers Alex Kim and Richard Kim, Paywatch is one of the growing number of EWA startups emerging across Asia, such as GajiGesa and wagely in Indonesia, GetPaid in Singapore, Nano Technologies in Vietnam, and Refyne in India.

SOUTHEAST ASIA DEAL MONITOR

DealStreetAsia has put together a table listing prominent venture capital transactions in Southeast Asia in the fortnight beginning November 28, 2022.