The New Startups That Thailand's 500 Tuktuks Has Funded From Its Second Fund

Thailand’s unit of early-stage VC fund 500 Startups, 500 TukTuks  announced the new startups it has invested from its second fund.The names also include Volt14, which aims to reduce the cost of production and increase the capacity of Li-ion battery cells without changing any existing manufacturing process



The second batch of investment follows the first batch of six it had announced earlier in 2019.

Thailand Startup News briefly narrates a summarized intro of the of the second batch of startups funded by 500 TukTuks

1.Volt14: A Hong Kong nanotech startup, it invented a proprietary nanocomposite material to reduce the cost of production and increase the capacity of Li-ion battery cells without changing any existing manufacturing process. The company develops battery materials that can be used to replace graphite, which is currently used in Li-ion batteries.

2.ShweProperty: A major property portal in Myanmar’s fast-growing real estate market, ShweProperty connects property buyers, renters and sellers. The company currently has over 100,000 active listings and close to one million monthly visits. e27 had first reported this funding announcement in August this year.

3.Portier: A startup that  helps hotels better communicate with their guests via an intelligent smartphone platform that gives guests access to mobile internet, calls, connectivity and relevant contents. This allows the hotel to remain connected to their guests beyond the limitations of the property and generate additional income by automating personalised timely promotions. This offers an alternative option for hotels to engage customers rather than wasting resources on the advertisement.

4.Salutat: A startup that addresses the struggles of financial institutions in providing co-ordinated and efficient communications to their clients. With the emergence of fintech companies, traditional lenders are under pressure to delivers better service and customer experience, and Salutat can help them by providing an AI-powered virtual customer relationship management software that automates and enhances digital customer conversations using neuroscience and machine learning.

5.Trustless: This startup aims to create an open and decentralised liquidity source for any global asset. While the focal point of cryptocurrencies is ‘decentralised’, the liquidity providers are still ‘centralised’. Trustless wants to change this by decentralising liquidity for all global assets. It does so by creating a Crosschain Liquidity Protocol, a blockchain infrastructure that allows atomic swaps between crypto-assets and stable coins, and allows OTC dealing without having to trust the counterparty.

6.Papaya: A new healthcare and wellness benefits platform, it helps HR teams provide flexible health insurance and wellness benefit plans (gym, yoga, learning, etc) to their employees. Papaya does this by providing personalisation through an app where employees can add their insurance plans and get access to a curated list of healthcare and wellness offerings. Papaya also provides a portal for the HR team to manage, monitor and approve reimbursements.

7.GetVan: As startup that features a private and public van booking platform, GetVan allows passengers to book and pay for fixed-route van tickets without having to wait in the queue as they usually have to. The app also offers private van booking and package delivery services. Launched in 2019, GetVan is already processing more than 50,000 bookings per month with their network of 13,000 covering 80 per cent of all the available routes in Thailand.

8.HungryHub: A startup that features a fixed-price dining app, offering exclusive buffet deals and sharing-set menus at restaurants. On the restaurants’ side, HungryHub offers them access to a big, untapped pool of high-paying group bookings. This helps restaurants to up-sell rather than discount giving way to the emergence of sustainable promotions.

9.OpenDurian: A startup offering an  online learning platform in Thailand, OpenDurian helps offline tutors expand their reach by creating high-quality production of online courses. Currently, OpenDurian is dominating the market in two segments ,pre-university students and first-jobbers who require courses for exams such as TOEFL and TOEIC. The company had over four million users accessing their free content in 2018 and is currently expanding to courses in digital skills that will be crucial in the age of digital disruption.

10.SiamCarDeal: A startup providing digital solutions to automotive retailers in ASEAN. SiamCarDeal helps dealerships digitise with a suite of services from lead generation, lead management platform, lead qualification and marketing. The company already has customers from 18 brands in four countries. From the buyer’s side, SiamCarDeal combines promotions from all the various dealers in one place to help them find the best deal of the car that suits them, eliminating the trouble of multiple visits to the dealerships.