Led · Series A · Mar 2016

Carsome operates an integrated car e-commerce platform providing end-to-end services spanning the vehicle ownership journey through subsidiary brands such as iCar Asia, WapCar, CarTimes, Carsome Academy, and Carsome Capital. It operates across Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, and Singapore, with Malaysia and Singapore currently contributing most to profitability. In FY2025 the company posted its second consecutive year of positive EBITDA, more than doubled earnings to around $23 million, and achieved a 16% increase in gross profit as it sharpened cost discipline and monetisation. Carsome plans to use recent funding to scale operations regionally while maintaining a focus on sustainable, profitable growth. The company is prioritising initiatives in supply chain development and technology collaboration, including integrating data and artificial intelligence into its operations. Management describes the fundraising as reinforcing strategic alignment with investors and supporting cross-border collaboration between Southeast Asia and Greater China.

Led · Equity · Nov 2014

Gimmie relocated from the U.S. to Singapore two years ago and builds mobile rewards, loyalty, and ad products for the Asian market. The company recently developed GimmieX, a messaging-based, real-time lead-conversion SaaS that segments website traffic by visitor type and other factors. GimmieX lets customers craft personalized messages served to site visitors with the goal of converting them into leads or customers. Gimmie discovered the product concept after partners reported difficulties converting website traffic. GimmieX is currently in beta and scheduled for an official launch next month. The company raised new funding to scale and further develop the product, and IRR plans to roll out GimmieX across many of its portfolio companies. Gimmie pivoted from offering gamer‑point redemptions to a white‑label rewards platform that lets publishers create localized campaigns and incentivized surveys. The platform provides an online dashboard for publishers to manage programs and rewards such as discounts on local restaurants or Uniqlo gift cards. The company relocated from Silicon Valley to Singapore to focus on Asian markets and is seeking publishers in Asia with large user bases. Gimmie took S$639,000 (about $522,000) in funding from a group led by WaveMaker Labs in partnership with the Singapore National Research Foundation, with Jakarta‑based Ideosource also participating. Previously the company had raised $200,000 from mobile incubator Tandem. The shift led to internal changes: co‑founder Roy Liu left and much of the U.S. staff were let go; the company now has eight employees and plans to enable resellers and launch new product features for different mobile devices in one to two months. Gimmie offers a platform for game and mobile app developers to increase in-app purchases by awarding users Gimmie points for sustained app use. Users can save and redeem points for free and discounted real-world products via an integrated marketplace. The platform lets developers determine how and when to issue points to incent actions like buying virtual goods, signing up for newsletters, or advancing levels. Developers can implement Gimmie’s in-app incentives program in a few minutes. The company launched its platform in a private beta that is open and free to app developers. Gimmie was co-founded in late 2011 by former PopCap developer Roy Liu and CEO David Ng.

Led · Seed · Nov 2014

Digital News Asia (DNA) is a two-year-old tech news publisher started by three experienced journalists and operating with an editorial team of five. The site positions itself as “old school” ICT journalism, emphasizing B2B and trade aspects of technology rather than consumer gadgetry. DNA says it is not a blog and aims to provide localized, in-depth perspectives across multiple markets. It has expanded beyond Malaysia to add staff in Singapore and intends to staff up in Indonesia, with Thailand and the Philippines on its radar. DNA plans to widen coverage into consumer/personal technology with a focus on how technologies change society and business, and it has a website revamp planned. The company declined to disclose traffic or revenue figures; investor IdeaRiverRun has agreed to respect editorial independence.