Participated · Series B · Aug 2020

Ayoconnect, founded in 2016 by Chiragh Kirpalani and Jakob Rost, offers a full Open Finance API stack and embedded payments infrastructure for businesses and developers in Indonesia and Southeast Asia. Its product set includes payments infrastructure, White‑Label Virtual Cards (launched with Mastercard in January 2023) and an Instant Transfer API. The company added more than 50 clients in 2023 and reported business growth of about 50% year‑over‑year. Ayoconnect said it implemented cost efficiencies in 2023, including a reduction of roughly 10% of staff in August as part of a push toward profitability. CEO Chiragh Kirpalani expressed optimism about a recovering digital economy in 2024 and continued expansion of financial‑services adoption. The company serves clients such as Bluebird, Bank Syariah Indonesia, Kredivo, JULO, KiriminAja, Bank DKI, Koperasi Syariah BMI, and MNC Group. Ayoconnect provides open banking and payment-services APIs that let businesses launch financial products faster without building their own infrastructure. The platform serves roughly 200 API customers and offers more than 4,000 embedded finance products across payments, data and banking. Ayoconnect is licensed by Bank Indonesia (Payment Service Provider Category 1) and is the only open finance player in Indonesia with central bank licensing, which enables it to offer additional services. The company has launched automated recurring direct debit integrations with seven major Indonesian banks and has partnerships with incumbents such as PT Kereta Api Indonesia and Bank Syariah Indonesia. Founded in 2016, the team is about 250 people and is focused on expanding financial inclusion for Indonesian consumers and SMEs. Future plans described by the company include leadership hiring and product and technology investment, including new APIs for account opening and card issuing. Ayoconnect is an Indonesian open finance platform offering an open API to enable embedded finance. The company reports more than 200 API customers and 4,000 embedded finance products. It plans to launch a direct debit service in Indonesia in the first half of 2022 to automate recurring bank-account payments and is developing cards-as-a-service for clients. Ayoconnect said it will use new funds to continue launching products and increase capacity to absorb accelerating demand. The company is preparing to begin regional expansion. CEO and co-founder Jakob Rost described the ambition as building "the AWS of open finance" and highlighted the backing of renowned investors. Ayoconnect, formerly known as Ayopop, operates a platform that lets bill issuers expand payment points and collect payments faster and cheaper. Bill categories on the platform include phone credits, electricity payments, game vouchers, and recently added recurring property and tuition payments. The company currently has 600 bill providers and 40 channel partners on board. Ayoconnect plans to invest the new capital into backend infrastructure and network expansion, and to increase staff at its Indonesian headquarters and its technology-focused office in India. CEO and co-founder Jakob Rost said the company aims to shape Indonesia’s billing ecosystem into a centralized network through partnerships with existing and new investors. To date, Ayoconnect has raised over USD 10 million; its last Series A occurred in 2017 (amount undisclosed).

Led · Series B · Oct 2018

TabSquare provides AI-powered restaurant solutions including TabSquare SmartTab (a customised tablet menu for recommendations, ordering, promotions and payments), TabSquare SmartApp (to extend restaurants beyond the physical store), and TabSquare Nucleus (a cloud-based data warehouse and analytics engine). The company says its software runs on over 6,000 devices serving more than 12 million diners and processes about six million orders annually. TabSquare plans to use new funding to enhance its AI tech, grow its geographic presence across Asia‑Pacific (including Australia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand), and increase manpower to support growth. The product suite lets restaurants update menus in real time and provides analytics to understand consumer behaviour and spending patterns. TabSquare was founded in 2012 by Chirag Tejuja, Sankaran Sreeraman, and Anshul Gupta. No revenue figures were disclosed in the article. TabSquare operates a restaurant management platform serving the foodservice industry in Singapore. The company provides software to help restaurants manage operations via its platform. It completed a Series A financing, raising S$3.5 million (approximately $2.57 million). The round was led by Walden International with participation from Infocomm Investments Pte Ltd, Phillip Private Equity and investor Ivan Lee’s vehicle, Raging Bull. The article does not disclose operating metrics, product roadmap details, or other financial information.

Led · Series B · Feb 2018

Love, Bonito is a Singapore-based omnichannel womenswear brand founded in 2010 that has expanded to ten markets. The company sells womenswear through a combined online and offline (omnichannel) model and plans to broaden its product mix into activewear, accessories, wellness, and other non-fashion categories. It also intends to launch a content platform (LiBrary) and a category expansion initiative (LaB) as part of building a broader female ecosystem. The new funds are earmarked to boost operations in existing omnichannel markets and accelerate international expansion into Hong Kong, Japan, the Philippines, and the United States. The company reports over 120% year-over-year growth in overseas markets and 208% growth in online sales, and highlights strong internet-sales growth among Asian diaspora in the U.S. Prior investors include Kakaku.com and Openspace Ventures. Love, Bonito is a women's lifestyle brand offering apparel through both online and brick-and-mortar stores. The company has retail and online presence in Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia and Cambodia, and ships internationally. Incorporated in 2010, it is led by Rachel Lim and Dione Song, Chief Commercial Officer. The business has a current headcount of 80 team members. Love, Bonito plans to use its new funding to bolster product, data and engineering teams, build brand relevance in new Asia-Pacific markets and deepen influence in existing markets. No revenue or user metrics were disclosed in the article.