All aboard Angkor 500

• Recently, 500 Startups announced a two-year partnership with Khmer Enterprise, a unit under the Cambodian Ministry of Economy and Finance, to launch Angkor 500, a series of programs dedicated to the development of the Cambodian startup ecosystem.
• This is in addition to the existing 500 Durians fund dedicated for Southeast Asia, and country-specific micro funds 500 Vietnam and 500 TukTuks in Thailand.
• In an interview with KrASIA, CEO and founding partner of 500 Startups Christine Tsai said participants of Angkor 500 will gain access to experts who will help with strategies and challenges, exclusive networking opportunities, and leverage on the expertise of the 500 Durians team and portfolio.

• The program hopes to attract and train tech talent by offering mentorship through entrepreneurship programs.
• “Cambodia’s economy and talent are at an inflection point for rapid growth, and we are confident that this program will help local founders build strong companies that will push the boundaries of what is possible,” she added. “In fact, in 2017, we became the first Silicon Valley VC to invest in a Cambodian startup called Khmerload.”
• The kingdom is cited as “one of the fastest-growing economies in the world” by World Bank, Cambodia reached lower-middle-income status in 2015 and aspires to attain upper-middle-income status by 2030.
• Christine shared that 500 actively seeks to forge partnerships with governments, corporations, and institutions, which are especially important in underserved markets. “Venture capitalists are able to better support startups when governments act as partners. Startups benefit from partnerships in the form of training and mentorship, while allowing governments to keep up with innovation and promote research and development,” she said.
• “The potential for change and growth is huge when investors and governments work together,” Christine concluded.
• Read the full interview here.

Robots in retail

• Online shopping is not a new concept, but lockdown measures have accelerated the trend. A report by IBM showed the pandemic has accelerated the shift from traditional retail to e-commerce by 5 years.
• As shoppers seek to safeguard themselves from the virus, they look to shopping online instead.
• 500-backed OhmniLabs is bringing online shopping to another level with ‘Chester’, a robot that allows shoppers to browse a showroom floor in-person, virtually.

• How does this work? Customers get connected to the robot from the comfort of their own homes and drive it remotely around the store.
• Furniture store COCOCO Home in the town of Cornelius in North Carolina, United States of America has “employed” one such robot.
• “We’re able to show [customers] leather colors and fabric colors,” store owner Steve Secrest explained, adding that it has changed his customers’ virtual experience.
• “We’re not just talking to them, we are with them in a real sense. There’s a real presence to it,” he added.
• Dr. Thuc Vu, CEO of OhmniLabs shared that “thousands are being used around the world for shopping, inspecting vehicles, and in healthcare settings”.
• He added that users gain full control of the robot and they can look all the way up and down and even turn around.
• According to Steve, Chester is helping the store turn a profit and he may get more robots even after the pandemic is over.
• “It allows [customers] to understand us and where we’re coming from as a company and build trust, and it helps us understand who they are,” Steve said.

Keeping clean kitchens

• 500-backed healthtech and insurtech startup Clinikk is helping India’s largest cloud kitchen company operate safely amid the pandemic.

• The cloud kitchen company employs over 4,000 staff members across the country and sought to create a safe work environment.
• Clinikk deployed its COVID tele-screening products, enforcing mandatory temperature screenings for all workers, with staff self-reporting symptoms.
• They made the Clinikk medical team available in case of reported symptoms, and those who get a clean bill of health receive a certificate from Clinikk doctors.
• To date, the startup has conducted 358 kitchen screenings for 5,554 kitchen staff, 209 teleconsultation sessions with Clinikk doctors, and issued 2,290 safety badges.
• HR Executive at the kitchen company, Pooja Gaurav, said “I just wanted to say that the Clinikk team has been helping our brand to start the telehealth screening project in a very short period. We have been working with them from the last 6 months, and at every step, they have been helpful, supportive and lifting the burden. I appreciate the efforts taken by Clinikk Healthcare to fulfil our requirements. Thanks for being so awesome!”
• Based in Bengaluru, Clinikk integrates healthcare with insurance both online and offline, providing family health insurance coverage, personal medical assistance, telemedicine consultations, among other services.
• The startup claims its subscriber base grew by 40% in Q4 this year and is being used by over 500,000 people across India.

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500 Startups is a venture capital firm on a mission to discover and back the world’s most talented entrepreneurs, help them create successful companies at scale, and build thriving global ecosystems. In Southeast Asia, 500 Startups invests through the pioneering 500 Southeast Asia family of funds. The 500 Southeast Asia funds have backed over 240 companies across multiple sectors from internet to consumer to deep technology. It continues to connect founders with capital, expertise and powerful regional and global networks to help them succeed.

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