Field of dreams

• 500-backed robotics startup OhmniLabs has partnered with Volkswagen of America, Inc. to create a custom telepresence robot named CHAMP.
• CHAMP was developed to expand the reach, visibility, and impact of the U.S. Soccer’s existing player honoree program. This collaboration will allow young soccer fans experiencing hardships or unique circumstances the opportunity to participate virtually, providing mobility and access to special matchday experiences.
• “[Giving young fans] an opportunity to be a part of the player honoree experience using our robots is one of the most rewarding aspects of our business,” said Dr. Thuc Vu, co-founder and CEO of OhmniLabs, “CHAMP is a great example of how quickly we can build custom robots using our modular platform. We are thrilled with the outcome and excited to see CHAMP on the soccer fields this year.”
• Following its debut on 1st July, CHAMP will attend future Women’s and Men’s National Team matches, providing other children the opportunity to be a virtual player honoree throughout 2021 and beyond.
• Read the full article on U.S. Soccer here.

No hidden agenda

• 500-backed fintech startup Split announced its services have been certified Shariah-compliant in Malaysia. The startup claims it is the first ‘buy now, pay later’ (BNPL) operator to have their offerings certified as Shariah-compliant by Masyref Advisory.
• According to the article, the Shariah certification provides assurance to both Muslim consumers and merchants that Split’s BNPL payment service is in accordance with Islamic principles.
• Dylan Tan, co-founder and CEO said, “The importance of localizing our offering to meet the needs of Malaysians cannot be understated. We want our BNPL service to be accessible to all, which in Malaysia, includes a large population of Muslims.”
• The startup added that the Shariah compliance certification affirms the transparency of its services. It said that users pay only for the price of their order, and no interest, late fees, or processing fees are charged.
• Read the full article on Fintechnews here.

Safety first

• CEO and co-founder of cybersecurity startup Horangi, Paul Hadjy, told ZDNet that Asia-Pacific organizations generally did not regard security as topmost on their agenda. He noted that most customers Horangi worked with had no prior cloud security framework in place.
• A report revealed that by 2023, at least 99% of cloud security failures were projected to be the customer’s fault. It also forecasted that 50% of enterprises would unknowingly and erroneously expose some cloud services or applications to the public internet this year.
• Paul warned that no business today was too small to be a target, and all were at risk of cybersecurity attacks. According to him, hackers also would target organizations that did not take security seriously.
• He added that the move to remote work further complicated IT infrastructures, where traditional methods were no longer effective as more employees worked from home.
• Earlier this year, Horangi extended its services in Southeast Asia via Amazon Web Services (AWS) Marketplace. The startup claims to be one of the first Asia Pacific (APAC) companies to do so in the digital catalog.
• Read the full article on ZDNet here.

Missed out the last Daily Markup? Go here to check it out.

You can also find us on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

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.

This post is intended solely for general informational or educational purposes only. 500 Startups Management Company, L.L.C. and its affiliates (collectively “500 Startups”) makes no representation as to the accuracy or information in this post and while reasonable steps have been taken to ensure that the information herein is accurate and up-to-date, no liability can be accepted for any error or omissions. All third party links in this post have not been independently verified by 500 Startups and the inclusion of such links should not be interpreted as an endorsement or confirmation of the content within. Information about portfolio companies’ markets, competitors, performance, and fundraising has been provided by those companies’ founders and has not been independently verified. Under no circumstances should any content in this post be construed as investment, legal, tax or accounting advice by 500 Startups, or an offer to provide any investment advisory service with regard to securities by 500 Startups. No content or information in this post should be construed as an offer to sell or solicitation of interest to purchase any securities advised by 500 Startups. Prospective investors considering an investment into any 500 Startups fund should not consider or construe this content as fund marketing material. The views expressed herein are as at the date of this post and are subject to change without notice. One or more 500 Startups fund may have a financial interest in one or more of the companies discussed.