Leveling up

• 500-backed Esports Players League (ESPL) has announced a partnership with Malaysian esports organization HomeBois.
• Under the agreement, both firms will collaborate to host the inaugural Academy Championship in Malaysia in December.
• According to a statement, the goal of the partnership is to build a sustainable foundation for aspiring players in Malaysia and the surrounding region. It added that talents participating in the Academy will be trained in numerous areas including creative and production services.
• Lau Kin Wai, Director of ESPL, said, “HomeBois is already a big player in the Malaysian esports league. We are glad to be able to collaborate with them as well as contribute as much as possible in realizing their vision to provide a comprehensive platform for the community, which already aligns with ours.”
• Read the full article here.

Building a stronger society

• Many startups in Southeast Asia are helping local communities fight the impact of the pandemic. Several 500-backed startups are some of those featured in a KrAsia piece.
• 500-backed super app Grab, for example, has brought together technology companies and traditional financial institutions to collaborate on providing local SMEs with access to funding.
• In the property market, 500-backed 99.co ramped up the digital offerings of its platform to serve consumers better. In addressing challenges brought about by the pandemic, 99.co offers features such as price analysis data for accurate property quotations and integrated virtual viewing.
• Founder and Group CEO Kamarul A Muhamed of Malaysia-based Aerodyne Group shared how the drone startup has contributed to the agriculture sector. Agrimor, its data-driven and AI-based platform, helps farmers increase crop yields and profitability. It plans to expand to countries where agriculture still employs labor-intensive practices that have a high environmental impact.
• Read the full feature on KrAsia.

Striving for sustainability

• Willson Deng wondered how he could improve the manufacturing sector. “How do we control it so that not only is it more efficient, but at the same time, better, more reliable, (and able to produce) more sustainable products?” he asked.
• He eventually went on to establish Arcstone, a 500-backed startup, and is helming it as its CEO. It specializes in helping businesses integrate and digitalize manufacturing operations across the entire supply chain.
• One of its products, Arc.Lite, offers SMEs access to a dashboard to view workflows and processes in real-time. Arcstone even employs blockchain technology. Arc.Net, its multi-level blockchain tool, enables users to transact data in a safe and protected manner.
• On the startup’s future plans, Willson hinted in the article that Arcstone may expand into North Asia and North America by 2022. It is also looking to launch products developed from research work at the lab jointly set up with the Agency for Science, Technology and Research launched in June this year.
• Get the full story in The Business Times.