Daily Markup #454: Carsome launches state-of-the-art facility to transform used cars to be as good as new; Haulio grows 114% in revenue, plans to expand into 4 markets; How Aerodyne found its calling in the pandemic & became an industry leader

March 8, 2022 · 3 min read

Giving used cars new life

The largest car refurbishment facility in Southeast Asia is officially open for business! Dubbed Carsome Certified Lab, Carsome said it is a state-of-the-art facility that transforms a pre-owned car to be as good as new.
The 500-backed startup added that the Lab can refurbish up to 2,000 cars per month, an unprecedented scale across Southeast Asia.
Carsome Certified CEO Mei Han said, “All our cars go through world-class refurbishment at Carsome Certified Lab, so that our customers can choose their dream car from our largest selection of best-in-class, quality-assured cars. This is our continuous effort in eliminating consumer and industry pain points.”
The startup plans to open additional facilities in the next 12 months across Malaysia, Indonesia, and Thailand.
Earlier last month, Carsome also announced the appointment of Group Chief Financial Officer Juliet Zhu as Group President, while retaining her current role.
Congratulations to Carsome and Juliet!
Get more details about the Carsome Certified Lab here.

Driving digital growth

Amid ongoing global supply chain issues, 500-backed digital logistics startup Haulio posted positive results for FY2021.
In addition to securing a US$7 million Series A, Haulio was ranked third in The Straits Times’ Top 10 Fastest Growing Companies in Singapore last year.
2021 was also the year Haulio launched its first overseas market in Thailand, and the startup crossed its first $1 million revenue within nine months.
For FY2022, Haulio plans to expand in four other markets (it is hiring!), achieve green and sustainable haulage, reposition itself as a key growth platform for hauliers, and become the principal haulage fulfillment platform.
Read the full announcement here.

Using tech to improve lives

When the pandemic first hit, drone pilots working with 500-backed Aerodyne were unable to carry out their work in inspecting critical assets. Kamarul A Muhamed, founder and Group Chief Executive Officer of 500-backed Aerodyne, refused to retrench them.
Instead, he thought about how the startup could contribute real-world solutions. It offered its drone services and hardware to assist the Malaysian Police Force in the monitoring of lockdown compliance. This eventually grew into full-blown solutions called Fulcrum and vertikalitiOps.
Aerodyne also ventured into agritech. “During the pandemic, many foreign laborers were sent back to their countries, and those that remained were unable to work. Malaysia suffered as we rely heavily on foreign labor for the agriculture industry,” Kamarul explained. “Agrimor was built to carry out precision agriculture and the automation of agricultural processes through drones.”
He added, “Our Agrimor solution solved real issues of labor, and now, in the tail-end of the pandemic, Agrimor is helping large plantation companies, and we are developing a SuperApp for agriculture that we can deploy regionally.”
Read the full interview in TechNode Global.

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