Gearing up for more fun

• Congratulations are in order for 500-backed Carsome! The company announced two major moves — first, the acquisition of digital automotive content businesses WapCar and AutoFun, and second, the forming of a new subsidiary named WapCar AutoFun.
• A little bit about the two firms: They offer automotive content such as car reviews and ownership experiences to over 6 million monthly active users across Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Philippines, and Vietnam as of Q1 2021.
• Carsome Co-founder & Group CEO Eric Cheng said that the partnership will enable the company to serve customers from the early stages of car exploration, and bring a more engaging and fun experience to the car transaction and ownership journey.
• “We believe our collaboration through content, technology, and data will augment our ability to bring trust, transparency, and choice to customers together,” he added.
• Read the full story in Tech in Asia.
  

A winning connection

• Here’s another 500-backed startup to congratulate: superfast Internet company Transcelestial! It was among 3 companies to beat over 200 contenders in the 2021 Fast Forward with HPE — an initiative designed by Hewlett Packard Enterprise to support  companies identified as digital disruptors in the Asia Pacific startup ecosystem.
• This win grants Transcelestial access to strategic partnerships with HPE to scale their business and gain global market access.
• Rohit Jha, Co-founder & CEO believes that the fact that its technology is being developed outside the US market is a factor of success. This is especially pertinent given that it is serving a region where last-mile connectivity is a pervasive challenge. 
• Its next move? To provide connectivity of 100gbps along a 5km radius through a space network. And oh, Transcelestial has gained validation from the US market too!
• Read the full article on e27.

Fashionably unique with technology

• Forecasting fashion trends. Leveraging data science for better inventory planning. Personalization and machine learning to help people discover products. These are all the ways Co-founder & CEO of 500-backed Pomelo, David Jou, believes technology makes the fashion industry better.
• Launched in 2013, Pomelo was a purely online brand with just an e-commerce website. Today, it is an omnichannel platform that has a presence in Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Philippines, and even brick-and-mortar stores!
• During the pandemic, it also launched Prism, a fashion tech platform to support other fashion brands in logistics and marketing with data analytics and insights.
• Its grand ambition? To play a key part in the fashion ecosystem – connecting users, brands, suppliers, and technology – to create a thriving industry.
• Watch the full interview here.