A foothold in farming

• 500-backed drone tech startup Aerodyne Group announced it has struck a strategic partnership with a consortium of Japanese investors. The group comprises Real Tech Fund, a deeptech-focused venture capital fund, Kobashi Holdings, an agritech company, and ACSL, an industrial drone manufacturer and drone solutions provider.
• The consortium will support Aerodyne’s core business growth in Japan. Aerodyne is also targeting Southeast Asia’s plantation agriculture, where farming methods are often labor-intensive and have high environmental impact.
• The startup’s Agrimor service uses drones to monitor crop health, which in turn increases productivity and harvest yield. Pilot projects are running with several of the largest farm landowners in Malaysia with plans to expand the service to India, Indonesia, and Thailand after 2022.
• In an interview with Biztech.asia, CEO Kamarul A. Muhamed revealed that the startup plans to hire 2,000 drone pilots over the next 12 months just for its agriculture work.
• Read the full story on Digital News Asia here.

Diving into Vietnam

• 500-backed water purification startup Hydroleap recently completed the Vietnam Global Innovation (VGI) program, which provides knowledge and connections to Singaporean startups looking to expand into Vietnam.
• The four-week program used a mix of in-person and online sessions, allowing founders from ten startups to learn new insights and receive feedback on their business models, market entry strategies, and more.
• Wai Jun Mak, head of strategy and finance at Hydroleap, said the biggest insight the team learned from the program was a better understanding of the local regulatory landscape.
• Read more on KrAsia here.

Boosting the car industry

• 500-backed used car trading platform Carsome has partnered with CKL Group in Malaysia. This deal will enhance Carsome’s education offering for students and broaden its services to car owners and buyers.
• Together with CKL Group’s vocational education arm, School of Skills, Carsome will be offering a three-year technical education program that consists of three months of theoretical lessons at School of Skills, nine months’ internship at Carsome Academy, followed by a guaranteed two-year stint with Carsome upon completion of studies.
• The second part of the deal involves CKL Group’s retail arm, Lim Tayar. Carsome will be offering car maintenance packages redeemable at all Lim Tayar outlets to its customers, and free 175-point car inspection and valuation to Lim Tayar customers at selected outlets.
• Read the full article on New Straits Times here.

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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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