Charging forward

• 500-backed electric vehicle technology startup XING Mobility announced it has partnered with Castrol, a lubricant specialist.
• Together, the two companies aim to further develop XING Mobility’s immersion cooling battery technology, thereby improving battery system performance in electric vehicles (EV).
• Castrol’s e-thermal fluid is said to enable improved efficiency while meeting the specifications, conditions, and safety required by EV battery systems.
• Read the full announcement on Castrol here.

Learning to grow

• 500-backed edtech startup Lingokids revealed it tripled revenues in 2020, reaching US$30 million. It also added over one million users per month and now has a customer base of 25 million registered users.
• But the startup isn’t resting on its laurels. It is aiming to reach 50 million users by the end of 2021 and 100 million by the end of 2022.
• The startup is currently undergoing a transformation, evolving from primarily a language learning tool towards a fully-fledged educational platform. They’re working on content and games that teach both everyday skills and soft skills like creativity, environmental sustainability, collaboration, communication, and critical thinking.
• Read the full announcement on Tech EU here.

WORQ-ing through the pandemic

• 500-backed co-working space, WORQ, announced it will be rolling out its new Flexi-Team solutions. This is part of their Uplift 2.0 initiative to help businesses build more sustainable operations.
• Uplift 2.0 focuses on helping organizations move forward with better productivity while keeping costs low.
• “Global surveys have shown that both flexibility in location and collaborative office spaces are paramount to productivity. While organisations are looking to restructure their workplace policies, business sustainability is a pressing issue. Our new Flexi-Team enterprise solutions are the key to enable this transition smoothly,” Stephanie Ping, Chief Executive Officer and Co-founder said.
• WORQ believes that the monthly pay-per-use cost of the Flexi-Team solutions can offer businesses up to 40% cost savings, based on the headcount of employees in a business.
• Get more details on Business Today 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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