Not playing around

• Founded by Micheal Carter, co-founder of 500-backed GameClosure, Zynga co-founder Justin Waldron, as well as game producers Takeshi Otsuka and Teddy Cross, Playco is a mobile gaming startup company based in Tokyo.
• It’s already a unicorn, despite only being just formed, Nikkei Asian Review reported.
• Playco has raised US$100 million in Series A at a valuation of just “north of US$1 billion”. The round was led by Sequoia Capital and angel investor Josh Buckley.

• Playco will release its first titles later this year, focusing on instant gaming platforms across cloud streaming, Google Play Instant, iOS App Clips, Facebook Instant Games, and Snapchat Minis.
• “Our game engine allows us to partner with all platforms that enable instant play, whether it’s cloud streaming, Google Play Instant, iOS App Clips, Facebook Instant Games, Snapchat Minis, or new emerging platforms. Using this technology, our small teams can build games faster, understand our players better, and iterate more rapidly than even the biggest game companies in the world, like Zynga,” Micheal said.
• Read on Playco, its vision for gaming, and more, via its official website here.

Fintech integration

• 500-backed Fave is introducing GrabPay, the e-wallet from fellow 500-backed company Grab, on its platform in Malaysia. This allows users to make payment using GrabPay and enjoy cashback and rewards points from both Fave and Grab.
• Besides, users can spend on over 17,000 outlets and retailers on Fave’s network with their GrabPay accounts.
• According to the reports, the “double-dip” rewards come in the form of 3x GrabReward points for every RM1 spent on the platform, and Fave Partner Cashbacks.

• “It is about time we partnered with like-minded companies such as Grab to steer Malaysia towards a cashless economy. We see everyday Malaysians comfortably leveraging cashless payments for small and large day-to-day purchase, and the vast percentage of the population is receptive towards a cashless option that results in greater savings for the consumer,” said co-founder and chief executive officer of Fave Malaysia, Joel Neoh.
• Priyanka Madan, head of GrabPay Malaysia, said the partnership falls in-line with their long-term vision to enhance its digital payment offerings.
• “Our collaboration with Fave demonstrates our commitment towards building seamless, intuitive services for our users and is in line with our longer-term strategic roadmap to build on payments, partnerships and our platform.”
• More details on Fave x GrabPay here.

A wholesome approach

• Azran Osman-Rani is the co-founder of 500-backed digital health startup Naluri, which provides professional health and life coaching services by connecting users to health professionals such as health psychologists, dieticians, and fitness coaches — all in one app.
• In an interview with Australian magazine In The Black, Azran said the future of medicine depends on an integrated online approach that allows medical practitioners to diagnose mental illnesses as well as physical ailments.
• “The reason why we do it together is because we believe these things need to be addressed in an integrated way, whereas traditional healthcare looks at them separately,” he says.

• According to Azran, traditional healthcare is flawed across three segments. First, there’s too much focus on “activities” like counting calories rather than “outcomes” like weight-loss. Second is the one-off transactional relationship between patient and doctors. And lastly, healthcare divisions are too siloed.
• Digitally, Azran believed his team can assist 500 patients on an ongoing basis rather than being restricted to treating about 50 patients at a time in a one-on-one scenario.
• “And by ten-folding the productivity, we can bring down the price of professional coaching by 10 times, which makes it much more accessible, particularly here in South-East Asia, where affordability is a big issue,” he added.
• In September, Naluri announced it was collaborating with the Malaysian Aviation Group (MAG) to offer psychological health support during this time. MAG runs national carrier Malaysian Airlines and budget airline Firefly.

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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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