Improving hospitality tech

• 500-backed real-time online restaurant booking website TABLEAPP has officially been acquired by Taiwan’s FunNow for an undisclosed amount.
• The fusion of both companies will uplift online reservation experiences in the region to be more seamless and efficient, said Philip Ting, founding partner and Head of Southeast Asia of FunNow.
• “This acquisition of TABLEAPP aligns with FunNow’s mission of creating more memorable experiences, a big part which is for users to be spontaneous before enjoying what lies ahead through a powerful reservation platform within their mobile devices.”

• Based out of Taiwan, FunNow is known for helping users find last-minute entertainment in various cities throughout Asia, and counts the Alibaba Entrepreneur Fund and CSV Venture Fund as its strategic investors.
• Meanwhile, TABLEAPP, has seated over 6.3 million diners since launching in 2013.
• Leveraging FunNow’s expertise, TABLEAPP founder and chief executive officer Benson Chang believes they can provide patrons and restaurants with an end-to-end solution that aims to fuel the F&B industry further into digitalization.
• “We are the leading provider of online restaurant reservations in Malaysia while FunNow offers users the best price points on lifestyle activities,” Benson added.
• Benson will act as Malaysia director and head the operations of the combined platform, with the rest of the TABLEAPP team joining the FunNow office in Kuala Lumpur.

Proptech boom in Thailand

• 500-backed property listing portal Hipflat has joined the Dot Property family in an acquisition for an undisclosed amount.
• Hipflat is the 13th website to join Dot Property’s group, which already has a presence in Southeast Asia operating property portals and complimentary offline media.
• In Thailand, the group has been experiencing positive growth over the past few years. According to e27, the number of visits to its English and Thai websites rose by 71% while enquiries increased by 63%.

• Hipflat, launched in 2013, has more than 200,000 property listings from all over the Kingdom through its English, Japanese, Thai, and Russian language websites.
• “This is an amazing opportunity to build upon our success as part of Southeast Asia’s fastest growing real-estate marketplace. The real winners here are Hipflat clients and users who will now enjoy improved support and a better overall experience,” said Denis Nemtsev, CEO of Hipflat.

Grassroots ambassadors

• Around 1,000 ride-hailing drivers in Sarawak, Malaysia will be enlisted into a tourism campaign jointly run by 500-backed Grab and the Sarawak Tourism Board.
• The chosen drivers will take part in e-learning modules covering Sarawak’s heritage and culture, and tourist attractions.
• The modules will be conducted on Axonify, under the Grab Academy.

• Sarawak is the first state in Malaysia to engage ride-hailing drivers for tourism campaigns.
• “Drivers are usually the first contact with tourists upon their arrival, and during their time exploring tourist attractions and destinations. Hence, it is extremely important that they have good knowledge of major routes, attractions and destinations,” said Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah, who is the Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture Sarawak.
• Apart from driver-centric modules, the Grab Academy also meets the needs of its merchants at different growth stages. These courses focus on digitization, business owners can learn project management, online marketing, menu optimization, and more.

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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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500 Durians

Born in Silicon Valley. Raised in Southeast Asia.

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