Where no man has gone

• 500-backed Atomionics, a startup that builds quantum sensors for navigation and resource exploration, has successfully closed a seed funding round.
• The Singapore-based startup aims to make navigation possible in areas where GPS doesn’t work — without the need for any satellites. Its tech creates a universal positioning system that works underground, underwater, and in space.

• With the new funding, the startup plans to ramp up its hiring process, further enhance its product, and deliver it to the market.
• “Atomionics has developed a significant step-change in sensing technology that will impact behemoth industries like energy, infrastructure, and disaster management in unparalleled ways. The rapid adoption of Atomionics’s breakthrough products has the potential to transform this ‘made in Singapore’’ deep technology company into a pioneering global firm,” Vishal Harnal, partner at 500 Durians, said.
• Read the full story on e27 here.

A ‘customer first’ mindset

• Maliha M Quadir, founder and managing director of 500-backed Shohoz, was featured in an interview with the Business Times in Bangladesh.

• “Shohoz started its journey as the first online ticketing platform in Bangladesh and became the largest one,” she said. “We have been leading the category that has been on a growth trajectory for the last 7 years. This is a clear indication of a massive potential growth both for Shohoz and the category going forward.”
• According to Maliha, Shohoz has a 24/7 call center and customers can book with 100+ bus companies with 2000+ different bus routes at over 600 partner points. It has also partnered up with an insurance company to develop a plan to protect customers against unforeseen events.
• She shared that digital literacy and smartphone penetration is one of the challenges in the e-ticket space. It plans to create simpler consumer solutions to ensure inclusivity for all.
• Read the full interview here.

A masterclass special

• Vishal Harnal, General Partner at 500 Startups and Arne Jeroschewski, founder and CEO of Parcel Perform, will be speaking at an Amazon Web Services (AWS) online workshop on artificial intelligence and machine learning (AI/ML).

• Vishal and Arne will share their approaches in AI/ML and the business impact they have observed for themselves and in the market.
• The session will also shed light on the VC perspective on investing in startups leveraging AI/ML technologies.
• More details and registration 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.

This post is intended solely for general informational or educational purposes only. 500 Startups Management Company, L.L.C. and its affiliates (collectively “500 Startups”) makes no representation as to the accuracy or information in this post and while reasonable steps have been taken to ensure that the information herein is accurate and up-to-date, no liability can be accepted for any error or omissions. All third party links in this post have not been independently verified by 500 Startups and the inclusion of such links should not be interpreted as an endorsement or confirmation of the content within. Information about portfolio companies’ markets, competitors, performance, and fundraising has been provided by those companies’ founders and has not been independently verified. Under no circumstances should any content in this post be construed as investment, legal, tax or accounting advice by 500 Startups, or an offer to provide any investment advisory service with regard to securities by 500 Startups. No content or information in this post should be construed as an offer to sell or solicitation of interest to purchase any securities advised by 500 Startups. Prospective investors considering an investment into any 500 Startups fund should not consider or construe this content as fund marketing material. The views expressed herein are as at the date of this post and are subject to change without notice. One or more 500 Startups fund may have a financial interest in one or more of the companies discussed.