Biteship, an Indonesian e-commerce logistics solution startup, on Friday announced an undisclosed amount of seed funding co-led by East Ventures and Beenext in a bid to increase its headcount and improve technology capabilities.
Founded by Mirsa Sadikin and Afra Sausan to help small businesses in the country, Biteship addresses the gap between shipping and warehouse providers by creating an application programming interface (API) as a gateway to access third-party logistics and warehouses.
Biteship has more than 30 third-party logistics in its network and connects with ‘hundreds’ of businesses of various sectors across the archipelago.
It claimed to maintain profitability with competitive margins while growing eight times in the first three months of 2022, compared with the same period a year earlier.
Last year, Biteship joined BRI Ventures’ eight-week accelerator programme called Sembrani वीर (read: Wira) along with employee wellness startup GajiGesa, edtech startup Gredu and others.
Known for its huge market and its inefficiencies, the Indonesian logistics sector is open to technology-enabled companies to solve its problems. Boosted by a significant increase due to e-commerce popularity during the pandemic, Indonesian tech logistics players have attracted investments.
DealStreetAsia reported in May that logistics service providerShipper has reportedly received fresh commitments worth around $65 million in an ongoing fundraising round. Meanwhile, a regulatory filing suggested that Waresix had secured $50 million in a funding round led by Tiger Global Management in April.
Indonesian startup VIDA raises Series A funding
VIDA, an Indonesia-based digital identity provider, announced raising an undisclosed amount in its Series A funding round backed by regional and global investors.
The official announcement confirms DealStreetAsia’s report in May that the company raised new Series A capital.
The announcement did not disclose the amount that VIDA raised but filings with Singapore’s Accounting and Corporation Regulatory Authority (ACRA), reviewed by DealStreetAsia, showed it raised at least $47.67 million.
VIDA said the latest funding round was backed by Alpha JWC Ventures, DST Global Partners, Breyer Capital, Future Shape, AC Ventures, and Endeavor Catalyst.
The startup was founded in 2018 by three fintech and cybersecurity experts — ex-Kartuku CEO Niki Luhur, former World Bank officer and former Endeavor Indonesia managing director Sati Rasuanto, and Gajendran Kandasamy, who formerly served as the CIO of Xendit.
VIDA, which raised an undisclosed amount in pre-Series A funding in September last year, offers identity verification, legally binding and verifiable digital signatures, and verifiable credentials.
With the fresh funds, VIDA said it will continue to invest in deepening its expertise in information security and machine learning, as well as intensifying its commitment to increasing public trust in digital transactions within the Indonesian digital economy.
SOUTHEAST ASIA DEAL MONITOR
DealStreetAsia has put together a table listing prominent venture capital transactions in Southeast Asia for the week starting June 6, 2022.
