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SAVVi Newsletter (Nov 2022)

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NEWSLETTER

NOVEMBER 2022

All the latest news about Viet tech, startups, founders, investors, and unique investment opportunities

Issue 2, November 2022

SAVVi

HIGHLIGHTS

Founder Spotlight: Christian Lee and Abhishek Kumar: AuMBER Founders Backed by Premier Venture Builder, Antler

Network News: OnSky, Otrafy, PhucLabs, and Vulcan Augmetics

Funding: Auctify, Otrafy, PhucLabs, Vulcan

Vietnam Tech and Startup Environment

Join us for an interview with AuMBER founders 10am Vietnam Time on November 29th, 7pm PST on November 28th

DID YOU KNOW?

Vietnam will be the 10th largest consumer market in the world by 2030
Estimated 7-10% of overseas Vietnamese to return to Vietnam permanently by 2030
By 2040, Vietnam’s passport will be in the top 30 most powerful

FOUNDER SPOTLIGHT

Christian Lee and Abhishek Kumar: Top 5% Selected by Premier Venture Builder, Antler

It was February 26th, 2020, five days after his 20th birthday, that Christian Lee boarded his flight to Vietnam alone. It was his first time leaving the United States. He went with a very specific purpose. For months beforehand, he’d researched places all over the globe, analyzing every bit of data he could to determine the absolute best place in the world to create and grow a startup. Ho Chi Minh City was the only place on Earth which matched all of his criteria, so he bought a ticket and he went without hesitation or any amount of reluctance. The timing couldn’t have been more perfect as COVID-19 was given pandemic status less than a month later.

Two months after his arrival, Christian managed to get a job as a data analyst at a new startup, where he stayed for over two years gaining experience which he could later use when founding his own company. Eventually, when he felt ready, he applied to Antler Vietnam’s second cohort.


He was drawn to Antler by the fact that they invested from day zero, helping founders to build startups from scratch. He originally applied with two other employees of the startup he worked at. They each submitted their applications and were some of the lucky or qualified few to get interviews, of which they had to pass two in order to finally be accepted into the program out of thousands of other applicants. Unfortunately, the other two employees had to drop out of the program before it started due to personal reasons, but Christian was still fully determined to continue on his own, aware that a big part of Antler’s program was about matching with the perfect cofounders.

Christian met the person who would become his cofounder, Abhishek Kumar, on the first day of the program. Abhishek had lived in Vietnam for over a decade and had years of experience in everything that makes a great business leader. He shared his startup idea with Christian, who thought it was incredible. Within weeks, they were actively working on the idea. The program from the start to the end was extremely useful even for those who didn’t end up getting funding, consisting of networking, masterclasses, boot camps, endless pitch refinement, and business validation. Christian and Abhishek worked tirelessly to stand out, attempting to have the best problem and solution validation in the cohort, as well as preparing a tech demo to prove their capability to execute their plan.

By the end of the intensive 10 weeks, the two ambitious founders’ hard work had paid off. They were able to pass Antler Vietnam’s IC and get funding to create their company, which they called AuMBER. Both founders have unwavering confidence that they will build the world’s best, most innovative cloud testing platform. They are motivated to do so by the industry’s stagnation over the last few years, the desire to create value from that which had once been considered worthless, and to elevate Vietnam’s IT industry and digitization. Their current focus is to build traction with their product in order to raise additional funds at Antler Vietnam’s Demo Day in January.

SAVVI NETWORK NEWS

UPDATES

OnSky

OnSky Health Launches DreamBe™ Contactless Health and Safety Monitoring Pad for Baby Care. It senses babies’ heart rate, breathing, sleep quality and more with no wearables or attachments. Parents can rest easy knowing that no electromagnetic wave radiation will contact baby’s skin. As the industry’s first contact-free baby monitoring pad with all-in-one health sensing capabilities, “DreamBe gives parents peace of mind knowing their babies are safe and comfortable,” says founder Hung Nguyen.

Otrafy

Otrafy was one of five companies to win $1 million in investment from 43North’s competition, in which aach had three minutes at Shea’s Performing Arts Center to convince a panel of judges why their company deserved $1 million. They then had four minutes to answer the judges’ questions. This is the first year 43North has given out five $1 million prizes. Looking at the strength of the companies that pitched this year, President Colleen Heidinger said the change has definitely paid off. The five winners must move their company to Buffalo for a year beginning in January and give 43North a 5% equity stake. Otrafy is modernizing that with its artificial-intelligence powered supplier management software. The company has seen 300% growth this year, founder Nhat Nguyen said. He predicts his company will reach $2 million in revenue by the end of next year.

EVENTS

29th November

Spotlight Founder Interview

  • 10am Vietnam Time
  • 7pm PST (Nov 28)
  • Zoom

13 April

Smart Tech Vietnam 2023

06 December

Global Metaverse Carnival 2022-Policy | Web3 | Technology | Investment

18 November

2022 Women’s Entrepreneurship Day _ Panel Discussion

PhucLabs

The Mass Technology Leadership Council announced its Tech Top 50 list, where PhucLabs, a company founded by brothers Phuc Vinh Truong and Phuc Thien Truong which breaks down e-waste for valuable materials which can then be sold or used again, earned the prestigious placing as one of 6 companies in the ‘Tech to Watch’ category. As PhucLabs puts it, “most waste streams contain valuable resources, and our company was founded to sort and capture it all.” They have a very strong team with a history of exits and value creation at every level. But in the end, it’s their technology which has garnered the most praise and is likely to contribute heavily to the reduction of e-waste globally.

Vulcan Augmetics

Vulcan Augmetics is one of the rare startups in Vietnam that focuses on Robotics technology, developing body- worn tech to help people become stronger, faster and more durable. From 2022, the company plans to expand R&D into software engineering, which is the bridge between technology and the human body. The company was born in 2018, focusing on Robotics technology with the mission of building people. To date, the company has launched its first commercial product – a robotic hand for the disabled. Products are currently distributed in 17 centers and hospitals nationwide. In the future, Vulcan Augmetics aims to develop product lines for people with paralysis or weak muscles, then those without disabilities but want to be more durable and flexible in special physical activities.


VietnamWorks

VietnamWorks, a member of the leading human resource recruitment service provider Navigos Group Vietnam, organized the “Exhibition and Sharing on the topic of Happy Career Journey” in Hanoi. It is a continuation and expansion of the success of the recent series of relocation activities in Ho Chi Minh City. Representative of VietnamWorks, Mr. Gaku Echizenya, Chairman and CEO of Navigos Group Vietnam, shared: “The series of events “Exhibition and Sharing on the topic of Happy Career Journey” not only marks the transition of VietnamWorks but also an opportunity for participants to better understand the needs of the market, themselves; towards meaningful values that contribute to society, contributing to the creation of “Happiness Career Journeys”.

FUNDING

Auctify

Auctify has developed a wearable analytics platform called Specs. It’s a pair of prescription smart glasses with a built in image sensor that uses computer vision to track your diet and gauge your health. They seek to raise funding for the purpose of increasing production of Specs.

Otrafy

The company which acts as an AI-powered supplier management software that ensures supplier compliance and manages risks to mitigate disruptions and build a resilient supply chain is looking to raise funds in order to improve their product and dominate the industry,

PhucLabs

Backed by MCJ Collective, Climate Capital, URBAN – X, and AiSprouts, PhucLabs is an innovative E-waste sorting and value extraction company which now looks to raise $3 million for their seed round. These funds will go towards PhucLabs’ mission of profitable and sustainable rare metal recycling. Their details can be found on Republic.

Vietnam’s very own prosthetic and human augmentation company, Vulcan Augmetics is looking to raise funds in order to enhance and accelerate their mission to empower the disabled and eventually augment those who just want to be faster, stronger, and more durable.

VIETNAM TECH AND
STARTUP ENVIRONMENT

Vietnam Sees Fastest Growth in Southeast Asia for Two Years:

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-10-20/vietnam-sees-fastest-growth-in-southeast-asia-for-two-years?leadSource=uverify20wall
“Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh is confident Vietnam’s growth will exceed expectations this year, and retain the title of Southeast Asia’s fastest-growing economy through next year, as it emerges from the pandemic.”

42% European firms foresee raising FDI in Vietnam by year end: Survey

https://www.fibre2fashion.com/news/textile-news/42-european-firms-foresee-raising-fdi-in-vietnam-by-year-end-survey-283707-newsdetails.htm?amp=true
“Forty-two per cent of European firms anticipate they will raise foreign direct investment (FDI) in Vietnam by 2022 end, a survey has found. Respondents indicated Vietnam could bolster these FDI levels by reducing administrative difficulties (68 per cent), improving infrastructure (53 per cent), developing human resources capacity (39 per cent) and reducing visa barriers for foreign experts (39 per cent).”

$50 mln Vietnam-focused fund to be set up by South Korean investment firm

https://ampe.vnexpress.net/news/companies/50-mln-vietnam-focused-fund-to-be-set-up-by-south-korean-investment-firm-4528040.html
“We will continue investing in early-stage startups in not only emerging sectors such as property technology and financial technology but also seek opportunities in sustainable growth areas such as electric vehicles, food waste and food safety solutions,”

Son Nguyen Places a Shock in Vietnam’s Transportation Industry with Electric Motorbikes
https://cs.illinois.edu/news/son-nguyen-places-a-shock-in-vietnams-transportation-industry-with-electric-motorbikes
“We are not just the first and only ‘made in Vietnam’ product in the market, we also provide high performance with the best price and the fastest charging bike.” This combination of technical proficiency combined with personal inspiration is what Nguyen believes fuels the difference in Dat Bike.”

Vietnam recovers impressively amid world uncertainties

https://vietnamnet.vn/en/vietnam-recovers-impressively-amid-world-uncertainties-2072415.html
“According to HSBC, the Vietnam economy stands out in the region in terms of GDP growth, with a predicted growth rate of 6.9 percent for 2022. It is expected to become the 10th largest global consumer market by 2030, surpassing Germany and the UK.”

’Rising Star’: 12 Vietnamese Startups That Bagged Funding In Q1 2022
https://vietcetera.com/amp/en/rising-star-12-vietnamese-startups-that-bagged-funding-in-q1-2022
“Vietnam’s digital economy offers a great deal of opportunities for disruption at scale. Fintech, edtech, proptech, e-commerce, and enterprise solutions are the key sectors in the country’s startup space. It’s worth noting that foreign investors and the recent improvements to streamline investment regulations surrounding foreign investors such as VCs have played a key role in fueling the growth of Vietnam’s startup ecosystem.”

STRATEGIC ALLIANCE VIETNAMESE VENTURES INTERNATIONAL

venture capital organizations
in vietnam

Antler
Website: antler.co
Contact: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonssonej/
Pre-seed to Seed
Every sector

Ascend Vietnam Ventures
Website: https://ascendvietnam.com/
Contact: contact@ascendvietnam.com
Every sector
Pre-product market fit

Do Ventures
Website: https://doventures.vc/en
Contact: https://doventures.vc/en/contact
Early stage
Every sector

East Bridge Partners
Website: https://www.eastbridge.asia/
Contact: info@eastbridgelp.com
Mid-cap investment
Every sector

Gaw Capital Partners
Website: http://gawcapital.com
Contact: info@gawcapital.com
Real estate sector

Golden Gate Ventures
Website: goldengate.vc
Contact: hello@goldengate.vc
Early stage, series A, B
Tooling, consumer apps, SaaS, logistics, e-commerce

Hustle Fund
Website: https://www.hustlefund.vc/
Contact: https://hustlefund.typeform.com/to/UGTnIt?typeform-source=www.hustlefund.vc
Early stage
Tech

IT-Farm
Website: https://www.it-farm.com/
Contact: https://www.linkedin.com/company/it-farm-ltd/about/
Seed to series A
IT

Jungle Ventures
Website: https://www.jungle.vc/
Contact: contact@jungle.vc
Pre-seed, seed, series A
Technology startups

Monk’s Hill Ventures
Website: monkshill.com
Contact: ir@monkshill.com
Series A
Technology startups

Patamar Capital
Website: https://patamar.com
Contact: https://www.linkedin.com/in/geoff-woolley-b0665/
Technology startups

SoftBank Ventures Asia
Website: softbank.co.kr
Contact: b_plan@softbank.co.kr
Enterprise Software, Mobile

ThinkZone Ventures
Website: thinkzone.vn
Contact: contact@thinkzone.vn
Seed, pre-series A
Fintech, Edtech, Logistics, Ecommerce, Nanotech, Lifestyle, Service

Trihill Capital
Website: https://www.trihillcapital.com/
Contact: INFO@TRIHILLCAPITAL.COM
Early to growth-stage
Solution-oriented companies and transformative founders across sectors and stages.

Vietnam Investments Group
Website: https://vigroup.com/en
Contact: contact@vigroup.com
Early-stage to expansion capital
Multi

VinaCapital Ventures
Website: https://ventures.vinacapital.com
Contact: investment.vc@vinacapital.com
Multi

Wavemaker Partners
Website: https://wavemaker.vc/
Contact: pitchsea@wavemaker.vc
Seed Round
Tech

Full List Coming Soon To https://www.savvicode.com/