Tech Digest with ITS: Atome CEO steps down, to join GoTo Financial
CEO David Chen has resigned from Atome and will be joining GoTo Financial as the Head of Consumer Lending. He will also continue as a co-founder of Atome's parent company, Advance Intelligence Group. Prior to his role at Atome, Chen founded Nestia and has had experience in research and engineering at companies like Amazon, Microsoft, and Yahoo.
Chen's departure adds to the list of CEO and co-founder exits in the industry. GoTo Financial, through its services like GoPay and GoPay Later, offers financial solutions. Atome operates in five Southeast Asian countries and is backed by investors such as SoftBank's Vision Fund and Warburg Pincus. However, Atome exited the Vietnam market last year due to its limited contribution to the overall business.
Singapore-based alternative lending startup Helicap has partnered with Indonesia's Bank Danamon to provide non-dilutive growth capital solutions. They aim to serve the debt financing needs of nonbank firms in Indonesia, including fintech businesses, alternative lenders, and MSMEs in sectors like ecommerce and supply chain.
The collaboration combines Helicap's credit expertise with Danamon's extensive reach and banking know-how. Helicap borrowers will gain access to Danamon's services, while the partnership drives transaction volume and customer count for the bank. They also plan to co-lend to selected investees. Helicap has deployed over $250 million in capital since its establishment in 2018, while Bank Danamon earned net profits of $219 million in 2022.
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China's leading companies, including Alibaba and Baidu, are making significant strides in generative AI. They have introduced their own alternatives to OpenAI's ChatGPT. Moonshot AI, a major player in the field, has developed the advanced chatbot Kimi Chat, powered by its proprietary large language model. With funding of over US$1 billion from investors such as Alibaba and HongShan (a Chinese spin-off of Sequoia Capital), Moonshot AI is now valued at US$2.5 billion. Kimi Chat, launched in October, boasts the capability to understand and respond to conversations containing up to 200,000 Chinese characters.
Alodokter, an Indonesian healthtech platform, raised US$5.2 million in funding from HL Mando and Beacon Venture Capital. The company aims to enhance its digital healthcare ecosystem for its 25 million monthly active users. Alodokter provides online doctor consultations, appointment booking, and health information services.
Its investors include SoftBank Ventures Asia, Golden Gate Ventures, and Sequis Life. The company also acquired pregnancy-tracking app Diary Bunda and launched Alni, a chat-based virtual assistant for physicians.
Delivery Hero has ended discussions with a potential buyer for its Foodpanda business in Southeast Asia. While the buyer's identity has not been disclosed, Grab was reportedly involved. Delivery Hero cited a misalignment on fundamental terms as the reason for terminating the talks. The company remains open to mergers and acquisitions but will prioritize value creation for shareholders. Meituan has confirmed that it is not pursuing the acquisition.