Happy Valentine’s Day startups – we did a roundup of some of our favourite startups that received some love from investors over the past 12 months.
As the Hong Kong ecosystem matures year by year, we’d like to keep track of all the monumental successes that our startups have experienced. 2013 was a great year of funding for Hong Kong startups – with deals ranging from the US$200k to $12M giving new and veteran investors had a chance to get involved. We know we might have missed a deal or two, so this will serve as a working list of the top funding in 2013.
Viss (US $500k)
In May 2013, fashion e-commerce and media platform Viss raised US $500k from new angel group 8 plus. Co-founded by Leo Ku and Ivy Wong, Viss caught the eye of investors by gaining serious web traction at the time: a feature on the Apple App Store’s ‘New and Noteworthy Frontpage,’ and ‘What’s Hot’ section in 14 Asian countries and scooped up 18M monthly page views. In the past week – Viss has been acquired by private equity fund AID Partners, who also owns HMV Hong Kong and Singapore. Startbase Profile
Snaptee (US $650k)
Back in February 2013, Snaptee secured US $600k in seed funding from a group of investors: Yat Siu of Outblaze Management Team and Animoca, Chris Lee of 6waves, Mikaal Abdulla from 8 Securities, Tytus Michalski of Fresco Capital and Singapore-based angel investor Emanuel Breiter. Founded by Wai Lun Hong and Gary Lee, the novel app that lets users turn photos into stylish graphic t-shirt designs had at the point of the investment – seen over ten thousand t-shirt designs from users since it went live in July 2012. Startbase Profile
Divide, (US $12M)
In October 2013, Divide (formerly Enterproid) raised US $12M in Series B funding from Google Ventures. At that time, the platform that creates secure mobile workspaces had already scooped up 200,000+ downloads on iOS and Android and had reached $25M in funding following the support from Google Ventures. Past investors include Comcast Ventures, Qualcomm Ventures, Globespan Capital Partners and Harmony Partners. Startbase Profile
HotelQuickly (US $1.16M)
HotelQuickly, the Hong Kong-based travel app that lets users discover amazing hotel rates last minute, secured US $1.16M in Series A funding in September 2013. The deal included former Singtel and Singapore airlines chairman Boon Hwee Koh and Temasek Holdings – Singapore’s giant state investment company. At that time, HotelQuickly was looking to grow their userbase in the Asia-Pacific Region where they already operated in 11 countries. Startbase Profile
Makible (US $200k)
Makible, creators of the world’s most affordable 3D printer the MakiBox, raised US$200k last year in funding. One investor in particular was Stephen Forte, founder of Hong Kong’s pioneering startup incubator, and this deal marked his first investment ever. Makible is out to empower personal manufacturing and aims to secure significantly more funding in 2014. Since Makible has been generally hush hush about their fundraising movements – we’ll keep you updated when that information comes in. Startbase Profile
WeLend (US $5.5M)
WeLend, Hong Kong’s first peer-to-peer lending network, has raised US $5.5M in 2013 from two types of investors. The first are a mix of angel investors, family offices and institutional investors in Greater China, and the second are senior banking execs from Citi and Standard Chartered Bank. Since its launch in mid last year, WeLend has already sourced over US $20M in loan applications and is looking to lead Hong Kong in financial innovation.Startbase Profile
Mobexo (US $1M)
Mobexo, a mobile payments startup that connects users to their favorite bars, restaurants, shops and brands, secured funding totaling US $1M in 2013. While $650k came from an investment company, the other $350k was from angel investors. While Mobexo is already in Hong Kong and Vietnam, its five year plan is to put its versatile e-wallet throughout the Asia-Pacific region, including China. Startbase Profile
If your startup secured a significant amount of funding in 2013, please send an email to [email protected].
