Daily Briefing: Singapore fishery ports to be consolidated; LingoAce nabs $9.77m in series A funding

Adn Hubble landed $5.02M in Tin Men capital-led series A.

From Channel News Asia:

Singapore consumers will be able to buy wholesale seafood at a single location in several years' time, amidst a consolidation of the country's fishery ports, according to an announcement from the Singapore Food Agency (SFA).

SFA is also embarking on a study of the fresh food wholesale sector in Singapore and is expected to be completed in 2022. This will commence in Q3 and will cover both the seafood and vegetable and fruits industries.

It is said to help the agency better understand the distribution, wholesale and retail of fresh food in Singapore, as well as the technology and infrastructure needed to support the sector.

The study will examine how technology such as automation, upstream processing, online platforms, sensors, data analytics, integrated logistics, as well as evolving consumer and business preferences might impact future business models.

Read more here. 

From e27:

Singapore-based online language learning platform LingoAce has received $9.77m (US$7m) series A funding from Shunwei Capital, a VC fund co-founded by Xiaomi co-founder Lei Jun, according to an announcement.

LingoAce CEO and founder Hugh Yao said that the company will focus the funding to expand its operations in Southeast Asia with Indonesia as its first entrance.

Before this round, LingoAce had earned $4.19m (US$3m) prior to a pre-series A round with Decent Capital last year and has received an angel round in 2018.

LingoAce plans to develop technologies such as AI, augmented reality, and virtual reality to adjust with the demand for online learning adoption with the pandemic. Currently, its platform claimed to serve more than 10,000 students across Asia, North America, and Europe.

Read more here. 

From e27:

Construction tech startup Hubble has raised $5.02m (US$3.6m) in a series A funding round led by B2B-focussed venture capital firm Tin Men Capital, according to a company statement.

With this latest investment, the Singapore-based company has expressed plans to further scale into different regions in Southeast Asia. Prior to this funding round, the company has been self-funding its business.

Through its software tools, Hubble connects everyone involved in the construction process such as contractors’ developers, consultants, fabricators, contractors, and facility managers all into one platform.

The company’s primary focus is Southeast Asia, and it has already partnered with several prominent local government organisations such as Building and Construction Authority (BCA), Public Utilities Board (PUB), and Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA).

Read more here.