DIGITIMES Asia Venturing

Can Asia see the unicorn boom?

In a world where "money is cheap," unicorns, the companies with a valuation of more than $1 billion, are born in an accelerated mode during the COVID-19 pandemic era...

Supply chain flexibility is crucial, says Cheney Wang, VP of supply chain and Taiwan GM of Latch

Latch was founded in 2014 by a group of former Apple employees and began trading on Nasdaq on June 7th, 2021 under LTCH. Through a SPAC listing, it raised $453 million and values over $1.5 billion. The system of Latch is designed to bring all devices and services together to make buildings "smart."...

Top investment opportunities in Asia: Q&A with Christine Tsai CEO and founding partner at 500 Global

Having co-founded 500 Startups (later rebranded to 500 Global) in 2010, Christine Tsai (CT) started out with a very different strategy from other venture capital firms in the Silicon Valley which were predominantly focused on the US market. She built a diversified portfolio in different industries and invests in founders across geographies and ethnic backgrounds and in emerging countries...

Global unicorns surge in 2021: Interview with Richard Koo, principal at DNX, and Casey Lau, head of Asia at RISE

The number of newborn unicorns has again hit record levels in 2021, following a strong year in 2020. There are more than 800 unicorns around the world as of September of 2021. By geographic regions, the US still dominates in terms of the number of unicorns, followed by India and China, according to The Asia Banker...

Innovating Traditional Industries

Asia Venturing III: Startups may add value to traditional industries by ESG innovations

Environmental, social, and governance (ESG) are becoming parts of important criteria to evaluate a company's value. ESG is crucial for a company not only because it brings positive changes to society, but also because it provides another indicator for its investors to evaluate a company's ability to mitigate risks and identify opportunities...

Asia Venturing III: Advice for startups and SMEs on enabling innovations in traditional industries

The ever-changing business environment has urged companies to always stay agile to prepare for the unexpected. Innovation, then, becomes the main factor for companies in different industries to ensure their organic growth. The traditional industries, such as textiles and apparel, bike manufacturing, food, and even real estate, are also looking for innovations either internally or via collaboration with partners...

Science behind chic sportswear brand: Q&A with Gulshan Kumar, GM of lululemon Taiwan

The value of the global activewear market was estimated at $353.5 billion in 2020 and is expected to grow at a 3.7% CAGR over the next six years, reaching $439.17 billion by 2026, according to investment firm Comprar Acciones. The activewear industry has always been very competitive; staying innovative is key to differentiation...

The next quantum leap in green mobility: Q&A with Marcel Yang, Giant special assistant to CEO

Climate change is changing many aspects of our everyday life. Transportation is one of them. Seeing the boom of e-bikes and the opportunities of green mobility, Marcel Yang, Giant Bicycles' special assistant to CEO, mentioned that Giant is creating an economic ecosystem in the cycling industry where all the partners can work closely together. He also shared his experience in driving innovations in this bike manufacturing company...

Innovation trends worth noting in Southeast Asia: Q&A with Rachel Lau, RHL Ventures managing partner

The southeast Asian region has become another innovation hub in the world. With a valuation of US$340 billion in 2020, the region attracts many venture capital firms and startups to innovate the local economies. Rachel Lau, managing partner at RHL Ventures, a Malaysian private investment firm that focuses on growth capital investments in Southeast Asia and the US, shares her insights on the latest innovation trends, brought by major startups in Southeast Asia...

Tech-Driven Mobility

Asia Venturing: EV future relies on infrastructure and battery improvement

Some of the issues affecting the future growth of electric vehicles (EV) are battery improvement, charging infrastructures, and the greater electric grid capacity. The auto industry generally accepts that US$100/kWh for battery packs is the price point needed for EV to be cost-competitive with gasoline-powered vehicles...

Asia Venturing: EV becomes a game-changer

EV is disrupting the automotive industry and its supply chain. It is initially taking place in personal cars and then continues to revolutionize public transportation. This revolution is also opening up the automotive system, which tends to be more proprietary and attracting multiple players to join the game...

Asia Venturing: EV is taking over faster than expected

The booming of the EV market will come sooner than expected. The latest announcements from the US, EU, and China are heralded by the coming of the EV era. The EU just proposed to ban the sale of petrol and diesel vehicles in the EU from 2035. The US...

Mobility trends: Q&A with tech venture specialist Vitaly M Golomb

Vitaly M Golomb is a technology investment banker with over 20 years of experience on all sides of the table as a venture-backed CEO, venture capitalist, M&A, and financing advisor. Golomb, who hosts a popular podcast on mobility, will be the host of the fireside chats with MIH Alliance CEO Jack Cheng...

E-bus platforms for emerging markets: Q&A with Monika Mikac, CBO of QEV Technologies

Monika Mikac is CBO of Barcelona-based QEV Technologies, and former COO of Croatian EV startup Rimac Automobili. She started her career as a journalist but joined Rimac when the company was...

EV market likely to reach sweet spot in 2025-2026, says MIH CEO

The global electric vehicle (EV) market, judging from the progress in technological development, is likely to reach its sweet spot in 2025-2026, according to Jack Cheng, CEO for the MIH Alliance, a Foxconn (Hon Hai)-led open platform for developing EVs...

Inside Cross-border Innovation

Asia Venturing: Cross-border investments by corporate VCs are key driving force for tech innovation

The first panel talk at Asia Venturing online forum, held on July 16, 2021 by DIGITIMES and Anchor Taiwan, featured the vice pesident and general manager of Business Solutions Group at Qisda Corporation Michael Lee...