Akulaku files for HK IPO. Bumame lands Japan-backed funding. Global VC hits $227B but narrows to mega-deals. Sep 06, 2026 Dear subscribers, We're back with a fresh roundup of the most critical developments across Indonesia and Southeast Asia's startup ecosystem. This week, we cover Akulaku's confidential Hong Kong IPO filing, the Japan Thematic Fund's strategic investments in Bumame and TWO Inc., and Salim Group's full ownership of IndoData Data Center, signaling a major push into digital infrastructure. Plus, Gojek's partnership with ComfortDelGro in Singapore, the appointment of Destroy Damayanti as Bank Indonesia's new governor, and a deep dive into global venture capital trends, where capital is concentrating in fewer, larger bets. Stay ahead with the insights that matter most. Stay sharp, The DailySocial Team What's new. * Akulaku Reportedly Files for Hong Kong IPO. Indonesian-focused buy now, pay later platform Akulaku has reportedly filed confidentially for a Hong Kong listing, targeting between US$300 million and US$500 million in proceeds. The potential deal would test public-market appetite for Southeast Asian fintech, with investors likely to scrutinise the group's consolidated profitability, its exposure to Bank Neo Commerce and overseas operations, and its regulatory track record in Indonesia. * Japan Thematic Fund Backs Bumame and TWO Inc. Living Lab Ventures and Spiral Ventures have invested in Indonesian preventive healthcare provider Bumame and Japan's functional food startup TWO Inc, reflecting growing investor interest in health, wellness, and ageing-population opportunities across both markets. The investments also support LLV's ambition to position BSD City as a regional innovation hub for healthcare and education, although deal values were not disclosed. [Read more] * IndoData Data Center Signals Salim Group's Bigger Digital Infrastructure Push. Salim Group has taken full ownership of its Bogor data center joint venture with Keppel, rebranding it as IndoData Data Center after a transaction completed in December 2025. The site currently has around 1111 MW of built capacity, while the company says it has secured up to 500500 MW of contracted power for a larger 3030-hectare campus targeting AI, cloud, and hyperscale customers. The opportunity is significant, but execution, tenant commitments, and a concrete expansion timeline will determine its standing in Indonesia's increasingly competitive data center market. [Read more] * GoTaxi Partners with ComfortDelGro in Singapore. Gojek is integrating ComfortDelGro's taxi fleet into its GoTaxi feature, allowing users in Singapore to book metered taxis through the app and potentially reducing wait times. The expanded partnership gives Gojek access to more vehicles without major driver-acquisition costs, while helping ComfortDelGro improve fleet utilisation amid a long-term decline in Singapore's taxi population and intensifying competition from private-hire platforms. [Read more] * Destry Damayanti Appointed Bank Indonesia Governor. Destry Damayanti has been sworn in as Indonesia's central bank governor through 2031, succeeding Perry Warjiyo following his July resignation. Her appointment comes as Bank Indonesia balances its institutional independence and price-currency stability mandate with a broader policy emphasis on supporting economic growth, amid a weakening rupiah and elevated global uncertainty. [Read more] What's exciting. * Southeast Asia Blockchain Funding Concentrates in Singapore. Tracxn says the region's blockchain sector now spans 3,957 tracked companies and has raised US$6.2 billion in equity funding to date, but capital is increasingly concentrated in Singapore and crypto financial services. The market has cooled sharply from its 2022 peak in both deal value and deal count, even though 2026 has already seen a recovery driven by a few large rounds, including Crypto.com's US$400 million Series D. * CARSOME Delivers Record Quarterly EBITDA. CARSOME sold 35,903 units in Q2 2026, up 11% year on year, and posted its highest quarterly EBITDA at more than MYR 33 million as gross profit rose 15% to around MYR 175 million. The result marks its tenth straight profitable quarter, while new openings in Malaysia and Indonesia show the group is still expanding its retail and trade-in footprint across Southeast Asia. What's next: global VC holds at US$227B in Q2 2026, but capital is concentrating in fewer, Bigger bets. Global venture investment reached US$227.4 billion across 8,440 deals in Q2 2026, according to KPMG Private Enterprise's Venture Pulse Q2'26. It is the second-highest quarterly total on record, behind only Q1's $332.9 billion, which was inflated by OpenAI's $122 billion round. The headline masks a narrowing market: 8,440 is the lowest quarterly deal count in the report's series since 2020, and a handful of megadeals carried the total. Anthropic's $65 billion raise, the second-largest VC round ever, accounted for nearly 29% of global deal value, followed by Project Prometheus ($12 billion) and defensetech Anduril ($5 billion). The US absorbed a record $144.9 billion, or 64% of the global total, while Europe booked a more modest $25.6 billion despite a record number of $1 billion-plus rounds led by Isomorphic Labs ($2.1 billion). Asia was the standout on momentum. Investment climbed to $50.8 billion across 2,676 deals, up about 54% from Q1 and the strongest quarter since Q4 2021, marking a fourth straight quarter of recovery. China supplied $35.1 billion, an 18-quarter high, anchored by four rounds of $2 billion or more: DeepSeek ($7.4 billion), ByteDance ($3 billion), StepFun ($2.5 billion), and Moonshot AI ($2 billion). India held steady, with KreditBee ($280 million) minting a fintech unicorn and Skyroot Aerospace ($60 million) becoming the country's first spacetech unicorn, while Japan stayed soft and selective after Tokyo tightened its Growth Market listing rules. Asia's deal count was also the lowest in the series, the same pattern of more money reaching fewer companies. Two structural findings matter for Indonesian stakeholders even though the report does not break out Southeast Asia. First, government capital is now a primary engine of Asian venture activity: China's National AI Industry Investment Fund joined DeepSeek's round, Japan's IPA committed a further $943 million to chipmaker Rapidus, and both governments are steering funding toward semiconductors, compute, and sovereign technology. Second, liquidity is extremely top-heavy. Global exit value spiked to roughly $1.9 trillion, from $434.7 billion in Q1, driven almost entirely by SpaceX's record $75 billion Nasdaq IPO at a valuation above $2 trillion; Anthropic and OpenAI have filed confidentially with the SEC and are expected to list before year-end. Meanwhile, VC fundraising remains subdued at $98.8 billion for the first half of 2026, far below the 2021-2022 pace, so dry powder for early-stage, non-AI markets is unlikely to loosen soon. By DailySocial Team Welcome to RISE (Reports on Indonesia's Startup Ecosystem) - your insightful guide to all things tech, startups, and innovation happening across the sprawling wonder that is Indonesia.

DNB and Two partner to drive AI innovation in nordic B2B Payments. * Payments * 23.03.2026 12:15 pm DNB, Norway's largest bank, and Two, a global leader in B2B payments, have announced a strategic partnership to launch a Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) solution for businesses across the Nordics. The collaboration brings together DNB's distribution power, capital, and regulated infrastructure with Two's AI-driven B2B payment technology - setting a new standard for how businesses buy and sell. The partnership targets one of the most underdigitised corners of global finance: B2B payments. While consumers have enjoyed seamless digital payment experiences for years, most businesses still manage purchases through slow, manual invoice and credit processes. Globally, B2B payment volumes exceed $130+ trillion annually - roughly five times the size of consumer payments - yet up to 80% of SMB invoices are still processed by hand, costing an estimated $12-30 per invoice in administration alone. Two and DNB are building the infrastructure to change that - starting in the Nordics, with a clear ambition to export the model internationally. By combining DNB's banking infrastructure with Two's AI technology, DNB can launch next-generation B2B payment solutions faster and with significantly lower technology and product risk than building in-house. DNB's joining of Santander and ABN AMRO as a Two banking partner, signals that the world's leading financial institutions are aligning behind Two's technology as the emerging global standard for B2B BNPL. Businesses looking to modernise their B2B commerce can now access better liquidity and a seamless purchasing experience. "The rails that global B2B commerce runs on are overdue for a rebuild", said Andreas Mjelde, CEO & Co-Founder of Two. "That's what Two is here to do - and partnering with DNB means we're doing it with the full weight of Norway's biggest bank behind us. Together we're not just launching a product. We're setting a new standard for how businesses trade." Per Kristian Næss Fladset, Group Executive Vice President at DNB adds "The B2B payments space is ripe for transformation, and Two has built the technology to lead it. This partnership lets DNB deliver a genuinely modern payment experience to our business customers - faster, smarter, and more flexible than anything the market has seen before. We're proud to back Norwegian innovation at this scale." What the Solution Does Powered by Two's technology and distributed through DNB's network, the new B2B BNPL solution works across webshops, marketplaces, and digital sales channels. Nordic businesses can now: * Trade on invoice in seconds - with real-time AI credit assessment and zero manual paperwork. * Access flexible payment terms (net 30, 60 or 90 days) that free up working capital immediately. * Sell more: merchants typically see 10-30% higher conversion at checkout and significantly larger average order values when flexible B2B payment terms are available. * Get paid immediately: Two and DNB absorb the credit risk, so sellers receive same-day settlement with no balance sheet exposure. * Cut invoicing costs dramatically, eliminating the $12-30 per-invoice overhead of manual processing. A Trillion-Dollar Market, Finally Getting Its Rails Global B2B e-commerce was valued at $19.34 trillion in 2024 and is forecast to reach $47.54 trillion by 2030. Total B2B payment volumes stand at $186 trillion in 2025 and are projected to exceed $224 trillion by 2030 - yet the vast majority of trade still runs on manual credit terms and net-day invoicing, largely untouched by the digital revolution that transformed consumer payments. The DNB partnership adds Norway's most powerful banking distribution to Two's foundation - and accelerates the roadmap to make the Nordics the global reference point for modern B2B payments. For Norway, it is proof that a homegrown bank and homegrown technology can build solutions with genuine international export potential. Ready to Modernise Your B2B Payments? Nordic businesses can contact DNB or Two today to integrate the new B2B BNPL solution - and take the first step towards faster payments, better cash flow, and higher conversion. * 24.03.2026 12:55 pm * 24.03.2026 12:45 pm * 24.03.2026 11:45 am * 24.03.2026 11:25 am * 24.03.2026 10:55 am * 24.03.2026 10:05 am * 23.03.2026 02:05 pm * 23.03.2026 01:35 pm * 23.03.2026 01:25 pm * 23.03.2026 09:25 am * 20.03.2026 11:15 am * 20.03.2026 11:05 am