Startup Rise - Asia News

Funding Wrap of The Week | Asian Startups Funding Roundup | 23 February – 28 February "Stay ahead with our Weekly Asian Startups Funding Roundup Report, bringing you the latest on startups!" To Share Your Startup Story Write us on - contact@startuprise.org #Startups #Funding #Tech #Newsletter

Asian Startup News Sum UP | 23 February – 28 February Startup Highlights of the Week: New Funding, Big Moves, and Collaboration Quantum Machines , TECHCOOP, Flow48, GoPerfect, Vayu, Checkout.com, Mastercard, Fawry, Ericsson, Asian Development Bank (ADB), DHL, AJEX To share your startup story write us on - contact@startuprise.org #Startup #Funding #News #Partnership

Mastercard has entered a strategic alliance with Emirates NBD a leading banking group in the MENAT (Middle East, North Africa and Türkiye) region, to enhance the bank’s digital payment solutions. As part of the agreement, Emirates NBD will adopt Mastercard Gateway within the Emirates NBD Pay platform to support fast, seamless and secure transactions across the region, becoming the first acquiring bank globally to offer Mastercard’s Brighterion AI technology through the integration. The #collaboration was announced with a view to expand into key regional markets, reinforcing both organizations’ commitment to accelerating digital payment adoption across multiple sectors such as #retail, #hospitality, and #realestate. The #partnership will provide Emirates NBD’s corporate and government clients with best-in-class payment solutions, improving transaction efficiency and security. Anith Daniel Gina Petersen-Skyrme To share your startup story write us on - contact@startuprise.org #Mastercard #MENAT #EmiratesNBD

Sadad, a leading company in online and electronic financial transactions offering multi payment solutions in Qatar, has announced its strategic collaboration with Mastercard to introduce a new digital payment gateway platform, powered by Mastercard Gateway. Through this partnership, Sadad will deploy state-of-the-art payment solutions to enhance the customer experience for its merchants in the market. The integration of Mastercard’s technology with Sadad’s platform will enable merchants to offer fast, seamless, and secure transactions as well as convenient payment choices to customers. The new #partnership between Sadad and Mastercard aims to evolve the market’s e-commerce landscape, enabling seamless shopping experiences, higher conversion rates, and helping to reduce fraud. Erdem Çakar To share your startup story write us on - contact@startuprise.org #Sadad #Mastercard

Moca Network, a flagship project by Animoca Brands to build the chain-agnostic digital identity infrastructure for the open internet, and SK Planet, one of South Korea’s largest information and communications technology platforms, announced the launch of OKI Club, a #premium #membership program that integrates Web3 technology into SK Planet’s OK Cashbag app, which is South Korea’s largest integrated rewards service. Powered by Moca Network’s AIR Kit SDK (software development kit), OKI Club enables retail users to access Web3 services natively within a Web2 app, bringing blockchain functionality and interoperable digital identity to one of South Korea’s most widely used consumer platforms. SK Planet users can now join OKI Club and start earning rewards by signing up for an AIR account within their OK Cashbag app. To share your startup story write us on - contact@startuprise.org #Japan

Digital investments in Malaysia hit a record RM163.6 billion in 2024, compared to RM46.8 billion in 2023, driven by a stable government and pro-business policies in reinforcing the country’s reputation as a regional tech hub. Strong infrastructure and strategic public-private partnerships have strengthened investor confidence in Malaysia as a leading digital hub. A supportive regulatory framework and Malaysia’s push into AI and quantum computing further accelerated growth, attracting high-value global investments, said Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC) in a statement today. These latest findings from MDEC follow on the heels of the Malaysian Investment Development Authority (MIDA) announcing that Malaysia secured RM378.5 billion in approved investments last year — the highest in the nation’s history — marking a 14.9% year-on-year increase from the previous record of RM329.5 billion in 2023. To share your startup story write us on - contact@startuprise.org #Malaysia #MDEC

Alibaba Cloud, the digital technology and intelligence backbone of Alibaba Group, has unveiled its latest AI models, solutions, upgraded infrastructure offerings, and AI empowerment program at its inaugural AI Tech Day in Malaysia today. These advancements aim to empower businesses and developers in Malaysia to build innovative AI applications more cost-effectively and drive a thriving generative AI ecosystem in the region. The event, officiated by YB Datuk Wilson Ugak Anak Kumbong, Deputy Minister of Digital, also marked Alibaba Cloud’s announcement of key collaborations with leading Malaysian enterprises including YTL Power International Bhd’s artificial intelligence (AI) innovation unit, YTL AI Labs, Malaysia’s leading fund management company, Permodalan Nasional Berhad (PNB), and Malaysia’s digital marketing service provider HiSEVEN reinforcing Alibaba Cloud’s role as a trusted technology partner in the country’s AI ecosystem. To share your startup story write us on - contact@startuprise.org #Alibaba #Malaysia

Kyndryl, the world’s largest IT infrastructure services provider, today announced it entered into an agreement with LifeTech Group (LifeTech), Southeast Asia’s leading managed #cybersecurity services provider based in Malaysia, to establish the first in-country Security Operations Center (SOC) on Amazon Web Services (AWS) in #Malaysia. LifeTech chose Kyndryl to support its next-generation SOC and enable enterprises across Malaysia to keep their data secure and in the country on AWS while reducing the cost of security operations by up to 40%. This #collaboration also elevates LifeTech’s cybersecurity capabilities to help customers assess and benchmark cyber resilience maturity, address emerging threats, gain greater visibility into vulnerabilities and meet Bank Negara Malaysia’s (the Central Bank of Malaysia) compliance requirements for data residency. To share your startup story write us on - contact@startuprise.org #Kyndryl

Singtel, in collaboration with Qualcomm Technologies, Inc., today announced the successful completion of a Proof of Concept (POC) of an AI-enabled Home WiFi Gateway that intelligently identifies and prioritises traffic based on the application type. The POC involved testing several applications across a range of devices to determine the improved quality of experience delivered by the AI-powered Smart Traffic Classifier, part of the Qualcomm® Networking AI Suite available on Qualcomm Dragonwing (TM) Networking Wi-Fi 7 platforms. The Smart Traffic Classifier is designed to deliver up to a 50% average latency reduction for applications such as gaming, streaming, and voice and video calls in congested environments. Following this POC, Singtel will work on commercialising this capability across markets within the Singtel Group, starting with #Singapore, as well as explore future AI capabilities enabled by Qualcomm Dragonwing NPro 7 and N7 Platforms to further enhance customer experience and satisfaction. Jorge Capelas Fernandes ST Liew To share your startup story write us on - contact@startuprise.org #Singtel

The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) and the Neighbouring Countries Economic Development Cooperation Agency (NEDA ) of Thailand forged a strategic partnership on the sidelines of the 2025 Finance in Common Summit (FiCS) in South Africa to deepen their operational and technical cooperation on regional connectivity and associated infrastructure in Southeast Asia. The partnership combines NEDA’s provision of grants and concessional loans with AIIB's ability to scale project financing with technical assistance resources from both parties. This should help enable infrastructure projects that enhance regional connectivity. Focusing on joint co-financing, knowledge exchange and collaboration in global and regional fora, the partnership establishes a framework for advancing sustainable investments in key sectors such as energy, transport, water, health and digital infrastructure. The partnership will play a key role in support of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations’ (ASEAN) connectivity agenda. Rodrigo Salvado Perames Vudthitornetiraks To share your startup story write us on - contact@startuprise.org #AIIB #NEDA #ASEAN