Gostream

Live streaming startup GoStream raises seven-figure funding from VinaCapital Ventures

January 18, 2021 by www.vir.com.vn

GoStream will use the new tremendous funding to expand operations

GoStream was founded in 2017 by three seasoned engineers with track records in digital enablement. GoStream is an easy-to-use platform for any type of user, even for those with little or no technical knowledge. It enables users to reach a larger audience from different platforms to increase visibility and get more views. Currently, the company is serving multiple corporate clients and facilitating over 100,000 livestreaming sessions daily.

GoStream is dedicated to providing an interactive experience that encourages viewer participation in live videos. This increases viewer engagement and contributes to the building of a larger and more loyal community that follows a user’s content.

Marketwise, social networks are recognised as the next most common channel for online shopping in Vietnam, just behind e-commerce sites. According to PwC Social Surveys, Vietnam ranked seventh in the world in the number of Facebook users (68 million) which accounted for 68.7 per cent of the country’s entire population. In 2020, Vietnam’s “digital economy” reached $14 billion and is expected to grow to $52 billion in 2025, according to a recent report by Google, Bain & Company, and Temasek.

Trung D. Hoang, partner at VinaCapital Ventures, commented, “We are excited to invest in GoStream, which has been leading the way in integrating livestreaming across a number of sectors. Their innovative streaming technology is helping more businesses reach more viewers and customers, and we look forward to working with them as they further expand their capabilities and play an even greater role in Vietnam’s growing digitalisation.”

In November 2020, GoStudio – a product of GoStream Technology JSC – won first prize at Vietnam Techfest 2020. The contest’s organising committee recognised the product’s ease-of-use and adaptability to a range of online channels, including social commerce (livestream commerce), online training (e-learning), online entertainment (live gameshows). This became especially important as the COVID-19 pandemic swept the world. GoStudio does not require software downloading or installation and it is stable and compatible with popular web browsers, enabling more users to apply livestreaming across various sectors.

By GoStream

Startups expand with fresh funding and portfolios

March 5, 2021 by www.vir.com.vn

Startups expand with fresh funding and portfolios

In February, ELSA, a smartphone app that helps non-native English speakers develop grammar and speech skills, wrapped up a $15 million investment in financing rounds co-led by Vietnam Investments Group and SIG. Existing investors including Google’s Gradient Ventures, SOSV, and Monk’s Hill Ventures’ AI-focused venture fund joined the company’s Series B funding phase.

ELSA, which stands for English Language Speech Assistant, was co-founded in 2015 by Vietnamese entrepreneur Vu Van and engineer Xavier Anguera and focuses on the three markets of Vietnam, India, and Japan. With the fresh fund, the startup plans to penetrate Latin American countries as well as accelerate expansion across Asia this year.

Another million-dollar deal was secured by e-wallet MoMo in January, bagging over $100 million in its series D financing from leading global investors. The fund will be used to establish a new super-app platform, enhance MoMo’s ecosystem which serves millions of Vietnamese end users, and launch MoMo Innovation Ventures – an initiative to invest in Vietnamese companies with potential to be integrated into MoMo’s ecosystem for the benefits of access to a broader market and user base.

Also in January, live streaming platform GoStream announced that VinaCapital Ventures had invested $1 million into the company. Founded in 2017, GoStream is an easy-to-use platform that enables users to reach a larger audience from different platforms to increase visibility and get more views. Currently, the company is serving multiple corporate clients and facilitating over 100,000 live-streaming sessions daily.

Trung D. Hoang, partner at VinaCapital Ventures commented, “We are excited to invest in GoStream, which has been leading the way in integrating live-streaming across a number of sectors. Their innovative streaming technology is helping more businesses reach more viewers and customers, and we look forward to working with them as they further expand their capabilities and play an even greater role in Vietnam’s growing digitalisation.”

Meanwhile, startup e-wallet firm Gpay, a member of G-Group Technology Corporation, completed its Series A investment with the participation of KB Fina, which is a joint venture between G-Group and South Korean KB Financial Group. KB Financial Group invested VND425 billion ($18.4 million) in Gpay through KB Securities, its representative in Vietnam.

Elsewhere, other startups including Vietnam-based proptech startup Rever is reported to be raising $8-10 million in the new funding round. Meanwhile, South Korea’s STIC Ventures-backed hotel booking platform Go2Joy Vietnam has raised $2.3 million in a Series A+ funding round led by HB Investments, as reported by newswire Dealstreet Asia.

Vietnamese startups such as VNPay, Tiki, Yeah1, and others began to rise in popularity in 2019, raising $1 billion that year. Investors have since returned to Vietnam in the second quarter of 2020 thanks to the recovery of the economy and positive GDP growth in the country.

Le Hoang Uyen Vy, CEO of Do Ventures, said this year’s investment prospects should be bright for Vietnamese startups, especially in healthcare and fintech.

She noted that Vietnamese startups mainly raise venture investment capital from South Korean, Japanese, and Singaporean funds, and there is a high potential to attract investment from American venture capital funds.

“Hopefully, after the pandemic, Vietnamese startups will secure more deals from global funds, and Do Ventures is committed to supporting Vietnamese startups during this challenging time,” Vy added.

In another case, domestic AI startup Palexy picked up $1 million in funding in December to help offline stores achieve e-commerce-like success through real-time consumer data. The round, co-led by Do Ventures and Access Ventures, will fuel Palexy’s expansion across Asia and the Middle East this year.

500 Startups, the most active venture capital investor in Vietnam, made 15 new investments in 2020, increasing its portfolio to more than 70 companies. 500 Startups aims to reach its target of 80 companies invested in cumulatively in 2021.

“In the past five years, the tech entrepreneurial ecosystem has evolved even faster than we could have even imagined. And yet there’s still a lot of room to run and grow,” said Eddie Thai, general partner at 500 Startups. He cited a survey conducted in late 2020 about priority markets for venture capitalists in Southeast Asia. For the first time, Vietnam was ranked top, ahead of Indonesia.

By Thanh Van

Investors pour money into startups, promote unicorns

February 21, 2021 by vietnamnet.vn

Vietnam tops the list of destinations for venture investors for the next 12 months.

Investors pour money into startups, promote unicorns

Beta Cinemas, which has sought investment capital, had to suspend operation for a few weeks because of Covid-19. The cinema chain called for investment capital in the first half of 2019 and saw results at the end of the year, but it became nearly impossible to implement the plan.

Finally, in June 2020, Daiwa PI Partners signed an agreement on investing $8 million in Beta Cinemas. With the agreement, Beta Media was valued at VND1 trillion.

Beta Media’s CEO Bui Quang Minh said Japanese investors are extremely careful about every detail and are very strict in matters of principle.

According to Minh, it takes more time to deal with Japanese investors than investors of other nationalities. US investment funds, for example, make decisions more quickly, which is attributed to the difference in risk acceptance and the principles pursued by investment funds.

Nguyen Xuan Dong, co-founder of Ecomobi, said startups need to prepare documents for different situations. The meetings with investors may last 10 minutes, two or three hours, or just 30 seconds in an elevator, so startups need to be ready all the time and need to be able to brief their situation concisely.

Despite a tough year in 2020, Vietnam’s innovative startup ecosystem is still on the rise. There are 100 venture investment funds, including 20 Vietnamese funds, according to the Ministry of Science and Technology.

Foreign and Vietnamese funds are joining forces to invest in Vietnam’s startups, which is a great opportunity for startups to call for capital. The total value of investment deals in Vietnam’s startups in 2020 reached $290.43 million, and 56 investment deals were reported.

Nurturing unicorns

“It’s now the time for investors to set foot in the Vietnamese market,” said Le Han Hue Tam from Nextrans in Vietnam.

Many investment fund directors have said they expect to see a shift in the capital flow direction in the time to come. Vietnam will replace Indonesia to become the next destination for foreign investment funds.

Hoang Thi Kim Dung from Genesia Ventures in Vietnam commented that investors have high confidence in Vietnam’s innovative startup ecosystem and believe that Vietnam will become a significant investment market in the region and the world.

Eddie Thai, of 500 Startups, said venture funds choose Vietnam instead of other emerging markets because Vietnam is a young and fast growing economy with technology indexes (such as internet and smartphone users) at high levels. The first-generation founders have succeeded, which has proved the potential of Vietnam’s market and its professionals.

Vietnam’s advantages lie in the labor force, energy, resources and growth potential of the market.

Le Diep Kieu Trang, co-founder of the Alabaster fund, noted that Indonesia has six unicorns, while Vietnam only has one, VNG, though it has great potential, including talented engineers and more favorable logistics conditions. She believes that Vietnam’s development is still not commensurate to its potential and there is still much space for Vietnam to further develop.

Nguyen Manh Dung from CyberAgent Vietnam said Vietnam is now the destination for many investors. He believes that Indonesia is witnessing overly hot development with stiff competition and high risks. So, Vietnam is at a point when early investors have many opportunities.

“Vietnam is the next excellent destination. There are many reasons for investors to come to Vietnam right now, including the vast market with nearly 100 million people,” Dung said.

He went on to say that while it was only a dream for Vietnam’s startups to call for over $15 million worth of capital two to three years ago, it is now realistic. The fund will seek opportunities to invest in technology startups that develop products and services that bring convenience and improve consumers’ living standards.

10 technology unicorns by 2030

Do Ventures’ survey found that Vietnam tops the list of destination points for investors for the next 12 months. The excitement about making investments in Vietnam is still at a high level. It is expected that 117-200 deals will be made in the next 12 months. Around 80 percent of investors plan to make one to five deals. Education, healthcare and finance are the business fields that catch investors’ attention the most.

The government of Vietnam has set the goals of having 10 technology unicorns by 2030 and becoming a technology startup center in Southeast Asia.

Hoang Thi Kim Dung from Genesia Ventures in Vietnam said investors consider Vietnam the top priority market in Southeast Asia in 2021.

Meanwhile, Nguyen Thai Hai Van, CEO of Grab Vietnam, believes that at this time, calling for capital is one of the big challenges Vietnam’s startups are facing.

The challenges are not a lack of capital or investors’ lack of attention to the Vietnamese market. In 2019, the total investment capital in Vietnam’s technology startups even exceeded Singapore.

The real challenge lies in the capability and vision of startup founders. Vietnamese are strong in seeking ideas but weak in the implementation of the ideas.

Duy Anh

Live video streaming startup GoStream secures 7-digit funding

GoStream, a fast-growing Vietnamese startup that provides multi-platform livestream broadcaster for social sellers, marketers, and content creators, has announced that it has secured a 7-digit USD funding from VinaCapital Ventures.

In the ‘new normal’, startups could become technology unicorns

Rapid digital transformation will serve as an important driving force for technology firms to become unicorns in the future.