Top 5 this week
Chope, Singapore’ restaurant booking service raised 11 million from F&H Fund Management, NSI Ventures, Frontier ventures and SPH. 
I recently chanced upon Eatigo which is in the same space and I see their potential as they have managed to negotiate for huge discounts for diners who book for meals at specific hours. For example, booking lunch at Marriott Cafe at 2 pm gives you 50%. The depth of discount makes the deal very attractive and it’s also win-win for the restaurant, given that there are times of the day where the manpower and tables are not maximised.
- Jewel payment – I recently saw them in the top ten at Echelon. One of the few fintech startups that I think the founders know what to do, given their background in paypal. They have received SPRING ACE’s funding and are currently building their risk management product that allows payment card acquiring banks and payment facilitators to effectively manage their merchant’s brand, fraud, credit and data security risk profile.
- Patsnap, one of NUS’ portfolio companies, has recently raised S$4.5 million with Vertex holdings. They are in a really niche space, making the search for patents faster, smarter and more effortless. Patsnap started in 2007 and with NUS’ help, has since expanded beyond the shores of Singapore to China.
- Luxola, my favourite online store for makeup has previously raised $10 million in the round led by Transcosmos Inc in 2014. Why favourite? Huge variety of make-up products, steep discounts once in a while and quick courier delivery, as quickly as the next day!
New accelerators on our sunny shores!
Australian accelerator Muru-D launches in Singapore and I was quite surprised to find out that my Startup Leadership program leader, David Ding, has joined them!
Rockstart from Amsterdam is here! I met Nicky Koopman when she was in Singapore last year, scouting for an incubator manager and it’s now finally launched!
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Startupixel 