CDP Institute

Conversational engagement platform Gupshup launched ACE LLM, large language models (LLMs) built upon foundation models such as Meta’s Llama 2, OpenAI GPT-3.5 Turbo, Mosaic MPT, Flan T-5, and others, and adapted for specific industries and functions. domain-specific LLMs are specialized for functions such as marketing, commerce, retail.

LeadSquared, a Bengaluru, India based leader of end-to-end sales, marketing, and onboarding automation solutions, is ramping up focus in Indonesia with several initiatives to help the region’s customer base. The company hired its first Indonesian executives out of Jakarta and Bandung in the middle of 2021 and has begun work on setting up its local data center through Amazon Web Services.

Fintech giant PhonePe has launched Indus Appstore Developer Platform for Android app developers to take on giants Apple and Google. The mobile app marketplace, Indus Appstore, has invited developers to register and upload their apps using its self-serve developer platform. The apps will be listed on the soon to be launched ‘Made-in-India’ Indus Appstore, offering a localised experience in 12 languages.

Australian startup Space Machines Company has a novel offer – the equivalent of satellite tow trucks that are prepared to help out other satellites in-orbit without the need for (you know!) a human. Founded in 2020, the company has already partnered with CSIRO, Optus and SpaceX, so possibly sky’s the limit.

Neara, which is an infrastructure modeling platform that employs AI to create models for simulations and analytics has raised $10 million (~US$6.35 million) with funding from Dutch VC Prosus Ventures, placing its Series B total funding at $24 million (~US$15.23 million). Neara provides tools that allow engineers and others to optimize and manage large infrastructure by offering simulations that illustrate risks of extreme climate conditions.

Vietnam-based internet startup VNG Ltd. has decided to postpone its plans for a US initial public offering, Bloomberg reported, quoting a person familiar with the matter. VNG was advised to hold off until market demand improves, said the person. The news came after mixed performances by a trio of newly public companies this month, the report added. The IPO could be postponed until next year.

Thailand’s Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin said the country expects to receive investment of at least US$5 billion from Tesla, Google and Microsoft. “Tesla would be looking into an EV (electric vehicle) manufacturing facility, Microsoft and Google are looking at data centres,” he said, without detailing whether the US$5 billion was expected to be a combined investment or made individually by each company.

Infocheck, a Chilean startup has managed to simplify and expedite risk assessment for companies and SMEs (Small and Medium-sized Enterprises) through an online platform. This fintech provides detailed market reports automatically and in real-time to its B2C clients through its website, and for its B2B clients, it does so through wholesale plans.The company raised a round of USD$350,000 through the Broota crowdfunding platform.

The Mexican fintech company Mundi announced a new Series A-2 financing round totaling USD$15 million, with Haymaker Ventures being the main investor. Mundi also announced its rebranding with the goal of becoming the first fintech platform to simplify international trade in Latin America. They offer solutions for international payments and collections, foreign exchange, currency coverage, and cargo insurance, as well as a set of free tools to enhance clients’ operability.

South African payments orchestration platform, Revio, has raised US$5.2 million in seed funding to strengthen its efforts in tackling these failed payments that cost digital businesses billions in recurring revenue yearly. The two-year-old startup assists companies in streamlining their order-to-cash lifecycles while handling issues brought on by employing various payment options via its APIs.

Pan-African venture capital firm P1 Ventures has reached the first close of its second fund at US$25 million. The venture capital firm secured this capital from some of Africa’s largest industrial conglomerates and private companies, several fund of funds and general partners of global funds based in the U.S. and Europe.

Kenya-based impact investment firm Kua Ventures has invested more than US$1 million into the growth of 20 small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the country. Formed in 2020, Kua Ventures started out providing much-needed capital, coaching and community support for SMEs to survive the economic downturn prompted by COVID-19 and the resultant lockdowns.