CDP Institute

This follows an Australian federal court ruling which fined Uber Technologies A$21 million (US$14 million). The court ruled the Australian arm of the U.S. ride-sharing app broke consumer law by misleading customers with warnings they would be charged for cancelling some rides from 2017 to 2021 and by using an inaccurate software algorithm to estimate fares for a taxi service it offered until August 2020.

Accenture has just acquired Fiftyfive5, an Australian-based customer insights and advisory business. The move will strengthen Accenture Song’s ability to help clients tap data insights and performance marketing to accelerate growth and innovation across Australia and New Zealand. Fiftyfive5, which was recently named B&T Research Agency of the Year, has a proven track record in delivering customer insight-driven strategy, customer insight optimized execution and performance measurement for some of the region’s leading brands.

Singapore’s online marketplace Carousell cut 110 jobs, or 10 per cent of the firm’s total headcount, as part of efforts to rein in costs amid dimmed growth prospects.

Investment activity in the Southeast Asia region will continue in 2023 but investors are expected to scrutinize valuations more closely, according to Southeast Asia venture debt provider InnoVen Capital SEA.

Wynwood House, a Peruvian startup that follows the line of global companies such as Sonder as an alternative to Airbnb, halfway between Airbnb and hotels, raised US$7 million in a seed round that will allow it to continue growing in LatAm and beyond. Forbes Peru broke the news, stating that Wynwood House is already present in Peru, Colombia, Mexico, and Panama, and after the round, it plans to reach Chile, the US and Spain.

Layoffs at startups in the region are part of a new wave of cutbacks that responds in most cases to the recession and ensures liquidity for the coming months.