Singapore-based Sea Ltd. is preparing to fire 3% of Shopee employees in Indonesia, part of a broader wave of regional job cuts intended to curb ballooning losses and win back investors. The 3% cut in Indonesia aligns with layoffs of a low-single-digit percentage across the division.
Respond.io, a Malaysia-based social-to-conversational commerce software as a service (SaaS) platform, has closed $7 million in Series A funding. Respond.io has grown its revenue 25 times since the previous round and will use the funding to continue its push into large enterprises by extending its extensive suite of integration capabilities, expanding from its home in Asia to build a presence in the Middle East, Europe and Latin America.
Leoparda Electric, a São Paolo–based startup, is working to build out a network of battery swapping stations that should help spread adoption of electric two-wheelers in the region. While Leoparda’s core business is battery swapping, the startup aims to do something similar by putting together a subscription package that includes an electric motorcycle or seated scooter, unlimited battery swaps, maintenance and insurance. Leoparda will first open its battery swapping locations in geographically concentrated zones where most couriers operate.
The U.S. Senate has passed a bill that could potentially ban TikTok in the U.S. if its Chinese owner, ByteDance, does not sell its holdings within a year. The bill now goes to the President Biden, who has said he will sign it. Court challenges are likely to follow.