Hanoi, Vietnam – Funverse Capital, the blockchain-focused venture capital fund formed by Funtap, one of the fastest-growing mobile game publishers in Vietnam, announced its first US$10m investment fund for blockchain-focused tech startups. Funverse Capital said the capital fund, which is backed by Funtap, will be directed towards blockchain-focused tech startups that are capable of driving profound impact on the fintech and gaming industry.

In addition to capital funding ticket size of up to US$1m for each qualified project, Funverse Capital offers mentorship and accelerator programs which take advantage of Funtap’s leading position in Vietnam’s mobile gaming market such as the company’s nearly a decade of market understanding and its 42 million worldwide customer network. 

Funverse Capital’s Managing Director Phillips Dao shared that in the Southeast Asia market, the capital fund is now seeking startups working on blockchain-enabled applications in GameFi, DeFi, and other potential projects. 

“A good product is not enough for the startup to win in today’s market. We recognize the opportunity for fledgling entrepreneurs to go ‘from vision to action’ and are willing to assist them turn their ideas into reality by sharing the strength of a worldwide business network, the mutual advantages of the online ecosystem, and growth lessons in the typical Internet market,” said Dao.

Meanwhile, Adam Bui, founder & CEO of Funtap Corp., commented, “Blockchain and NFT are great motivations for the coming generation of internet products and services. With our financial capital and other business resources committed via Funverse Capital, Funtap is now ready to contribute to the growth and acceleration of the emerging tech industry.” 

Vietnam’s blockchain market has been booming recently since the huge success of Sky Mavis, the tech startup behind the well-known monster-combat NFT game Axie infinity. 

Singapore – PlanetSpark, the investment arm of electronic components distributor Excelpoint, has launched the PlanetSpark Innovation Centre, an accelerator for Artificial Intelligence of Things (AIoT) innovations targeted to supporting Singapore tech startups speed up market deployment, and is supported by Enterprise Singapore.

Under the accelerator program, PlanetSpark will invest an initial S$5 million to expand the centre’s engineering capabilities and develop technology platforms, and has secured a lineup of five startups for its upcoming pilot run of accelerator programme. The project is also in response to high complexity associated with AIoT solution development – from proof-of-concept to production, and eventual commercialisation.

Through the program, PlanetSpark offers a one-stop ecosystem that brings together innovators, hardware and software providers, venture capitalists, small and medium enterprises (SMEs), manufacturers and potential customers.

“Startups can tap into Excelpoint’s vast industry networks of semiconductor manufacturers, sales channel partners and design engineering expertise – enabling the startups to expedite product design and optimize system-level integration for rapid prototyping, thereby reducing their time, cost and risks in bringing their solutions to market,” the company said in a press statement.

The initial group of startups will be developing market-deployable solutions integrating the middleware to solve real-world challenges in thermal sensing, facial recognition, satellite tracking and edge AI analytics.

“The PlanetSpark Innovation Centre is a welcome addition to Singapore’s vibrant technology and innovation ecosystem. It brings ideas, people and networks together to scale innovative AIoT solutions to market and provides enterprises with the necessary resources to build capabilities and drive the development of innovative AIoT solutions. This is important as demand for such solutions is expected to grow in tandem with the region’s emergence of smart homes, cities and industries,” said Satvinder Singh, assistant chief executive officer of Enterprise Singapore.

Meanwhile, Phuay Li Ying, managing director of PlanetSpark said, “Our role as a technology validator will also provide an indication of the potential of the startups for venture capital firms, which plays a key role in the success of a startup. Our ultimate objective is to have a collaborative hardware ecosystem where such start-ups can accelerate their growth and commercialization plans, attract venture capital funding and create new possibilities for local technology innovations and economic growth.”