18 Hong Kong startups to watch in 2018 (Part 1)
2017 has definitely been a great year in the Hong Kong startup scene, with a significantly increased amount of funding flowing into the scene, as well as support from different institutions. What can we look forward to next year?
Here are the first 6 out of the 18 Hong Kong startups you should watch in 2018.
P.s. A lot of them are looking for new team members on WHub! Click on the links if you are interested to learn more about the startup job opportunities!
And of course, join the startup community for FREE here
Boxful
Founded by Carl Wu and Norman Cheung in 2014, Boxful offers storage solutions with door-to-door pickup service. In December, the startup has secured US$18 million in a Series B round from investors including real estate developers Nan Fung Group, Shimao Property Holdings and Shui On Land.
To date, Boxful has raised US$26.1 million in 3 rounds, including a US$6.6 million Series A round and US$1.5 million Seed round.
The startup plans to use the fresh capital to further expand its service in Mainland China as well as in other Asian markets.
Campfire Collaborative Spaces
Co-founded by Albert Fung, Wang Tse, and Brian Fung in 2016, Campfire offers industry-focused workspaces to like-minded entrepreneurs, allowing them to share their experience, network and collaborate. Campfire has raised US$6 million in a seed round from angel investors in the real estate industry.
Currently, Campfire has 3 co-working spaces with different focuses: tech startups, high fashion businesses and media publications. Campfire has just announced its plan to launch a flagship location in V Point, Causeway Bay in July 2018.
Besides co-working, the co-working startup also plans to expand into co-living and co-learning site in Hong Kong. Campfire plans to open 7 more sites around Hong Kong and 2 sites overseas in Australia, and United Kingdom by mid-2018. (They are hiring! Click here to learn more)
CompareAsiaGroup
Founded in 2013 by Gerald Eder, Mads Faurholt-Jorgensen and Stefan Bruun, CompareAsiaGroup develops personal finance management platforms. Utilizing artificial intelligence and machine learning, the platforms can match consumers with financial products based on their needs and risk profiles.
CompareAsiaGroup has bagged US$50Mllion in Series B from investors including Goldman Sachs Investment Partners, Nova Founders Capital and Alibaba. It has raised US$93 million in 3 rounds. CompareAsiaGroup serves over 20 million customers across 8 countries, comparing over 1530 products.
DayDayCook
Founded in 2012 by Norma Chu, DayDayCook is an Asia-focused multimedia platform that focuses on home cooking. It has raised US$8.6 million in Series B from K11 Investments, Adrian Cheng and the Alibaba Entrepreneurs Fund.
Prior to the Series B round, DayDayCook also raised US$5.2 million in Series A+ and a US$5 million Series A round from investors including 500 Startups, MFund and Heyi Capital. The three rounds of funding boost DayDayCook’s total equity funding to over US$18 million.
DayDayCook has entered China and developed a great pool of audience. With over 200 million views on its videos per month, the startup plans to expand its service offline by opening a cooking shop in Shanghai.
Freightos
Freightos is a logistics startup that develops an online international freight marketplace powered by Freightos AcceleRate SaaS technology. It has secured US$25 million in Series B+ round led by GE Ventures in March 2017. The logistics startup has raised over US$48 million from investors including MSR Capital, Annox Capital, Israel Cleantech Ventures, Robert Mylod, and Aleph.
Founded in 2012 by Zvi Schreiber, Freightos Marketplace is available in China, Hong Kong, Taiwan and the U.S. The company is working with global supply chain companies including Nippon Express and Hellman Worldwide Logistics. Freightos plans to use the fresh capital to expand Freightos Marketplace into more markets.
Gobee.bike
Gobee.bike is a Hong Kong-based startup that offers dockless bike-sharing services. In August 2017, the startup has raised US$9 million in Series A in August 2017 from Alibaba Entrepreneur Fund and Grishin Robotics. The startup also raised a seed round with the support from Cocoon Ignite Ventures, astminute.com founder, Lamivoie Capital and Goldman Sachs alumni.
Launched in 2017 by Raphael Cohen and Claude Ducharme, Gobee.bike’s app has reached 300,000 downloads in November. The startup has also expanded into Europe, offering its service in Paris.
The bike-sharing market has no lack of competition, Gobee.bike is facing rivals including newcomer Ofo and HobaBike in Hong Kong.
Honorable mentions:
Ampd Energy
Founded by Brandon Ng and Luca Valente in 2014, Ampd Energy is an energy storage company that develops battery-powered energy storage system. The startup has raised US$3.7 million in seed funding.
The Ampd Silo, a lithium-ion battery with 17 kilowatt-hour capacity, works similar to a power bank for mobile phone. Electricity can be stored and used when required. The startup targets Southeast Asian market as well as India with the aim to help bring lights to regions that are prone to frequent blackouts. (They are hiring! Click here to learn more)
Grana
Founded in 2014 by Luke Grana and Pieter Paul Wittgen, Grana sells wardrobe essentials to customers using its e-commerce platform. The apparel startup has raised funding from STI Financial Group via venture debt in November 2017.
Grana has also raised a total of US$16 million in 2 rounds from investors including Alibaba Hong Kong Entrepreneurs Fund, Golden Gate Ventures, MindWorks Ventures, 500 Startups and more.
Grana’s service is available in 67 countries with 15 pop-up showrooms in Australia, Hong Kong, Singapore and the United States.(They are hiring! Click here to learn more)
What Hong Kong startup caught your eye in 2017? Share with us in the comment section below or message us!
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