Behind the scenes of Southeast Asia’s Stripe

More: A case of irresponsible and dangerous misuse of facial recognition tech, and Bukalapak’s big round of funding [Read from your browser]( Daily Newsletter Hello {NAME} Last Christmas, I drew the name of my friend Max for Secret Santa in our friend group’s annual party. His request was unorthodox: In lieu of a present, he asked me to donate S$35 (our gift budget) to UNICEF. Inspired, I doubled up and donated S$70. But this story is not about our incredible generosity, sense of charity, or dashing good looks. Rather, it’s about the ease with which I made the donation. I was able to complete the whole donation process in five minutes, tops. Sometimes, we take the payment gateways that enable this ease of use for granted. Today’s premium piece takes a look at Indonesian payment solutions provider Xendit and its journey to become the “Stripe of Southeast Asia.” Today we look at, - Charting and understanding [Xendit’s meteoric rise]( - Gojek and Tokopedia’s US$18 billion merger - Other newsy highlights such as the potentially dire misuse of facial recognition technology and a couple hundred million more in funding for Bukalapak  ---------------------------------------------------------------  PREMIUM SUMMARY  Indonesian fintech Xendit’s continuing trek to the top Xendit’s problem-solving days began simply - if not dauntingly - enough. In Indonesia, there didn’t used to be a proper payments gateway infrastructure in place at all. That inspired the company to pivot from offering peer-to-peer payments to becoming a gateway itself, and it’s a decision that has paid off. - Traction, to say the least: The company’s year-on-year revenue has grown 700% over the past five years, and it processes more than 65 million transactions worth US$6.5 billion annually. - Silicon Valley support: Xendit was the first Indonesian startup to be accepted into seed-stage accelerator Y Combinator, which helped to boost its network and credibility. - Growing with clients: Nine out of 10 of Xendit’s biggest customers started using its services in the early stages of their business. The fintech firm aims to continue playing an enabling role in Southeast Asia, focusing on working with small and medium-sized businesses. Read more: [How Xendit rose quickly in Southeast Asia’s crowded fintech space](  ---------------------------------------------------------------  STARTUP SPOTLIGHT Pass Goto, collect US$18 billion Gojek and Tokopedia, two of Indonesia’s biggest internet companies, are reportedly [finalizing their US$18 billion merger]( to create a giant in ride-hailing, food delivery, and ecommerce. The deal is expected to be completed as early as this month. - New name: The combined entity is set to be called Goto, pronounced as “go to.” - A pair of pairs: Goto will include two executives each from Gojek and Tokopedia: Gojek’s co-CEOs Andre Soelistyo and Kevin Aluwi and Tokopedia’s CEO William Tanuwijaya and president Patrick Cao. - Dominoes: The development comes after Grab announced it was going public in the US. The super app’s financial debut is expected to kick off a spree of listings by Southeast Asian giants, including Traveloka and PropertyGuru, as well as Gojek and Tokopedia.  ---------------------------------------------------------------  IN PARTNERSHIP WITH Focusing on the customers and channels that matter If you’ve been around the startup space long enough, you’re likely familiar with the concepts of lifetime value (LTV) and customer acquisition cost. After all, you want to make sure that what you spend on acquiring a customer is worth it in the long run. For marketers, figuring out the right channels to capture the customers that matter - and calculating the LTV of these customers and channels - are an important part of any campaign. However, traditional methods of calculating LTV are complicated and can’t account for sudden shifts in customer behavior. That’s where multi-platform analytics and attribution tool myTracker and its predictive analytics capabilities come in. By leveraging machine learning algorithms, myTracker is able to make more accurate predictions around a customer’s LTV and potential revenue by processing data in real time and delivering insights based on factors such as app or website traffic, user actions, and a customer’s profile, among others. Start for free or request a demo on myTracker’s [website](.  ---------------------------------------------------------------  QUICK BYTES  1️⃣ Detroit needs to become more human A man who was falsely accused of shoplifting has sued the Detroit Police Department for arresting him based on an incorrect facial recognition match. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) filed a suit on behalf of Robert Williams, whom it calls the [first US person wrongfully arrested based on facial recognition](. The ACLU claims Detroit police used the technology under circumstances that they should have known would produce unreliable results, then dishonestly failed to mention the system’s shortcomings - including a “woefully substandard” image and the known racial bias of recognition systems.  2️⃣ Big money for Bukalapak Indonesian ecommerce company [Bukalapak has raised US$234 million]( in capital in a funding round led by Microsoft, Singapore sovereign wealth fund GIC, and local media conglomerate Emtek. This development comes after Grab announced its plans to go public in the US through a deal with the special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) Altimeter Growth, the largest of its kind yet.  3️⃣ Dyson plans to hoover up tech talent British technology company Dyson [plans to hire 450 people globally]( with more than half the recruits in its headquarters in Singapore - doubling its current software and electronics teams. The move is part of Dyson’s goal to set aside US$3.8 billion in its five-year investment plan focused on areas such as machine learning and robotics.  4️⃣ IPO fraud? Get slapped with a US$37 million fine Jia Yueting, founder of formerly high-flying technology conglomerate LeEco Holdings, has been [fined US$36.8 million by Chinese regulators]( over false and inadequate financial disclosures in the 2010 IPO of its video-streaming unit in Shenzhen and other fundraises. The revenues and profits of the company’s streaming unit were deemed to have been inflated through fabricated deals with private companies controlled by its parent firm’s founder.  5️⃣ TikTok is preventing social media addiction? Wonders never cease Douyin, the Chinese version of ByteDance’s global sensation TikTok, has 600 million daily active users and has long been criticized for spreading vulgar content on its platform that’s inappropriate for young audiences. To [prevent minors from becoming addicted]( to the app, Douyin has added a "youth mode." Once the youth mode is switched on, users can use the app for no more than 40 minutes at a time and can't use it between 10 pm and 6 am.  6️⃣ China’s not too concerned about chips Analysts feel that the push by US President Joe Biden to develop the domestic chip industry on US soil [does not pose an immediate threat to China]( even though Biden has cited the country as a reason for the initiative. The more pressing problem for China is the denial of access to advanced technologies that are of US origin.  ---------------------------------------------------------------  EVENTS HAPPENING - **Sold out** Private session: The Alternative Supper Club on April 20 As our premium subscribers, we’re giving you first dibs to this exclusive event. In celebration of Earth Day, Tech in Asia will be holding a [private dinner and networking event]( with innovators who are shaping the future of plant-based food tech companies in Asia Pacific. Unfortunately, this event is sold out! But keep your eyes peeled for similar events in the future! - How to build digital products that customers love on April 28 In today’s digitalized world, how can you stand out from the crowd and build a product that customers love? Join us to learn how you can strengthen your product's user experience and bring it to the next level from leaders at Amplitude, Traveloka, and Viu. [RSVP today](.  ---------------------------------------------------------------  WHO'S HIRING - [Channel Development Lead]( at Evermos (Bandung, Java, Indonesia) - [Technical Lead]( at Avows Technologies (Jakarta, Indonesia) - [Business Development Planner & Support]( at Inspigo (Jakarta, Indonesia)  ---------------------------------------------------------------  SHARE WITH YOUR FRIEND If you're feeling generous today, help us share this newsletter with your friends and coworkers so that they can keep up with what’s going on in the region’s tech scene. Feel free to [drop us some feedback]( if our newsletter today got you feeling smarter (or if it didn’t).  ---------------------------------------------------------------  Thanks for reading! Tech in Asia’s newsletters are handcrafted daily with love - and sometimes powered by good kopi (or tea). [ADVERTISE]( | [PREMIUM]( | [JOBS]( P.S. Don't miss out on the biggest tech news and analysis. Add newsletter@techinasia.com to your address book, contacts, or safe sender list. Or simply move us into your inbox. Was this forwarded to you? You can read this everyday when you sign up [here](. Don't want to receive these emails anymore? [Unsubscribe](.  ---------------------------------------------------------------  Today’s edition was written by Winston Zhang, with contributions from Tay Tian Wen and Miguel Cordon. It’s edited by Jaclyn Tiu. Copyright © 2021 Tech in Asia, All rights reserved. 51 Bras Basah Rd, #05-5061, Singapore 189554