Mystifly

Singapore-based ZUZU Hospitality Solutions has raised $9 million in a Series B funding round led by SoftBank Ventures Asia. The revenue platform for independent hotels plans to use the funds for product improvement, market expansion, and strategic investments in AI tools to improve pricing and the guest experience. ZUZU was founded in 2016 by former Expedia employees and previously raised angel and seed funding rounds, as well as a Series A round led by Wavemaker Partners. The company aims to reach 5,000 partners by the end of 2024. The online travel market in Southeast Asia is estimated to be worth...

Singapore-based fintech Jenfi has raised $6.6m in pre-Series B funding led by Headline Asia and featuring participation from Monk’s Hill Ventures, ICU Ventures, Granite Oak, Korea Investment Partners, Golden Equator Capital and Atlas Ventures. Jenfi, which aims to provide online businesses with revenue-based financing within a day, will use the funds to expand its customer base in Singapore, Vietnam and Indonesia, as well as exploring expansion to new markets in Southeast Asia. The firm’s credit underwriting and risk assessment capabilities, which include a proprietary risk assessment engine and machine learning-assisted underwriting, will also be refined. Since its conception four years...

Travelgenix and Tripian have announced a partnership that will integrate the latter's travel planning app into Travelgenix's platform. The move provides travel agencies with affordable options for converting their websites into fully bookable destinations, while also giving clients access to personalised itineraries that can be accessed on their mobile devices. Tripian has more than 300 city destinations, offering the ability to create in-destination itineraries. Its AI-powered system allows for customisation of travel content and services based on the personal profiles and travel behaviours of users. Tripian's software can integrate easily with existing apps by using APIs and software development kits....

Former CEO of IBM, Ginni Rometty, believes that the future of tech in the 21st century depends not only on college degrees, but on the right skills. She argues that employers must focus on hiring workers with valuable skills in order to bridge the widening gap between those who have access to tech training and opportunities and those who do not. Rometty suggests that companies should prioritise an applicant's propensity to learn over their skills, offer AI-driven learning systems for their workers, and be honest about the skills that they really want from workers and guide them to learn them...

People Matters, an online HR media platform, conducted an interview with Nitin Sethi, the CEO of Aon Consulting India & South Asia, about the top trends that HR leaders should consider in 2023. The discussion, hosted by Ester Martinez, the CEO of People Matters, focused on the significance of learning and adaptability in the workforce and the importance of being a successful change leader during a year of recurrent disruption and uncertainty. The interview aims to assist HR professionals, managers, CHROs, and senior HR leaders to stay updated and stay ahead of the curve in 2023. Read further.

Bain & Company has announced the appointment of Parijat Ghosh, an experienced consultant and a prominent leader in the Indian management consulting industry, as its new Managing Partner in India. He will be replacing Satish Shankar, who will be moving on to a global leadership role in Bain's Customer Strategy & Marketing practice. In addition, the firm has also named Karan Singh, an experienced executive and a respected leader in the Indian business community, as its new Chairman in India. Ghosh has been with Bain for over 20 years and has extensive experience in serving clients across sectors and geographies,...

The FinTech industry in the Asia-Pacific region is experiencing significant growth, with new start-ups, technological advancements, and an influx of investment leading the way. PhonePe, a leading Indian FinTech platform, raised $200 million in a recent funding round, while Till Payments received $70 million in Series D funding. Singapore-based Mystifly also secured Pre-Series B funding, while iLex raised $4.5 million to expand its product roadmap and client acquisition. Meanwhile, Chennai-based lending Infratech and asset collateralization API FinTech Finsire raised $1.3 million in seed funding. These funding rounds provide insight into the competitive and strategic trends driving the FinTech industry's evolution...

At least 80% of workers globally are deskless, working in industries such as manufacturing, healthcare, agriculture, and transportation. Despite their importance, studies show that tens of thousands of these workers are likely to quit their jobs within the year. A study by the Boston Consulting Group found that four in ten deskless workers in Australia are likely to quit their jobs in the next six months, exacerbating the current global talent shortage. The main reasons cited were dissatisfaction with the lack of career advancement opportunities, the need for higher pay, more flexibility, and better work-life balance. Industry leaders are urged...

Tesla CEO Elon Musk unveiled the company’s new ‘Optimus’ humanoid robot during a presentation, as part of the company’s venture into the robotics business. Musk stated that the company plans to make a useful humanoid robot as quickly as possible, coming soon to assemble in factories. Optimus promises to be an “extremely capable robot”, with experts projecting the robots to be produced in the millions, for a cost of under US $20,000 per unit, making it highly affordable compared to cars. Despite the potential to supplement human labour, Optimus robots are not expected to be available for purchase for at...