Sydney, Nov 30: In the dynamic landscape of Australian venture investment, Happenco has successfully closed its first fund, securing $12 million to empower early-stage startups in building bold and innovative companies.
The fund is spearheaded by industry veterans Ben Cheyne, Gideon Gut-Silverman, and Omar Varts, bringing a wealth of experience from Deloitte Ventures, McKinsey, Google, and Deus Ex Machina.
Noteworthy backers include prominent family offices and investors such as Michael Rennie and Jeeva Suresh.
Happenco, established in 2021, uniquely combines an advisory firm with the investment prowess of a venture capital fund.
The firm actively engages with startups, deploying 60 per cent of its funds across 16 companies, including electric utility software firm Neara, ad specs management hub The Spec Sheet, and school excursion platform EdTripper.
Happenco’s distinctive approach involves close collaboration with startups, offering not only financial support but also strategic counsel and active involvement in business operations.
The firm has already provided advisory services to 11 startups in various sectors, broadening its portfolio to 27 companies, including sustainable luxury brand Nagnata.
Ben Cheyne, Managing Director at Happenco, emphasizes the firm’s commitment to bridging the gap for early-stage startups in Australia.
The goal is to enable creators to leverage their strengths while providing essential support in technology build, operational efficiency, and financial capabilities.
Gideon Gut-Silverman, Executive Director at Happenco, notes the shifting landscape of Australia’s startup scene, underlining the importance of supporting ambitious founders through challenging market conditions.
The fund aims to create opportunities for ideas to evolve into robust companies, fostering the growth of the next generation of Australian startups.
Meanwhile, in Singapore, Fr8Labs, an AI-enabled freight logistics technology startup, has successfully concluded its seed funding round, raising $1.5 million. Investors include East Ventures, FEBE Ventures, Kaya Founders, Mulia Sky Capital, Seedstars International Ventures, and angel investors.
Fr8Labs focuses on addressing the antiquated and fragmented nature of the freight forwarding market in Asia.
The company, founded in early 2022 by Glenn Lai and Felix Lu, aims to revolutionize the industry by offering innovative solutions such as a cloud Operating System and a Gen-AI assistant bot for forwarders.
The funds raised will support the further development and market expansion of Fr8Labs’ products, which streamline operations, enhance efficiency, and reduce human errors in the freight forwarding process.
The startup acknowledges the crucial role of traditional freight forwarders’ strong networks and expertise, aiming to enable them rather than disrupt their foundations.
Fr8Labs plans to expand its services, offering ancillary products like warehouse management, foreign exchange trade, financing, cargo insurance, visibility and rates management, and a marketplace integrated into one platform.
The company seeks to establish an open ecosystem, allowing forwarders to utilize its platform as a foundational block for integrating and managing multiple logistics tech applications.
With paying customers already in Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Taiwan, and Australia, Fr8Labs is poised to capitalize on the Southeast Asian logistics market’s significant growth potential, valued at approximately $389 billion in 2022 with a projected 11.8 per cent CAGR over the next five years.
Investors, including Roderick Purwana of East Ventures and Patricia Sosrodjojo of Seedstars International Ventures, express confidence in Fr8Labs’ potential to transform the logistics industry in Southeast Asia. The startup’s innovative tech solutions, blending AI with a deep understanding of freight logistics, are expected to bring efficiency and operational improvements to the region.
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