<![CDATA[SINTEAG VENTURES - News]]>Tue, 14 May 2024 02:51:20 -0700Weebly<![CDATA[API Technology and SaaS]]>Thu, 24 Jan 2019 03:01:47 GMThttp://sinteag.com/news/api-technology-and-saasWith the growth of AI, the need for API connections and increased thought leadership to embrace tech, Southeast Asia is going to see an upsurge in SaaS startups and existing startups moving to a Saas business model. Hence, we expect increased investments into Saas companies focused on IoT and cybersecurity as hardware data and software are moved onto the cloud. Sinteag Ventures is working with a Czech based API development company for the new year, with a $1M capital raise based on the global need for API consistent technology and documentation in the SaaS space.  The global opportunity is amazing and late to the game.  techcrunch.com/2019/01/22/vc-predictions-southeast-asia-tech-startups/
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]]><![CDATA[Baring Private Equity Asia to Buy Pioneer for $900M]]>Thu, 27 Dec 2018 08:00:00 GMThttp://sinteag.com/news/baring-private-equity-asia-to-buy-pioneer-for-900mPicture
TOKYO (Reuters) - Baring Private Equity Asia will buy cash-strapped Japanese electronics firm Pioneer Corp (6773.T) for $900 million, in a two-stage investment that marks the latest attempt by the country’s car navigation system makers to survive.

The buyout firm is providing cash that is much needed by Pioneer, which had 50 billion yen ($443 million) of interest-bearing debt as of end-March and which will need further investment to be competitive.

Car navigation system makers are trying to keep up with a shift by carmakers into new technologies such as autonomous driving, connected cars and electric vehicles.

Pioneer will issue new shares worth 77 billion yen to Baring, and the private equity firm will later buy 25 billion yen of shares from existing shareholders, both groups said on Friday.

Pioneer, which posted a net loss of 7.1 billion yen in the year ended in March, flagged to investors in August that it was considering a major review of its car audio systems business and was in tie-up talks with several firms.

“I feel deep responsibility for what has happened, but an alliance with Baring is essential to restructure Pioneer,” Pioneer Chief Executive Koichi Moriya told a news conference.

Jean Eric Salata, chief executive of Baring Private Equity Asia, said, “The market’s very competitive and it’s going to require a lot of investments and it’s going to require changes in the ways the company makes decisions and implements strategy.”
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Pioneer will issue new shares to Baring at 50 yen a share while Baring will buy shares from the existing shareholders at 66 yen each, lower than Friday’s close of 88 yen.

Pioneer’s Moriya said the prices were appropriate considering that if Pioneer was not going to get a cash injection, the share price would fall further and the company could not go through the reform. After selling its consumer electronics business in 2014, Pioneer focused mostly on car navigation systems, a technology rendered largely obsolete thanks to maps available on smartphones.

​Development costs for advanced navigation systems have soared as companies including Panasonic Corp (6752.T) and Bosch [ROBG.UL] have poured money into next-generation cockpits for cars that make driving safer and luxurious, edging out cash-strapped companies like Pioneer.
Pioneer’s deal follows Hitachi Ltd’s (6501.T) sale of car navigation system maker Clarion to France’s Faurecia (EPED.PA) in October. This week Alpine Electronics 6816.T won support from its shareholders to be sold to its larger affiliate Alps Electric (6770.T).

Reporting by Junko Fujita; Editing by Chris Gallagher, Sunil Nair, William Mallard and Adrian Croft

Our Standards:The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

]]><![CDATA[Softbank's Vision Fund raises $500M for Cambridge Mobile Telematics - CMT]]>Thu, 13 Dec 2018 08:00:00 GMThttp://sinteag.com/news/softbanks-vision-fund-raises-500m-for-cambridge-mobile-telematics-cmt
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8-year-old Cambridge Mobile Telematics. which uses smartphone data to analyze driver behavior, has raised $500 million from SoftBank's Vision Fund, the company announced December 12th. The Japanese telecommunications giant has been changing the landscape for the global tech industry with its $100 billion Vision Fund, Cambridge Mobile Telematics was founded in 2010 by current CEO Bill Powers and a pair of MIT computer science professors, Hari Balakrishnan and Sam Madden. Crunchbase.com reflects a previous raise of a meager $2.5 million by comparison.  Cambridge Mobile Telematics, or CMT, has largely funded its operations so far from customer revenue, reportedly in the mid 10 figures. CMT uses a combination of smartphone apps and a small in-car hardware device to collect information on driving habits. The company then analyzes the data to spot driving behavior that could predict a crash. CMT's apps also provide a variety of ways to encourage better driving behavior, from individual driving scores to leaderboard-style competitions to monetary incentives for improved driving. CMT's main customers are insurance providers, who use the data to price their insurance plans and reduce crashes among their covered drivers. Other customers include automakers, vehicle fleet managers and government agencies. The city of Boston, for example, uses CMT to power its "Safest Driver Competition."

]]><![CDATA[Sinteag Ventures Entertainment Fund News]]>Sat, 01 Dec 2018 08:00:00 GMThttp://sinteag.com/news/sinteag-ventures-entertainment-fund-newsPicture
December 09, 2019

Sinteag Ventures Entertainment Fund's second foray in the field of movies debuted this month to limited release but heralded acclaim. A Million Hits released this month to solid reviews against a busy December month of blockbusters. Writted, produced and directed by Austin, TX-based Janet Harvey, A Million Hits is a coming of age movie about teens, social media, teen suicide and coming out. High Def Digest scored this higher than just about every blockbuster for the month of December - an accomplishment considering the star power of Kurt Russell, Julia Roberts, Steve Carell,  Jennifer Aniston and Jennifer Lopez. Sinteag's first movie as executive producer, behind indie based Slow Learners, we're excited to see continued rave reviews and success for our little gem.

In a year where we’re celebrating Eighth Grade with such fanfare, it’s interesting to see other filmmakers, like director Janet Harvey, take on the ways that youth today interact with the physical world and the virtual world alike. 
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