Under The Radar

One in every six people. That’s the estimated odds of infertility among people of reproductive age worldwide.  But it appears that the fertility services market is highly complex with segments such as egg and embryo banking, frozen non-donor, and fresh donor fertility treatment. Not only that, the market is also highly fragmented, with a large number of small players. In fact, Research and Markets said the top ten competitors in the market made up just 6.26% of the total market in 2020.  What that means is that it is tough for someone seeking fertility treatment to know which player to reach out to, how to kickstart the process, and how to compare prices and services across players.  And that is exactly the problem that our guest for today aims to solve. Launched in 2023, Zora Health prides itself as the first-of-its-kind fertility care and financing platform that increases the accessibility and affordability of treatment.  Through its partner fertility care providers, Zora Health offers a comprehensive suite of solutions including consultation services, fertility testing, egg freezing and in-vitro fertilisation. It also supports corporate clients through providing fertility education workshops.  But what is the firm’s business model exactly and what are the intricacies involved in operating a fertility-related platform? Meanwhile, Zora Health is backed by VC firm Antler. It also recently secured S$1 million in funding from noteable angel investors such as the Founding CMO of Grab Cheryl Goh, CEO of Nium Prajit Nanu, and ex-COO of Pitch.com Asa Liden.  What is worthy of note is that female investors made up 55% of the investor lineup.  A number of big questions here – what is the strategic value provided by this group of investors? What do the runway, the growth opportunities and near-term ROI look like for the firm? And when does Zora Health intend to bring in more corporate investors? On Under the Radar, The Evening Runway’s finance presenter Chua Tian Tian posed these questions to Anna Haotanto, Founder & CEO, Zora Health.

Helping tugboats, ferries, pilot boats and other coastal vehicles electrify and ride the green wave – that’s what we are going to talk about today.  Founded in 2022, our guest for today Pyxis is a maritime electrification technology startup that aims to create a more sustainable future at sea by easing mass commercialisation and adoption of electric coastal vehicles. Supported by leading coastal vessel owners and government agencies, Pyxis accelerates maritime decarbonisation while elevating vessel performance and management.  For one thing, the firm is focusing on retrofitting existing vessels with full electric propulsion systems including 70 coastal vessels owned by maritime services firm Eng Hup Shipping. With the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore mandating all new harbour craft in Singapore waters to operate on low-carbon energy solutions and reduce emissions by 15 per cent from 2021 levels, what opportunities does this present for Pyxis in the longer run?  Meanwhile, the firm had in February 2024 raised S$4.5 million in a seed funding round led by Motion Ventures and Shift4Good. The round featured participants such as Enterprise SG’s Seeds Capital, MarImpact, Tian San Shipping and LCC Resources. But what is the strategic value behind this group of investors and how does the maritime startup intend to use the money? On Under the Radar, The Evening Runway’s finance presenter Chua Tian Tian posed these questions to Tommy Phun, Founder, Pyxis.

Radium is an element we see in our periodic tables during chemistry lessons. But did you know that it was once used to make watches for naval divers thanks to its self-luminescence quality?  In fact, one luxury firm used to supply such timepieces to the Italian military back in the early 1900s.  And while Radium was banned in the 1960s due to its radioactive properties, the glow-in-the-dark feature of this company’s watches remains its key selling point up till today.  We’re talking about the Italian watch brand Panerai. Founded in Florence in 1860 as a workshop, shop and subsequently school of watchmaking, Panerai had for many decades supplied the Italian Navy and its specialist diving corp in particular with precision instruments.  At that time, the designs developed by Panerai were covered by the Military Secrets Acts. It stayed that way for many years and the models were only launched on the international market after it was acquired by the Richemont Group in 1997.  Fast forward to today, Panerai is known for its rugged and bold timepieces, with action stars such as Arnold Schwarzenegger, The Rock Dwayne Johnson and others among wearing them. But the firm is also seeing growing interest among the female community.  So how does Panerai assess its positioning and customer base over the years and what does it mean for the firm when it comes to future designs and product pipeline? Meanwhile, Panerai had in June 2023 launched its global flagship boutique in New York, but which are the key markets for the firm? What are the opportunities ahead and where does Panerai intend to expand into next? On Under the Radar, The Evening Runway’s finance presenter Chua Tian Tian posed these questions to Jean-Marc Pontroue, CEO, Panerai.

Cloud computing, big data and artificial intelligence – these functions require sophisticated hardware and regular maintenance in order to work seamlessly.  But have you wondered who are the ones managing the lifecycle of the hardware products, from regular maintenance to disposition? That’s exactly what we are going to talk about today.  Listed on the Singapore Exchange since 2016, Procurri Corporation works with its channel partners to provide more sustainable, more intelligent and more competitive IT solutions.  The firm focuses on three core pillars: (a) supplying hardware products (b) providing third party maintenance solutions for all major OEMs, supporting (b) Asset Disposition and disposal solutions for IT hardware.  Proccuri said it currently has processing plants in the UK, Germany, North America, Singapore, Malaysia and India.  The firm had also last year revealed plans to grow its business in the Asian market. But to what extent has that got to do with the ongoing boom in generative AI solutions?  Also – have the optimism and growing adoption of generative AI filtered down to Procurri when it comes to demand for hardware services? On Under the Radar, The Evening Runway’s finance presenter Chua Tian Tian posed these questions to Mat Jordan, Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer, Procurri.

Nearly 60,000 people – that’s the number of trade visitors who attended the first four days of the Singapore Airshow 2024.   The number of attendees also dwarfs the previous record set six years ago, by about 10 per cent. That was when the last full scale show was held, before the biennial event was scaled down in 2020 and 2022 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.  While the exact number of deals made and the value of them were not disclosed, multiple deals were made at the event.  China’s Comac sealed an order of 50 planes from Tibet Airlines. While APAC carriers such as Thai Airways, Vietjet and Taiwan’s Starlux bought 77 planes from major aircraft manufacturers Airbus and Boeing.  So what does this suggest about the recovery of Singapore’s MICE industry post-pandemic, and how are MICE operators positioning themselves for future growth as economic activities come back to life?  Well, we’re going to pose the questions to the organiser of Singapore Airshow 2024, Experia Events.  Incorporated in 2005, Experia specialises in conceptualising and curating trade events of strategic interest that spur industry developments, and also manages the Changi Exhibition Centre. On Under the Radar, The Evening Runway’s finance presenter Chua Tian Tian posed these questions to Leck Chet Lam, Managing Director, Experia.

Making cables for MRT lines, Jewel Changi Airport and Gardens by the Bay – that’s what we’re going to talk about today.  Founded in 1980, our guest Tai Sin Electric makes cables and wires for a diverse range of industries for both the private and public sectors and in all categories of industrial, commercial, residential and offshore and marine projects.  They include items like low voltage cables, medium voltage cables, instrumentation cables as well as fire resistant cables and wires.  The firm has since completed over 1,000 projects including at the Changi Airport Terminal 4, the National University of Singapore, the SingPost Logistics Hub, the Singtel Data Centre, the National Gallery Singapore, the Jurong Reclamation plant,  Rolls Royce Seletar Campus and at Jem Shopping Mall.  But what is interesting about Tai Sin Electric is its move to expand beyond cables and wires amid the pandemic.  In 2019, the firm was setting its sights on exporting its products to other Southeast Asia countries by taking part in the second run of Enterprise Singapore’s Scale-up SG, before activities came to a grinding halt as a result of lockdowns seen in many countries.  Instead, the firm made the decision to build a new product vertical looking at electrical power distribution with busbar trunking systems. This was a bold move as the systems were a direct competitor to the cables and wires that were Tai Sin’s bread and butter.  But why did the firm decide to push ahead with the move and how far has this brought about tangible benefits for the firm? Also, with economies revving back to life post-pandemic, how far is Tai Sin Electric picking up on its expansion plans?  On Under the Radar, The Evening Runway’s finance presenter Chua Tian Tian posed these questions to Willy Chua, Head of Marketing & Group Corporate Development, Tai Sin Electric Limited.

Have you ever seen a dog tucked in his or her dog bed and napping so well that made you go “I wish I could be like him or her?” Well, that could soon become reality for you, with one startup in the US building and selling what they call the world’s first dog bed, but for humans!  Founded in 2021, Plufl was started by two college students at the University of British Columbia when they were craving a nap after a long and exhausting day.  In fact, the two founders’ light bulb moment came when they spotted a Great Dane napping blissfully in the biggest dog bed they had ever seen. But before you go, “does such a value proposition even work”? It does seem like that’s the case from what we’ve seen so far.  Just to illustrate, the co-founders launched a Kickstarter campaign in March 2022 to raise funds to produce their initial batch of human dog beds, after their TikTok videos gained attention among the social media community.  Half a year later, the firm managed to raise nearly $725,000 through its Kickstarter and IndieGogo campaigns.  What is even more interesting is that the firm managed to snag $200,000 in investments from Shark Tank judges Lori Greiner and Mark Cuban, for a 20 per cent stake in the company, in an episode aired in October 2022.  So what is Plufl’s business model exactly? What do profit margins look like and what is it about Plufl that allowed them to secure funds from the “sharks”?   Also – what is the strategic value brought about by having Lori Greiner onboard given her network in the QVC world? On Under the Radar, The Evening Runway’s finance presenter Chua Tian Tian posed these questions to Noah Silverman, Co-founder, Plufl.

Put fintech, payments and affiliate marketing together – and you get a company called Fave.  Founded in 2015, Fave prides itself as Southeast Asia’s fastest growing platform that allows users to pay using QR codes and receive cashbacks on their digital transactions. The firm also enables users to buy and redeem restaurant deals, spa, massage, travel and activity offers using its apps. It even provides eCards to customers to save on their purchases.  So far, the firm operates in 35 cities across Malaysia, Singapore and India with over 40,000 retailers and merchants and 20 million annual transactions. But which is the most important revenue stream and geographical market for the Fave where money is concerned?  And with Southeast Asia’s digital economy tipped to see gross merchandise value hit US$1 trillion by 2030, what opportunities lie ahead of the firm? Meanwhile, Fave is also seeing a number of exciting developments. For instance, Fave had in November last year said it was taking part in the Singapore Quick Response Code+ or SGQR+ POC (proof of concept) led by the Monetary Authority of Singapore.  The initiative aims to enhance interoperability between merchants and QR payment apps. But what does Fave’s participation mean when it comes to the dollars and cents? On Under the Radar, The Evening Runway’s finance presenter Chua Tian Tian posed these questions to Hayley Pang, Head of Strategic Partnerships, Fave.

Semiconductors have been the talk of the town for the past two years, have you heard of a new type of chip called chiplets? Think of it this way. According to IBM Research, computer chips today are made using a technique called systems on a chip or SOC, where multiple computer functions such as general processing, data storage are put into a single chip.  While this way of building chips has worked well in the past, every chip comes with multiple functions, some of which that the customer may or may not need.  This means that it is not efficient to use such chips for high performance tasks such as AI computing or big data processing. So what the chiplet technology does is to break apart the system into its composite function parts. These individual parts are called chiplets.  Chiplets could be mixed and matched on a module to then create chips with more efficient and specific functions, just like Lego blocks. They are in fact increasingly adopted by big tech firms such as Apple and AMD. But why are we talking so much about chiplets today? Well, that’s because our guest is startup venture Silicon Box, which focuses on the semiconductor design of chiplets.  Started in 2021 by the founders of NASDAQ-listed chipmaker Marvell, the firm raised US$200 million in a Series B round this year. The firm said its valuation surpassed the US$1 billion mark, making it a unicorn less than three years after founding.  But how does the firm assess its valuation numbers and what are the key drivers of growth in the chiplets space?  Meanwhile, SiliconBox opened a US$2 billion facility in Tampines in July last year but what is the role of Singapore in its wider portfolio? On Under the Radar, The Evening Runway’s finance presenter Chua Tian Tian posed these questions to Mike Han, Head of Business, Silicon Box.

Today we’re going to talk about a company that makes scaffolds – not for buildings, but scaffolds that can be implanted into the human body for bones and tissues to grow.  Started in 1992, our guest is Osteopore, an Australian and Singapore based medical technology company commercialising a range of products specifically engineered to facilitate natural bone healing across multiple therapeutic areas.  One of the firm’s products included the Osteomesh, which is a mesh-like polymer scaffold that can be implanted into patients’ skulls to help them regenerate bone tissues that were taken out in surgical procedures.  Other products include those that can be used for rhinoplasty or a nose implant surgery, as well as those that can be used for jaw surgeries to help people eat and speak normally after injuries.  The firm was listed on the Australian Securities Exchange in September 2019 and had achieved a milestone of 80,000 implants across all major continents in 2022.  But how does Osteopore commercialise its products, and are its patients using its implants also its customers? How does it then assess its relationship with insurers?  Speaking of insurers, Osteopore announced in May last year that the most prominent medical scheme in South Africa, the Discovery Health Medical Scheme (DHMS) has approved the reimbursement of its Osteomesh product. But how big is the South African market to Osteopore and how important is this to the firm’s top and bottom lines?  Meanwhile, the firm had in September 2023 signed an agreement with Temasek-linked InnoVentures to commercialise Osteopore’s orthopaedic products in China, but how much money does this represent for the company? On Under the Radar, The Evening Runway’s finance presenter Chua Tian Tian posed these questions to Dr Lim Jing, Chief Executive Officer and Chief Technology Officer at Osteopore.