Burda Principal Investments’ Post

This past week, BPI's Marketing Specialist Eva Kurzweil and Visiting Analyst Philipp Kasa headed to Vallendar for IdeaLab! - WHU Founders' Conference.   BPI is proud to be a sponsor of this impressive student-led conference, and was involved in organising the panel on “𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘯𝘷𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘤𝘳𝘰𝘴𝘴 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘨𝘦𝘴” with Joshua Rothkugel, Leonie Lankes, and Frederic Martin, exploring the differences of venture capital between early- and growth-stage investments. We enjoyed connecting with the engaged WHU student cohort at our BPI-event stand and look forward to other opportunities to reconnect!    Thanks to our in-house WHU alumni, Friedrich von Wulffen for your input on the event and thank you for having us #IdeaLab, it was a pleasure! 💚💜

Neil and Elis from our Singapore team just wrapped up an incredible few days at the NextHub Global Summit in #Bali, co-organized by Nexticorn and HUB.ID. 🙌   The event's focus on connecting investors with startups created an environment for impactful discussions and potential partnerships. And the active participation of key government figures highlighted Indonesia's commitment to fostering a vibrant startup ecosystem. Collaborating with Thailand's Techsauce, the Ministry of Communication and Information also organized a global conference on the final day, sparking valuable conversations on the opportunities and challenges facing startups across Southeast Asia.   Looking ahead, we're excited to see how local and regional collaboration continues to strengthen the region's entrepreneurial landscape. 🚀

Meet Burda Principal Investments at Bits & Pretzels 2024 🥨   With our HQ in #Munich, we're always delighted to attend this special event, meeting up with founders and investors throughout Sept 29 - Oct 1. Luisa, Friedrich and Lena will be representing our investment team at #bits24, and our managing director Julian will be joining as table captain on Day 3 at #Oktoberfest. 🍻   🎤 We’re also excited to see two of our portfolio founders speaking on Day 1:   Aron Gelbard, CEO & founder of our portfolio company Bloom & Wild, will be speaking about 𝘚𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘗𝘳𝘰𝘧𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘣𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘺: 𝘚𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘨𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘚𝘶𝘤𝘤𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘢𝘵 𝘚𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘦𝘶𝘱 𝘚𝘵𝘢𝘨𝘦 at 10:35 am on the MoneyPit Stage. And Jonas Andrulis, CEO & founder of Aleph Alpha will be taking Center Stage at 5:30 pm with Dr. Andre Retterath for 𝘈 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘑𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘴 𝘈𝘯𝘥𝘳𝘶𝘭𝘪𝘴.   In case you're heading to #BitsAndPretzels as well, make sure to reach out to the BPI team directly and we'll see you there! 👋

We are excited to share the recently published paper "𝘍𝘶𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘐𝘯𝘯𝘰𝘷𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯: 𝘊𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘍𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘤𝘩 𝘍𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘎𝘢𝘱𝘴" by World Economic Forum and McKinsey & Company. BPI's CEO, Christian Teichmann, contributed to the piece as part of the steering committee, offering valuable insights drawn from our experience in both developed markets like the #UK and emerging markets such as the #Philippines.   The report outlines five strategic pathways to address #fintech funding challenges globally: investing in digital public infrastructure, improving regulatory clarity, fostering regional collaboration, nurturing talent, and encouraging sustainable growth strategies. These insights provide a roadmap for creating a supportive environment and unlocking fintech's full potential on a global scale.   To explore more of the paper's findings and understand how the fintech industry can close funding gaps, click on the link below to read the full article.

This past week, Edwin and peter from our Singapore office travelled to Darwin to join #IBVDU24, hosted by Innovation Bay, for three inspiring days of knowledge-sharing and connecting with investors from Australia, New Zealand, the US, and Singapore.   Highlights of their trip to Australia included a traditional 'saltwater' welcome and an outdoor expedition day, where they exchanged ideas on diversity and climate-aligned VC mandates. They also had the opportunity to visit the Darwin Innovation Hub to explore the growing local startup ecosystem, covering key topics such as liquidity pathways, and fund structures.   Special thanks to Ian Gardiner and Millie Turner for leading another exciting Venture Down Under event!

Thomas and Briac from our London office will be attending the France Digitale Day 2024 next Wednesday, 18th September. With a stellar line-up of French startups, #FDDay is bringing together over 4,000 founders and investors for a full day (and night) of innovation, networking, and deal-making in Paris. 🇫🇷   In case you'll be around and would like to connect, feel free to reach out to Thomas or Briac directly! 🤝

Recently, Neil and Elis from our #Singapore office joined the Tech in Asia Conference 2024 in Kuala Lumpur, which gathered over 1,600 founders, investors, and tech industry experts from across Southeast Asia. The conference highlighted Malaysia’s growing #tech ecosystem and its potential to become a major hub in the region. Themed 𝘔𝘢𝘭𝘢𝘺𝘴𝘪𝘢 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘙𝘪𝘴𝘦, the event featured insightful discussions on unlocking the country’s tech potential, with industry leaders like Eric Cheng, CEO of our portfolio company CARSOME, sharing their expertise. 🌏✨   Our Managing Director Neil also served as a judge for the Startup Arena Pitch Battle, where some of Southeast Asia's most innovative startups competed to showcase their groundbreaking ideas. 🎤🚀   Congratulations to the winner of the competition Entomal Biotech, and a big thank you to everyone who contributed to making this event such a success! 🙌

Exciting times for our portfolio company, Nord Security, as they prepare for their next big milestone! 🚀   This recent Sifted article highlights Nord’s impressive journey from bootstrapping to becoming a #cybersecurity #unicorn. Here are 3 key takeaways:   1️⃣ 𝐑𝐞𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐤𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐆𝐫𝐨𝐰𝐭𝐡: Since their founding in 2012, Nord Security has grown from a small startup in Lithuania to a global leader with nearly 1,700 employees and over 15 million users. Their flagship product, NordVPN, has set the standard for online security.   2️⃣ 𝐒𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐜 𝐄𝐱𝐩𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧: Despite only first raising external funding in the last two years, Nord Security has achieved a $3 billion valuation and is now actively pursuing acquisitions to expand their portfolio of cybersecurity services.   3️⃣ 𝐈𝐏𝐎 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬: With their internal processes and governance in place, Nord Security is "technically almost IPO-ready", but they are in no rush, focusing instead on continuous innovation and strategic growth.   We’re proud to be part of this exciting journey and look forward to supporting Nord as they push the boundaries of cybersecurity and make a lasting impact on the industry. 🖤🩵

We’re thrilled to announce our continued support for BillEase in their Series C round, as they secure a strategic investment led by TPG’s The Rise Fund. The round marks a significant milestone in BillEase's journey, recognising their strong market presence and dedication to empowering the underbanked in the #Philippines. 🇵🇭   The thesis from our initial 2022 investment in BillEase remains intact, as they expand their innovative financial solutions and continue to drive financial inclusion in the region. Our participation in the Series C round reflects our ongoing conviction in their ability to reshape the Philippines' financial landscape. We’re excited to back their ongoing success. 🚀

This past Thursday, our Senior Advisor peter participated as a panelist in the 𝘈𝘤𝘤𝘦𝘭𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘈𝘐 𝘐𝘯𝘯𝘰𝘷𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 - 𝘖𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘦𝘴 & 𝘊𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘴 session, hosted by NVIDIA and Tribe. He was joined by Jiayi Chong, Mok Shao Hong, and Dr. Deb Goswami, along with many other AI startups and investors.   During the discussion, Peter shared his insights on the current AI wave, addressing some of the surrounding hype. He emphasized that AI should be leveraged to solve real pain points and expressed optimism that many enterprises have accumulated vast amounts of data. By concentrating on specific verticals, he said, startups can collaborate with these companies to unlock the potential of this data and create meaningful value. Thank you to everyone who joined the panel, it was a true pleasure to connect with so many innovative startups and investors in the regional AI ecosystem! 🖤🩵