Jofie Yordan

As the capital of Indonesia, Jakarta is the hub of the country's tech ecosystem. However, high labor costs are becoming a burden for startups fighting to achieve profitability.

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IN FOCUS In today's newsletter, we look at: How OpenAI's presence in Singapore crowns it as AI hub in Southeast Asia

Southeast Asia is often seen as the next growth frontier for tech companies. Over the last two decades, it has been the third-fastest-growing region in terms of annual gross domestic product (GDP).

In wrestling, a handicap match is where one wrestler fights against two allied opponents at once.

Sociolla , the Indonesia-based beauty ecommerce firm, achieved EBITDA profitability in the first quarter of this year, CEO and co-founder Christopher Madiam tells us at the ongoing Tech in Asia Conference in Jakarta.

In May, then-Indonesian President Joko Widodo announced the creation of INA Digital , a govtech platform that aims to aggregate and integrate all digital public services in the country.

US$5 billion. That's the valuation of fintech firm GCash now following its latest funding round from Philippine conglomerate Ayala Corporation and Japanese banking giant MUFG.

In today's newsletter, we look at: Welcome to The Checkout! Delivered every fortnight, this free newsletter breaks down the biggest stories and trends in ecommerce.

The past year has been a mixed bag for Indonesia's proptech scene. Lamudi Indonesia, for one, laid off employees in late 2023.