F(DEV), the country’s premiere corporate-led venture studio, recently attended the Plug and Play Summit June 2022, which was held at Sunnydale, California. F(DEV) is represented at the summit by Gerald Chua, Venture Strategy and Investment Principal of the Filinvest-backed startup. 

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F(DEV)’s participation in the summit allows the venture studio to gain insights in the latest market trends. Chua, who has extensive experience in financial modeling, budgeting, and investment analysis in both the corporate and startup scene, has been supporting digital venture builders and looks at startups as possible investments. 

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Chua shared these three emerging trends to watch out for, which were accelerated due to global uncertainties. 

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Caption: As the Venture Strategy and Investment Principal at F(DEV), Gerald Chua is passionate about helping high-impact digitally-enabled ventures that help the underserved sectors in the Philippines & SEA

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These are:

1. Digitalization - Companies have realized the need to further improve their processes and the best way is to digitize them. More and more startups are looking at ways to provide digital railways for companies. Some of these companies include:

• Holo Builder - Easily capture, view, and control project progress with 360° photos, enabling teams to stay on schedule and on budget.
• Decisionfacts.ai - Powers Businesses to run complex scenarios and builds institutional knowledge for data-driven decisions.
• Ledgerset - A B2B platform that brings retailers and suppliers together.

2. Blockchain - The interest on usage of blockchain has not waned despite the lower prices of cryptocurrency. More and more investors are realizing the benefits blockchain offers not just in different industries, but also across industries as well.

• Travala.com - Founded in 2017, the startup has grown into the world’s leading blockchain-based travel booking platform trusted by thousands of customers worldwide as their preferred online travel agency.
• Venly - A blockchain technology provider creating tools and products to help companies benefit from blockchain technology. The global vision is to build both developer-friendly products and an intuitive interface for end-users. At the center of everything lies simplicity, prime UX and top-level security.
• Above Robotics - Above’s decentralized ecosystem connects and coordinates the virtual and physical world in real-time, secure, transactional environments.

3. Sustainability - More and more organizations and businesses are looking at ways to improve their environmental impact through lessening of emissions, recycling of materials, and creation of more sustainable replacements to packaging.

• Azure - Aims to reshape the way we build Homes, ADUs and Backyard Studios by bringing 3D printing technology and recycled materials together to create truly sustainable living in a modern and beautiful design. At a fraction of the time. With a positive environmental impact. At a lower cost.
• Solutum.co - Looking to solve a problem that’s been piling up for decades, our team of chemical engineers has developed a unique compound that replaces plastic with a cost-efficient, strong and eco-friendly solution.
• Carbon Reform - The Carbon Capsule is a modular carbon capture device that retrofits into a commercial ventilation system.

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The invite-only event ran from June 14 to 16, and culminated with a graduation ceremony of over 250+ new startups from Plug and Play’s various innovation programs. The event also included networking opportunities, startup pitches, and fireside talks from key industry experts and leaders across nine industries.

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Caption: Industry leaders, experts, and startup entrepreneurs attended the  Plug and Play Summit June 2022, which was held at Sunnydale, California. Image sourced from LinkedIn.

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Caption: Among the activities at the two-day Plug and Play event include fireside chats led by industry experts and leaders in innovative industries featured at the event.  Image sourced from LinkedIn.

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