Clarice Tian

As I was planning my upcoming Japan trip, I was reminded how painful the booking journey still is. International travel is now 10% of Global GDP and cross-border tourist flow has been increasing 20% YoY! Yet how we travel hasn’t meaningfully changed in the last 10 years. ❗ 𝗕𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗺𝗼𝗮𝘁𝘀 𝗿𝗲𝗺𝗮𝗶𝗻 𝗵𝗲𝗮𝘃𝗶𝗹𝘆 𝘀𝘂𝗽𝗽𝗹𝘆-𝘀𝗶𝗱𝗲 and displacing incumbents has become difficult  ❗ 𝗖𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗿 𝗷𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗻𝗲𝘆 𝗶𝗻𝗻𝗼𝘃𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗵𝗮𝘀 𝗯𝗲𝗲𝗻 𝗹𝗶𝗺𝗶𝘁𝗲𝗱, though companies like Scapia and Atlys have entered through new customer touchpoints like forex cards and visas ❗ 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘃𝗲𝗹𝗲𝗿’𝘀 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗶𝘀 𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗳𝗿𝗮𝗴𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗱: inspiration on IG, discovery on Tripadvisor, bookings on MMT, activities on Klook, planning on WA, and support email The ‘why now’ of building in travel is very strong. But how does a new player break into a supply-dominated industry that hasn’t seen real innovation since the OTA/price optimisation era? Some wedges I think might be interesting: 🚀 𝗣𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘀𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝗳𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝗮𝘁𝘀 - collaborative platforms that create fully customizable itineraries based on user preferences, past trips, and reviews 🚀 𝗟𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗶𝗻𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗱𝘆𝗻𝗮𝗺𝗶𝗰 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 - AI agents that surface live inventory, build contingency plans, and proactively adjust itineraries in real time 🚀 𝗛𝘆𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗹𝗼𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗲𝘅𝘁-𝗮𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗱𝗶𝘀𝗰𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆 - real-time suggestions based on weather, crowd levels, festivals, and local events: detours, hidden gems, and optimal timings 🚀 𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗹-𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲 𝗽𝗿𝗶𝗰𝗲 𝗼𝗽𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗶𝘀𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 - customer-facing tools (B2B and B2C) that deliver price alerts and enable last-minute savings Early innovators like Mindtrip, Inc. and Layla AI Trip Planner (AI itinerary builders - image attached) and tryskylink.com (B2B and price optimization) are already proving what’s possible. The opportunity is massive and it will be exciting to see how travel gets redefined over the next couple of years (or maybe just months?).

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From Asia to America — Qapita’s next chapter in building global private-market infrastructure. 🌏 Excited to see Qapita raise USD 26.5 million in Series B funding led by Charles Schwab (NYSE: SCHW), with participation from Citicorp Citibank and MassMutual Ventures. Founded by Ravi Ravulaparthi, Lakshman Gupta Kanamarlapudi and Vamsee Mohan Kamabathula, Qapita has grown to serve 2,700+ companies across India and Southeast Asia, managing USD 17B+ in equity value. With this round, the team is expanding into the U.S. in partnership with Schwab to launch “Schwab Private Issuer Equity Services.” Private markets are becoming the new engine of global wealth creation. Platforms like Qapita make this ecosystem more transparent, efficient, and inclusive for founders, employees, and investors alike For Endiya Partners, this milestone reinforces our belief in the ability of Indian and SEA founders to build globally relevant, category-defining platforms. Grateful to our other co-investors - Cercano, Nyca Partners, Analog Capital Partners and East Ventures for believing in Qapita’s vision and execution. Congratulations to the Qapita team on this remarkable step forward! 🚀 #EndiyaPartners #Qapita #VentureCapital #PrivateMarkets #AsiaToAmerica #Entrepreneurship

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China International Capital Corp (CICC) and China Galaxy Securities Co. (CGS) are planning to launch funds with a total value in excess of US$1 billion in South East Asia. The aim is to secure a share of this lucrative market amid a US tariff war.These PE funds will target high-growth sectors such as healthcare, AI, advanced manufacturing, renewable energy and consumer, offering investors exposure to emerging opportunities across both China and South-east Asia.There have been rumours about the merger of these two Chinese investment banks for a long time, but does this consistent action overseas foreshadow the future integration?#China #overseas #investmentbanks #funds #launching

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Been thinking about SEA's lending renaissance and where the real opportunities lie. Everyone talks about the 700 million people and the unbanked population, but the interesting story is happening in the background. While consumer lending apps grab headlines, the infrastructure companies building credit scoring engines and risk management platforms are quietly enabling the entire ecosystem. They're solving fundamental problems: assessing creditworthiness without traditional data, scaling across fragmented regulatory environments. The data advantage in SEA is unique - mobile usage patterns, e-commerce behaviour, social graphs become the threads to recreate missing credit histories. Network effects compound as more lenders use these platforms. In SEA, infrastructure providers can capture value during market formation and become embedded in the financial system's architecture as it develops. The next phase will be defined by companies that understand this distinction - between market capture and market creation. Read more: https://lnkd.in/gkpJmhQA #SEAFintech #DigitalLending #RiskManagement #FinancialInclusion #SoutheastAsia

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