Daily Briefing: ComfortdelGro to launch $137.94m VC fund for mobility startups; STB partners HIC for smart hotels tech guide

And over 5,000 flocked Parc Esta’s weekend preview.

From Deal Street Asia:

ComfortDelGro will set up a $137.94m (US$100m) corporate venture capital fund that will gear towards incubation and investments in mobility technologies and solutions which will complement the firm’s land transport business.

The fund – ComfortDelGro Capital Partners (CCP) – will invest in startups that plug technology gaps, and address the impact of disruptive challenges to ComfortDelGro’s core land transport business. The global fund will be managed at an arms-length basis with its own set of decision-making, approval and funding processes, said the taxi operator.

“Whilst we continue to pursue bolt-on acquisitions of our core land transport and related businesses, there is a need for us to develop and acquire new mobility technologies and solutions which will not only build on our strong foundations, but also enable us to branch out into new annexes,”said ComfortDelGro managing director and group CEO Yang Ban Seng.

Read more here.

From TTG Asia:

The Singapore Tourism Board (STB) and The Hotel Innovation Committee (HIC) unveiled a slew of projects that encourage technology adoption and innovation by hotels.

Supported by STB, HIC launched the Smart Hotel Technology Guide outlining the vision of a smart hotel and relevant technologies already available to help realise this vision.

The guide puts forth a vision of a smart hotel as one that allows guests to check-in independently and asses their room through a smart device, with a robot delivering their luggage to the room.

A video analytics system supporting facial recognition could zero in on a guest leaving the hotel with a suitcase and send an electronic bill to the guest to complete the check-out process.

Food and drinks consumed from the minibar could be automatically computed in the bill, eliminating the need for a manual stocktake.

Read more here.

From Property Guru:

Over 5,000 people graced the sales gallery of Parc Esta which is a 1,399-unit condominium project at Sims Avenue.

The 99-year leasehold project offers one- to five-bedroom units with sizes ranging from 420 sq ft to 1,604 sq ft. Indicative prices ranged from $1,660 to $1,680 psf.

Aside from the 1,399 residential units, the project – which comprises nine 18-storey towers – also features five shops.

The project is located on the former site of Eunosville, which was sold en bloc to MCL Land last year for $765.78m.

Read more here.