Design platform Jade Magnet in Singapore JV for S Asia foray, eyes $1M revenues

"We needed somebody who understands the local market in South Asia very well," Jade Magnet co-founder Manik Kinra told TechCircle. "A design in Singapore is different from a design in India or the Middle East. There is lot of localisation needs to be done. That's why we formed a JV, rather than going on our own."

The new JV, Id8on, targets startups in the region and also eyes Singapore's government agencies, which drive a large chunk of marketing and advertising spends there. Jade Magnet will own 60 per cent of the Id8on, while the rest will remain with its partner, which has infused an undisclosed amount in the new venture.

Kinra did not disclose the name of the VC firm, but said that the amount it has invested is more or less similar to the amount it had raised for its Qatar JV. He expects a huge competition from local players as well as global companies, such as Australian-based 99Design.

About a month ago, Jade Magnet made a foray into the West Asian market with a JV with a Qatar-based company. The JV, Mixilion, has so far raised $300,000 from a group of local individual investors.

Jade Magnet, which serves global giants like Bosch, is targeting $2 million in revenues from its overall operations in the next financial year. With almost 19 people on board, it is now looking to ramp up the workforce by hiring more in the Asia Pacific region in sales and marketing.

Founded in 2009 by Kinra and Sitashwa Srivastava, Jade Magnet is a technology platform that runs on crowd sourcing. The tech platform sources business and creatives from around the world. Creative providers build designs and collateral that help businesses get closer to their customers.

Jade Magnet had raised a $200,000 angel funding in October 2009 from Muki Regunathan, founder of Bangalore-based digital agency Pepper Square. In 2011, it raised a second angel round worth $100,000 from Eric Papcun, a US-based technology professional.

(Edited by Prem Udayabhanu)