Viber enters PH super-app race

Viber battles GCash and Grab for the super-app crown in the Philippines, and US financing firm PayJoy enters Indonesia.

Read from your browser Daily Newsletter Welcome to Tech in Asia's daily newsletter, your essential dose of Asia's tech and startup buzz. Not yet a subscriber? Register here. Got a story tip? Send it to editors@techinasia.com. IN FOCUS Rakuten Viber expands services in the Philippines in a bid to become a super app US financing firm PayJoy enters Indonesia A look back on ComfortDelGro's growth strategy as it signs partnership with Hello Hello Betamax, Are you familiar with Viber? Founded in 2012, the messaging app was bought by Rakuten for a whopping US$900 million in 2014. It had all the makings to be the next Line or WeChat of Asia. After all, it already had 300 million users by 2013. But after the acquisition, Viber has stayed relatively the same: It's still a messaging app. Meanwhile, Line and WeChat have become super apps in their strongholds. Now, Viber wants to change this. One of our top stories today looks at how the company is finally trying to capitalize on its strong position in the Philippines in a bid to become the country's super app of choice. In other Southeast Asian markets, Viber has lost ground to WhatsApp or local alternatives like Zalo. But it's going steady in the Philippines, where it has a 70% penetration rate. It also recently launched a marketplace feature here and is hinting that ViberPay may soon be available to Filipino users. But with GCash and Grab also vying for the nation's super-app crown, Viber is in for tough competition. Meanwhile, our second top story looks at US financing firm PayJoy and its entry into Indonesia. The company offers short-term loans for smartphone purchases and uses a novel method to secure repayments. PayJoy is already operating in the Philippines. These new products highlight the strength of the Philippine consumer market. As Katrina Chan, trustee of startup community Sinigang Valley, told me when I spoke to her about Viber's super-app ambitions: "If a startup offers something innovative - something truly out of the box that addresses an unmet need, I think the Philippine market would reward you." Elyssa Lopez, journalist TOP STORIES 1️⃣ Viber's super-app gamble in its only Southeast Asian stronghold In September, Viber launched Viber Marketplace in the Philippines, giving users a list of nearby businesses that have Viber Business accounts. It categorizes them by the type of product or service they offer. By October, the feature had logged two million interactions. Its early traction highlights Viber's strong foothold among small business owners, but experts say it will take more than new features to win over consumers as well. 2️⃣ PayJoy cashes in on Indonesia's smartphone financing gap PayJoy works with original equipment manufacturers of phone brands such as Oppo and Realme to install firmware that can lock up access to gadgets if a client misses payment. FROM OUR ARCHIVES ComfortDelGro's quiet tech play and why it's not sweating GrabCab Singapore-based ComfortDelGro just signed a partnership with Chinese ride-hailing platform Hello as both entities pursue entry into the autonomous vehicle race. The partnership entails the integration of the Singapore taxi operator's fleet management system with Hello's robotaxi technology. In this story we published in October, ComfortDelGro gave a glimpse into its growing business outside of Singapore. While the city-state remains its cash cow, it's looking into expanding business in other geographies, which include the UK, Australia, and China. TRENDING NEWS 1️⃣ OpenAI projects 220 million ChatGPT subscribers by 2030 As of July 2025, OpenAI only has 35 million paid users. The firm is reportedly using strategies similar to the approaches of Zoom and Slack, where free versions are offered to a large user base while enterprises take up the paid packages. 2️⃣ SG program selects Alibaba's Qwen for SEA language AI model Earlier versions of the Sea-Lion model were based on Meta's Llama and Google's Gemma. This would be one of the first government-backed projects in Singapore that embrace the use of Alibaba's Qwen. 3️⃣ ComfortDelGro, Alibaba-backed Hello partner on robotaxi services The two entities are collaborating for the commercial deployment of robotaxis in China and other overseas markets. Hello initially said it aims to deploy 50,000 robotaxis on roads worldwide, including the Middle East and Southeast Asia. 4️⃣ Tencent unveils AI Hunyuan 3D engine globally for creators Hunyuan 3D allows users to generate 3D assets using AI from text, images, or drawings. Enterprises can now use its API for their game development and digital content creation needs. 5️⃣ Thai insurtech firm nets $60m to grow business in Thailand, Indonesia Roojai, a Thailand-based digital insurer, says the fresh capital would fund its expansion to Indonesia and its growth plans in Thailand. Apis Partners and Asia Partners co-led the series C round. EVENTS HAPPENING You can also check out our curated list of trending tech events and Tech in Asia's signature events. [AD] Alibaba Cloud SME AI Growth Day Singapore 2025 on December 4, 9 a.m to 5 p.m SGT. Unlock business growth at Alibaba Cloud AI Growth Day Singapore 2025. SMEs and startups can expect to gain actionable insights and hands-on guidance on adopting AI and cloud technologies at the event, which will be held on December 4 at Capital Tower. Experts from Alibaba Cloud and SME leaders will also share their perspectives on building, scaling, and accelerating digital transformation in the age of AI. Register now to secure your seat! WHO'S HIRING You can post a job here or search for jobs here. SEO Lead at Boleh Dicoba Digital | Bandung, Java, Indonesia Motion & Video Design at PT Allo Bank Indonesia Tbk | Jakarta, Indonesia Business Development Supervisor (Tangerang) at Cakap | Tangerang, Indonesia ADVERTISE | SUBSCRIBE | HIRE | FIND JOBS P.S. Don't miss out on the biggest tech news and analysis. Add newsletter@techinasia.com to your address book, contacts, or safe sender list. Or simply move us into your inbox. Tech in Asia thanks our partners for supporting our newsletters. Sponsorship has no influence on editorial content. Too many emails? 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