Investree sues Indonesian financial regulator ⚖️, global AI mobile apps hit $2B revenue 💰, ethical AI in question 🤖
Dear Readers,
DeepSeek launched as a prominent upstart, disrupting OpenAI and USA’s dominance on AI conversations. But what does it entail? This week’s conversation (that no one seems to want to take) is about the ethics of personal data collection.
Also, here’s a roundup of the latest developments in Indonesia’s digital ecosystem over the past week. We hope this information helps guide your next strategic business decision.
Best regards,
The DailySocial Team
🚨 What’s New
Here are some news updates from the Indonesian startup ecosystem over the past week:
Yourpay Secures Investment from Japan’s W Fund. Neobank startup Yourpay, which caters to migrant workers, has secured an investment from Japan-based VC W Fund. While the exact amount remains undisclosed, this funding brings Yourpay’s total capital raised to US$6.7 million. Founded in 2018 by Christilia Angelica Widjaja, the granddaughter of Sinarmas Group’s founder Eka Tjipta Widjaja, Yourpay operates under Bank Indonesia’s regulatory approval. The company is currently active in Singapore, Hong Kong, and Taiwan, with plans to expand into Malaysia, Brunei, Japan, South Korea, and Saudi Arabia. [Read More]
Christilia Angelica Widjaja (center), the Founder & CEO Yourpay / Source: Yourpay Kata.ai Achieves Profitability with Strong Growth. Conversational AI platform Kata.ai has officially reached profitability, reporting double-digit revenue growth and an EBITDA increase of over 100% compared to the previous year. This milestone makes 2024 its most successful financial year since launching in 2015. Kata.ai’s chatbot solutions now engage over 15 million users, facilitating transactions worth hundreds of billions of Rupiah—a 50% YoY increase. [Read More]
Alpha JWC Ventures Fundraising for New Investment Fund. Early-stage venture capital firm Alpha JWC Ventures, which focuses on Indonesia and Southeast Asia’s startup ecosystem, is raising a new investment fund this year. Since the pandemic, Alpha JWC has slowed down investments, making only three investments in 2024—Peak3, Omni HR, and Cornerstone. Their last investments in Indonesian startups were in Mythic Protocol, Beleaf, and KarirLab in 2023. Previously, the firm raised US$433 million for its third fund in 2021, bringing total assets under management (AUM) to US$630 million. [Read More]
Investree Sues OJK After Business License Revocation. Fintech peer-to-peer lending firm Investree has filed a lawsuit against Indonesia’s Financial Services Authority (OJK) at the Jakarta Administrative Court (PTUN). The lawsuit, registered on January 17, 2025, challenges OJK’s revocation of Investree’s business license in October 2024. OJK cited issues such as minimum equity requirements and obligations to lenders, while Investree faced governance challenges and poor loan quality, leading to investor withdrawal failures. [Read More]
👏 What’s Exciting
#1 Stricter Social Media Moderation in Indonesia
Indonesia’s Ministry of Communication and Digital (Komdigi) will enforce the Content Moderation Compliance System (SAMAN) starting February 2025. This system aims to regulate user-generated content (UGC) platforms, particularly social media, to protect users—especially children—from illegal content such as pornography, gambling, unauthorized financial services, and counterfeit products.
Enforcement steps include:
Takedown Orders – Platforms must remove reported content.
First Warning (ST1) – Issued if no action is taken.
Second Warning (ST2) – Platforms face administrative fines.
Final Warning (ST3) – Non-compliance leads to service blocking.
Under Kominfo Regulation No. 522/2024, platforms must comply within 24 hours for non-urgent content and 4 hours for urgent content. This move aligns with global digital regulations like Germany’s NetzDG, Malaysia’s Anti-Fake News Act, and France’s Anti-Disinformation Law.
#2 SoftBank in Talks to Invest Up to US$25 Billion in OpenAI
SoftBank is reportedly negotiating a US$25 billion investment in OpenAI, potentially surpassing Microsoft as the AI company’s largest investor. This initiative is part of SoftBank’s US$40 billion AI investment plan.
Recently, SoftBank and OpenAI announced a US$100 billion joint investment in “Stargate,” a U.S. data center project that could scale up to US$500 billion in four years. OpenAI is also considering shifting to a for-profit model to facilitate further funding rounds.
#3 Mobile AI Apps Market Hits US$2 Billion, Led by ChatGPT
The AI mobile app market has seen unprecedented growth, reaching US$2 billion in revenue, with ChatGPT emerging as the dominant force. Since its mobile app launch in May 2023, ChatGPT has generated US$529 million, a staggering four times more than its nearest competitor.
Key Trends Driving AI App Growth:
Surging Consumer Adoption: AI-driven chatbots and virtual assistants are increasingly integrated into everyday life, from education and professional development to entertainment and productivity.
Monetization Through Subscription Models: The adoption of freemium and premium AI subscription services has significantly contributed to revenue spikes.
Market Segmentation: AI applications now extend beyond general-purpose chatbots to specialized services in healthcare, finance, legal assistance, and content creation.
Regional Market Leadership: The U.S. accounts for nearly 50% of all AI app spending, followed by rapid adoption in Europe and Asia.
Despite the explosive growth, sustaining profitability remains a challenge for AI companies, given the high costs of infrastructure, computing power, and data acquisition. As competition intensifies, companies like OpenAI, Microsoft, and Google are racing to secure dominance, while emerging players such as DeepSeek and Anthropic introduce alternative AI solutions.
With AI shaping the future of digital interaction and automation, the market is poised for further disruption, bringing both opportunities and regulatory challenges for investors and industry leaders.
🚀 What’s Next: OpenAI vs. DeepSeek – A Looming Ethical AI Conundrum
The race in large language models (LLMs) between OpenAI and DeepSeek has escalated into a legal and ethical battleground. OpenAI has accused DeepSeek of unauthorized model use through distillation, a controversial technique that allows developers to train AI models using outputs from larger proprietary models. If proven, this could constitute a serious violation of intellectual property rights.
The Dark Side of AI Development
While AI innovation is accelerating, critical concerns arise:
Data Scraping Without Consent – Many AI companies engage in large-scale data scraping, often disregarding website policies and legal boundaries.
Regulatory Gaps – Existing laws struggle to keep up with the rapid evolution of AI, leaving significant grey areas in copyright enforcement and data privacy.
Bias & Ethics – Many AI models exhibit inherent biases due to flawed training data, risking discrimination and misinformation.
The Urgent Need for AI Regulation & Transparency
As AI capabilities expand, stakeholders—including regulators, investors, and tech leaders—must establish clear ethical and legal frameworks to ensure responsible AI development. Companies must prioritize fair data usage, model explainability, and legal compliance to build trustworthy AI solutions.
The battle between OpenAI and DeepSeek is just the beginning of a larger conversation about AI ethics, monopolization risks, and the future of innovation. The decisions made today will shape the AI industry for decades to come.