Fresco Capital: Early Investment in a Global Entrepreneur

SpaceX has gained worldwide attention for a series of historic milestones. It is the only private company capable of returning a spacecraft from low Earth orbit, which it first accomplished in 2010. The company made history again as it launched the first commercial spacecraft to deliver cargo in 2012 , achieved the historic first reflight of an orbital class rocket in 2017, and the launch of the world’s most powerful operational rocket in 2018.

Gojek is an Indonesia-headquartered technology company that provides an extensive range of on-demand services such as ride-hailing, food delivery, logistics, mobile payments, and more.

Founded in 2010, Gojek started as a motorcycle ride-hailing service and is now a Southeast Asian household brand synonymous with efficient, ease-of-life daily services with the touch of a button. Gojek has established itself as a leading technology platform in Southeast Asia, serving over 200 million users across Indonesia, Vietnam, Thailand, Singapore, and other countries.

In addition to its core services, Gojek leads several initiatives to support the development of Southeast Asia’s technology ecosystem as a whole, including Gojek Xcelerate, a startup accelerator program, and Gojek Tech, a tech innovation center.

• 2010: Founded in Jakarta, Indonesia, initially as a motorcycle ride-hailing service.
• 2014: Launched its first mobile app for Android and iOS devices, allowing customers to book motorcycle rides, taxis, and couriers.
• 2015: Launched GoFood service, providing on-demand food delivery from restaurants in Jakarta.
• 2017: Gojek raised $1.2 billion in funding from investors, including Tencent, Warburg Pincus, and Sequoia Capital.
• 2018: Launched its GoPay mobile payments service, enabling users to pay for services within the Gojek app and other merchants.
• 2020: Launched its services in Vietnam and Thailand, expanding its reach to five Southeast Asian countries.
• 2021: Merged with Tokopedia, an Indonesian e-commerce platform, to form GoTo Group, valued at over $18 billion.

Gojek has established itself as a marquee technology company in Southeast Asia, one of the fastest-growing regions in the world. With a large and growing user base, the company has the potential to continue expanding its services and capturing a larger share of the market.

While ride sharing is competitive within the region, with many incumbents, Gojek has built its platform with service diversification from the very beginning, offering a wide range of services that cater to different needs, including ride-hailing, food delivery, and mobile payments. This has allowed it to mitigate the risks that have befallen many other incumbents in the region, while also allowing the company to tap into different markets and countries in the region where most appropriate.

Gojek has also demonstrated an unwavering commitment to innovation and improving its services. It has also served as a leader and bellwether in the region, creating programs and initiatives that will aim to make Southeast Asian technology companies more competitive regionally and globally.

Designed by renowned Japanese architect Kengo Kuma, Alberni is fully shaped by its environment. The 43-storey tower is carved by two emphatic scoops that form deep balconies furnished in wood. In both instances, the carvings create semi-enclosures that strengthen their relations to the street and to the views, connecting to its urban and geographic context while optimizing neighbouring views past the project.

Because of the way the otherwise orthogonal tower is carved, its silhouette constantly changes, creating illusionary profiles of arching cantilevers. The reality is far more structured as the carved deductions are diagonally symmetrical, the lower portion helping to counterbalance the hanging volume above.

Under the arching structures, an extensive moss garden defines the entrance and flows upwards to the swimming pool above. In keeping with Japanese spatial traditions, the emphasis is on the atmosphere rather than the object: without drawing attention to a particular point laden with meaning, the void elicits a serene visceral experience that can be shared by all.

Kengo Kuma's work has always looked to promote and preserve Japanese architectural traditions, which have influenced architects and designers around the world. Though grounded in tradition, Kuma’s innovative and sustainable designs have not been dogmatic in approach; Kuma blends traditional Japanese aesthetics with the latest in modern design, materials and technology. He has received numerous awards for his work, including the 2020 Praemium Imperiale, one of the most prestigious international awards for the arts.

Kuma's approach to architecture emphasizes the use of natural materials and light, creating spaces that are both visually stunning and environmentally conscious. He has designed many notable buildings, such as the Asakusa Culture and Tourism Center in Tokyo, the V&A Dundee in Scotland, and the National Stadium for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. This is Kuma’s first design to grace Vancouver’s visually iconic skyline.

Kuma has written several books on architecture and teaches at the University of Tokyo and other institutions, continuing to pass on his knowledge and expertise to the next generation of architects.