Darius Cheung

Often regarded as the poster boy for Singaporean entrepreneurship, Darius Cheung co‑founded mobile security company tenCube, which provided a first‑of‑its‑kind service offering complete protection of the mobile device, and its data and privacy, while in university in 2005. It was acquired by American software giant McAfee for US$25 million just five years later.

Cheung ventured into angel investing next, and was one of the early investors in homegrown unicorn Carousell and other start‑ups such as TechInAsia. He also launched bill sharing app BillPin, before deciding to shut it down after a year, and co‑founded 99.co in 2014, motivated by the frustration of navigating the cumbersome real estate search process. The real estate platform, now a leader in the region, sets itself apart with user‑friendly features such as price analysis data and smart filters to help users rent, buy or sell properties with ease. Backed by prominent investors such as real estate private equity fund management firm Gaw Capital Partners, 99.co expanded through strategic acquisitions, including that of Indonesia’s online real estate destination UrbanIndo. 99 Group now operates several other platforms, such as SRX in Singapore, and 99.co/id and Rumah123 in Indonesia, where Cheung is now based, in Jakarta. The group has raised more than US$88.5 million across six funding rounds, with its most recent being a US$11 million Series C extension round co‑led by existing investor Gaw Capital Partners and OCBC NISP Ventura in March 2023.