Ayala Corp is relaunching Makro stores in the country in partnership with Thailand’s CP AXTRA, while Australian startup Alloy said it has raised $2.9 million in fresh funding.
Ayala, CP AXTRA to relaunch Makro
Philippine conglomerate Ayala Corp announced that it has teamed up with Thailand’s CP AXTRA to bring back Makro stores in the Philippines, more than a decade after the brand exited the local market.
The two groups signed agreements to form M&Co Corp, a joint venture between ACX Holdings Corp, Ayala’s wholly owned subsidiary; and Makro ROH Company Limited, a unit of CP AXTRA.
Ayala will hold a 49.9% stake, while CP AXTRA will own 50.1%, according to a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange. The new venture will operate Makro stores offering food and non-food products at accessible prices for households and small businesses.
Ayala said the partnership builds on CP AXTRA’s track record in wholesale and retail formats across Asia, while leveraging Ayala’s market presence and mall development expertise.
“This partnership expands consumer choices, raises retail standards, and helps Filipinos thrive,” said Mark Uy, Ayala’s head of corporate strategy.
CP AXTRA executive Tanit Chearavanont said the tie-up aligns with its strategy to expand its regional footprint in Southeast Asia’s fast-growing markets.
Blackbird Ventures leads $2.9m funding in Alloy
Alloy, an Australian startup building data infrastructure for robotics, announced raising A$4.5 million (about $2.9 million) in a pre-seed funding round anchored by Blackbird Ventures.
The round was also backed by Airtree Ventures, US-based Xtal Ventures, Skip Capital, and angel backers from Waymo, Tesla, Halter, Reach Robotics, and Carbon Robotics, per the announcement.
Alloy seeks to help robotics firms better manage and analyse the flood of sensor data generated by machines. Its platform allows engineers to query data across images, logs, and time-series files using natural language, speeding up fault diagnosis from days to minutes.
“Robot failures currently require engineers to manually comb through hundreds of files. We help them find the right 1% of data that matters,” said co-founder and CEO Joe Harris, formerly chief commercial officer at Eucalyptus.
The startup’s pilot customers include Hullbot, Breaker, and Greenroom Robotics, which operate in maritime automation, defence AI, and oceanic inspection, according to the announcement.
