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Welcome to Tech in Asia's free Saturday VC newsletter! Register to get full access to our subscribers-only premium content and other insightful analysis on the big and messy topics of Asia's tech and startup community. Ensure our articles appear in your Google searches: 
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Hello Betamax, If Singapore's role in regional finance weren't already clear, this week's funding list makes the point unmistakable. Ant International has raised US$1.2 billion, making it the largest disclosed deal on the list by far. Though not exactly a classic startup story, the Singapore-based fintech firm sits in an important part of the financial stack, focusing on digital payments, cross-border commerce, and merchant services. The invisible layer, as some would call it. It's the kind of stuff you don't notice until your credit card declines overseas or when a QR code doesn't scan. Raise your hand if you've been personally victimized by this. Crypto platform Coinhako adds another Singapore-linked layer to the story. Its acquisition by SBI Holdings points to a similar theme, this time in digital assets. The rails are heating up. The city-state may not have the most deals this week, but it's showing up where money moves. You can find all other important investment deals from the last few days in our weekly funding news wrap-up.  Let's dive into the biggest deals and M&As that have recently taken place. -- Lilian |
THE BIGGEST DEALS BY MARKET🇸🇬 Ant International is a global digital payments and fintech provider headquartered in Singapore. It has bagged US$1.2 billion in series A funding from Alibaba Group and Ant Group. 🇮🇱 Glow is an AI-focused endpoint security startup based in Israel, which is located in West Asia. The firm has raised US$180 million in series A money from Cyberstarts, Greenoaks Capital, Holly Ventures, Index Ventures, Lux Capital, Operator Collective, Redpoint Ventures, Sequoia Capital, and Swish Ventures. 🇯🇵 Japan-based Asuene, formerly known as Earthene, is the firm behind CO2 emission management cloud Asuzero and clean electricity platform Asuene. It has secured US$87 million in series D funding from Daikin, Decarbonization Partners, Energy & Environment Investment, GLIN Impact Capital, Incubate Fund, Ricoh Innovation Fund, Mirai Creation Fund, Twin Towers Ventures, and Hiroaki Sugita, who served as Japan representative of Boston Consulting Group. 🇨🇳 Xynova develops dexterous robotic hands and actuators for humanoid robots. The China-based firm has bagged US$73.9 million in a series A+ round from China Merchants Group, Meituan, NIO Capital, and Xiaomi. 🇮🇳 India-based Quick Clean provides on-site laundry infrastructure for hospitals and hotels. It has secured US$14 million in series B money from Stakeboat Capital, Blue Ashva Capital, and Alkemi Growth Capital. Here's the complete list of this week's funding chart: 59 deals worth over US$1.8 billion. |
M&AS🇸🇬 Hailing from Singapore, Coinhako is a digital asset wallet service that allows consumers to buy, sell, and secure their digital assets. It has been acquired by internet-based financial conglomerate SBI Holdings for an undisclosed sum. 🇵🇠Kindred Health is a Philippines-based women's healthcare company that provides consultations, diagnostics, and specialized care. The firm has been acquired by telehealth startup GoRocky for an undisclosed amount. |
STARTUPS THAT ARE RAISING FUNDSFundraising is hard. To make things slightly easier, we've compiled this list of fundraising startups for our subscribers. Do you run a startup that's raising at the moment or know someone who does? Sign your company up for listing here. 🇸🇬 Based in Singapore, this digital health startup provides an AI-powered clinical decision support system and clinic operating system. 🇮🇳 This India-based firm transforms bio-engineered silk protein into advanced wound care products. 🇺🇸 This American startup helps independent brands streamline apparel production through an AI-powered platform. You can find the full list of fundraising startups in Asia over here. |
BEHIND THE GLASSWALL Fundraising often involves reaching out to several contacts, many of whom founders might not have dealt with before. To provide some transparency to this process, we created Glasswall, a platform for founders to give feedback and recommendations on investors. Check out the full list here.
- ✅︎ "Fantastic network of thoughtful investors who have backed us through the ups and downs of the startup journey." - Read more
- ❌ "Worst company that will parasitically copy your features and chuck you out to die." - Read more
- ✅︎ "They're a highly data-driven VC. They reached out because they recognized our strong performance via their tracking platform. We were surprised, took the call, but decided not to take external funding. They were respectful of our decision." - Read more
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INDUSTRIAL-SCALE AI MASTERCLASSIn conversation with the CEO of Certis  We're thrilled to announce that Ng Tian Beng, president and group CEO of Certis, is joining us at the Tech in Asia Conference 2026 to talk about the tactical reality of leading a 25,000-person workforce into the AI era. With over 25 years of experience in tech leadership, including a tenure as senior vice president at Dell Technologies, where he oversaw a multi-billion-dollar business, Tian Beng brings unparalleled expertise in driving ops-tech transformation. His knowledge in navigating strategic partnerships and national initiatives in Singapore provides a blueprint for scaling AI across critical infrastructure like airports and borders. This session moves beyond the boardroom to uncover the governance and infrastructure decisions required to deploy AI where it matters most. Join us in Singapore to learn from a leader who has spent decades shaping the tech landscape across Asia Pacific. |
EXCLUSIVE LISTICLESLists of most active investors in the region China | India | Indonesia | Japan | Singapore | Southeast Asia List of top-funded startups in Asia China | India | Indonesia | Israel | Japan | Hong Kong | Singapore | South Korea | Vietnam |
THOUGHTFUL READS1️⃣ Agents need a desk AI agents are often described as invisible workers, but they still need somewhere to do their jobs. This a16z piece on Runta explores why agents need full, stateful computer environments instead of just another chatbot window. 2️⃣ Fewer deals, bigger bets AI funding may be hot, but investors are not exactly throwing money at everything with a model wrapper anymore. Read this PitchBook analyst note to learn about how corporate capital is concentrating around fewer, larger AI venture deals. 3️⃣ Chips on credit The AI boom is now big enough that it is making financing structures more interesting. This TechCrunch piece dives deeper into General Compute's US$400 million loan backed by inference chips. Apparently, even AI chips can be used as collateral now. 4️⃣ This just in: venture edition Apple's lawsuit against OpenAI; SK Hynix's IPO; Greylock's new US$1.5 billion fund - this episode of the 20VC podcast covers a mix of venture gossip and asks the question of whether seed investing is getting less attractive. 5️⃣ Exit signs, no cash in sight While IPOs and acquisitions may be picking up, venture is not quite out of the woods yet. This piece from The Wall Street Journal investigates why cash flow for VC funds remains in the red even as exits improve. Today's edition was written by Lilian Tang. It's edited by Mina Deocareza. |
EVENTS HAPPENINGYou can also check out our curated list of trending tech events and Tech in Asia's signature events.
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Unlock the Lightning Pitch advantage At Tech in Asia Conference 2026, Lightning Pitch places your brand on high-traffic pop-up stages where founders and builders present real solutions in 15 minutes, creating fast-moving visibility around practical technologies, emerging use cases, and the decision-makers exploring what comes next. Partner with Tech in Asia Conference 2026 to be where real solutions get seen, grasped, and carried into meaningful conversations. |
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Get ready for ignitePRO at BATIC 2026 Meet our first wave of speakers! They are leaders from Indonesia's Ministry of Communication and Digital Affairs, Telkom Indonesia, Telin, BCG X, Nokia, and Amvesindo | BNI Ventures. Secure your spot at ignitePRO, where the brightest minds shaping Asia's digital future come together, and join the conversations driving the next wave of innovation. Sign up here. |
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