Hello Betamax, Some problems are universal and timeless. Take payments, for instance – wherever you are in the world, there’s always someone trying to figure out how to make the process of exchanging money for goods faster, better, and more frictionless. We’ve come a long way from counting coins at cash registers. How about identity protection and verification? False identities have always been a concern, but while in the past you’d be worried about fake IDs and uncanny impersonations, we’re now fretting about making sure people are who they say they are in the digital space. The companies that raised the most funds this week are all dealing with challenges that are tales as old as time – and that’s cool, because it means we keep innovating and trying to come up with better ways to do things. Yay. You can find all other important investment deals that happened in the last few days in our weekly funding news wrap-up. 
Let’s dive into the biggest deals that recently took place. — Stefanie
THE BIGGEST DEALS BY COUNTRY 🇨🇳 Leadsynbio develops bio-manufacturing technology. Based in China, it raised US$67 million in a late-stage funding round from Beijing Chuangke Zhisheng Investment, Harvest Capital, Hunan Caixin Investment Holding Group, Hunan Chasing Financial, Oriza Holdings, and Suzhou Industrial Investment. 🇸🇦 Erad, an alternative financing platform from Saudi Arabia, bagged US$22 million in series A funding. Investors in the round include 500 Global, Aljazira Capital, Arāya Ventures, Conjunction Capital, Joa Capital, Khwarizmi Ventures, Middle East Venture Partners, Nuwa Capital, Oraseya Capital, S60 Ventures, Saudi Venture Capital, and ANB Capital. 🇸🇬 iPiD’s solution makes cross-border payments as easy as text messages or scanning a QR code. The Singapore-based firm raised US$16 million in series A funding from Citi, Foundation Capital, HSBC, Monk’s Hill Ventures, QED Investors, and Quona Capital. 🇮🇱 Rig Security is a identity security platform from Israel, which is in West Asia. It bagged US$12 million in seed money from Brightmind Partners, CrowdStrike, Ten Eleven Ventures, and Ami Luttwak. 🇮🇳 Balwaan Krishi is an India-based online seller of agricultural products focused on farm mechanization. It raised US$10.4 million in series B funding from First Bridge Investment Managers. Here’s the complete list of this week’s funding chart: 41 deals worth over US$216 million.
STARTUPS THAT ARE RAISING FUNDS Fundraising 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. Here’s a preview of the startups: 🇸🇬 This company from Singapore builds licensed video and audio datasets for multimodal AI, world models, and embodied agents. 🇮🇩 Hailing from Indonesia, this AI civil engineering startup can turn visual and sensor data into damage maps, 3D models, and more. 🇮🇳 This Indian firm is reimagining the future of computing with a cloud-based operating system powered by AI. You can find the full list of fundraising startups in Asia over here.
BEHIND THE GLASSWALL
Image credit: Timmy Loen
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.
- ✅︎ “It wasn’t merely about the numbers or the metrics; it was about recognizing the potential and the passion behind our endeavor.” – Read more.
- ❌ “The process was excessively drawn out. Many team members in Indonesia were clearly underqualified, compensating with arrogance rather than capability. They consistently overcomplicated simple tasks and crossed a serious line by contacting customers without permission. In the end, they made an unreasonably low offer, which I refused – very happy that I didn’t take their money” – Read more
- ✅︎ “She came to the conversation well-prepared, having thoroughly reviewed our deck beforehand, and instead of asking us to present it, she focused on asking insightful questions to clarify specific points.” – Read more
EXCLUSIVE LISTICLES Lists 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 READS 1️⃣ Getting selective Institutional investors and family offices are getting more particular about where they invest their money in Asia. In a panel at the recent Asia PE-VC Summit, investors said that they are placing a larger emphasis on returns, valuations, and exit prospects while also prioritizing diversification. Dive deeper in this piece from DealStreetAsia. 2️⃣ AI + innovation According to the United Nations, corporate research and development spending is reaching record highs, brought about by investments and advancements in AI. The World Intellectual Property Organisation highlights that AI is fueling much of the world’s economic growth. This piece from The Straits Times has more. 3️⃣ Time will tell Five institutions in South Korea are set to make their foray into venture capital through the country’s new LP Growth Fund. While their initial commitments show that the program can bring in new investors, the real test will be in whether they return for the next one, and whether South Korea will be able to build lasting investment capacity. Read more here from Korea Tech Desk. 4️⃣ Central Asia calling Central Asian founders are building businesses with global ambitions in mind, and international funds are investing hundreds of millions of dollars in them. Check out this piece from The Times of Central Asia to dive into the region’s most successful founders and companies. 5️⃣ All things AI There’s plenty of talk about AI’s impact on work, but a lot of it is just hot air. What do actual studies say about how AI is affecting organizations, and how can you leverage this research for your company’s AI integration efforts? Check out the Harvard Business Review’s collection of its most insightful research on AI at work here. Today’s edition was written by Stefanie Yeo. It’s edited by Lorenzo Kyle Subido.
EVENTS HAPPENINGYou can also check out our curated list of trending tech events and Tech in Asia's signature events.
|
