Strategic investments, debt rounds, and fundraising in the tech winter

Muthoot Microfin, Mitro Biotech, Bizplay, and more raised funds this week. [Read from your browser]( FOMO Saturday Welcome to Tech in Asia's free Saturday VC newsletter! 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 by [registering here](.  --------------------------------------------------------------- Hello {NAME} As the tech winter wears on (I really hope things pick up sooner rather than later), I’ve noticed that there’s been a lot more fundraising going on outside the typical “money for equity” approach that usually happens with VC funding. Debt rounds - where startups essentially “borrow” money from investors - seem more commonplace these days, and strategic investments appear to be occurring more often, as investors decide to put their money behind companies that will benefit them from more than just a financial point of view. Two of today’s biggest deals are strategic investments. I guess the moral of the story is that we adapt to the circumstances and do what we can to just keep swimming. Sometimes it means approaching things from a different angle, and that’s cool. 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  IN Muthoot Microfin offers financial services to meet the needs of the underserved. Based in India, it has raised US$75 million in a debt round from Canara Bank, Doha Bank, Gift City, Rakbank, Standard Chartered, and Union Bank of India. CN Mitro Biotech touts itself as the first molecular imaging contract research organization company in China. It secured US$55.3 million in a bridge round from CMG-SDIC Capital, SDIC Juli Investment Management, and Shandong Industry Research Equity Investment Fund of Funds. KR Bizplay is an enterprise solution that aims to streamline corporate cost management processes. The South Korean firm netted US$22.5 million in a strategic investment from JB Financial Group. JP Infcurion is a Japan-based company that offers business planning and consulting in the fintech field. It bagged US$13.3 million in an early-stage round from JR West Innovations and Shizuoka Capital. PH Singlife Philippines, which provides digital life insurance services, has banked US$10.6 million in a strategic investment from parent company Singapore Life Holdings. Here’s the complete list of this week’s funding chart: [62 deals worth over US$406 million](.  ---------------------------------------------------------------  M&As  IN Tablt Pharmacy is an online pharmacy in India. It was acquired by Zeno Health, which runs a chain of generic medicine-focused pharmacies, for an undisclosed sum. IN Ckart Online, a B2B ecommerce platform for the electronics and IT industries in India, has been acquired by marketplace Wogom. The financial details of the deal were not disclosed. IN Ujala Cygnus, which runs a hospital network in India, was acquired by US-based private equity firm General Atlantic. The financial terms are not publicly available. SG LuxLexicon is a Singapore-based reseller of luxury bags. It was [acquired by]( classifieds firm Carousell for an undisclosed price.  ---------------------------------------------------------------  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.]( ID Blitz Electric is an end-to-end sustainable logistics provider based in Indonesia. SG Xcube is a corporate venture studio working on building inclusive and balanced ecosystems. It is located in Singapore. IN Muffin Health & Lifestyle is an India-based firm that synthesizes novel vaccines against infectious diseases. You can find the full list of fundraising startups in Asia [over here](.  ---------------------------------------------------------------  BEHIND THE GLASSWALL Fundraising often involves reaching out to multiple 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](. - ✅︎ “The team provided great experience and support in fine tuning the strategy and messages. Their depth of experience was invaluable.” - [Read more]( - ✅︎ “They are very straightforward and open with their evaluation and consideration. No nonsense work that was not purposeful. They voiced out what they like and what their concerns are about the business.” - [Read more]( - ❌ “The overall process was fine but sometimes we chopped and changed conversations with different members of their team and did a lot of repeating. We rated this as a terrible experience because they lacked cultural awareness. Probably because most of their senior team at America and foreigners. They could benefit from Asian leaders that are better equipped to deal with local founders.” - [Read more]( --------------------------------------------------------------- TECH IN ASIA’S DISTILLERY TAKEOVER WITH AIRWALLEX A gin-novative networking dinner that’s dripping in finesse For one night only, indulge in an exquisite dinner curated for C-suite leaders from the logistics, travel, and ecommerce industries. Take this opportunity to mingle with peers from Geopost, Airwallex, Rainforest Life, Una Brands, and more for enriching conversations and potential collaborations. Seats are limited - [apply now to craft gin and connections](. ---------------------------------------------------------------  EVENTS HAPPENING You can also check out a curated list of trending tech events [over here]( and Tech in Asia’s signature events [here](. - [Saigon Summit 2024 : Charting Vietnam’s Tech Future on May 30]( We know that fundraising is a daunting task. So let us take the stress and guesswork out of the process and turn it into a rewarding experience by opening doors to the right investors at Investor Hour. It’s time to convince them that investing in your startup isn’t a smart move - it’s the smartest one. [Sign up before May 3 to secure your slot!]( - [Tech in Asia Conference Kuala Lumpur 2024 : Malaysia on The Rise on July 24-25]( TIA Conference KL aims to provide a platform for over 2,000 attendees to gain a fresh perspective on what’s next for Malaysia’s tech ecosystem through thought-provoking panels, curated networking sessions, and a dedicated exhibition segment. Celebrate Hari Raya with our special promotion of 45% off on all ticket types. This is your final chance to maximize this promotion. [Grab yours]( today! - [Product Development Conference (Jakarta, 25-26 June 2024)]( This year’s conference, themed around “scaling product innovation from startup to enterprise,” will deliver tailored insights for attendees at any stage of their business journey. This Hari Raya, celebrate togetherness with your friends and colleagues! Enjoy a special Hari Raya package: 6 General Passes or 4 Pro Passes for IDR 1,445k (USD 92). [Get tickets](  - [Tech in Asia’s Founders Meetup in Singapore on April 24]( Get the secret sauce from esteemed VCs on navigating the tech winter and have exclusive face time with them to find solutions to your funding challenges. Hurry - due to overwhelming demand, our early bird tickets have been snatched up in record time. [Secure your ticket now before it’s gone](  --------------------------------------------------------------- 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 The end of the megafund VCs have been struggling to raise money. In the first three months of this year, they pulled in just US$30.4 billion globally. This follows a rough 2023, which saw the lowest fundraising on record since 2016. This might mean the end of the venture capital mega fund, as limited partners pull back on funding in the middle of an uncertain environment. [This article]( from the Financial Times goes deeper. 2️⃣ Welcome to a new age A number of Silicon Valley’s most iconic investors - LinkedIn’s Reid Hoffman, Sequoia Capital’s Michael Moritz, and Andreessen Horowitz’s Jeff Jordan, just to name a few - are stepping out of the limelight. This creates room for a new generation of venture capitalists to come of age, but they’re navigating a world that’s very different from before. [Read more]( on The New York Times. 3️⃣ All about authenticity Guy Kawasaki was the first “software evangelist” at Apple, selling its revolutionary Macintosh computers. Since then, he’s had numerous other ventures, and he’s currently chief evangelist at Canva. Check out [this Masters of Scale podcast]( to learn more about Kawasaki’s story and his perspectives on growth, change, and even the power of AI. 4️⃣ Wearing many hats VCs are VCs… or are they? A VC is more than just an investor - they’re also entrepreneurs in their own right. Kjartan Rist, founding partner of London- and Copenhagen-based VC firm Concentric, shares his reflections on the similarities between investors and founders in [this piece]( for Forbes. 5️⃣ Are the best deals sourced cold? [This Reddit thread]( had a hot take: The best way to source deals is through cold contacts. It sparked off a debate in the replies - some agree, while others say that the original poster just didn’t know how to leverage his networks properly.  --------------------------------------------------------------- [ADVERTISE]( | [SUBSCRIBE]( | [HIRE]( | [FIND JOBS]( P.S. 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