Another US$230 million for Lazada, courtesy of Alibaba

Lazada, Propelld, Merit Incentives, 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} I’m quite literally in two minds about the ecommerce industry. As a consumer, I’m all for the convenience of being able to get almost everything I need and want by just tapping a few buttons on my phone. My wife and I buy almost everything our dog needs online - I’ve never had to lug a heavy bag of dog food back from the store, let alone five (the amount we buy every two months or so). On the other hand, ecommerce has also brought us the sustainability nightmare that is fast fashion. Additionally, on the business side, the continuing battle to gain market share is extremely expensive - the US$230 million Lazada has just received from Alibaba takes the parent company’s investment to US$7.7 billion over the last eight years. Is it all worth it, either in the business or social sense? I’m not 100% sure. 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. -- Winston  --------------------------------------------------------------- THE BIGGEST DEALS BY COUNTRY  SG Ecommerce major Lazada received [an injection of US$230 million]( from parent company Alibaba Group. IN India-based Propelld, which offers flexible education financing products, has received US$25 million in debt funding. AU Small Finance Bank, Credit Saison India, InCred, and Northern Arc Capital were the investors. AE Hailing from the United Arab Emirates, Merit Incentives offers customer and employee engagement solutions. It secured US$12 million in bridge funding from Alistithmar Capital, Oryx Fund, and Tech Invest Com. JP Japanese firm Mov operates Kutikomi, a store support [SaaS]( that can centrally manage, analyze, and visualize customer feedback. It closed a US$9.6 million series B round, with investors including Chiba Dojo Fund, Coral Capital, and KDDI. KR South Korea-based Rapeech specializes in conversational AI. It secured US$4.2 million in early-stage funding from Capstone Partners Korea and Timefolio Asset Management. Here’s the complete list of this week’s funding chart: [62 deals worth over US$400 million](.  ---------------------------------------------------------------  M&As  IN SocialBoat, an Indian health and fitness app for women, has been acquired by Noise, a smartwatch and connected lifestyle brand. The financial details of the deal were not made publicly available. IN Indian firm LogiTax is a tax compliance platform mainly focused on e-invoicing and goods and services tax. It was acquired by finance automation and compliance platform CashFlo for an undisclosed sum.  ---------------------------------------------------------------  STARTUPS THAT ARE RAISING FUNDS Fundraising is hard. To make things slightly easier, we’ve compiled this list of fundraising startups for our subscribers. We are launching a [new feature]( to send fundraising startups directly to investors’ inboxes. There’s no better time to list your startup, and you can do so [here](. KE A Kenyan firm has an ecommerce platform for retailing automotive parts. TW This Taiwanese company is a zero-waste sustainability sharing platform. SG A Singaporean startup is providing a secure and easy-to-use desktop operating system for enterprise front-line and contingent workers. 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](. - ✅︎ “Their deep understanding of the founder's journey provided both crucial financial support and insightful guidance, making them an invaluable ally in our startup's growth and development.” - [Read more]( - ❌ “Steer clear of them. Did a whole bunch of DD where they 'urgently' requested a huge amount of data room with big talks of leading our funding round. However, despite their initial enthusiasm, they consistently delayed responses with generic excuses, indicating a lack of genuine urgency.” - [Read more]( - ✅︎ “They are thorough but empathetic to us as entrepreneurs. It was not always easy, but for our own good and they explained the process and reasons for it and it made sense.” - [Read more](  --------------------------------------------------------------- STOP BUILDING BORING APPS - VIETNAM’S WATCHING RSVP now to spice up your app with extra pho-lavor Think your app has what it takes to win over Vietnam? Join C-level executives and other key decision-makers in product, engineering, and data for an exclusive roundtable on May 30. Think of it as your masterclass in app domination. We're ditching the jargon and diving deep into the strategies that separate the players from the pretenders. From crafting killer UX to mastering real-time engagement, this is your playbook for building apps that users can't resist. Make your app the talk of Vietnam - [apply now before your competitor does!]( ---------------------------------------------------------------  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]( Flash sale alert: Last 24 hours to get an additional 10% off of current prices for both General and Pro passes. Hurry! Promo ends on May 25, 2024 at 11.59 p.m. SGT, or when all discounted passes are fully redeemed. [Get your tickets now!]( [Tech in Asia Conference Kuala Lumpur 2024 : Malaysia on The Rise on July 24-25]( Join us for Investor Hour, a bespoke 1-on-1 networking mixer designed to connect you with the most promising founders and startups. This program offers a unique platform for investors to: - Discover cutting-edge technologies and disruptive business models. - Identify potential investment targets that align with your portfolio. - Position yourself as a thought leader and build credibility in the investment community. [Apply for Investor Hour today]( while slots last! [Product Development Conference (Jakarta, 25-26 June 2024)]( We are delighted to announce that Bank Rakyat Indonesia will be joining us as our title partner for Product Development Conference 2024! ✨ Find out how BRI, one of the largest state-owned banks in Indonesia, continues to drive innovation of their products and ecosystem at "Enterprise Product Development by BRI" stage. Stay tuned on this page or through pdc.techinasia.com to get the latest update! Discounted tickets disappearing faster than a beta test bug! Score 35% off before May 22nd. [Get your tickets today!]( [Tech in Asia’s Founders Meetup in Vietnam on May 30]( Founders, startup leaders, and investors from across Southeast Asia - Vietnam, Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, the Philippines, and beyond - have already secured their spots at our Founders Meetup! Will you be joining them? Only a few more days to go! [Get your ticket now]( and enjoy a 10% discount with the code VNTIASPECIAL10 - limited redemptions left!  [Tech in Asia x Airwallex Startup Night on June 19]( Forget the elevator pitches and forced smiles of typical networking events. Held on June 19, Tech in Asia x Airwallex Startup Night is about one thing: forging genuine connections that fuel real growth. This isn't for everyone, though. We're handpicking a select group of ambitious founders and startup leaders who are ready to move beyond the hype and achieve real impact. [Register for an invite today!]( --------------------------------------------------------------- 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 Ask better questions Are you like me, who always only thinks of the right things to say after the interaction is long over? If I could travel back in time, I’d be the wittiest and smartest-sounding person ever. But I am unable to bend the rules of time and space, and you presumably are too. Until we get to that stage, maybe we can just learn [how to ask smarter questions](. 2️⃣ Does SoftBank need new glasses? The Japanese conglomerate’s Vision Funds were once the talk of the town, but mixed results and high-profile missteps like the WeWork situation have dimmed the spotlights a bit. [This PitchBook article]( looks at the numbers and muses on whether a third Vision Fund will be coming or not. 3️⃣ Another AI article How about taking a look at another niche that generative AI can help with? This time, it’s [UI/UX design](. 4️⃣ Investing in the environment Here’s a simple yet useful listicle for you - it’s the [top 10 most active VC investors in climate tech](. There’s even one named Lowercarbon Capital. Very on-brand. 5️⃣ A new era for the WNBA The building of greater social awareness in the past few years has now brought the WNBA into arguably its most important season yet, at least in terms of being a part of the cultural zeitgeist. This has no doubt been helped by the emergence of stars like Kelsey Plum and Sabrina Ionescu, and the hype surrounding incoming rookies such as Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese. [This Masters of Scale episode]( features the league’s commissioner Cathy Engelbert talking about what’s next for women’s pro basketball in America.  --------------------------------------------------------------- [ADVERTISE]( | [SUBSCRIBE]( | [HIRE]( | [FIND JOBS]( P.S. Don't miss out on the biggest tech news and analysis. Add newsletter@techinasia.com to your address book, contacts, or safe sender list. Or simply move us into your inbox. Too many emails? Switch to a different frequency or get new content through our [preference center]( or [unsubscribe](. You can also break our hearts and remove yourself from all Tech in Asia emails over [here](  ---------------------------------------------------------------  Tech in Asia’s newsletters are handcrafted daily with love - and sometimes powered by good kopi. Today’s edition was written by Winston Zhang. It’s edited by Dhania Putri Sarahtika. Copyright © 2024 Tech in Asia, All rights reserved. 63 Robinson Road, Singapore 068894