Deeptech has a lot of breadth to it too

Rapido, Loglass, MolBreeding, 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} The tech and startup world - and this includes the media side of things - can be obsessed with the latest, newest tech. Sometimes, this enthusiasm completely outpaces the practical considerations. For example, I think that generative AI’s hype is currently still ahead of the real difference its application can enable. So when I come across a piece that argues for another use case for an existing tech, I appreciate it. Today’s thoughtful tidbits include an article on how deeptech can augment healthcare - even better, since it’s an important vertical that has direct positive impacts on humanity. It’s not always about charging ahead into the unknown; taking stock of what we have and how we can use them in new ways can create the next big business opportunity too. And that should attract funding like how today’s featured firms did. 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 and M&As that recently took place. -- Winston  --------------------------------------------------------------- THE BIGGEST DEALS BY COUNTRY  IN Bike-taxi firm Rapido has closed a US$120 million series E round from WestBridge Capital. This brings the Indian startup to unicorn status. JP Loglass is a Japanese firm developing corporate intelligence that enhances business management. It has raised US$49 million in series B money from MUFG Innovation Partners, Mizuho Capital, and Angel Bridge, among others. CN Chinese biotech company MolBreeding has secured a US$34.7 million series B funding round. Investors include the likes of Dalton Venture, Lake Bleu Capital, and Starlight Capital. ID AwanTunai, a supply chain financing service provider from Indonesia, has received US$18.5 million in debt financing from HSBC. SG Singapore-based IoT firm Beep Technologies has closed a US$3.3 million pre-series A funding round. Participating investors include Farquhar Venture Capital, Granite Asia, and M7 Ace Neo. Here’s the complete list of this week’s funding chart: [67 deals worth over US$540 million](.  ---------------------------------------------------------------  M&As IN Ultimate Teen Patti is a casual freemium card game from India. The intellectual property rights, softwares, and associated trademarks have been acquired by gaming and sports media company Nazara Technologies for just over US$1 million. IN Fairexpay, is an India-based fintech startup that sends, tracks, and reconciles remittances. It has been acquired by financial services company SaveDesk for an undisclosed sum. ML EasyPay Transfers is a Malaysian fintech firm that focuses on helping businesses with optimizing trade payments. It has been acquired by Singapore-headquartered fintech group M-Daq Global for an undisclosed amount.  ---------------------------------------------------------------  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 send fundraising startups directly to investors’ inboxes. There’s no better time to list your startup, and you can do so [here](. IN This Indian firm is a provider of end-to-end solutions for farmers. KR This South Korea-based company has developed a range of wearable surgical displays that help surgeons with information management. IN This Indonesian startup specializes in B2B infrastructure, providing trust as a service in digital documents and contracts. 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](. - ✅︎ “I can see they have done their best to understand local business and local context especially in Indonesia even though it is not their main geography focus. They have the right balance of asking the right questions and trusting the founders, empowering and enabling the founders to be successful.” - [Read more]( - ❌ “Spent a fair amount of time in meetings and back and forth. Despite us spending time to educate them, they still came up with a really strange view on numbers which to anyone who has spent time in our space made little sense.” - [Read more]( - ✅︎ “Very detail oriented and evaluates the business or future plans very fundamentally, so having proper clarity is very important for founders before they pitch.” - [Read more](  ---------------------------------------------------------------  TECH IN ASIA’S FOUNDERS MEETUP: THAILAND ON SEPTEMBER 11 You asked, we listened - Tech in Asia’s Founders Meetup is heading to Thailand! Building a startup in Bangkok is a marathon, not a tuk-tuk race. Ready to accelerate your growth? Join Tech in Asia's Founders Meetup on September 11 and connect with the city's top founders, leaders, and investors. Gain invaluable insights on navigating Bangkok's tech scene, and snag face-time with leading VCs during our exclusive Office Hours. Fuel your journey with drinks and bites as you make connections to catapult your startup to success. Early-bird tickets are at a discounted price of US$10 until August 26. [Get your ticket now!](  ---------------------------------------------------------------  EVENTS HAPPENING [Tech in Asia Conference Jakarta on Oct 23 - 24]( Tech in Asia is at the forefront of uncovering the next big thing in Southeast Asia’s tech scene. Our flagship conference in Jakarta is where the region’s most promising trends converge. This year, we’re spotlighting Fintech, Cleantech, and AI – three sectors poised to revolutionize industries and create immense opportunities. Join us to gain invaluable insights and network with the region's top innovators. [Save 50% off your tickets today!]( [Startup Factory at Tech in Asia Conference Jakarta]( Are you building a startup that is on track to become the next tech frontier? Apply to Startup Arena, the hottest pitch battle judged by investors, industry experts, and a live audience. Vie for global recognition, prize money, media coverage, and other exciting prizes! [Apply now.](  [Gemini Day for Startups: Singapore on August 11]( The future of your AI-powered startup starts now. On August 22, get an exclusive preview of Google Cloud's latest AI tools and learn how to leverage their full potential. We're talking cutting-edge demos, unfiltered advice from AI veterans, and unparalleled networking that will make your LinkedIn profile a magnet for opportunity. [Apply now for an invite - limited seats up for grabs.]( [Tech in Asia’s Founders Meetup: Thailand on September 11]( Building a startup in Bangkok is a marathon, not a tuk-tuk race. Ready to accelerate your growth? Join us and connect with the city's top founders, leaders, and investors. Gain invaluable insights on navigating Bangkok's tech scene, and snag face-time with leading VCs during our exclusive Office Hours. Early-bird tickets are at a discounted price of US$10 until August 26. [Get your ticket now!]( [SYNC 2024 on October 2024]( Remember last year's SYNC? Tech in Asia handpicked 100 attendees for a day of learning, sharing, and networking, all aimed at addressing climate tech’s challenges and mapping the future of the sector. This year, we're focusing on another exciting industry, and we’re turning up the dial with even more thought-provoking sessions, inspiring speakers, and rising stars ready to disrupt. Ready to be in the know? [Register your interest today]( for the latest on SYNC 2024. Stay tuned. --------------------------------------------------------------- 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 How deeptech can enhance healthcare “What if we can prevent catastrophic diseases such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and stroke with deeptech?” That’s a pretty good opening line, innit. [Click in]( to find out how technologies like digital twins and predictive analytics can take healthcare to the next level. 2️⃣ Another use case for LLMs? Dean de Beer, co-founder and CTO of computer and network security company Command Zero, hopped on [this Andreessen Horowitz podcast]( to talk about the benefits of training large language models on security data, as well as the many factors product teams need to consider when doing so. 3️⃣ Hybrid is the new norm Covid-19 brought remote working to the mainstream, but after we got it under control, many companies started telling employees to get back into the office. The latest development is that that movement has stalled - and we’ve all sort of agreed on hybrid being the way to go. [This article]( has more details. 4️⃣ Trickle-down effect What happens in the US usually has an effect on the rest of the world, and that’s no different in the tech world. This [Masters of Scale episode]( takes a look at the potential business effects of the upcoming presidential election. 5️⃣ Foodtech = Chinese takeout? Apparently Chinese investors are the most active when it comes to the foodtech space. The industry encompasses a variety of solutions, from tech-enabled platforms like restaurant management to creating new food products. Occupying the top spot is a firm from another country, however. [Find out where it’s from](.  --------------------------------------------------------------- [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