The tech world isn’t just about AI

Lal Sweets, Shift, Photon Crystal Energy Technology, 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 thoughtful tidbits section of today’s newsletter goes into both the exciting new kid in town (AI) as well as longtime heroes like loyalty programs and social media platforms. It was pretty cool to see some old companies pop up, as I’ve always enjoyed the idea of improving a piece of work over time. That said, even though it’s important to know the new tools available, companies should be careful not to get carried away with the shiny toys and lose sight of their core solutions or mission. In the trenches, it can sometimes be hard to keep that in mind. In other news, this week’s top funding deals feature firms in FMCG and robotics - more old heroes. Let’s keep on keeping on. 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 Lal Sweets sells packaged Indian desserts. It received strategic investment to the tune of US$39.3 million from private equity unit Motilal Oswal Alternates. AU Shift enables businesses to manage their cash flow, buy assets, simplify trade terms, and select the most suitable financial products for their needs. The Australian firm closed a series D round worth just over US$23 million with Peak XV Partners. CN Chinese cleantech company Photon Crystal Energy Technology has secured US$14.5 million in series A money from Topview Innovation. KR South Korea’s Holiday Robotics offers general-purpose robots. The firm has received over US$12.2 million in seed funding from investors like Atinum Investment, InterVest, and SpringCamp. JP Double Jump Tokyo is a Japanese firm that develops, operates, and sells games and assets using blockchain technology. It has raised a US$10.5 million series D round, with Bing Ventures, Kita Denshi, and SBI Investment among the participating investors. Here’s the complete list of this week’s funding chart: [64 deals worth over US$250 million](.  ---------------------------------------------------------------  M&As IN Om Logistics has acquired the Inland Container Depot (ICD) in Bawal, India. The ICD is a private freight terminal that connects shipping ports with inland areas. The deal was worth just over US$13 million. IN Wasteland Entertainment, a subsidiary of Paytm’s events and movie ticketing business, has been acquired by Zomato. Terms of the deal were not made publicly available. SG Singapore beauty brand Coco & Eve has been [acquired by US-based private equity firm Gauge Capital](. The “mostly cash deal,” of over US$100 million, is currently one of the largest beauty industry acquisitions to emerge from Singapore. IN India-based cinema management solutions firm Orbgen Technologies has also been acquired by Zomato. As with the Wasteland Entertainment deal, the financial details were not disclosed. IN Digital advertising firm Valueleaf Services has been acquired by VerSe Innovation, the Indian media technology unicorn that owns local language news aggregator Dailyhunt. The value of the deal was undisclosed.  ---------------------------------------------------------------  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](. 🇮🇳 This India-based company is building an app that helps young people start and excel in their careers. 🇸🇬 This Singaporean startup creates AI-powered solutions for personalized scalp and hair care. 🇲🇾 This Malaysia-headquartered firm is a small satellite manufacturer providing IoT services. 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 really enjoy the whole process for the fundraising with them. 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.” - [Read more]( - ❌ “They are a current investors of ours. Gave us the wrong feedback in terms of valuations and now they are forcing us to fundraise because they want a markup in their portfolio, while not even wanting to support a top up.” - [Read more]( - ✅︎ “When its on, it's full on. They are a very analytical bunch of people and good at negotiating terms.” - [Read more]( ---------------------------------------------------------------  SPEED DATING IS NOW INVESTOR HOUR Connecting founders directly with investors interested in their specific industry and stage of development Investor Hour, formerly known as Investor-Founder Speed Dating, is designed to facilitate impactful connections between investors and founders. This one-on-one networking experience offers a curated space for exploring investment opportunities, seeking guidance, and forging lasting partnerships. Founders can gain a crucial advantage by connecting with a targeted audience of investors. Getting a foot in the right door is often the biggest challenge – Investor Hour takes the stress and guesswork out of the process. With immediate feedback and access to valuable insights, you can present your innovative ideas and build meaningful connections that lead to investment opportunities. [Apply today!](  ---------------------------------------------------------------  EVENTS HAPPENING You can also check out a curated list of trending tech events [over here](. [Tech in Asia Conference Jakarta on October 23 - 24]( Get ready to be inspired at the upcoming #TIAConferenceJKT. We are bringing together the region's top minds for two days of in-depth discussions, groundbreaking ideas, and unparalleled networking opportunities. Hear from Edward Tirtanata on the D2C user preferences across SEA, what it takes to build an AI startup from Wiz.AI’s Jennifer Zhang, and Gibran Huzaifah shares how he built SEA’s first agritech unicorn. [Get your tickets at 45% off now!]( [Tech in Asia’s Founders Meetup: Thailand on September 11]( Think you can handle the heat? Join leading VCs from A2D Ventures, WV, and The Radical Fund to get the inside scoop as they identify the hottest verticals where smart money is going (and where you should too!) and engineer tomorrow’s thriving ecosystem. Early bird passes are sold out. [Get your ticket now.]( [DevOps Decoded: Industry Insights & Networking on September 12]( Struggling with complex CI/CD pipelines or integrating DevSecOps? Push the boundaries and learn "cheat codes" to conquer the challenges of pipeline management and DevOps compliance. Transform your SDLC for greater agility and efficiency, today. [Apply for an invite now.]( [Leadership Collective: Building at Scale on September 26]( Deeper integration between design and engineering - opportunity or headache? Explore proven strategies for effective communication, uncover the true potential and challenges of advanced design tools, and discover how to empower true collaboration that transforms your product development process. [Seats are extremely limited - apply now.]( [SYNC 2024 on October 08]( Elevate your startup journey at our exclusive founder’s roundtable at SYNC 2024. Expect candid conversations on topics such as turning AI ideas into viable products, the unique challenges of raising capital for AI startups, and strategies to attract potential investors. You’ll uncover insights on how to find and retain top AI talents and, most importantly, how to tailor your solutions to the needs of your market to achieve product-market fit. [Find out more about SYNC 2024 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 Deepfake alert Deepfake images aren’t new, but with the US election cycle ramping up, its usage could see an uptick. In this [Masters of Scale episode]( Adobe chief strategy officer Scott Belsky explains how a deepfake is made and goes into the impact AI can have on small businesses’ growth.  2️⃣ More AI talk [This article on the Andreessen Horowitz website]( dives into some examples of how AI can create new types of jobs while transforming processes we’ve gotten used to.  3️⃣ Getting back up in Asia Private equity fundraising in this part of the world is seeing a rebound after two years of decline. Asian venture capital funds have seen a strong start to the year, raising US$30.4 billion as of August 19. This represents 77% of the total capital raised in the region for the entire year of 2023, [according to PitchBook data](. If this pace continues, the total capital raised in Asia this year could surpass US$48 billion.  4️⃣ Making a point In loyalty programs, points are - more or less - used in place of cash. But apparently, customers spend points differently. [This Harvard Business Review article]( dives into this particular aspect of consumer behavior.  5️⃣ How to play the fickle social media game Social media is an arena where the rules (aka algorithms) are always changing, so it can be difficult to really stand out, especially for new people or companies. Regardless, [this article on the Andreessen Horowitz website]( tries to provide a beginner’s guide.  --------------------------------------------------------------- [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