Coda Payments’ series C round tops the week’s funding list

PhonePe, FundPark, Laiye, and more startups also raised funding this week. [Read from your browser]( FOMO Saturday Hello {NAME} The gaming scene’s been happening. Not only is the space one of the [frontlines for cryptocurrency and blockchain development]( but well-established players like [Indonesia’s Bukalapak]( are also getting into it across the region. It’s no wonder then that Coda Payments, a fintech firm focused on gaming and entertainment, took the top spot on our funding list this week. The Singapore-based startup [raised US$690 million at a valuation of US$2.5 billion](. 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. -- Nathaniel --------------------------------------------------------------- THE BIGGEST DEALS BY COUNTRY 🇸🇬 Coda Payments: The gaming-focused payments startup headquartered in Singapore [raised US$690 million in series C money]( from Government of Singapore Investment Corporation, Insight Partners, and Smash Capital. 🇮🇳 PhonePe: The India-based mobile payment app got US$297 million in strategic investment from Flipkart. 🇭🇰 FundPark: The Hong Kong-headquartered invoice and purchase order-financing platform [secured US$250 million in debt financing]( from Cypress Capital, Goldman Sachs, and Integrated Alternative Credit Fund. 🇨🇳 Laiye: The Chinese smart robot developer bagged US$70 million in series C funding from Far East Horizon, Houpu Fund, Lightspeed China Partners, VMS Investment Group, and Youshan Capital. 🇰🇷 FASSTO: The South Korea-based automated logistics firm scored US$64 million in series C money from Hana Ventures, KDB Bank, SK D&D, Shinhan Venture Investment, and VIG Partners. Here’s the complete list of this week’s funding chart: [163 deals worth over US$2.6 billion](. --------------------------------------------------------------- M&As 🇸🇬 Fintech giant Ant Group [acquired Singapore-based payments platform 2C2P]( for an undisclosed sum. 🇮🇳 Indian ecommerce major Flipkart acquired local full-stack ecommerce enabler ANS Commerce for an undisclosed amount. 🇮🇳 GupShup, San Francisco-headquartered cloud-messaging platform, [acquired Bengaluru-based conversational AI firm AskSid]( for an undisclosed sum. 🇮🇳 Hesa, a India-headquartered commerce platform, [acquired GullyBuy, a local startup that focuses on hyperlocal marketplaces]( for an undisclosed amount. 🇮🇳 BookMyShow, an India-based online booking firm, bought TribeVibe, a local startup that provides a one-stop solution for college festival entertainment, 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. Do you run a startup that’s raising at the moment or know someone who does? Sign your company up for listing [here](. 🇮🇩 Ini Teh is an Indonesia-based startup that aims to shake up the beverage industry - particularly in tea - with its 100% natural and vegan-friendly products. 🇭🇰 WindCycle is a Hong Kong-headquartered startup that uses wind turbines to produce energy for urban environments. 🇧🇩 Yaati Digital is a Bangladesh-based digital-marketing services provider. You can find the full list of fundraising startups in Asia [over here](. --------------------------------------------------------------- KILLER PITCH DECKS 1️⃣ This deck helped an office space firm secure US$4 million in pre-series A funding India-based iSprout is a provider of managed office space solutions that caters to established startups and enterprises. Earlier this year, it used [this pitch deck]( to bag its pre-series A funding. The deck is creative and provides an overview of the company before addressing consumer pain points and showcasing solutions that iSprout offers. 2️⃣ An Indian healthtech firm used this pitch deck to score US$400,000 in seed funding India-based Paperplane is an AI-driven digital clinic that enables doctors, dentists, and medical practitioners to manage their practice efficiently and engage with patients remotely. It used [this pitch deck]( to bag seed funding earlier this year. The deck starts with some facts about the current condition of health consultation services in the digital era and the challenges that medical practitioners face. It then elaborates on how Paperplane's services address these issues. 3️⃣ The pitch deck that won Tiger Global's backing Progcap aims to provide credit for last-mile businesses using a mix of tech and alternative data-driven credit scoring. The Indian firm used [this pitch deck]( to secure series C funding in a round co-led by Tiger Global Management. The deck begins with an executive summary describing its business focus. It shares more about the domestic retail market and highlights marquee names that Progcap has worked with, before going into a description of the problems in the space and the solution the company offers. --------------------------------------------------------------- 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]( List of largest exits in Asia [China]( | [India]( | [Indonesia]( | [Singapore]( | [Southeast Asia]( --------------------------------------------------------------- THOUGHTFUL READS 1️⃣ Overcoming the “winner’s curse” as a VC When many investors bid on a startup with an uncertain value, the winner can often end up paying way more than the startup is worth - this makes winning more of a curse than a blessing. [This Harvard Business Review piece]( discusses the dynamics of this curse and how investors could avoid it. 2️⃣ Ditch your to-do lists Establishing a startup often requires founders and early employees to wear many hats, but juggling too many responsibilities can get messy. First Round Review compiled [a list]( of documents that can help you get organized. 3️⃣ How VCs can help their founders look after their mental health In his work with his portfolio companies, Ripple Ventures founder Matt Cohen has seen the toll that starting a business can take on one’s mental health. So in [this Crunchbase article]( he’s penned his thoughts on how fellow VCs can help their founders preserve, protect, and enrich their mental health. 4️⃣ Not everyone needs a co-founder Mentors, VCs, and peers will often advise early-stage startup solo founders to find a co-founder. But new research shows that solo founders can be successful too. Read [this article]( on Harvard Business Review to learn how. 5️⃣ How to know if your burn is too high UK-based entrepreneur Immad Akhund has heard many founders question whether their burn rate is too high. To help his worried peers, he tweeted his framework for taking stock of his business’ health. Read [the full thread on Twitter]( to see how he does it. Did these eye-popping figures shock you? Share this with a friend who would enjoy this week’s funding news as much as you do. 😉 If you liked today’s edition, give us some feedback [here](. [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 Nathaniel Fetalvero. It’s edited by Arpit Nayak. Copyright © 2022 Tech in Asia, All rights reserved. 63 Robinson Road, Singapore 068894