Fintech to the future

Jaka Robot, 5ire, ForSight Robotics, and more startups also raised funding this week. [Read from your browser]( FOMO Saturday Hello {NAME} Up until a few years ago, I relied on cash to make payments. Back then, many places in Singapore, especially eateries and food kiosks, didn’t offer cashless payment options. That 60-year-old uncle manning a hawker stall selling chicken rice wasn’t likely to add or trust QR codes. Even taxi drivers appeared to think of the Network for Electronic Transfers - colloquially known as NETS - as a hassle. Much has changed since then, and that’s because fintech has become such a huge part of our everyday lives. Today, I can confidently leave the house with just my phone and know that I can get where I want to go and buy what I need without using cash. If that isn’t great, then I don’t know what is. So kudos to our top-funded startups from the fintech sector. Keep it up! 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. -- Jonathan --------------------------------------------------------------- THE BIGGEST DEALS BY COUNTRY 🇰🇷 Viva Republica: The South Korean fintech startup is the parent firm of Toss, an app for peer-to-peer money transfer.The company raised US$240 million in bridge financing from Altos Ventures, DAOL Investment, Goodwater Capital, Greyhound Capital, KDB Bank, Kwangju Bank, and Mirae Asset Securities. 🇨🇳 Jaka Robot: The Shanghai-based industrial robot developer raised US$150 million in a series D round from Prosperity 7 Venture Capital, SoftBank Vision Fund, Temasek Holdings, and True Light Capital. 🇦🇪 5ire: Based in Dubai, the Layer 1 blockchain startup secured US$100 million in series A funding from the Sram & Mram Group. 🇮🇱 ForSight Robotics: The Israeli developer of Oryom, a surgical robotic platform that specializes in ophthalmic surgery, got US$55 million in a series A round from Adani Group, Eclipse Ventures, Ljungstrom Family Office, Mithril Capital, Precision Capital, Provenio Capital, and Reiya Ventures. 🇮🇳 Niyo Solutions: The Indian payroll and benefits fintech firm bagged US$30 million in its series D round from Multiples Alternate Asset Management. Here’s the complete list of this week’s funding chart: [146 deals worth over US$1 billion](. --------------------------------------------------------------- M&As 🇮🇳 Shiprocket acquired India-based Omuni (Arvind Internet), an omnichannel retail enablement platform, in a US$25 million deal. 🇲🇾 Doku, a payments technology company based in Indonesia has acquired [SenangPay]( a Malaysia-based portal that provides payment card acceptance, for US$7.5 million. 🇮🇳 Wolves, an Indian recruitment and staffing startup, was acquired by edtech platform Upgrad for an undisclosed amount. 🇸🇬 [Jewel Paymentech]( a Singapore-based fintech startup that focuses on fraud and risk mitigation, has been acquired by Advance Intelligence Group for an undisclosed sum. 🇰🇷 DelightRoom, the South Korea-based developer of an app called Alarmy, has acquired Minding, the creator of a daily task management app called MyRoutine. The financial details of the acquisition were not disclosed. 🇮🇳 Syntizen, an India-based platform that provides digital identity solutions, has been acquired by financial API developer M2P Fintechfor 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](. 🇲🇾 Finology is a Malaysian company that specializes in enabling embedded finance in areas such as digital lending and insurance. 🇸🇬 Frea is a community marketplace based in Singapore that helps users discover home-cooked food in their area. 🇲🇾 TigerCampus is a Malaysia-based online education platform. You can find the full list of fundraising startups in Asia [over here](. --------------------------------------------------------------- KILLER PITCH DECKS 1️⃣ An edtech startup used this pitch deck get seed extension funding Kalpha is a peer-to-peer ecosystem for sharing skills and knowledge online. The startup used [this pitch deck]( for its seed extension round in 2020, gaining the attention of the city-state’s angel investors and its existing backer Nest Tech VN. The deck is simple and easy to read, with important points highlighted in different colors or bold font. 2️⃣ This pitch deck helped a mobile banking firm raise its series B round N26 allows users to manage their bank accounts on the go, tracking their expenses and helping them set aside money in real time. In 2016, the Germany-based startup raised US$40 million in a series B round led by Horizons Ventures via [this pitch deck](. Apart from offering interesting visuals and a brief summary, the deck highlights N26’s product features and its traction in terms of users and transaction volume. 3️⃣ A blockchain-powered fintech firm secured pre-series A money via this deck Doxa Holdings links buyers, suppliers, and financiers in the industrial space. It runs a platform known as Doxa Connex, which lets construction players and real estate developers process procurement, payment, and financing digitally. Earlier this year, the startup scored US$2.2 million in pre-series A funding with the help of [this pitch deck](. The presentation is simple and relevant, and its theme is based on the company logo’s color palette. It starts off with an agenda that succinctly lays out what to expect. --------------------------------------------------------------- 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]( --------------------------------------------------------------- THE MAIN EVENT Why the future of work involves a digital HQ By now, the option to work remotely has become an expectation among employees. Flexibility is essential, with 78% percent of all survey respondents to Slack's Future Forum Research saying they want location flexibility; meanwhile, 95% want schedule flexibility. These aren't flippant requests, either - 72% of workers who are dissatisfied with their current level of flexibility at work say they are likely to look for a new job in the next year. In order to retain and attract top talent, company leaders need to redesign every aspect of how work gets done, from redefining how organizational success is measured to training managers to make it happen. On August 3, at an executive breakfast hosted by Tech in Asia and Slack, speakers will discuss what the future of work looks like for businesses across the Asia Pacific, and some keys to successfully implementing this new way of working to enable your company to meet its business goals and growth. [Register now]( to book your spot. This event is held exclusively for founders, tech and business leaders with limited seats available. Please note your registration does not guarantee an invitation to attend. An official confirmation email will be sent to you by July 29th on the status of your registration. --------------------------------------------------------------- THOUGHTFUL READS 1️⃣ “Brutally honest” takeaways Those who have worked for VCs will undoubtedly have a wide range of experiences, and Reddit user u/surfcowboy10 has penned an insightful read about their stint in the industry. Some points might be more obvious than others, but they’re all similar in one aspect: u/surfcowboy10 serves up the cold, hard truth, at least from their perspective. Here are [50 lessons they shared for VC workers](. 2️⃣ Making better decisions Life is just a series of infinite choices. In that sense, it also means that there are infinite possibilities out there. It’s easy to make a decision, but the problem is knowing how to make the right one. This [guide on First Round Review]( should help if you’ve ever wondered how to get better at decision-making, especially in the context of starting and scaling companies. 3️⃣ Deliver on environmental initiatives As a heat wave takes over Europe and the world undergoes drastic changes in general, environmental initiatives from companies will inevitably be placed under greater scrutiny. If firms make exaggerated claims or can’t deliver on their promises, they could face backlash from consumers. Find out more in [this article]( from the Harvard Business Review. 4️⃣ Going global The older model of establishing a startup by focusing on local markets with local employees is being phased out in favor of more global-minded plans for scaling and growth, according to [this article]( from Andreessen Horowitz. But as with any new idea, this shift in focus comes with its own set of challenges. 5️⃣ Connecting employees with their work The hiring market has been hot, hot, hot … until recent economic conditions led to several mass layoffs. That said, workers are still going to need more than just good pay and flexibility if employers want them to stay. [Here’s how]( companies can give their employees what they really want: a sense of purpose and real engagement with the work they do. --------------------------------------------------------------- [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 Stefanie Yeo. It’s edited by Eileen C. Ang. Copyright © 2022 Tech in Asia, All rights reserved. 63 Robinson Road, Singapore 068894