These startups have got the funding bells jingling

Bespin Global, Bharat Krushi Seva, ShopBack 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} Happy December 17th! We’re just a week and a day away from Christmas, and I can feel myself starting to enter my “holiday hibernation mode.” All I want to do is lounge around, feasting on Christmas treats and watching holiday movies. However, the same can’t be said for this week’s top-funded startups. They’re certainly not hibernating, and I’m sure they’re all gearing up for an exciting 2023 ahead. 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. --------------------------------------------------------------- THE BIGGEST DEALS BY COUNTRY  KR Bespin Global: The South Korean managed service provider [has raised]( US$112 million from E& enterprise (Etisalat Digital) in a strategic investment. IN Bharat Krushi Seva: The Indian firm, which aims to drive the mass adoption of digital agriculture, has raised US$43 million in a seed round from Criyagen Agri & Biotech, Mintosh, S Amit Group, SiriusOne Capital, Upaya Social Ventures, and Villgro. SG ShopBack: The Singapore-based digital loyalty, cashback, and discovery platform [raised US$30 million]( in series F financing from Westpac Banking Corporation. JP Ubie: Based in Japan, Ubie provides an AI-powered software to help healthcare providers collect patient information. It bagged US$19 million in a series C round from AAIC Investment, Japan Finance Corporation, Japan Impact Investment, Mizuho Bank, Rakuten Capital, Shoko Chukin Bank, and Sogo Medical. CN Ranmai Technology: The Chinese company behind Ayayi, an AI metahuman influencer, has raised US$10 million from Bai Capital. Here’s the complete list of this week’s funding chart: [104 deals worth over US$1.1 billion](.  ---------------------------------------------------------------  M&As MY Malaysia-based nutrition company Wellous has merged with Kairos Acquisition Corp. in a US$270 million deal.  ---------------------------------------------------------------  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](. SG Kitcod is a Singapore-based startup that offers a suite of APIs that power communication and social engagement. MY ChargeSini is an electric-vehicle charging platform from Malaysia. VN AirCity is a Vietnamese provider of tech-powered property management solutions. You can find the full list of fundraising startups in Asia [over here](.  ---------------------------------------------------------------  KILLER PITCH DECKS 1️⃣ This is the first deck that Cake DeFi’s founders used to pitch the business The Singapore-based crypto investment firm used [this deck]( to successfully secure its debt round. It’s a simple deck, but it clearly outlines Cake DeFi’s value proposition and how it stands out from other companies out in the market. 2️⃣ The deck that helped a Singapore co-living startup raise US$740,000 Bespoke Habitat provides spaces where clients can live, work, and play. The company, which also manages properties, used [this pitch deck]( to raise its seed round from undisclosed angel investors this year. The deck provides an overview of Bespoke Habitat and introduces its team, going on to highlight the solutions it offers. The presentation also shares the startup’s unique selling point and business model. 3️⃣ A plant-based meat startup scored series A money via this deck Founded in 2019, YouKuai is the creator of a plant-based ground pork product called Zrou. In 2021, the company used [this pitch deck]( to bag US$7.3 million in series A funding. The deck has a neat design, featuring a list that helps readers understand the flow of content. It also offers lots of details about YouKuai, but the amount of information is not overwhelming. 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 Looking ahead at 2023 What will the new year hold for startups and investors? Andreessen Horowitz asked dozens of its partners to spotlight some areas of interest and share their insights on what startups in their sectors will be tackling in 2023. Check it out [here](. 2️⃣ Data and performance management It’s performance review season! However, despite the myriad of tech tools that are now available, finding a way to reliably quantify workers’ value creation still remains elusive. To overcome this, leaders need to identify what constitutes real, meaningful performance and how this can be accurately measured. [This article]( from the Harvard Business Review goes deeper into the topic. 3️⃣ VCs and their tools VCs have lots of data they need to be tracking, so what are some of the software tools and platforms that they find most useful? This [Reddit thread]( shares some of the most popular ones. 4️⃣ What not to do to help workers grow Everyone benefits from an upwardly mobile workforce, where employees are given the opportunity to grow and advance in their roles. However, it’s easier said than done, as even some of the world’s biggest firms struggle with this. To avoid making the same mistakes, check out [this article]( which highlights six ways companies fail to help workers grow. 5️⃣ On crypto and funding 2023 has been a bad year for the crypto industry. Recent events have called into question many of its aspects,particularly how crypto companies get funded. Some are saying that VC-backed funding may not be the right way to do it, and that community-based funding models could help address the volatility of the space. [This piece]( explores the idea in more detail.  --------------------------------------------------------------- [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