Full steam ahead

Log 9 Materials, Energy X, Terra Drone, 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 Lunar New Year weekend has come and gone, but it was a great time. I stuffed my face with lots of good food, met up with relatives, and collected red packets (a key perk of being unmarried). This is also the one time of the year when Singapore slows down a little. The city has a reputation for being always on and hurtling along at breakneck speed, but during this holiday, businesses that rarely close their doors also take some time off. It’s a nice change of pace. The startup investment scene seemed to be on the same pace as well. Things have been fairly quiet over the last week - but now that the festivities are over, I expect things to pick up as companies go full steam 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  IN Log9 Materials is a nanotechnology research and development startup based in India. It bagged US$40 million in series B money from Amara Raja Group, InCred, Oxyzo Financial Services, Petronas Ventures, Unity Small Finance Bank, and Western Capital Advisors. KR Energy X, an AI-driven online energy platform from South Korea, raised US$16 million in a series B round. Enlight Ventures, Honest Ventures, Shinhan Asset Management, VTI Partners, and Welcome Ventures participated in the round. JP Terra Drone uses drones to provide civil engineering surveys and facility inspections. The Japan-headquartered hardware firm received US$14.8 million from Wa’ed Ventures, the VC arm of Saudi Aramco, in a strategic investment. ID Indonesian ecommerce platform iSeller [took home US$12 million]( in series B money from Intudo Ventures, KVision, Mandiri Capital Indonesia, and Openspace Ventures. SG Pilon, a Singapore-based fintech firm that helps banks and financial institutions digitalize their factoring processes, [netted US$5.2 million]( in a seed round. Investors in the round were Octava, Polaris Kin, and Wavemaker Partners. Here’s the complete list of this week’s funding chart: [40 deals worth over US$212 million](.  ---------------------------------------------------------------  M&As IN Sri Mookambika Infosolutions, a SaaS company based in India, has been acquired by Happiest Minds Technologies for US$13.5 million. IN India-based Saluto Wellness, a professional services company with a holistic approach toward improving productivity and performance, has been acquired by fintech unicorn Pine Labs. The financial details of the deal were not disclosed. ID Yukk, an app that offers discounts, promotions, and information around merchants in Indonesia, [has been acquired by iSeller]( 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](. ID Chewee is a marketplace from Indonesia for all pet-related needs. SG Based in Singapore, Storya integrates AI and blockchain tools to help creative writers quickly scale their reach and monetize their work. MY Kirimman is a Malaysia-based company that focuses on hyperlocal omnichannel smart retail and distribution as well as logistic aggregation. You can find the full list of fundraising startups in Asia [over here](.  ---------------------------------------------------------------  KILLER PITCH DECKS 1️⃣ An Indian logistics firm raised US$770,000 in seed funding with this deck QuickShift offers customized logistics solutions for individuals and enterprises. Its services range from fleet management to warehousing and delivery fulfillment. The company used [this pitch deck]( to raise seed funding in 2021. The presentation is comprehensive, clearly delineating the crucial aspects of the business. It also establishes the firm’s capabilities in the introductory slides before going into how QuickShift’s services will benefit users. 2️⃣ A Sequoia-backed startup secured US$60 million in series C money with this deck Ethos, an insurtech company based in the US, uses machine learning and data science to underwrite life insurance, without the need for medical exams, blood tests, or complex paperwork. With [this pitch deck]( the firm raised US$60 million in its series C funding round. The presentation introduces Ethos’ vision and its roadmap and goes on to explain how its services simplify the process of applying for insurance. 3️⃣ This Vietnamese trading app’s deck won it US$1.2 million Anfin enables users to buy and sell stocks listed on the largest stock exchanges in Vietnam. The fintech firm used [this pitch deck]( to raise US$1.2 million in its third round of seed funding. The deck is straightforward and easy to read, with a good balance of scripts and visuals. It highlights Anfin’s solution and platform execution as well as its go-to-market strategies. ---------------------------------------------------------------  EVENTS HAPPENING You can also check out a curated list of trending tech events [over here](. - [Tech in Asia’s Product Development Conference 2023]( from May 16 to May 17 Tech in Asia’s Product Development Conference is back! This year’s edition, which will be held in person in Jakarta, will feature over 20 industry leaders, experts, and innovators sharing the latest trends and strategies that can accelerate product development growth. [Register now]( and you can get two tickets for the price of one. This early bird promo is available for a limited time only, though, so don’t miss out!  - [Tech in Asia’s Founders Meetup: Singapore on February 22]( Our networking event, Founders Meetup: Singapore, is happening on February 22, at Crane (Arab Street). Join us and share the hardest challenges you’ve faced as a founder. To help you find solutions, we’ll introduce you to fellow founders who have been there and done that. Register 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 There aren’t enough startups The last few years have seen a flurry of venture activity that heated up the startup scene. But has this trend been driven by investor exuberance (investors becoming more favorable toward private startups) or founder fervor (we’re all becoming more entrepreneurial)? In [this piece]( Lightspeed Ventures partner Nnamdi Iregbulem analyzes what’s been going on by using the classic supply and demand concept. 2️⃣ What companies can do about fragile masculinity Research has found that when men feel that their masculinity and autonomy are threatened in the workplace, they often try to regain their sense of control by lying, breaking rules, undermining colleagues, and withholding help. What can businesses do to address this and help employees move toward embracing healthy masculinity? [This article]( from the Harvard Business Review offers some answers. 3️⃣ The perilous pitfalls of leadership Being a leader is hard. In [this Masters of Scale podcast]( host Reid Hoffman hears from executives at some of the world’s biggest tech firms - Google, Uber, and LinkedIn, to name a few - to learn more about the traps they’ve encountered on their journeys. From overcommunication issues to succession planning challenges, there’s a lot of food for thought for folks in leadership roles. 4️⃣ These bad habits lead to… This Week in Startups’ [Twitter video]( has venture capitalist Bryan Roberts and entrepreneur and angel investor Jason Calacanis discussing some bad VC habits, both in the dot-com bust and in the recent speculative asset recession. 5️⃣ Rise of the retail investor Disruption is the catchphrase of our age - and it seems to be coming for investment, too. With the rise of equity crowdfunding, retail investors are disrupting venture capitalists, [this article]( said. It’s still early days, but it will be interesting to see how things pan out.  --------------------------------------------------------------- [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 Dhania Putri Sarahtika. Copyright © 2023 Tech in Asia, All rights reserved. 63 Robinson Road, Singapore 068894