Funding figures are trending downward

TYSiC, Mensa Brands, Ion Mobility, 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} Funding news is always in the back of my head, somewhere. It’s not a priority piece of information in my daily writing and editing work, but I have a general idea of the week-to-week figures that we jot down in these newsletters. So when I saw this week’s numbers, the current economic outlook got real - these are some of the lowest figures I’ve seen since I started writing these updates. Nothing like cold, hard data to drive the point home, huh? Still, over US$445 million changed hands recently - that’s still a lot of money. Let’s see which direction things trend in in the weeks and months to come. 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  CN TYSiC is a China-based company that develops and manufactures silicon carbide epitaxial wafers. It raised US$176 million in strategic investment from China-Belgium Direct Equity Investment Fund, Guangdong Jia Yuan Tech, Nanchang Industrial Investment, and Technology Financial Group. IN Mensa Brands acquires ecommerce brands from India and helps them scale. The firm [received US$36 million in debt financing]( from TradeCred. SG Ion Mobility is a Singapore-based company that aims to create affordable and sustainable electric vehicles. It [closed a US$18.7 million series A round]( with investors such as AC Ventures, GDP Venture, and Monk's Hill Ventures. KR Medibuilder is a software-as-a-service firm whose solutions allow partner hospitals to work together in a joint venture and provide services more efficiently. The South Korean startup bagged US$7.2 million in series A money from Bass Investment and LB Investment. JP Habitto is an app that encourages good money habits. The Japan-based firm netted US$3.9 million in pre-series A funding from the likes of Cherubic Ventures, DG Daiwa Ventures, and Epic Angels, among others. Here’s the complete list of this week’s funding chart: [71 deals worth over US$445 million](.  ---------------------------------------------------------------  M&As IN India-based myPaisaa is a digital savings app. It was acquired by fintech firm Siply for US$7.5 million. ID MyRobin is an outsourcing service provider from Indonesia. It was [acquired by BetterPlace]( a SaaS and workforce management platform headquartered in India, for an undisclosed amount. IN Upwards is a non-banking financial company aiming to streamline the personal loan-buying process for salaried professionals in India. It has been acquired by Lendingkart Technologies 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 Bursa Hukum is a Jakarta-based marketplace for legal services. SG WhiteCoat is a telehealth startup that allows users to video-consult a Singapore-registered general practitioner. SG Based in Singapore, Continuum is a global vocational school for the next generation of digital workers. You can find the full list of fundraising startups in Asia [over here](.  ---------------------------------------------------------------  KILLER PITCH DECKS 1️⃣ This pitch deck helped this laundromat firm raise US$2 million in early-stage funding WeClean is a Philippines-based startup operating a tech-enabled laundromat franchise. It used [this pitch deck]( to raise a total of US$2 million in its pre-seed, seed, and pre-series A rounds. The presentation features important details such as the opportunities and challenges in the local laundry market, the firm’s unit economics, and its upcoming plans. 2️⃣ A US cybersecurity firm secured US$36 million in series C money with this pitch deck Awake Security is a provider of AI-driven security network detection and response solutions. The company used [this deck]( to raise series C funding in 2020. The presentation starts with an executive summary that outlines the firm’s general information, market opportunity, and leadership team members. It goes on to share Awake Security’s key customers and pipeline and analyst perspectives, as well as the challenges that its service aims to tackle. 3️⃣ This deck helped a Sequoia-backed startup bank US$60 million series C US-based Ethos 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 insurtech firm raised US$60 million in its series C funding round. In the presentation, Ethos introduces its vision and roadmap, which is geared towards untangling problems in the insurance industry. The deck goes on to explain how the company’s services simplify the traditional insurance application process. ---------------------------------------------------------------  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 50% off. 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 Keep the long view In these trying economic times, business owners are looking for any way they can cut costs to survive. However, they shouldn’t do so in a manner that will hurt their long-term prospects. [This Harvard Business Review (HBR) article]( offers some tips and timely reminders. 2️⃣ AI in the everyday Have you tried ChatGPT? If you have, you’d know that it’s pretty amazing (you should still check the output, though). [This article]( on the Andreessen Horowitz website lists the main consumer categories with opportunities for generative AI use. 3️⃣ AI job interviews and how to ace them I once wrote an article in which I was interviewed for a job by an AI chatbot. Such tools have become more commonplace after the pandemic, and [this HBR piece]( goes into how candidates can “impress an algorithm.” 4️⃣ More on layoffs From Microsoft to Google to Meta, many of the world’s biggest tech companies have been slashing their headcount. Their usual explanation is that they overhired and need to reduce costs, but firms often underestimate the downsides of job cuts. [Listen to this episode of the IdeaCast]( to find out why many companies get layoffs wrong. 5️⃣ On rebranding Just because you came up with a great name for your business at the beginning, that doesn’t mean that it can never change - especially if your business evolves into something different over time. Fred Wilson of Union Square Ventures shows [an example on his blog](.  --------------------------------------------------------------- [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 © 2023 Tech in Asia, All rights reserved. 63 Robinson Road, Singapore 068894