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Luokung Technology, Anext Bank, Kream, 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} Last week’s Saturday newsletter featured a diverse bunch of companies getting funding, and this week is no different - a digital bank, a luxury goods resale platform, and an insurtech firm are in this edition’s lineup. But I don’t want to completely ape the angle taken last week. Instead, I’d like to ask: How do you use the information that you get from this newsletter? Do you go on to do research on the companies that received funding, or do you take a more macro approach by keeping track of the industries that investors are showering love (and money) on? Or is it something else entirely? Is this a thinly veiled user feedback gathering session? Honestly, no - I’m just curious. For now though, read on to find out the latest funding and M&A activity. Have a good weekend, and I’m looking forward to reading your responses. 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. --------------------------------------------------------------- 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]( to get 40% off (get additional discounts exclusively for TIA subscribers)! - [Tech in Asia’s Founders Meetup: Philippines]( on April 25 Our networking event, Founders Meetup: Philippines, is happening in Manila on April 25 at Draper Startup House. 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! ---------------------------------------------------------------  THE BIGGEST DEALS BY COUNTRY  CN Hailing from China, Luokung Technology is a big data firm providing location-based services. It secured US$220 million in strategic investment from China Orient Smart Ecotech Investment Group Limited. SG Anext Bank, one of Singapore’s latest digital wholesale banks, [received US$188 million]( in additional funding from Ant Group. KR Kream is a resale platform for branded goods. The South Korean firm raised US$168 million in series C funding from investors Altos Ventures, Axiom Asia, and Mirae Asset Capital, among others. TH Roojai is an India-based insurtech firm. It locked down [a US$42 million series B]( from HDI International and International Finance Corporation. JP LayerX is a Japanese firm which aims to digitalize business processes by using blockchain technology. It closed a US$38.5 million series A, with investors including the likes of Dawn Capital, GMO Venture Partners, and Jafco Group Japan. Here’s the complete list of this week’s funding chart: [37 deals worth over US$850 million](.  ---------------------------------------------------------------  M&As  KR SBXG is a South Korean esports company. It was acquired by 4by4 for an undisclosed amount. IN Uno Finance is a healthcare-focused fintech startup based in India. It was acquired by LoanTap for an undisclosed sum. MY Troopers is a part-time staffing and recruitment services firm from Malaysia. It was [acquired by BetterPlace]( an India-based software-as-a-service and workforce management platform, in a deal estimated to be worth between US$15 million and US$20 million.  ---------------------------------------------------------------  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 Singapore-based Staffroom is an online marketplace that helps schools hire teachers. ID Master Course is an Indonesian one-stop education service provider. MY Progressture Energy is a Malaysian clean energy provider and a net-zero partner focusing on industrial decarbonization. You can find the full list of fundraising startups in Asia [over here](.  ---------------------------------------------------------------  KILLER PITCH DECKS 1️⃣ A Bangladesh-based IoT firm netted US$1 million with this pitch deck Founded in 2014, Bondstein offers a wide range of connected technologies to customers across different industries. The company used [this pitch deck]( to raise US$1 million in strategic investment. The comprehensive presentation introduces the startup and showcases its products and services, including how these solutions work. There are also use cases that highlight how Bondstein aids various business needs. 2️⃣ VC assesses Vajro’s US$8.5 million series A pitch deck The India-headquartered startup, which helps merchants create their own mobile shopping app, bagged US$8.5 million in series A money in January 2022. [In this video]( Tin Men Capital’s Murli Ravi assessed the deck that Vajro used for that round. Ravi, the VC firm’s co-founder and general partner, dove into what the presentation did right and what could have been improved. 3️⃣ A biotech startup’s pitch deck helped it get US$123 million in series B money Founded in 2012, Atomwise uses deep-learning AI technology for structure-based drug discovery. With [this pitch deck]( the startup raised a US$123 million series B funding round in 2020. The presentation provides an introduction to Atomwise’s technology and partnership success stories as well as important figures such as the total funds raised, the number of drug discovery projects the firm has worked on, and the success rates of the projects.  --------------------------------------------------------------- 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 Tips on cultivating creativity The Studios team has been tasked to think of and try creative approaches to our work this year, and it’s been fun in many ways so far. It can sometimes be difficult to come up with fresh, new ideas though - maybe [this article from Harvard Business Review (HBR)]( can help. 2️⃣ Adjusting to asynchronicity Remote working has become increasingly normalized after Covid-19 - in fact, a member of my team (hi, Stef!) is currently working from London. But of course, time zone differences make things like meetings tricky to schedule. Maybe the answer lies in learning how to work in an asynchronous manner. [This First Round Review article]( has some tips on how to do this effectively. 3️⃣ Edtech 101 The edtech sector saw significant growth after Covid-19 hit and we were all confined to working and learning from our homes. Get a snapshot into the industry, including its key players and opportunities, in [this article from PitchBook](. 4️⃣ An unorthodox method to getting funding Ever thought of looking for funding before you even build a minimum viable product? Neither have I, but apparently at least one person has. [This Reddit thread]( features someone considering that possibility and some advice from people who’ve tried it before. 5️⃣ Be a discerning prospective employee There’s been ever-growing awareness about mental health in the workplace, and a common point of discussion is burnout. [This HBR article]( offers some signs to look out for to see if that company you’re applying to has an unfortunate case of burnout culture or not.  --------------------------------------------------------------- [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