Funding figures plunge, but there's still progress

Ferty9, Chamlion, Hacomono, 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} “Sometimes life’s a bitch and then you keep living.” That’s from the animated series BoJack Horseman, which I finished watching for the first time a few months ago. The quote looks depressing at first, but I look at it more as a rallying cry of sorts. Life’s tough, and certainly more so in this current economic climate, but we keep going anyway, right? And if we’re gonna keep going, we might as well give as good a go of it as we can. This week’s funding numbers are pretty low, but in the spirit of “let’s keep going,” there are still firms locking down funding, and they come from industries as diverse as metal 3D printing and cleantech. 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 Ferty9, a hospital and healthcare company, received US$50 million in strategic investment from Verlinvest. CN Chamlion is a Chinese firm that provides users with one-stop metal 3D printing application solutions. It closed a US$34.7 million series B round, with investors including the likes of 3H Health Investment, Vertex Ventures, and Zhencheng Capital. JP Hacomono is a Japan-based [SaaS]( platform that provides membership management, reservation, and payment systems for wellness industries such as fitness clubs and indoor golf ranges. It secured US$28.8 million in series C funding from Aozora Corporate Investment, Bank of Nagoya, and Coral Capital, among others. SG Oyika, a Singapore cleantech firm that builds battery swapping and charging infrastructure for electric vehicles, closed a US$10.8 million series B round with BPIN Investment. IL Intelligent Traffic Control is an Israeli firm that develops computer vision and algorithms that predict traffic patterns and potentially prevent traffic congestion. It has [secured a US$5 million series A round]( from Champel Capital, Earth Venture Capital, and Mobilitech Capital. Here’s the complete list of this week’s funding chart: [41 deals worth over US$180 million](.  ---------------------------------------------------------------  M&As  IN ProBano provides online and offline career guidance to high school students in India. Career platform Toprankers has acquired it for an undisclosed amount. IN Qwazent is an executive search and consulting firm which provides services exclusively to the healthcare industry. It was acquired by Dimensions HRD Consultants for an undisclosed sum. VN VLeisure is a Vietnam-based B2B global travel platform. It has been acquired by Nusatrip, though the terms of the deal are not publicly available. IN IRSS is an India-based firm that manages a network of insurance agents. InsuranceDekho, an online platform that allows users to compare insurance quotes, has acquihired the entire IRSS team.  ---------------------------------------------------------------  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](. PK Dastak is a Pakistan-based B2B fintech firm enabling fintech founders to deliver cheaper, contextualized financial services to SMEs and underserved segments leveraging a “unified API open banking platform.” ID Goopo is an Indonesian digital urban farming platform that aims to increase the livestock population in Indonesia and improve farmer welfare. ID Based in Indonesia, Zi.Care provides comprehensive healthcare solutions that enable hospitals to digitize their services. You can find the full list of fundraising startups in Asia [over here](.  ---------------------------------------------------------------  KILLER PITCH DECKS 1️⃣ A flying taxi startup’s pitch deck helped it score US$1 million in seed funding The ePlane Company aims to develop electric planes to make commuting within cities easier while keeping prices at only 1.5x of current taxi fares. It used [this pitch deck]( to secure seed funding last year. The presentation immediately lays out the transportation firm’s business and then goes on to outline its vision going forward. 2️⃣ A Sequoia-backed startup secured US$60 million in series C funding with this deck Ethos, an insurtech startup based in the US, uses machine learning and data science to underwrite life insurance plans without the need for medical exams, blood tests, or complex paperwork. It used [this pitch deck]( to raise US$60 million in its series C funding round. The deck introduces Ethos’ vision and roadmap, which is geared toward untangling problems in the insurance industry. It goes on to explain how the company’s services simplify the process of applying for insurance. 3️⃣ An ex-BBC strategist’s news audio startup raised US$9 million with this pitch deck Founded in 2016, Curio offers a curated library of audio journalism, giving listeners their daily fix of news and analyses. The startup used [this pitch deck]( for its series A round. The pitch deck is crisp since it mostly contains images and doesn’t include too many words. It begins with background on why Curio was developed and introduces the company’s service.  --------------------------------------------------------------- TECH IN ASIA'S FOUNDERS MEETUP: PHILIPPINES  Join us and share the hardest challenges you’ve faced as a founder If you’re an entrepreneur based in Malaysia, you’re invited to Tech in Asia’s Regional Founders Meetup, which will be held on May 23 at WIP on the Park at Marc Residence (No.3 Jalan Pinang, Kuala Lumpur 50450) from 5:30 pm to 7:30 pm. 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. Starting up doesn’t have to be a lonely journey. [Register]( for this exclusive event today. Tickets are priced at US$12.50 per person, inclusive of light bites and one drink. Slots are limited and are available on a first come, first served basis. Thanks to our official event partners Amazon Web Services, CleverTap, Cooley, D.Camp, Sinarmas Land, Singapore Global Network (SGN), and Quest Ventures - and our community partner, WeWork - for making this meetup possible.  --------------------------------------------------------------- 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 How to communicate bad news In this current environment, managers and leaders have varying degrees of bad news to dole out on a semi-regular basis. The least we could do is know how to do it properly and with compassion. [This article from Harvard Business Review]( offers step-by-step tips on how to do just that. 2️⃣ The bigger picture in Europe “Funding winter” is fast becoming a cliche phrase, much as “new normal” did during the height of the pandemic. Nevertheless, phrases become cliches because they are used a lot, and they are used a lot because they generally do a good job of describing or summarizing a thought or situation. [This article on Pitchbook]( takes a look at the tough dealmaking environment we’re currently in and examines five European VC trends from Q1 of this year. 3️⃣ Keeping focused on objectives “Life’s pretty simple, but people make it difficult.” I used to think like that when I was much younger, and have since obviously come to appreciate the different perspectives that can come from working in diverse groups. But at work, these disparate ideas should all be channeled toward common goals, and there are a variety of dynamics and hurdles that can make doing so difficult. [This article on First Round Review]( dives deep into how to overcome some of these obstacles. 4️⃣ Gen AI in finance Generative AI is everywhere nowadays, and businesses of all stripes are starting to find ways to incorporate it into workflows. [This article on the Andreessen Horowitz website]( talks about how the financial services industry may get on board the Gen AI train faster than you might expect. 5️⃣ M&As are also down "On the one hand, [valuations] have come down 30%, 40%, 50% from where they were in 2021," said Ted Smith, co-founder and president of Union Square Advisors, a technology-focused investment bank. "On the other hand, we still have interest rate uncertainty and geopolitical concerns. Nobody wants to do a bad deal even if it's cheaper than it would have been 12 months ago." [This Pitchbook article]( examines this year’s tepid M&A scene.  --------------------------------------------------------------- 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! ---------------------------------------------------------------  [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