China and India share the top spots in investment deals

Mogo Auto, Ripplr, Flash Coffee, 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} I recently started watching Peaky Blinders, a show that’s set in early 20th-century England. It’s really great, and the acting and writing is all top-notch so far, save for some small hiccups. A major aspect of this crime drama is how many characters are motivated by money. The funny thing is, the raw dollar amounts being bandied about in that period are really low compared to today. For instance, £10 (US$12.50) is seen as a very large sum for the average working class man. Fast forward to today, and we regularly see billions of dollars being moved around each day. In particular, it’s not uncommon for startups to get eight-figure investments in a single fundraising round too. Such is the case for this latest week of fundraising deals, with much of them taking place in China and India. I wonder what Tommy Shelby would think of that. 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 Mogo Auto is a Chinese AI firm that develops smart car devices and systems. It got US$84.3 million in series C money from Chengdu Science and Technology Venture Capital Group, Tencent, Yixin Group, and Zhuhai Haidu Science and Technology Venture Capital. IN Ripplr, an India-based logistics and distribution startup, raised US$40 million in a series B round from 3one4 Capital, Alteria Capital, Bikaji, Fireside Ventures, Neo Foods, Northern Arc Capital, Sojitz Corporation, Stride Ventures, Trifecta Capital, and Zephyr Peacock India. SG Singapore-based Flash Coffee netted [US$50 million]( for its series B round from investors such as Conny & Co., Delivery Hero, Geschwister Oetker, and White Star Capital. JP Elephantech is a Japanese hardware firm that develops printed electronics manufacturing technology and provides related services. It secured a US$6.75 million investment from Daishi Hokuetsu Financial Group, JICN, ME Innovation Fund, Mizuho Capital, QB Capital, Shinsei Corporate Investment, and Wing Capital Partners. KR Wave Lifestyle Tech, the Korea-based foodtech firm that operates Out Now, bagged a US$3 million series A round from Lighthouse Combined Investment, Shinhan Capital, Shinhan Venture Investment, Signite Partners, and Springcamp. Here’s the complete list of this week’s funding chart: [53 deals worth over US$279 million](.  ---------------------------------------------------------------  M&As  VN Mclass, a Vietnamese edtech startup, has been [acquired by Ruangguru]( for an undisclosed amount. KR Korea-based BBTree, which operates a digital stock content service, has been acquired by Sandoll Meta Lab. Financial terms were not disclosed.  ---------------------------------------------------------------  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](.  VN MyStorage is a Vietnamese firm that provides proptech storage solutions for both individuals and businesses. IN India-based Black is an app that helps users discover independent and purpose-driven brands. SG MyTravelThru is a Singaporean firm that connects traveling passengers to local transportation providers. You can find the full list of fundraising startups in Asia [over here](.  ---------------------------------------------------------------  KILLER PITCH DECKS 1️⃣ The pitch deck that helped a group-buying platform raise US$32 million Otipy is the first community group-buying platform for fresh produce in India. It used [this pitch deck]( to secure series B funding in 2022. Otipy’s presentation is concise and well designed, with colorful contents. It also explains how the startup will be able to solve common issues faced by sellers of fresh produce online. 2️⃣ The deck that helped a Singapore co-living startup land 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 score its seed round from undisclosed angel investors in 2022. The deck introduces Bespoke Habitat and its team, and then highlights the solutions the firm offers. The presentation also shares the startup’s unique selling point and business model. 3️⃣ A banking app used this pitch deck to close a US$24.3 million series C round Monzo allows users to spend, save, and manage their money all in one place. With [this pitch deck]( the UK-based company took home US$24.3 million in series C funding from Thrive Capital, Passion Capital, and Orange Digital Ventures. The deck begins with Monzo’s mission statement and goes on to state the problems the company aims to solve. The presentation also gives a glimpse of the machine learning technology that it uses.  --------------------------------------------------------------- TECH IN ASIA'S PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT CONFERENCE 2023 Uncover the driving forces behind top companies' most successful products Big companies, big speakers - that’s what we’ve got in store for you at Product Development Conference 2023. Hear from the likes of Irene Santoso, head of product and customer value management at Bank Jago; Isaac Tay, vice president of product at ShopBack; and Philipp Kandal, chief product officer of Grab. There’s less than a week to go before PDC happens, so [get your tickets now](  --------------------------------------------------------------- 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 Tables and chairs No one really knows much about anything when they’re just starting out, much less things like cap tables, for instance. [In this Reddit thread]( a new startup founder asks some important questions about optimizing cap tables for a series A firm. 2️⃣ Will true creativity survive? As a writer, it’s intimidating to see how much generative AI will affect jobs like mine in the coming years. Until now, however, true human creativity can’t really be replicated. Or can it? [This podcast]( discusses generative AI’s disruption of the creative industry. 3️⃣ While we’re on AI AI-generated art looks cool and all, but I wonder if there’s going to be a point at which people start seriously collecting this type of artwork. [AVC shares]( some AI-generated art pieces that wouldn’t look out of place in a real art collection. 4️⃣ Everyone, everywhere, all at once To get real change going, it’s actually better to do the opposite. Small changes may be fine, but large, organizational ones might seem impossible if you’re just one person. [This article]( gives some tips on how to get there. 5️⃣ Fall down seven times, get up eight I really admire persistence and grit. When the going gets tough, great people (not just leaders) never back down. That said, there’s a lot more nuance to crisis management than just “dealing with it.” Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky gives some great insight into how the company [came back from the brink of death](.  --------------------------------------------------------------- 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)!  ---------------------------------------------------------------  [ADVERTISE]( | [SUBSCRIBE]( | [HIRE]( | [FIND JOBS]( P.S. 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