Ev firms put pedal to the metal

Lazada, Farizon Auto, RenewBuy, 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} As someone who’s on the younger side - or at least I like to think so - I’m acutely aware of the environmental catastrophes awaiting me in the coming decades due to climate change. I’m not one to splurge money on a car, and I know that electric vehicles have significant hurdles to overcome before they make inroads. But I do think that EV development should at least steer us in the right direction. It’s always nice to see a sector that can offer large-scale benefits to get the funding it needs, and the star of the week is none other than the EV industry. You can find all other important investment deals that happened over 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. -- Jonathan  --------------------------------------------------------------- THE BIGGEST DEALS BY COUNTRY SG Lazada, the Singapore-based ecommerce major, has [raised US$845 million]( in late-stage funding from Alibaba. CN China-based Farizon Auto, which manufactures electric and hybrid trucks, has secured a US$600 million series A round. Investors include Boyu Capital, Yuexiu Industrial Fund, United Clean Energy, and Linjiang Industry Group. IN RenewBuy, an India-based comparison platform for motor insurance, has raised US$40 million in series D money from Dai-ichi Life Group. ID Maka Motors, an Indonesian maker of electric motorcycles. It raised a US$37.6 million seed round from AC Ventures, AlfaCorp, Beenext, East Ventures, Kinesys Group, M Venture Partners, Northstar Group, and Openspace Ventures, among others. PH Filipino fintech firm Salmon has raised US$20 million in debt funding from Argentem Creek Partners. Here’s the complete list of this week’s funding chart: [61 deals worth over US$1.8 billion](.  ---------------------------------------------------------------  M&As SG TransCab, a Singaporean taxi company, has been [acquired by ride-hailing major Grab]( for an undisclosed amount. TH FoodStory is a Thai startup that provides dine-in and delivery management services for F&B outlets. It has been [acquired for an undisclosed]( amount by local conglomerate Line Man Wongnai. IN Flatheads, a direct-to-consumer footwear brand based in India, has been acquired by Styched. The financial details of the deal were not disclosed. IN Neowise Technologies, an Indian full-stack collections technology platform, has been acquired by Decentro for an undisclosed amount.  ---------------------------------------------------------------  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 Pasar Segar is an Indonesian online marketplace for groceries. HK Omnichat is a B2B software-as-a-service startup based in Hong Kong that focuses on omnichannel messenger marketing and commerce. IN Flameback Capital is an Indian startup that provides investment advisory services. You can find the full list of fundraising startups in Asia [over here](.  ---------------------------------------------------------------  KILLER PITCH DECKS  1️⃣ A Sequoia-backed startup used this deck to secure US$60 million in series C funding US-based Ethos uses machine learning and data science to underwrite life insurance without the need for medical exams, blood tests, or complex paperwork. The insurtech startup used [this pitch deck]( to raise US$60 million in its series C funding round. It introduces Ethos’ vision and its roadmap, which is geared towards untangling problems in the insurance industry. The presentation goes on to explain how the company’s services simplify the traditional process of applying for insurance. 2️⃣ The pitch deck that helped a smart mobility startup get series A funding Govicle was founded in 2015 to build a vehicle data exchange in Southeast Asia. Last year, the Malaysian startup used [this pitch deck]( to raise series A money from TheVentures, a South Korean seed investor. The presentation begins with an overview of Govicle, its vision, and the problems it aims to solve. The deck also details Govicle’s traction, business model, and milestones. 3️⃣ An Indian healthtech firm bagged US$15 million with this deck Eka Care, which digitizes healthcare records, used [this pitch deck]( to raise US$15 million for its series A round. The presentation starts off by showing how well the company’s platform has done in the last six months, including displaying metrics like app installs and app store ratings. The rest of the deck explains about how Eka Care works, the team behind it, and why external factors make it an especially attractive investment.  --------------------------------------------------------------- MY STARTUP BOOTCAMP BY TECH IN ASIA SCHOOL Take a free nine-week course to launch a tech startup in Malaysia Do you want to establish a startup in Malaysia but don't know how? MYStartup and Tech in Asia are looking for formidable founders to join our nine-week course, which will begin in September 2023. Meet and mingle with experienced founders from Southeast Asia and learn startup basics including: - The founder's path and big Idea - The MVP and growth curve - The founding team and finances - The investment process and pitch Our mentors will also be on hand during office hours to answer all your questions. You can take this course - usually priced at US$1,999 - for free, thanks to MYStartup. Limited slots are available - [apply now]( for this unique opportunity!  --------------------------------------------------------------- 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 Getting to the finish line Tech funding going down typically means that it’s harder to close sales across the board. If your sales team’s performance appears to be dropping, why not try executing sprints? This Harvard Business Review [article]( shares more. 2️⃣ Bringing it to the masses Every company relies on data in some form or another. But systems of collecting and managing data, among other actions, can be poorly designed for developers. To learn more about the right way to go about it, check out [this article](. It may be a little technical, but you’ll get some useful insights once you sift through it. 3️⃣ The long run for AI With AI companies and engineers, a famous line from the first Jurassic Park film seems to apply: they’re “preoccupied with whether or not they could,” but “they didn't stop to think if they should.” As the tech develops further, what roads could it go down in the coming years? [Check out this podcast]( to find out more. 4️⃣ Taking AI further gaming AI has long been a part of video games, and it’s always interesting to see how the tech can create new experiences for gamers every time a new capability is introduced or a new feature discovered. With the recent explosion of generative AI, could we see [yet another leap in AI for gaming]( 5️⃣ Feelin’ the vibes Group vibes can make or break your team members. After all, no one wants to come in and have to deal with everyone else’s bad mood or lack of motivation. Want to fix that? [Here’s how](.  --------------------------------------------------------------- [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 Jonathan Chew. It’s edited by Dhania Putri Sarahtika. Copyright © 2023 Tech in Asia, All rights reserved. 63 Robinson Road, Singapore 068894