India on the up?

Avanse Financial Services, Nullmax, Xpanceo, 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} Scanning through our list of startups that raised funds this week, I was struck by the number of Indian firms. Among the 10 startups that raised the most money in the past week, half of them came from India. I’m not sure if this is just a coincidence or the result of something else going on that I’m not aware of, but it definitely gave me a little bit of hope. As the funding winter continues to dig its claws into the startup scene, it’s heartening to see companies that are still raising money. I’m hoping the uptick we saw in India this week is a sign of something brighter on the horizon for the rest of the region. 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 that recently took place. -- Stefanie  --------------------------------------------------------------- THE BIGGEST DEALS BY COUNTRY  IN Avanse Financial Services is a fintech firm that provides affordable education financing solutions for Indian students and institutions. It raised US$145 million in a debt round from Standard Chartered. CN Nullmax, a Chinese firm that uses computer vision, deep learning, and AI to produce autonomous driving solutions, has raised US$106.8 million in series B financing from Shanghai Stonehill Technology. AE Xpanceo is a deeptech company from the United Arab Emirates that is developing smart contact lenses. It bagged US$40 million in seed money from Opportunity Ventures. ID Stilt Studios, a manufacturer of modular homes based in Indonesia, [has raised US$10 million]( in a series A round led by Christian Hymer, whose family founded German motorhome manufacturer Hymer. PH RuralNet is a fintech startup that offers insurance and other financial services in the Philippines. It raised US$2.2 million in seed money from Foxmont Capital Partners, Gentree Fund, Kaya Founders, and Kickstart Ventures. Here’s the complete list of this week’s funding chart: [43 deals worth over US$697 million](.  ---------------------------------------------------------------  M&As ID Lamudi’s businesses in Indonesia and the Philippines [have been acquired]( by Asian classifieds firm Digital Classifieds Group 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]( PH Myverse is a startup from the Philippines that aims to be a hybrid of all social platforms ever developed. SG A2Eship provides a cross-border logistics platform connecting consumers with overseas merchants. It is based in Singapore. VN Toothless is a Vietnam-based firm that develops no-code cognitive solutions for businesses. You can find the full list of fundraising startups in Asia [over here](.  ---------------------------------------------------------------  KILLER PITCH DECKS 1️⃣ This pitch deck helped a cloud-based accounting firm secure pre-seed funding Bukku offers cloud-based services for small businesses in Malaysia. In 2021, it used [this pitch deck]( to raise US$172,000 in pre-seed money from six undisclosed investors. Simple, neatly designed, and easy to understand, the deck compares Bukku’s business model with other cloud accounting solution providers. 2️⃣ An ecommerce enabler raised seed money via this pitch deck Prosperna offers affordable ecommerce software to help Philippine MSMEs set up online shops. It used [this pitch deck]( to raise US$450,000 in its seed round from UBX in 2021. The deck has a clean and uncluttered design that strikes a balance between text and visuals. It also conveys Prosperna’s mission and business model well. 3️⃣ This pitch deck helped a coffee firm close a US$6.5 million series A round Sleepy Owl is a Delhi-based firm that serves ready-to-drink coffee.To secure its series A round, the startup used [this pitch deck]( which shares its expectations on how the coffee market will develop both locally and globally.  --------------------------------------------------------------- AN EXCLUSIVE GATHERING OF APAC’S FINEST STRATEGY  Get a ticket to this networking mixer on November 14 As Singapore establishes itself as a global financial hub, Tech in Asia and Airwallex are putting together an evening for senior strategy, growth, product, and payment leaders to unwind and connect. Join fellow decision-makers and industry peers on November 14 and soak up Singapore’s cityscapes from Honcho’s scenic rooftop bar. You’ll be in for a relaxed and casual mixer with fun drinks and light bites - all refreshments are on the house! Level up your payment game while rubbing elbows with experts from Red Dot Payment and more (to be revealed soon!) to get inside scoops and helpful tips. [Get your ticket]( to this invite-only event and build lasting connections. Slots are limited so secure yours 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 For the planet [A recent report]( by PricewaterhouseCoopers has found that while investments into climate tech startups have fallen over 40% in the last year, it has taken less of a hit compared to the global venture capital industry. The report said that climate tech has a "growing share of a muted market.” 2️⃣ To infinity and beyond Funding funneled to space startups across the globe [has risen]( in Q3 2023 year on year, the first time in over a year that it has done so. That said, rising interest rates and inflation may dampen the sector’s recovery. 3️⃣ Funding dollars for women founders It’s a known fact that women founders face greater obstacles with getting funding. Sarah Chen-Spellings, founder of Beyond the Billion - a global consortium of over 100 VC funds that looks to invest US$1 billion in women founders globally - shares her perspectives on the reasons behind the lack of funding for women-founded businesses and how she aims to address that gap [in this Tatler podcast](. 4️⃣ AI and you We’ve all heard about how generative AI can help improve business processes or unlock new ways for firms to scale. But how can AI help people with their personal goals? In [this Masters of Scale podcast]( host Reid Hoffman hears from a panel of different AI experts - from a researcher to an artist - to learn more about the role of AI in personal growth. 5️⃣ Being a woman in SEA’s “boys club” VC industry Having more women in the VC space is crucial for driving growth and diversity in the region. In [this piece]( for Her World, Carmen Yuen, general partner at Vertex Ventures Southeast Asia and India, shares some insights on her journey as an investor and how she navigated the “boys club” that is the region’s VC space.  --------------------------------------------------------------- [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 Stefanie Yeo. It’s edited by Dhania Putri Sarahtika. Copyright © 2023 Tech in Asia, All rights reserved. 63 Robinson Road, Singapore 068894