Of milestones and memories

Tabby, Chengshi, Honasa Consumer, 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 you’re probably aware, Tech in Asia achieved a significant milestone this week: We’re [getting acquired]( by SPH Media! After years of documenting other startups’ milestones - from pre-seed rounds to public market debuts - it’s thrilling to have achieved this. After all, an exit is like the “ultimate goal” of a startup - a conclusion to this chapter of its life and the beginning of a new adventure. This has gotten me thinking about milestones in general. While they aren’t the be-all and end-all, they’re a nice checkpoint to take stock of where you are and what you achieved. I’d like to think that’s what today’s featured startups are doing, after raising fresh funding and going through M&As of their own. 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  AE Tabby is a buy now, pay later firm from the United Arab Emirates. It raised US$200 million in series D money from Arbor Ventures, Blue Pool Capital, Mubadala Investment Company, PayPal Ventures, STV, and Wellington Management. CN Chengshi, a Chinese maker of electric delivery vehicles, secured US$136.6 million in a series B round, with Ganfeng Lithium, Gravity Investments, and Hidden Hill Capital participating. IN Honasa Consumer is the parent company of beauty brands Mamaearth and The Derma Co. Based in India, it got US$91.8 million in a late-stage round. Investors include Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, Aditya Birla Ventures, Axis Mutual Fund, Carmignac, Fidelity Investments, Franklin Templeton Investments, and Goldman Sachs. MY Axiata Digital & Analytics is the data and AI unit of Malaysian telco Axiata. It [received a strategic investment]( of US$58 million from Mitsui & Co. HK Hong-Kong based Animoca Brands is a mobile games developer and publisher. It has bagged US$50 million in a strategic investment from Neom. Here’s the complete list of this week’s funding chart: [64 deals worth over US$1.2 billion](.  ---------------------------------------------------------------  M&As SG Tech in Asia (that’s us!) has been acquired by SPH Media, Singapore’s largest news publisher. The financial details of the deal were not disclosed. IN Yumlane, a cloud kitchen brand from India, has been acquired by Curefoods for an undisclosed sum. IN Tango Eye converts surveillance videos into actionable insights for the retail industry. Based in India, it was acquired by Lenskart for an undisclosed price. IN AppSquadz Software, a web and app developer based in India, has been acquired by AppX. The financial details of the deal are not publicly available.  ---------------------------------------------------------------  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]( KR Realry is a South Korean aggregator of global luxury and contemporary fashion sites. SG A2Eship is a tech-enabled cross-border logistics platform based in Singapore. ID Based in Indonesia, Finalitika offers comprehensive financial solutions focused on MSMEs. You can find the full list of fundraising startups in Asia [over here](.  ---------------------------------------------------------------  KILLER PITCH DECKS 1️⃣ An AI map startup’s deck helped it score US$6.2 million from Microsoft’s venture fund NextBillion provides AI mapping solutions to enterprises that allow them to expand in emerging and developed markets. In 2021, the Singapore-based company used [this pitch deck]( to secure a series A extension round from M12. The well-designed presentation introduces NextBillion’s mapping platform and its additional capabilities. It also provides case studies that reveal the traction that the startup has gained. 2️⃣ This pitch deck helped a Sequoia-backed startup secure US$60 million in series C funding US-based Ethos uses machine learning and data science to underwrite life insurance without the need of medical exams, blood tests, or complex paperwork. With [this pitch deck]( the firm raised US$60 million series C money. The presentation introduces Ethos’ vision and its roadmap, which is geared toward untangling problems in the insurance industry. The next slides explain how the company’s services simplify the traditional process of applying for insurance. 3️⃣ A blockchain payment startup nabbed 500 Startups financing via this pitch deck Portugal-based Utrust helps merchants accept digital currencies and provides rewards for transactions and payments made within the app. In 2018, it used [this pitch deck]( to raise funding from 500 Startups. The presentation explains how cryptocurrency is the future of money in an increasingly digital society, and then breaks down Utrust’s service and how it differs from existing payment technologies.  --------------------------------------------------------------- AN EXCLUSIVE GATHERING OF SENIOR BUSINESS LEADERS RSVP to meet executives from Meta, P&G, GoTo, UOB, Agoda, and more! Are you ready to spice up your decision-making game and get creative with your global scaling strategies? For one night only, Tech in Asia and G-P are holding an event for senior business leaders, talent managers, and founders that you wouldn’t want to miss! Happening at Bridge+ on November 16, link up with peers from Meta, P&G, GoTo, UOB, Oracle, Agoda, Obayashi, VMLY&R, Ant Group, Circles.Life, and more to get inside scoops and helpful tips to supercharge your decision-making strategies. You’ll be in for a casual and insightful evening filled with networking opportunities, free-flowing refreshments, fun quizzes, an interactive panel, an open Q&A, a modern calligraphy activity, and more - it’s all on the house! There’s only a handful of spots left so hurry! [RSVP here to claim your seat before it’s snatched up](.  --------------------------------------------------------------- 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 Using AI the right way As generative AI takes the world by storm, concerns around the ethics of the technology have come to the forefront. In [this Masters of Scale podcast]( host Reid Hoffman speaks to a panel of AI experts to learn more about how people can ethically build and use AI for a brighter future. 2️⃣ Warren Buffett’s right-hand man ain’t no fan of VCs Billionaire Charlie Munger shared some of his perspectives on VCs in a recent podcast, saying that “you don’t want to make money by screwing your investors, and that’s what a lot of venture capitalists do.” Check out [this article on Fortune]( to find out more about his thoughts. 3️⃣ Transparency and diversity California has passed its first-ever legislation that will make VC firms gather and disclose diversity data from founders of portfolio companies. The goal is to show the diversity of the founding teams that local VC firms are backing. While the new law won’t go into effect until 2025 and may face issues that could delay its implementation, investors and startups both in and outside the US should still take note. Read more [here](. 4️⃣ Rise of the climate tech funds Climate tech funds have raised some of their biggest rounds in 2023 despite the ongoing tech winter and funding slowdown. [This Venture Capital Journal piece]( explores why these funds are having their moment and how things have changed over the years. 5️⃣ Confessions of a middle-class founder This newsletter may be geared toward VCs, but VCs also benefit from understanding the perspectives of the founders they work with. [This heartfelt account]( of a founder who got into the startup world just so he could strike it rich sheds some light on what goes on in the minds of folks who walk the entrepreneurial path.  --------------------------------------------------------------- [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