Singapore and India deal a one-two punch this week

Uno Digital Bank, RentoMojo, Newmo, 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} One of the biggest things I’ve had to learn to do since graduating from university is money management. Often seen as some kind of “adulting,” this is a process that has taken up lots of my time in terms of research. To be honest, I wish there was a little more that the school system had done to teach students about things like this. Considering different types of investments and savings options can be a long and drawn-out process, since you have to weigh those options against your current and future needs. My fiancee and I have been looking around for a joint savings account recently. During this process, the topic of digital banks came up. I had the impression that they usually give really good rates to attract new customers, especially since these firms are much younger than traditional banks. While we haven’t made my final decision on whether to put our money in a digital bank, it seems like others have already come to a conclusion - taking the form of this week’s largest deal, which saw several investors pump capital into a Singapore-based digital bank. 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. -- Jonathan  --------------------------------------------------------------- THE BIGGEST DEALS BY COUNTRY  SG Singapore-based UnoAsia, the parent company of Uno Digital Bank in the Philippines, has [raised US$32.1 million]( in a pre-series B round. Investors include Gateway Partners, Creador Private Equity, and Nextinfinity Management. IN RentoMojo, an Indian furniture rental website, has secured US$25.2 million in series D money from Chiratae Ventures, Edelweiss Discovery Fund Series-I, and Magnetic. JP Japan-based ride-sharing firm Newmo has scored US$10.1 million for its seed round. Investors include Keio Innovation Initiative, Jafco Group, and B Dash Ventures. KR Techtaka, the South Korean company which runs a logistics system known as Argo, has received US$9.5 million for its series B round from Altos Ventures. ID Alodokter is an Indonesia-based healthtech platform. For its series D round, it [raised US$5.2 million]( from HL Mando and Beacon Venture Capital. Here’s the complete list of this week’s funding chart: [38 deals worth over US$120 million](.  ---------------------------------------------------------------  M&As  IN MapleLabs, an Indian cloud solutions provider, has been acquired by Xoriant for an undisclosed amount. IN India-based Difenz, which offers a fraud risk management system, has been acquired by Signzy. Financial terms were not disclosed. SG Healint is a Singapore-based healthtech app. It’s been [acquired by Aptar]( for an undisclosed amount. SG Contour, a Singaporean trade finance solutions provider, has been [acquired by Xalts]( at an undisclosed price.  ---------------------------------------------------------------  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.]( SG BorderDollar is a Singapore-based provider of cross-border trade finance solutions. SG OnLoop is a Singaporean generative AI startup that provides team management solutions through its platform. SG Based in Singapore, IBV is a digital money-changing marketplace. You can find the full list of fundraising startups in Asia [over here](.  ---------------------------------------------------------------  BEHIND THE GLASSWALL Fundraising often involves reaching out to multiple contacts, many of whom founders might not have dealt with before. To provide some transparency to this process, we created Glasswall, a platform for founders to give feedback and recommendations on investors. Check out the full list [here](. - ✅︎ “They give us direct feedback and guide us in the right direction. Exactly what we need as early stage founders. They expect complete transparency so please do not withhold information as they can help overcome obstacles.” - on [Forge Ventures]( - ❌ “To be fair, I think Insignia probably did something right to be one of the top few VCs in Singapore but this probably got into their head a little. The overall experience is that they see themselves as "elite" and you need to fit a certain persona to get funding from them. Think your tech bros but Singapore version.” - on [Insignia Ventures Partners]( - ✅︎ “We appreciate the rigorous DD that Openspace did on our business. We felt that this was a signal that once they are onboard as an investor they will work hard to add value, which has proven to be the case. Through the process the were very responsive, very professional and well organised and in the end willing to be flexible where it was important to us. Even though their DD feels very thorough for an early stage business, at the end of the day they do understand that there is still a lot to be figured out.” - on [Openspace](  --------------------------------------------------------------- SAIGON SUMMIT 2024: CHARTING VIETNAM’S TECH FUTURE Join Tech in Asia’s inaugural conference in Ho Chi Minh City on May 30 Did you know that Tech in Asia’s hosting its largest-ever event in Vietnam on May 30? With Vietnam’s digital economy projected to hit US$45 billion by 2025, there’s never been a more exciting time to get involved with its thriving tech scene. Designed for over 700 attendees from across the globe, Saigon Summit offers an unparalleled fusion of cultural immersion, expert learning sessions, and bespoke networking segments that foster an understanding and an appreciation of the local ecosystem as well as cross-border opportunities. Our early bird promo is ending tomorrow - [get your ticket now and save up to 50%]( while stocks last!  --------------------------------------------------------------- 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 Keep calm and carry on I’m not the best at telling when someone is in a bad mood, so there have been instances when tensions ran a bit high. In such situations, communication is key, but there’s also a small margin for error. [This article]( on Harvard Business Review lays everything out a little more clearly. 2️⃣ Are you… sure? Insurtech funding around the world dropped last year, which may worry many stakeholders in the space. Jonathan Low, partner and co-founder of consultancy firm Predictiv, says that while investors may still like the tech, the key thing with this vertical is to have patience. You can read more of his thoughts in his blog post [here](. 3️⃣ Securing the right heads It’s an age-old question: How do you get the right talent, especially when it comes to the executive level? Listen to [this podcast episode]( on Andreessen Horowitz’s site if you’d like to learn more about it. 4️⃣ Double-edged sword A couple of weeks ago, there was a huge scandal on X (formerly Twitter) when several deepfaked photos of Taylor Swift were released. It spoke to how AI, as good as it can be, can also negatively affect anyone no matter how big or powerful they are. That said, the answer to this problem could lie within the very same technology. Listen to [this podcast]( to learn more. 5️⃣ Extending the right hand If you’re an early-stage startup, this one’s for you. Angel investors and other individual or private investors may behave very differently from VCs. How can you, as an early-stage founder, reach out to them effectively? [Here’s some thoughts]( from one such angel investor himself.  --------------------------------------------------------------- [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. 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