What's a million between a couple of hundred-million deals?

Capillary Technologies, Unitree Robotics, Shadowfax, 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} During one Sports Day in primary school, I participated in a “novelty race.” Basically, this was an event that also used props as part of the race; for example, you had to balance a beanbag on your head as you ran. Anyway, I was on course to finish second, but because I decided to hop and stop on the finish line instead of running right through, I was judged to have finished third (the person behind me ran through). It didn’t really bother me at the time, but in hindsight, that was a bit of a waste, wasn’t it? I bring this up because just a mere US$1 million separates the top two funded firms in today’s newsletter. I expect they don’t actually care, especially since they closed big-money deals - this is really just me taking the opportunity to reminisce about my childhood a little bit. Anyway, 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. -- Winston  --------------------------------------------------------------- THE BIGGEST DEALS BY COUNTRY  SG Capillary Technologies is a Singaporean firm that develops AI-powered, digital technologies and retail customer relationship management solutions. It secured US$140 million in series D funding from 57 Stars, Avataar Ventures, and Filter Capital, among others. CN Based in China, Unitree Robotics is a robot developer. It closed a US$139 million series B funding round, with investors including the likes of China Internet Investment Fund, Dunhong Capital, and GoldStone Investment. IN Indian logistics startup Shadowfax, which offers last-mile delivery solutions focused on online-first brands, has secured [US$100 million in series E funding](. TPG NewQuest led the round, while ecommerce giant Flipkart also participated. KR Flexcil, the South Korean company that developed a note-taking and PDF reader app, has received US$37.5 million in early-stage funding from Crescendo Equity Partners. ID Sun Energy is a solar project developer in Indonesia. It got US$32 million in debt financing from Bank Permata. Here’s the complete list of this week’s funding chart: [68 deals worth over US$840 million](.  ---------------------------------------------------------------  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 Onda is a South Korean hospitality technology and data startup that enables properties around the world to increase their online sales and operational efficiency. SG Based in Singapore, Tessera is an event management platform that helps organizers maintain transparency and control. It aims to address availability and trust issues among event goers. ID Indonesian firm Paras Digital builds a scalable multichain infrastructure, with a focus on bitcoin. 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](. - ✅︎ “Great chatting with them, raised some good questions and was timely and courteous when passing on us while providing reasons.” - [Read more]( - ❌ “After courting us since we were early days to bringing us for a review, months of discussions, several ICs and an extensive due diligence process, the partner ghosted us and it's been four months since the last we spoke and till this day after we have closed our round, they have not officially told us anything about rejecting us.” - [Read more]( - ✅︎ “Unlike other investors, their focus went beyond just financials. They truly dug into our vision, especially how it aligned with Singapore's growth goals. It felt like a collaborative brainstorming session, with them suggesting potential partnerships and market entry strategies specific to the region. They even connected us with industry experts for validation, adding credibility to our proposal. The entire process was transparent and supportive, leaving us confident in our partnership even before securing the investment.” - [Read more](  --------------------------------------------------------------- TECH IN ASIA CONFERENCE 2024 The rise of Malaysia’s tech ecosystem The Tech in Asia Conference is back! This year, we’re thrilled to be hosting our flagship event not just in Jakarta but also at a new stop: Kuala Lumpur. Set for July 24 to 25, TIA Conference KL aims to provide a platform for founders, leaders, and innovators from Southeast Asia to come together, foster connections, and exchange insights on Malaysia's untapped potential. Through thought-provoking panels, curated networking sessions, and dedicated exhibition opportunities, attendees will gain fresh perspectives on what’s next for the country’s tech ecosystem. Tickets to this event are available now. Catch our early bird special, with prices starting from just US$40 (US$80 unit price) for a General Pass. [Grab yours while the offer lasts](  --------------------------------------------------------------- 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 After zero to one, comes one to many Most startups begin with offering one key solution, but this can very quickly become several as a company gets to know its clientele better and aims to solve multiple pain points. [This First Round Review article]( features a former Stripe product manager as she takes us through the process of going “multi-product.” 2️⃣ When empathy goes too far It’s now well-known that a firm describing its culture as “like a family” is a bit of a red flag - but even in the most professional of settings, humans still work with humans, and feelings and emotions are a natural part of any such ecosystem. Empathy for colleagues is important, but we should all be careful of being emotionally manipulated into doing anything that’s detrimental to our personal well-being. This [piece on Harvard Business Review (HBR)]( explains further. 3️⃣ Get AI to help hire your next great employee I firmly believe that AI tools can help us work better, and that appears to be the case in hiring as well, if [this Sifted article]( is any indication. Click in to read some tips for using AI as part of the recruitment process. 4️⃣ Spilling the tea with Klarna Last week, Sequoia Capital partner Matt Miller, with the support of his firm, asked Klarna’s shareholders to remove Michael Moritz, Sequoia’s former chairperson, from the fintech company’s board. Then on Tuesday, the VC firm withdrew its request and apologized, and two days later, it replaced Miller with Andrew Reed as board member. Read more juicy deets [here](. 5️⃣ Don’t be hasty when thinking of changing jobs In a climate where the threat of layoffs looms large (and sometimes just straight up happens), many people are being a little more “mobile” in their thinking when it comes to their career. But before you make any drastic changes, it’s best to be educated about it. This [HBR article]( shares some tips.  --------------------------------------------------------------- [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 Winston Zhang. It’s edited by Dhania Putri Sarahtika. Copyright © 2024 Tech in Asia, All rights reserved. 63 Robinson Road, Singapore 068894