FOMO Saturday

Hello reader,

Who doesn't love a good garage startup story? There's something exciting about the idea that a big company can begin with just a couple of founders and their laptops, a humble home garage, and cheap meals fueling an ambitious dream.

But this week's funding list is a reminder that not all startups can be built this way - some businesses need more than grit and a Wi-Fi connection.

At the top is China's Robotera, which is working on embodied AI and humanoid robotics. The firm raised a large round backed by state-linked and industrial investors. Also on the list is Gestala, a healthtech startup developing brain-computer interface technology.

While these companies belong to different sectors, they both sit in spaces where the cost of trying is high, timelines are long, and investors need a lot of patience.

Sure, big ideas still shape the future, but some get expensive before they get exciting.

You can find all other important investment deals from the last few days in our weekly funding news wrap-up.

Let's dive into the biggest deals and M&As that have recently taken place.

-- Lilian

THE BIGGEST DEALS BY MARKET

🇨🇳 Based in China, Robotera develops humanoid robots, service robots, and dexterous robotic hands. The firm has bagged US$148 million in a strategic funding round from China Chengtong Holdings, Guoyuan Equity, Hangzhou Capital, Hony Capital, Houxue Capital, Jiangxi State-Owned Private Equity Fund, Juntai Capital, and Ubiquant.

🇮🇱 Alta aims to enhance sales and revenue management using AI-powered virtual agents. Headquartered in Israel, which is located in West Asia, the startup has raised US$25 million in series A money from Entrée Capital, IN Venture, LeumiTech, Mindset Ventures, Target Global, and Verissimo Ventures.

🇮🇳 Adage Automation, an industrial gas analytics and environmental monitoring company from India, has secured US$24.2 million in a series A round. Participating investors were Global South Capital, InCred Growth Partners Fund, and Prachetas Capital.

🇦🇪 Whiteshield is an AI-native policy intelligence company. The United Arab Emirates-based firm has bagged US$15 million in debt financing from Ruya Partners.

🇦🇺 Wildfire Energy develops renewable energy technology for gasification and waste-to-energy applications. Hailing from Australia, the company has raised US$1.3 million in seed funding from Airbus Ventures and Qantas.

Here's the complete list of this week's funding chart: 46 deals worth over US$332 million.

M&AS

🇲🇾 OS HRS, a Malaysia-based payroll and outsourcing provider serving the Asia Pacific region, has been acquired by HR tech and payroll firm AscentHR. The financial details of the deal were not disclosed.

🇮🇳 BTG, a creative agency based in India, has been acquired by media and venture platform WTF for an undisclosed amount.

🇮🇳 Superclaims is an AI-powered health insurance claims adjudication platform based in India. The firm has been acquired by healthtech company Ekincare 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.

Here's a preview of the startups:

🇸🇬 This startup from Singapore is building autonomous bathroom-cleaning robots.

🇮🇳 This firm based in India specializes in elite wealth management.

🇮🇩 Headquartered in Indonesia, this startup helps enterprises automate reconciliation processes.

You can find the full list of fundraising startups in Asia over here.

BEHIND THE GLASSWALL

Fundraising often involves reaching out to several 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.

• ✅︎ "One of the fastest and most uncomplicated investors I have ever experienced." - Read more
• ❌ "Unclear what XA network is supposed to be. Seems anyone can be part of the network. In the pitch, you will meet with a random group of people with no clear added value." - Read more
• ✅︎ "They invest in funds as well but have Singapore-centric requirements. They are LPs in some of the other better reviewed funds listed here. Quite discerning." - Read more

TURN AI AMBITION INTO PRODUCTION OUTCOMES

Gain practical insights from leaders scaling AI across Asia

At a time when many organizations are still testing the waters with small AI projects, FairPrice Group, HEINEKEN, and AI Singapore are already committing to full-scale production.

This main stage session at Tech in Asia Conference 2026 goes behind the scenes of agentic AI deployments across 570 touchpoints and AI-driven sales tools running in global markets. You'll learn the tactical playbooks, the art of making tough decisions, and the unexpected lessons these leaders encountered while bridging the gap between experimentation and measurable ROI.

Join 1,500 enterprise leaders in Singapore this September to move past the "what-if" and gain the clarity you need to lead the enterprise AI era.

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 The content bargain

When The Atlantic made a deal with OpenAI, was it protecting the future of journalism or feeding the machine that might eat it? This Harvard Business Review podcast episode discusses what the partnership means for the media landscape.

2️⃣ Listen up, perfectionists

In this episode of the Masters of Scale podcast, Zynga founder Mark Pincus talks about building breakout products and why founders may need to launch before things feel fully polished. Find out why he thinks you should "test more ideas in a week than your industry tests in a year."

3️⃣ AI carries the group project

Crunchbase says global startup investment hit a record US$510 billion in H1 2026 - but don't celebrate too quickly. OpenAI and Anthropic alone accounted for over 40% of all startup funding in the period. The broader venture market is still showing signs of strength even if a few AI giants are doing the heavy lifting, as discussed in this piece.

4️⃣ Temasek catches the AI bug

The Singapore state investor wants a bigger slice of AI, and honestly, who doesn't these days? This Reuters piece looks at how Temasek plans to boost its AI exposure over the next five years, while also putting more money into private credit and infrastructure.

5️⃣ Old apps, new owner

Milan-based company Bending Spoons has gone public after building a portfolio that includes names like AOL, Vimeo, and WeTransfer. This TechCrunch piece might be worth a read because the firm's rise says something interesting about tech's next phase. Not every winner needs to invent a new category.

Today's edition was written by Lilian Tang. It's edited by Mina Deocareza.