|
Hello Betamax,
Growing up, I watched The Jetsons and imagined the future would be filled with flying cars, robot helpers, and all sorts of futuristic gadgets. It seems the animated sitcom’s creators were pretty ahead of their time, given that it first aired in the 1960s.
Fast forward to 2026, we’re not quite zipping around in flying cars yet. But vehicles are starting to drive themselves, at least.
In fact, China’s autonomous delivery vehicle developer Neolix has topped this week’s biggest deals with a whopping US$400 million round, bringing its total funding to over US$1.4 billion. That’s a lot of money going into the humble delivery run.
As for the rest of this week’s list, perhaps the future is shaping up to be more practical than we imagined – from Salmon making payments more manageable to Even Healthcare rethinking access to medical services.
Flying cars can wait, I suppose. I’ve got parcels to receive.
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
🇨🇳 Hailing from China, Neolix develops autonomous delivery vehicles for urban logistics. The firm has bagged US$400 million in a series E round co-led by Boyu Capital.
🇵🇭 Salmon is a banking and lending platform based in the Philippines. It has raised a total of US$140 million financing package consisting of equity commitments and debt funding from investors including Moore Strategic Ventures, Spice Expeditions, and Washington University Investment Management Company.
🇮🇳 Even Healthcare is a managed care provider combining primary care, diagnostics, and insurance into one subscription. Headquartered in India, the firm has secured US$50 million in series B money from Alpha Wave Global and Khosla Ventures.
🇰🇷 The Hyoosik is a hospitality tech operator from South Korea. It has bagged approximately US$49 million in pre-IPO funding from TS Investment and VIP Asset Management.
🇯🇵 Kaminashi is a Japan-based firm that digitizes paper workflows for frontline workers. It has raised approximately US$14 million in series C money from Artemis Ventures, Chiba Dojo Fund, Dai-ichi Life Insurance, Incubate Fund, Kraftia Innovation Fund, Keio Rail Fund, NTT Docomo Ventures, T&D Innovation Fund, and YMFG Capital.
Here’s the complete list of this week’s funding chart: 63 deals worth over US$1.06 billion.
M&AS
🇹🇭 FreshKet, a digital food supply platform from Thailand, has been acquired by integrated food company Betagro Group. The financial details of the deal were not disclosed.
🇮🇱 Elementary Data is a data observability startup headquartered in Israel, which is located in West Asia. It has been acquired by US software company Boomi in a deal valued between US$40 million and US$45 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.
Here’s a preview of the startups:
🇭🇰 This fintech platform from Hong Kong provides AI-driven, collateral-free working capital for cross-border ecommerce businesses.
🇺🇸 This US edtech company provides a daily social-emotional learning platform with student check-ins and educator dashboards.
🇮🇳 This foodtech brand from India uses patented tech to manufacture clear, fruit-flavored protein drinks that mix with water.
You can find the full list of fundraising startups in Asia over here.
BEHIND THE GLASSWALL
 Image credit: Timmy Loen 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.
- ✅︎ “Surprisingly positive. Didn’t expect their analyst to know that much about our industry, making communication much simpler.” – Read more
- ❌ “Disastrous. Arrogant guys that are so bad it’s almost laughable.” – Read more
- ✅︎ “Illuminate has an office in Singapore. Very helpful discussions and can really feel that they are trying to add value to your journey.” – Read more
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 Idea factory
Running out of startup ideas? Fear not, as even brainstorming can now be automated. In this Fast Company piece, Idealab founder Bill Gross shares his latest project, including a freely available database of AI-generated business ideas.
2️⃣ Lost in translation
AI agents may be getting smarter, but understanding language isn’t quite the same as understanding people. Can AI navigate the cultural nuances of developing nations? Find out more in this Rest of World article.
3️⃣ Investing with the enemy
Backing direct competitors has long been an unspoken no-no in the VC world. But with AI startups increasingly overlapping, even VC firm Benchmark admits things are getting complicated. Awkward much? Read more on TechCrunch.
4️⃣ Into the promised land
AI’s enormous potential is hard to ignore. Yet getting to the promised land could mean two decades of turbulent change, warns Bill Gates. From jobs to cybersecurity, this episode of the Decoder podcast from The Verge explores why the Microsoft co-founder thinks governments need to take a bigger role in managing the tech’s risks.
5️⃣ Not-so-smart TV
Remember when TVs just played shows? Some viewers have been so fed up with software updates, intrusive ads, and privacy concerns that they’re going to great lengths to keep their TVs dumb. One even took a rock to his screen, according to this Guardian piece.
Today’s edition was written by Lilian Tang. It’s edited by Mina Deocareza.
|
