It’s not a Barbie World, but we’re alright

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Hello readers,

I recently watched the new Barbie movie, directed by Greta Gerwig and starring Margot Robbie. I loved it so much. It’s possibly one of my favorite movies ever. I might make it my entire personality.

Without spoiling the plot, I’ll just say that one of the key realizations Barbie has in the movie is that the Real World is nothing like Barbieland, and it’s quite a rude awakening for her.

I feel like that’s been the case for a lot of startup founders the past six months – with the ongoing funding winter and economic situation in general, the startup life has lost a lot of its shine, and founders have had to face some harsh realities.

But still, people keep on keeping on, and we’re still seeing great companies come up, raise funds, and work toward tackling real problems in the world despite the odds. And that is fantastic.

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

Let’s dive into the biggest deals and M&As that recently took place.

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The biggest deals by country

🇮🇳 GreenCell Mobility is an India-based e-bus manufacturer. It raised US$366 million in debt financing from Rural Electrification Corporation.

🇨🇳 Based in China, Astronergy is an intelligent manufacturing enterprise focusing on photovoltaic modules. It got US$280.1 million in a series C round.

🇸🇬 MariBank, a Singapore-based digital bank that is a wholly owned subsidiary of Sea Group, has received a strategic investment of US$172.5 million from its parent firm.

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M&As

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Startups that are raising funds

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Killer pitch decks

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Take a free nine-week course to launch a tech startup in Malaysia

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Exclusive listicles

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Thoughtful reads