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Hello reader,
One of my favorite things about writing this newsletter is seeing the sheer variety of startups that raise funds every week. Some weeks, consistent themes emerge. Others, it can feel like the 1985 film The Breakfast Club, with all sorts of different companies making our list of biggest deals.
This week feels like the latter at first glance, with intelligent driving, semiconductors, and even e-signatures making the list. But if you look a little deeper, there’s a common thread that ties most of these companies together: AI.
Indeed, the next opportunities for the tech will be focused on solving specific problems, instead of just AI at large. I’m excited to see what that brings.
Let’s dive into the biggest deals and M&As that recently took place.
— Stefanie
The biggest deals by market
🇨🇳 DeepWay develops intelligent driving technology. The Chinese firm raised US$310 million in late-stage funding from ABC Impact Fund, Guosheng Fund, NGS Super, Ronghe Venture Capital, and Stone Venture.
🇵🇭 Salmon, a consumer finance app based in the Philippines, bagged US$60 million in series B money from FJ Labs, Moore Strategic Ventures, Spice Expeditions, and Washington University.
🇦🇺 Syenta is an Australia-based semiconductor startup. It raised US$26 million in series A funding from National Reconstruction Fund Corporation and Playground Global.
🇸🇦 Signit is building digital trust infrastructure with its Arabic-first e-signature platform. The Saudi Arabian firm bagged US$15 million in a seed round from Raed Ventures, Seedra Ventures, STV, Suhail Ventures, and Takamol Ventures.
🇮🇳 Gaming studio LightFury Games, which is based in India, raised US$11 million in pre-series A funding from Blume Ventures, Mixi, Times Internet, and V3 Ventures.
Here’s the complete list of this week’s fundraises: 52 deals worth over US$779 million.
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