Chinese firm puts the pedal to the metal

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Hello reader,

When DeepSeek launched its AI model a few months ago, many in the western tech community were shocked. Investors briefly panicked, causing shares in AI firms to tumble. For instance, Nvidia’s share price dropped by almost 17%.

I thought it was an interesting moment. It seemed like US tech firms finally realized their Chinese counterparts could not only keep up but also surpass them in certain areas. Overall, it feels like Chinese startups have been taken a lot more seriously since then.

Beyond DeepSeek, it helps that other Chinese firms are doing extremely well in terms of funding. Read on to find out which company has topped this week’s list.

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 and M&As that recently took place.

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The biggest deals by country

🇨🇳 SAIC Mobility is a Chinese car rental provider. It has raised US$180 million in series C money, although the investors were not specified.

🇮🇱 Classiq Technologies, an Israeli quantum computing startup, has secured US$110 million in series C funding. Participating investors included Clal Industries, Entrée Capital, HSBC, and Team8.

🇮🇩 Indonesian fintech firm Amartha has gotten a US$55 million loan from Swedfund, Finnfund, and the Belgian Investment Company for Developing Countries.

🇯🇵 Utaite, an entertainment company based in Japan, has scored US$53.9 million in a series B round. Participating investors included Tencent, TBS Innovation Partners, and Bandai Namco Entertainment 021 Fund.

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M&As

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Startups that are raising funds

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Behind the Glasswall

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Asia’s leaders must align now to navigate what’s next

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Exclusive listicles

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Thoughtful tidbits