The future of cars is electric

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Hello readers,

Movies set in the future usually depict a world of flying cars, with no need for roads. But in reality, the future of cars is probably electric.

And it looks like Chinese tech titan Alibaba Group knows this, having just participated in a strategic investment round worth US$1.49 billion into electric-vehicle (EV) firm Zhiji Motors. The round was led by state-owned motor firm SAIC and tops this week’s fundraising charts.

With Zhiji Motors taking a market-oriented approach to its business instead of the state-owned one adopted by its lead investor, it’s possible that a future in which EVs are the norm is a lot nearer than we think.

I’d suggest holding off on making cars fly, though. They’re scary enough without having to worry about one falling on me while I’m out and about.

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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BIGGEST DEALS BY COUNTRY

🇨🇳 Zhiji Motors: This Chinese EV firm raised US$1.49 billion from Alibaba Group, SAIC Motor, and ZJ Innopark.

🇮🇳 PhonePe: The India-based mobile payment app bagged US$700 million from Walmart.

🇮🇱 MitrAssist: This healthtech startup got US$50 million from FosunPharma and Ping An Group.

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This is not a drill: The last day

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Lists of most active investors in the region

List of top-funded startups in Asia

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