It’s an AI story, baby, just say yes

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Hello reader,

When Taylor Swift dropped her album The Tortured Poets Department last year, it dominated music charts around the world. In fact, it broke numerous records, including the highest single-day and single-week streams for an album on Spotify.

I feel like AI’s grip in the startup world is pretty similar to Swift’s dominance of the charts. We’re seeing record investments go into the tech, and it’s making headlines on the funding front week after week, month after month. In fact, three of the five biggest deals on our latest list are in the AI sector, and that’s just the tip of the iceberg for AI funding this week.

Swift is set to release a new album later this year, and it’s sure to make waves as well. I’m excited to see if any emerging developments in the AI world can match The Life of a Showgirl in terms of excitement.

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.

— Stefanie

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The biggest deals by market

🇨🇳 X Square, an AI and robotics startup based in China, has raised US$100 million in a series A round. Participating investors were Alibaba Cloud, HongShan, INCE Capital, Legend Capital, Legend Star, and Meituan.

🇸🇬 PixVerse is a Singapore-headquartered AI video platform. It has secured US$60 million in series B money from Alibaba Group and Antler.

🇮🇱 Based in Israel, proteanTecs is a chip monitoring startup. It has scored US$51 million in series D money from ARM, Addition, IAG Capital Partners, Intel Capital, Siemens Venture Capital, The Samsung Catalyst Fund, and Zeev Ventures.

🇮🇳 Gloob Decor is an India-based online home decor retailer – the same company behind FlipSpaces, a virtual reality-powered design and contracting firm. Gloob Decor has raised US$50 million in series C money from Crescent Enterprises, Panthera Growth Partners, and SMBC Asia Rising Fund.

🇯🇵 Kyoto Fusioneering is a cleantech startup from Japan. It has raised US$37.1 million in a debt round from Bank of Kyoto, Japan Bank for International Cooperation, Japan Finance Corporation, MUFG Bank, and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation.

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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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Exclusive listicles

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Thoughtful reads