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If Singapore’s role in regional finance weren’t already clear, this week’s funding list makes the point unmistakable.
Ant International has raised US$1.2 billion, making it the largest disclosed deal on the list by far. Though not exactly a classic startup story, the Singapore-based fintech firm sits in an important part of the financial stack, focusing on digital payments, cross-border commerce, and merchant services.
The invisible layer, as some would call it. It’s the kind of stuff you don’t notice until your credit card declines overseas or when a QR code doesn’t scan. Raise your hand if you’ve been personally victimized by this.
Crypto platform Coinhako adds another Singapore-linked layer to the story. Its acquisition by SBI Holdings points to a similar theme, this time in digital assets.
The rails are heating up. The city-state may not have the most deals this week, but it’s showing up where money moves.
You can find all other important investment deals from the last few days in our weekly funding news wrap-up.
Let’s dive into the biggest deals and M&As that have recently taken place.
— Lilian
The biggest deals by market
🇸🇬 Ant International is a global digital payments and fintech provider headquartered in Singapore. It has bagged US$1.2 billion in series A funding from Alibaba Group and Ant Group.
🇮🇱 Glow is an AI-focused endpoint security startup based in Israel, which is located in West Asia. The firm has raised US$180 million in series A money from Cyberstarts, Greenoaks Capital, Holly Ventures, Index Ventures, Lux Capital, Operator Collective, Redpoint Ventures, Sequoia Capital, and Swish Ventures.
🇯🇵 Japan-based Asuene, formerly known as Earthene, is the firm behind CO2 emission management cloud Asuzero and clean electricity platform Asuene. It has secured US$87 million in series D funding from Daikin, Decarbonization Partners, Energy & Environment Investment, GLIN Impact Capital, Incubate Fund, Ricoh Innovation Fund, Mirai Creation Fund, Twin Towers Ventures, and Hiroaki Sugita, who served as Japan representative of Boston Consulting Group.
M&As
Startups that are raising funds
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