Still some sparkle in store

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Hello reader,

As a (younger) girl, I was obsessed with Australian jewelry brand Lovisa. I remember begging my mother to get me something from its 3-for-$15 deals and other offers. Jewelry shopping, to me, is still best experienced in person – seeing a piece sparkle, trying it on, and feeling it. Somehow, having a screen between you and the jewelry takes away some of its luster – literally.

So amid all the AI chatter this week, and frankly every week, imagine my surprise when a jewelry brand snatched the second spot on our funding list with a nine-figure raise – second only to Sand.ai’s US$200 million round.

India’s Giva, which started as a digital-first silver jewelry business, secured over US$100 million with plans to expand its network from around 425 physical stores to more than 1,000 over the next three to five years.

Physical stores already account for 45% of the brand’s revenue, while digital channels make up the remaining 55%. So perhaps the two aren’t at odds after all – even as shopping moves increasingly online, there is still the appeal of seeing things in person.

For all the talk of tech making our lives more efficient, it sounds like there’s still room for a little self-indulgence, preferably offline.

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 that have recently taken place.

— Lilian

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The biggest deals by markets

🇨🇳 Sand.ai is an AI company from China. It has bagged US$200 million in a series A+ round from CoStone Capital, Hua Partners, Jeneration Capital, Matrix Partners China, Orient Securities Capital, Pudong Venture Capital, Shanghai Guofang Equity Investment Management, Tianjin Venture Capital, and Wangsu Technology.

🇮🇳 Based in India, jewelry brand Giva has raised US$100 million in series D money from Multiples Alternate Asset Management.

🇯🇵 Fact Base is a manufacturing SaaS startup from Japan that operates drawing management platform Zumen. The firm has secured US$28.8 million in series D funding from Artemis Ventures, Insight Partners, and MPower Partners.

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Startups that are raising funds

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Startup in the spotlight

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Exclusive listicles

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Thoughtful reads

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