Strategic investments, debt rounds, and fundraising in the tech winter

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Hello reader,

As the tech winter wears on (I really hope things pick up sooner rather than later), I’ve noticed that there’s been a lot more fundraising going on outside the typical “money for equity” approach that usually happens with VC funding.

Debt rounds – where startups essentially “borrow” money from investors – seem more commonplace these days, and strategic investments appear to be occurring more often, as investors decide to put their money behind companies that will benefit them from more than just a financial point of view. Two of today’s biggest deals are strategic investments.

I guess the moral of the story is that we adapt to the circumstances and do what we can to just keep swimming. Sometimes it means approaching things from a different angle, and that’s cool.

Image credit: Timmy Loen

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.

The biggest deals by market

🇮🇳 Muthoot Microfin offers financial services to meet the needs of the underserved. Based in India, it has raised US$75 million in a debt round from Canara Bank, Doha Bank, Gift City, Rakbank, Standard Chartered, and Union Bank of India.

🇨🇳 Mitro Biotech touts itself as the first molecular imaging contract research organization company in China. It secured US$55.3 million in a bridge round from CMG-SDIC Capital, SDIC Juli Investment Management, and Shandong Industry Research Equity Investment Fund of Funds.

🇰🇷 Bizplay is an enterprise solution that aims to streamline corporate cost management processes. The South Korean firm netted US$22.5 million in a strategic investment from JB Financial Group.

🇯🇵 Infcurion is a Japan-based company that offers business planning and consulting in the fintech field. It bagged US$13.3 million in an early-stage round from JR West Innovations and Shizuoka Capital.

M&As

Startups that are raising funds

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