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Hello reader,
When I received the fundraising data for this week, I checked the numbers several times. It’s been a long while since our weekly fundraising numbers have crossed the US$1 billion mark, and I couldn’t quite believe my eyes.
But the data was right, and it’s thanks to the acquisition of Israeli humanoid robotics startup Mentee Robotics. Autonomous driving company Mobileye bought the company for a whopping US$900 million.
This reflects a trend we’ve observed in the market: Investment numbers are up overall, but the dollars are typically concentrated among a handful of companies, usually those in the AI space.
What does this mean for our ecosystem at large? I’m not sure yet, but I’m just glad that we’ve started 2026 on a high note. Hopefully, it’s a sign of better things to come.
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
The biggest deals by market
🇨🇳 BrainCo is a neurotechnology company based in China. It raised US$286 million in a strategic investment from IDG Capital, Lingyi iTech, Lens, Range Technologies, Walden International, and Willsemi.
🇮🇳 ID Fresh Food offers ready-to-cook packaged food and focuses on using fresh ingredients and no chemicals. The India-based company raised US$144 million in a strategic investment from Apax Partners.
🇰🇷 ENlighten, a South Korean company that aggregates energy resources and provides “energy as a service,” bagged US$21 million in an early-stage round. The investors in the round were not disclosed.
🇮🇩 Pintarnya is an Indonesian employment platform with an integrated financial services ecosystem. It raised US$14 million in a debt round from January Capital.
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