TechNode Global Staff

Marketnode, a Singapore-based digital market infrastructure operator, has on Thursday announced the successful first close of its Series A investment round led by HSBC alongside contributions from existing shareholder Temasek.

The private equity (PE) deal value in Southeast Asia (SEA) fell 39 percent to $9 billion last year compared to the previous five-year average (2018-2022), while deal volume dropped 24 percent in the same period, Bain & Company said Thursday.

Soft Space, a Malaysia-based fintech-as-a-service (FaaS) provider, and Inflight Dublin, a prominent provider of inflight entertainment (IFE) solutions, have announced a strategic collaboration aimed at transforming the airline inflight experience, from ordering to paying for goods and services.

Thailand-based investment firm Disrupt Technology Venture (Disrupt) has announced the introduction of Disrupt Health Impact Fund with the first group of co-investment partners from leading Thai business companies.

The Malaysia Co-Investment Fund (MyCIF) has co-invested MYR 289 million ($61.4 million) via alternative financing platforms in 2023, consistently spurring growth and enhancing competitiveness of Malaysian micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs).

Singapore’s Deputy Prime Minister and Chairman of the National Research Foundation (NRF) Heng Swee Keat, has on Thursday outlined an investment of close to SGD 300 million ($222 million) into Singapore’s National Quantum Strategy (NQS) to advance Singapore’s growing Quantum industry.

United Kingdom-based fintech firm Currencycloud has on Wednesday announced a partnership with Chinese payment firm Pyvio, offering efficient and cost-effective cross-border payment solutions for Chinese e-commerce businesses operating in emerging markets.

Grab, a leading superapp in Southeast Asia, and OpenAI, an American artificial intelligence research organization, have on Thursday announced they will collaborate to build and deploy advanced artificial intelligence (AI) solutions that enrich the Grab experience for users, partners, and employees.

Tribe and Digital Industry Singapore (DISG) have on Wednesday announced a collaboration with NVIDIA to establish the Ignition AI Accelerator, a new global AI startup accelerator based in Singapore.

Turno, an India-based electric vehicle (EV) distribution and financing company, has raised $6 million as an extension to its Series-A funding. The round was co- led by British International Investment (BII), the United Kingdom’s development finance institution and impact investor, Quona Capital, Stellaris Venture Partners and B Capital.