Asia

India’s 9Unicorns announces fifth closure of its maiden fund at $100M

9Unicorns, an India-based early-to-growth stage accelerator fund, on Sunday announced the fifth closure of its maiden fund at $100 million. The company plans to invest $500,000 to $1 million in the idea stage and, up to $2 million in high-growth stage Series C and above startups this year with a focus on DeepTech, Enterprise SaaS, Web 3.0, FinTech, Media,…

Cake DeFi partners with FACEIT in multi million dollar deal to allow gamers to earn cryptocurrency

Cake DeFi, a Singapore-based crypto fintech platform, announced Friday a multi-million dollar partnership with FACEIT, a United Kingdom-based platform for competitive online gaming, to allow users to earn cash flow from their crypto.

Animoca Brands partners nature gaming startup Untamed Planet to develop Untamed Metaverse

Animoca Brands, the Hong Kong-based company advancing digital property rights for gaming and the metaverse, said Friday it has invested in and partnered with Untamed Planet, the gaming company inspired by nature with a mission to protect the wild, to develop and publish Untamed Metaverse, a major upcoming game to benefit nature conservation efforts.

India’s Evenflow raises $5M pre-series A round from Village Global and others

Evenflow Brands (Evenflow), an India-based e-commerce rollup firm, announced Thursday the closing of its pre-series A round of $5 million. The round saw participation from Village Global, 9Unicorns, Venture Catalysts, LetsVenture, Shiprocket, and marquee angel investors.

Australian FinTech firm Peppermint gets e-wallet license in the Philippines

Peppermint Innovation Ltd (Peppermint), an Australia-based FinTech firm, announced Wednesday the company has been granted a license to operate as an electronic money issuer (EMI) by the Central Bank of the Philippines Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP). The EMI license authorises the company to deliver e-wallet services through its bizmoto mobile app…

Germany’s Soundcloud acquires Singapore music AI firm Musiio

Germany music entertainment firm SoundCloud announced Tuesday it has acquired Musiio, a Singapore-based music artificial intelligence (AI) firm. Musiio will amplify SoundCloud’s existing music intelligence capabilities and allow the company to further leverage its vast data to identify what’s next in music trends and talent.

India’s Zepto raises $200M Series D led by Y Combinator Continuity

Just nine months after launching, Indian quick commerce firm Zepto has announced its $200 million Series D fundraise, valuing the company at around $900 million. Y Combinator Continuity doubled down and led Zepto’s Series D, with new investor Kaiser Permanente joining in to back the company.

Indian smart interviewing platform BarRaiser secures $4.2M in seed funding round

BarRaiser, an India-based artificial intelligence (AI)-powered smart interviewing platform, announced Monday that it has raised $4.2 million in seed financing. The seed funding round was led by 021 Capital and Global Founders Capital, with participation from other angel investors.

India’s Geniemode lands $28M Series B funding led by Tiger Global

Geniemode, an India-based business to business (B2B) cross-border tech platform for lifestyle goods, said Friday it has scooped up $28 million Series B funding led by Tiger Global. Existing investor Info Edge Ventures, also doubled down in the round.