Hello there,
Welcome to another edition of 🔍 Startup Researcher - Asia, your essential digest delivering the latest news and premium insights on startups and venture capital across the region 🌏️
If you haven't subscribed yet, now's the perfect time. Don't miss the opportunity to supercharge your understanding and stay ahead in this dynamic world.
📰 Important News
- South Korea enacted the AI Basic Act requiring oversight and labeling for high-impact and generative AI, with startups warning of innovation slowdowns.
- Pixxel led a startup consortium signing with IN-SPACe to build India’s first private national EO constellation, deploying 12 satellites via a $132 million PPP.
- Aspire partnered with Deel to combine finance and employer of record tools, helping startups hire, pay, and manage global teams compliantly.
- Fibe partnered with Flipkart to integrate its BNPL service into the e-commerce checkout, providing flexible EMI options up to $1,090.
- Stadium Inc launched FANTS Service Sales, enabling creators to sell services and digital content with built-in booking and payments in one platform.
💸 Top Funding Rounds
- Corxel Pharmaceuticals secured $287 million in Series D1 financing to advance its oral GLP-1 drug CX11.
- Juspay achieved unicorn status with a $50 million Series D follow-on funding round led by WestBridge Capital, valuing the firm at $1.2 billion.
- GreenCell Mobility secured $89 million from IFCI, BII, and Tata Capital to expand its electric bus fleet to 3,700 vehicles.
- Unbox Roboticsraised $28 million to scale AI robotic sorting globally, boosting warehouse automation across Europe, North America, and India.
- UangCermat closed a $26.4 million round combining a $6.4 million Series A and a $20 million credit facility to scale payroll-linked lending.
💰️ IPO and M&A Watch
- Walmart-backed PhonePe has secured SEBI approval for its highly anticipated initial public offering, targeting a $15 billion valuation.
- AB Tasty is merging with Indian rival VWO to form a new global entity aiming for $120 million in revenue and over 4,000 clients worldwide.
- Airwallex acquired Paynuri to enter South Korea, securing licenses for cross-border payments and financial tools.
- Chinese biotechZenitar has filed for a Hong Kong IPO following an $86.1 million Series C to advance its innovative drug development pipeline.
- Care.fi acquired Aldun to speed hospital discharges by combining AI revenue cycle tools with embedded financing for a patient-first experience.
🏦 About Investors
- Korea’s Ministry of SMEs and Startups is launching a$2.9 billion venture fundto back AI and deep-tech unicorns, boost regional investing, attract global capital, and strengthen early-stage and exit-stage markets.
- Kapiva established a $5.4 million fund for Ayurvedic innovation, backing startups and researchers to create evidence-based solutions and merge traditional Indian medicine with modern scientific validation.
- Mayank Khanduja, a partner at Elevation Capital, departed the VC firm after a 15-year tenure, joining a growing trend of venture capitalists leaving established funds to launch their own investment firms.
🚀Startup of the Week
Introducing our Startup of the Week 🏆
Corxel Pharmaceuticals
Corxel Pharmaceuticals is a clinical-stage biopharma company focused on cardiometabolic diseases with its lead program CX11, an oral small-molecule GLP-1 receptor agonist. Led by CEO Sandy Mou, Corxel has secured up to $287 million in Series D1 financing backed by new investors SR One, TCG Crossover, and RA Capital, alongside existing supporter RTW Investments. The capital will advance a US Phase 2 obesity trial, support a planned global Phase 2 in type 2 diabetes, and prepare for Phase 3, while pushing additional programs in areas like stroke and hypertension. Corxel’s role is to bring scalable, oral cardiometabolic therapies into the global pipeline.
💼 Investor of the Week
Introducing our Investor of the Week 🏆
Kapiva
Kapiva is a Bengaluru-based healthcare brand founded in 2016 by Ameve Sharma and Shrey Badhani, now stepping into an investor role with the launch of the Kapiva Innovation Fund, committing up to $5.4 million to advance evidence-based Ayurveda. Structured as a corporate-backed innovation fund, Kapiva is targeting research institutions, startups, and clinicians working across Ayurvedic science, from novel formulations and AI-led research to clinical studies and extraction technologies. The initiative builds on Kapiva’s in-house R&D and partnerships with institutions like THSTI and Manipal College of Pharmaceutical Sciences. Kapiva positions itself as a bridge between traditional medicine and global pharmaceutical standards, aiming to professionalize and validate Ayurveda at scale.
🤑Opportunities Expiring Soon
Alliance: The Leading Crypto Accelerator and Founder Community
- 📢 Organizer: Alliance
- 🗂️ Category: Accelerator, Funding
- 🪜 Target Stages: Stage Agnostic
- 🏭 Focus Sectors: Finance & Insurance, Web3 & Blockchain, AI & Data
- 📅 Application Deadline: January 28, 2026
Accelerate Your Pre-Seed Vision with SE Ventures
- 📢 Organizer: SE Ventures
- 🗂️ Category: Accelerator
- 🪜 Target Stages: Pre-seed
- 🏭 Focus Sectors: Energy & Environment, Manufacturing & Materials, AI & Data
- 📅 Application Deadline: January 30, 2026
TMF Beyond Boundaries EMEA Social Entrepreneurship Program 2026
- 📢 Organizer: The Mentorship Foundation (TMF)
- 🗂️ Category: Funding, Incubator, Award/Prize
- 🪜 Target Stages: Pre-seed, Seed
- 🏭 Focus Sectors: Health & Life Sciences, Energy & Environment, Education & Workforce, Social & Governance
- 📅 Application Deadline: January 30, 2026
PRME Students Innovation Studio
- 📢 Organizer: Principles for Responsible Management Education (PRME)
- 🗂️ Category: Incubator, Funding
- 🪜 Target Stages: Ideation, Pre-seed
- 🏭 Focus Sectors: Sector Agnostic
- 📅 Application Deadline: January 31, 2026
Roche Drishti HealthTech Challenge
- 📢 Organizer: Roche Pharma India
- 🗂️ Category: Award/Prize, Competition/Challenge
- 🪜 Target Stages: Pre-seed, Seed, Pre-Series A, Series A
- 🏭 Focus Sectors: Health & Life Sciences
- 📅 Application Deadline: January 31, 2026
Thank you for joining us this week! We trust you found value in our latest edition. 🚀
Your feedback is invaluable to us, so please don't hesitate to share your thoughts by replying to this email. We're committed to continuously improving and delivering content tailored to your interests and needs 📩
If you're interested in staying updated on global startup and investment trends, don't miss our other newsletters.
Additionally, stay connected with us on LinkedIn for more insights and updates 🔗
Looking forward to staying connected and bringing you more exciting content next time!