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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 🌏️
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📰 Important News
- Samir Bodas, co-founder and former CEO of Icertis, passed away after a battle with cancer, leaving a lasting industry legacy.
- Urban Company and HDFC Pension partnered to offer the National Pension System to over 50,000 service professionals.
- EKA Mobility and HPCL signed an MoU aimed at boosting India's EV infrastructure, including charging and battery swapping for commercial EVs.
- Korean fintech WireBarley partnered with LAFC as Official Remittance Partner, a first for a Korean company in MLS.
- HitPay launched Borderless QR, allowing merchants to accept international QR payments from Asian visitors through a single checkout flow.
💸 Top Funding Rounds
- AI startup StepFun secured a record $717 million funding round in China's large model sector, and appointed AI veteran Yin Qi as chairman.
- Runxin Micro Technology raised $57.5 million in Series B+ to advance domestic AI computing and edge intelligence expansion.
- Japanese energy trading leader enechain closed a $32.4 million Series B extension led by Coreline Ventures to enhance its platform with AI.
- Easy Home Finance secured $30 million in Series C funding, led by Investcorp to expand its operations across India and enhance its digital platform.
- Checkbox landed a $23 million Series A to scale its AI Legal Front Door, automating intake and tasks for enterprise legal teams with AI agents.
💰️ IPO and M&A Watch
- AI startup Upstage is set to acquire internet portal Daum from Kakao via a share swap, following board approvals from both companies.
- The Shadowfax IPO raised$208 million, but shares fell 9% as investors flagged client concentration and thin margins despite fast revenue growth.
- Insurtech firm Turtlemint is pursuing a $217 million IPO, filing with SEBI to raise capital for infrastructure, marketing, and acquisitions.
- K Wave Media acquired a 55% stake in Rabbit Walk, adding VFX and AI advertising capabilities.
- Mitsubishi Electric completed the full acquisition of Nozomi Networks on January 28th making the OT security firm a wholly owned subsidiary.
🏦 About Investors
- Navam Capital closed its first deeptech fund at $35 million, surpassing its target to back early-stage science-driven startups in India.
- Mizoram's government launched a $10.9 million Venture Capital Fund and a Startup Readiness Level framework to bolster its local startup ecosystem.
- Jungle Ventures appointed Zetwerk veteran Amrit Raj as Partner and CMO to shape its global platform strategy and support portfolio founders.
- Antler Japan invested $1.5 million in ten startups and boosted its 2026 residency program funding to $150,000 per company.
- Proterra Investment Advisors was appointed manager of the Trendlines Agrifood Fund marking an investor mandate shift to scale agrifood innovation.
🚀Startup of the Week
Introducing our Startup of the Week 🏆
StepFun
Founded in 2023 and headquartered in Shanghai, StepFun is a large-model AI startup focused on embedding advanced foundation models directly into consumer devices. The company develops language, multimodal, and edge-cloud collaborative models powering its “AI + terminals” strategy across smartphones, vehicles, and wearables. In a landmark Series B+ round, StepFun raised over $717 million, with backing from China Life Private Equity Investment, Pudong Venture Capital, Huaqin Technology, Tencent, Qiming Venture Partners, and 5Y Capital. The company is led by CEO Jiang Daxin, with AI veteran Yin Qi recently appointed chairman. With tens of millions of devices already deployed, StepFun aims to make practical, on-device AI a core layer of China’s consumer technology ecosystem.
💼 Investor of the Week
Introducing our Investor of the Week 🏆
Navam Capital
Founded in 2008 and based in India, Navam Capital is a deeptech-focused venture capital firm backing early-stage, IP-led startups built for global markets. Led by Founder and Managing Partner Rajeev Mantri, the firm recently announced the final close of its maiden fund at ~$35 million, surpassing its target and underscoring strong LP confidence. Navam invests at Seed and pre-Series A, with a clear focus on advanced computing, semiconductors, robotics, spacetech, and climate tech, and plans to back 15–16 companies. Its early portfolio includes Agnikul Cosmos, Ather Energy, and Unbox Robotics. Navam’s edge is disciplined capital, deep science conviction, and a mission to build technologies invented in India and scaled worldwide.
🤑Opportunities Expiring Soon
AWS/CTIB Cybersecurity Startup Accelerator
- 📢 Organizer: Vestbee
- 🗂️ Category: Accelerator
- 🪜 Target Stages: Pre-seed, Seed, Pre-series A, Series A
- 🏭 Focus Sectors: Sector Agnostic
- 📅 Application Deadline: February 3, 2026
Fowler Global Social Innovation Challenge 2026
- 📢 Organizer: University of San Diego
- 🗂️ Category: Funding, Competition/Challenge, Award/Prize
- 🪜 Target Stages: Seed, Revenue-generating
- 🏭 Focus Sectors: Sector Agnostic
- 📅 Application Deadline: February 6, 2026
Fast-track To Impact Program
- 📢 Organizer: ProVeg International
- 🗂️ Category: Accelerator
- 🪜 Target Stages: Pre-seed, Seed
- 🏭 Focus Sectors: Agriculture & Food
- 📅 Application Deadline: February 8, 2026
Entrepreneur First (EF) Spring 2026 - The Global Talent Investor
- 📢 Organizer: Entrepreneur First
- 🗂️ Category: Accelerator, Funding
- 🪜 Target Stages: Ideation, Pre-seed
- 🏭 Focus Sectors: Sector Agnostic
- 📅 Application Deadline: February 8, 2026
xG-Incubator
- 📢 Organizer: xG-Incubator
- 🗂️ Category: Incubator, Funding
- 🪜 Target Stages: Pre-seed, Seed
- 🏭 Focus Sectors: Connectivity & Networks, DeepTech
- 📅 Application Deadline: February 9, 2026
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