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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
- The Korea SMEs and Startups Agency partnered with the Korea Industry Intelligence Association to launch nationwide AI training programs.
- Toku entered Europe through a major enterprise deal supporting a leading delivery platform across four countries.
- EX.IO and Plume partnered to accelerate institutional real-world asset adoption in Hong Kong through regulated infrastructure.
- Indian firm Anthropic Software is suing the AI giant Anthropic, alleging that the latter's recent expansion into India has caused significant brand confusion.
- Aspire partnered with Antler to provide early-stage founders with financial infrastructure to scale global businesses.
💸 Top Funding Rounds
- Beijing robotics startup Lingxin Qiaoshou closed a $217.1 million Series B led by Daode and Shengshi to scale its Linker Hand dexterous robots.
- Galaxea AI, an embodied intelligence startup, achieved unicorn status with a $1.5 billion valuation after securing $144.6 million in its Series B funding.
- Juwei Technology closed a $100 million Series A+ round to boost R&D and expand capacity for industrial inspection dog robots.
- Pet care platform Supertails secured $30 million in a Series C round led by Venturi Partners to expand its omnichannel ecosystem of veterinary clinics.
- South Korean biotech Galux raised $29 million in a Series B round to advance its AI-driven protein design platform for creating novel antibodies.
💰️ IPO and M&A Watch
- Southeast Asian superapp Grab is acquiring US-based AI-powered investing app Stash to expand its financial services footprint.
- Indian dental tech company MakeO Toothsi is acquiring Singapore-based Zenyum to create a pan-Asian leader in clear aligners and oral care.
- USV Pharma acquired 79% of Wellbeing Nutrition for $174.6 million, expanding into India’s D2C wellness market and enabling early investor exit.
- Bertelsmann acquired an 80% stake in Indian logistics startup LetsTransport to expand its portfolio in India and scale tech-enabled freight operations.
- Xamble Group acquired a 55.6% majority stake in YouthsToday to expand its influencer reach and strengthen its end-to-end creator ecosystem.
🏦 About Investors
- W Health Ventures closed its $60.7 million second fund to build 8-10 healthcare startups across oncology, chronic care, and AI.
- Java Capital launched a $44.1 million deeptech fund targeting seed stage IP-led Indian startups with global ambitions and cross border support.
- Maharashtra formed a committee to create a textile VC fund to support startups and MSMEs as part of its $1 trillion economy push.
- Saisei Ventures launched Bridge Biotech Fund and an accelerator program to back early-stage biotech founders from discovery to company creation.
- Info Edge Ventures hired Nitya Agarwal as an investor to strengthen its corporate VC team after her tenure at 3one4 Capital.
🚀Startup of the Week
Introducing our Startup of the Week 🏆
Lingxin Qiaoshou
Founded around 2023 in Beijing, Lingxin Qiaoshou (Linkerbot) is building high-degree-of-freedom dexterous robotic hands that bring embodied AI closer to human-level manipulation. Its Linker Hand product line is designed for industrial automation, research labs, and next-gen humanoid robots, mimicking the precision and flexibility of the human hand. The startup recently closed a $217.1 million Series B led by Daode and Shengshi, capital it plans to use to scale R&D and industrialize production. CEO Zhou Yong leads the company alongside co-founder Zhang Yanbai, with a team drawing from Tsinghua and Peking University talent. Its mission is to become core infrastructure for the embodied robotics stack.
💼 Investor of the Week
Introducing our Investor of the Week 🏆
W Health Ventures
Founded in India as an early-stage healthcare-focused venture capital firm, W Health Ventures has evolved into a hands-on company builder targeting clinical gaps across India and the U.S.-India corridor. Led by Managing Partner Pankaj Jethwani, the firm recently announced the initial close of its $60.7 million second fund, with a target of $70 million, to incubate 8-10 AI-enabled healthcare companies over four years. Rather than backing broad portfolios, W Health deploys concentrated capital to build de novo ventures in oncology, chronic care, geriatrics, and preventive health. With early launches like Everhope Oncology and a growing cross-border AI strategy, the firm positions itself as a creator of foundational healthcare platforms, not just an investor.
🤑Opportunities Expiring Soon
Scale Your Impact with Start it @KBC
- 📢 Organizer: KBC Group
- 🗂️ Category: Accelerator
- 🪜 Target Stages: Stage Agnostic
- 🏭 Focus Sectors: Sector Agnostic
- 📅 Application Deadline: February 16, 2026
ELEVATE Program - ELEVATE NXT 2026
- 📢 Organizer: Startup Karnataka, GoK
- 🗂️ Category: Funding, Competition/Challenge
- 🪜 Target Stages: Pre-seed, Seed, Pre-Series A, Series A
- 🏭 Focus Sectors: Deeptech, AI & Data, Energy & Environment, Health & Life Sciences, Manufacturing & Materials
- 📅 Application Deadline: February 17, 2026
RIOT Startup Accelerator
- 📢 Organizer: RIOT
- 🗂️ Category: Accelerator
- 🪜 Target Stages: Stage Agnostic
- 🏭 Focus Sectors: Sector Agnostic
- 📅 Application Deadline: February 20, 2026
gBETA Electrify Nevada Spring 2026
- 📢 Organizer: gener8tor
- 🗂️ Category: Accelerator, Training & Learning
- 🪜 Target Stages: Ideation, Pre-seed, Seed
- 🏭 Focus Sectors: Energy & Environment, DeepTech
- 📅 Application Deadline: February 22, 2026
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