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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
- Europe’s No. 2 neobank bunq has filed for a US bank license to serve nomads and expats, betting on AI to scale cross-border banking.
- The French Ministry of Armed Forces has officially partnered with Mistral AI to enhance defense technological sovereignty.
- The UK unveiled a $283 million cyber plan to secure digital public services and data, speed incident response, and aim for up to $60.6 billion in gains.
- Allianz and Anthropic have formed a global partnership to accelerate responsible AI adoption at Allianz.
- Vestiaire Collective co-founder and president Fanny Moizant exited after 16 years, saying the departure was unexpected and not her choice.
💸 Top Funding Rounds
- London-based e-commerce OS Swap raised a $100 million Series C co-led by Iconiq and DST Global to expand its AI-powered platform.
- FineHeart secured $97 million in Series C funding and IPCEI grants to accelerate FlowMaker's clinical and industrial development.
- Bactolife obtained $35 million in Series B funding to advance its Binding Proteins™ gut health technology.
- ShanX Medtech landed $28 million to accelerate its ultra-rapid infection diagnostics platform, combating antimicrobial resistance.
- Tucuvi closed a $20 million Series A round to expand its AI voice platform automating patient interactions and clinical workflows.
💰️ IPO and M&A Watch
- Accenture acquired UK AI firm Faculty, strengthening its trusted AI capabilities with decision intelligence expertise for global clients.
- Amgen acquired Dark Blue Therapeutics for $840 million, expanding its AML pipeline with small-molecule protein degraders targeting MLLT1/3.
- Revolut is in talks to acquire Turkey’s FUPS, aiming to secure a banking license and enter the fast-growing Turkish fintech market.
- Zilch is planning to acquire Lithuania’s Fjord Bank, securing a European banking license to scale its consumer finance platform across Europe.
- BENTELER acquired ioki from Deutsche Bahn, combining vehicles, software, and operations to build a full-service autonomous mobility platform.
🏦 About Investors
- Antler raised $510 million for global expansion, allocating half to US-based founders via a new San Francisco residency.
- EIF and BGK launched a $490 million Future Tech Poland fund to boost tech innovation and strengthen Poland's VC market.
- Servier launched Servier Ventures, a $232.7 million fund, to invest in European biotech firms, advancing oncology and neurology innovations.
- 4Founders Capital launched a new $70.2 million hospitality fund to acquire and digitally transform 15 hotels in Spain's high-potential Tier 2 cities.
- CaixaBank's venture debt fund has reached $35.1 million in 7 operations, boosting innovative tech scale-ups and startups across Spain and Portugal.
🚀 Startup of the Week
Introducing our Startup of the Week 🏆
Swap
Founded in London in 2022 by Sam Atkinson and Zach Bailet, Swap is building an AI-native operating system that simplifies global e-commerce operations for mid-sized brands. The platform unifies logistics, cross-border shipping, returns, tax handling, payments, and AI-driven inventory forecasting in a single dashboard used by over 600 brands, including Pangaia and The Frankie Shop. Led by Sam Atkinson, Swap recently raised $100 million in a Series C co-led by DST Global and ICONIQ Capital, bringing total funding to $149 million. The company is now expanding across Europe and North America while strengthening its payments stack, positioning itself as core infrastructure for global online retail.
💼 Investor of the Week
Introducing our Investor of the Week 🏆
4Founders Capital
Founded in Barcelona, 4Founders Capital has built its reputation as a tech-focused venture capital firm backing founders across Southern Europe, managing more than $150 million in venture assets. This week, the firm made a decisive strategic move by launching 4Founders Capital Hospitality, a $70.2 million CNMV-approved real estate fund targeting around 15 hotels in Spain’s Tier 2 cities. The expansion applies 4Founders’ data-driven playbook to hospitality, combining operational income with asset appreciation. The strategy is led by Enrique Domínguez Miguel, founder of Gaiarooms, alongside managing partners Jesús Monleón, Marc Badosa Rigau, Marek Fodor, Javier Pérez-Tenessa, and Paula Blázquez Solano. With this move, 4Founders positions itself as a bridge between venture, technology, and real assets, aiming to modernize overlooked segments of Europe’s hospitality market.
🤑 Opportunities Expiring Soon
Scale Your High-Tech Vision with ExciteLab
- 📢 Organizer: ExciteLab
- 🗂️ Category: Award/Prize, Funding, Accelerator
- 🪜 Target Stages: Pre-seed, Seed
- 🏭 Focus Sectors: DeepTech
- 📅 Application Deadline: January 13, 2026
Germany Country of the Year at VivaTech 2026
- 📢 Organizer: Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWE)
- 🗂️ Category: Event
- 🪜 Target Stages: Stage Agnostic
- 🏭 Focus Sectors: Sector Agnostic
- 📅 Application Deadline: January 15, 2026
GATEWAY49 Accelerator Schleswig-Holstein
- 📢 Organizer: GATEWAY49
- 🗂️ Category: Funding , Accelerator
- 🪜 Target Stages: Ideation, Pre-seed, Seed
- 🏭 Focus Sectors: Energy & Environment, Agriculture & Food, Health & Life Sciences, Infrastructure & Smart Cities, Mobility & Logistics, AI & Data, DeepTech
- 📅 Application Deadline: January 15, 2026
RIOT Startup Accelerator
- 📢 Organizer: RIOT
- 🗂️ Category: Accelerator
- 🪜 Target Stages: Stage Agnostic
- 🏭 Focus Sectors: Sector Agnostic
- 📅 Application Deadline: January 16, 2026
LACI Startup Programs
- 📢 Organizer: Los Angeles Cleantech Incubator (LACI)
- 🗂️ Category: Incubator, Funding
- 🪜 Target Stages: Pre-seed, Seed
- 🏭 Focus Sectors: Energy & Environment
- 📅 Application Deadline: January 16, 2026
Catalyse NEB Open Call 2026
- 📢 Organizer: the EIT Community New European Bauhaus (NEB)
- 🗂️ Category: Funding
- 🪜 Target Stages: Pre-seed, Seed, Pre-Series A, Series A
- 🏭 Focus Sectors: Agriculture & Food, Energy & Environment, Manufacturing & Materials, Mobility & Logistics, Health & Life Sciences, Fitness & Sports, Infrastructure & Smart Cities, Media & Entertainment.
- 📅 Application Deadline: January 19, 2026
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