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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
- Mistral AI launched Vibe 2.0, upgrading its terminal-native coding agent with Devstral 2 and moving to a paid model targeting enterprise developers.
- Luminance introduced amajor AI platform update to combat enterprise amnesia by retaining full contract negotiation history and legal decisions.
- Slush promoted 25-year-old Noora Saksa to CEO as it shifts Slush 2026 to more signal, less noise in Helsinki, by cutting attendance 10%.
- Qilimanjaro Quantum Tech launched EduQit, an on-site quantum computing kit for academic and research institutions.
- Sigrid Therapeutics appointed Claus Kjaersgaard as its new Chief Executive Officer starting February 1, 2026.
💸 Top Funding Rounds
- Tenpoint Therapeutics secured $235 million and FDA approval for YUVEZZI, clearing its presbyopia eye drop for commercial launch in 2026.
- AI video firm Synthesia closed a $200 million Series E round led by Google Ventures, doubling its valuation to $4 billion.
- RobCo landed $100 million in Series C funding, co-led by Lightspeed and Lingotto, to accelerate its autonomous industrial robotics platform.
- Sokin secured $100 million in debt financing from Oxford Finance to fuel global expansion and embedded payments.
- Funnel obtained an $80 million debt facility from HSBC Innovation Banking and Hercules Capital to accelerate its AI roadmap and global expansion.
💰️ IPO and M&A Watch
- Team.blue acquired Windsor.ai to expand its SaaS portfolio and boost data-driven marketing capabilities for SMBs in Europe.
- German financial portal finanzen.net Group acquired AI fintech Vickii to integrate its innovative technology into its platform and neo-broker.
- Scoro acquired Envoice to integrate project management with AI-powered expense automation for professional services firms.
- GuestReady acquired Lightbooking, expanding into the Canary Islands and scaling its global portfolio to more than 4,000 properties.
- Decathlon Pulse took a majority stake in Rebike Mobility, backing growth to scale circular e-bike subscriptions and refurbishment in Germany.
🏦 About Investors
- Daphni closed a $311 million fund for European deeptech startups, backing science-driven ventures with societal and environmental impact.
- Venture firm 2150 successfully secured $248 million for its second climate tech fund, bringing total assets to $591 million.
- b2venture raised $178 million for its fifth fund to back European deeptech startups in robotics, AI, and advanced manufacturing.
- Seed+Speed Ventures closed its third fund at $107.3 million, tripling its target to back early-stage B2B and enterprise AI startups across Europe.
- The Footprint Firm closed its $89 million Footprint Fund I, an Article 9 venture fund accelerating green deeptech in Northern Europe.
🚀 Startup of the Week
Introducing our Startup of the Week 🏆
Tenpoint Therapeutics
Tenpoint Therapeutics was founded in 2014 and is building a new category in ophthalmology by developing prescription-based treatments for age-related vision loss. Its lead product, YUVEZZI, a once-daily dual-agent eye drop for presbyopia, recently received FDA approval, marking a clear shift from development to full commercialization. Led by CEO Henric Bjarke, Tenpoint has secured $235 million in combined equity and non-dilutive debt financing, backed by Janus Henderson, EQT, Hillhouse, Sofinnova Partners, F-Prime, and Hercules Capital. With a U.S. launch planned for early Q2 2026, Tenpoint is positioning itself to tackle a massive, underpenetrated global vision care market and redefine how presbyopia is treated.
💼 Investor of the Week
Introducing our Investor of the Week 🏆
Daphni
Daphni is a Paris-based venture capital firm founded in 2015, known for early bets on category-defining companies such as Back Market and Swile. Led by Pierre-Eric Leibovici alongside Pierre-Yves Meerschman, Daphni focuses on early-stage, science-driven startups emerging from Europe’s top research institutions. Its latest move, the $311 million final closeof the Daphni Blue fund, marks a clear strategic push into deep science, defensible IP, and scientist-entrepreneurs, with nine deeptech investments already completed. Differentiated by its strong research network and platform-driven support model, Daphni positions itself as a key bridge between European scientific excellence and global-scale company building, aiming to turn long-horizon research into durable economic and societal impact.
🤑 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
Ignition Programme
- 📢 Organizer: SBIC Noordwijk
- 🗂️ Category: Training & Learning, Other
- 🪜 Target Stages: Ideation, Pre-seed
- 🏭 Focus Sectors: DeepTech
- 📅 Application Deadline: February 5, 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 Programme
- 📢 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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