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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
- Revolut is letting former staff sell shares at $966 per share, a 30% discount to its $75 billion valuation, extending its buyback after strong demand.
- Zilch secured an FCA payments licence and Visa principal membership, cutting third-party reliance and enabling faster in-house payments.
- Alex Depledge will stay on as UK entrepreneurship advisor until summer 2026 after the Budget introduced scaleup-friendly tax and procurement reforms.
- Lilium co-founder Daniel Wiegand is planning a new drone focused startup, returning to aviation tech after the flying taxi company’s collapse.
- Internxt launched Internxt AI, a sovereign EU-hosted ChatGPT alternative offering end-to-end encryption, zero data collection, and full anonymity.
💸 Top Funding Rounds
- Swedish energy startup Elvy raised a $586 million debt facility to scale its subscription-based solar heat pump and battery model across Europe.
- fal closed a $140 million Series D led by Sequoia, surpassing $400 million total to scale ultra low latency AI infrastructure for millions of developers.
- Berlin based B2B payments startup Mondu secured a $116.3 million debt facility from J.P. Morgan Payments and joined its partner network.
- Nu Quantum raised a $60 million oversubscribed Series A led by National Grid Partners to scale its distributed quantum networking tech.
- UK-based AI infrastructure startup Runware secured $50 million in Series A funding to scale its one-API platform and Sonic Inference Engine.
💰️ Notable Exits
- Mollie will acquire GoCardless for $1.7 billion, merging 350,000 customers and strengthening its European payments stack ahead of a mid-2026 close.
- WTW acquired Cushon from NatWest, adding $5.3 billion AUM and 730,000 members to deepen its position in the UK DC pensions and savings market.
- Inveniam acquired Swarm in an undisclosed deal to combine tokenization and data infrastructure for AI-native public and private capital markets.
- Tekpon acquired TNW media and events from the Financial Times, marking a major European tech media exit and ecosystem play.
- Sortlist acquired Overloop AI to add AI driven sales prospecting, completing its largest M&A and evolving into a full commercial platform.
🏦 About Investors
- APEX launched a $350 million private equity fund targeting minority stakes in European sports teams and assets.
- Hiro Capital launched Hiro III, a UK- and Europe- focused multi stage fund aiming to raise over $500 million for AI robotics and defense scaleups.
- FoodLabs raised a $122.2 million third fund to back early-stage European startups in agriculture food security and health.
- KBC Group committed $116.4 million via Start it @KBC and launched a new early stage fund with follow-on financing up to $5.8 million.
- Earlybird spinout U2V launched a new fund targeting $69.8 million to back European deeptech university spinouts at pre-seed and seed stages.
🚀Startup of the Week
Introducing our Startup of the Week 🏆
Elvy
Founded in Stockholm by Johan Outinen, Fabian Linzberger, and David Wedar, Elvy is redefining how households access clean energy through a subscription-based model bundling solar panels, heat pumps, and home batteries into a single monthly fee. Led by CEO Johan Outinen, the company removes upfront costs and uses an AI engine to optimize energy use, cutting bills by up to 50%. Elvy recently secured a landmark $586 million debt facility, arranged by Scayl, enabling large-scale rollout across Sweden and new European markets. With partnership-led expansion now prioritized over capital heavy growth, Elvy is positioning itself as a key player in Europe’s decentralized energy transition.
💼 Investor of the Week
Introducing our Investor of the Week 🏆
APEX
Founded in 2020 in Portugal, APEX has evolved from a venture investor into a sports focused private equity firm backed by 100+ professional athletes. Led by founder and CEO António Caçorino, APEX recently launched a $350 million private equity fund to acquire minority stakes of 20% to 49% in European sports teams and leagues. Building on earlier investments in Alpine F1 and Venezia FC, the firm is shifting toward larger ownership positions that enable real operational and commercial influence. By combining growth capital, governance, and technology integration from its venture portfolio, APEX aims to professionalize mid-market sports assets and play a defining role in Europe’s sports investment ecosystem.
🤑Opportunity Radar
Call for Applications: Y Combinator Spring 2026 Batch
Applications are now open for the Y Combinator Spring 2026 Batch, a globally recognized accelerator program for early-stage startups. The application deadline is 9 February 2026 at 8:00 PM PT, and the program will run from April to June 2026, taking place in person in San Francisco. Selected founders gain access to early-stage funding, hands-on mentorship from experienced startup partners, a powerful global alumni network, and investor introductions. Early-stage founders and startup teams can begin their application now to be considered for the Spring 2026 cohort.
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