Unsolicited Pitch
The Exit Strategy:
A founder, a freelancer, and a pirate walk into a bar.
The founder buys everyone drinks using funds from a seed round, burns through $50,000 in two hours, and calls it a successful acquisition by the bartender.
Startup Funding
Malaysia’s Grafilab is positioning itself as a sovereign-AI infrastructure startup. The seed-stage Neo Cloud company provides GPU and AI-model access through a marketplace and has received US$500,000 in incubator funding from Thailand-based Raijin Ventures. It is now looking for additional strategic capital, particularly investors with AI expertise and networks. Read more here.
Nguyen Van Thanh, the former CEO of Vietnamese electric ride-hailing firm Green SM, took an 85% stake in newly incorporated EV startup AVES Technology & Green Energy, investing $1.1 million. The Hanoi-based company, which has a $1.14 million charter capital, plans to launch electric two-wheelers in mid-2027. Read more here.
VC Fund News
U.S, Belgrade and Singapore-based Forty.5 Ventures announced the close of its Fund I at $30 million. They will be writing cheques of $200K to $1M into two areas that includes Vertical AI, FinTech, and Cybersecurity, alongside the consumer stack of Gaming, Sports, Media, Entertainment, and creator-economy infrastructure. Read more here.
What does this mean?
For founders, this means another potential source of funding. If you are building in these sectors and are still at the idea, MVP or pre-seed stage, Forty.5 Ventures could be an investor worth having on your radar, with cheques of $200K to $1M.
M&A
Singapore-based logistics startup Amilo acquired SG Link, integrating it into its regional network as ShipX to expand cross-border shipping for Southeast Asian sellers across more than 220 global destinations. The acquisition is Amilo’s fourth in four years as it builds a regional logistics network through acquisitions and its own technology stack. Read more here.
SEA Startup News
Singapore’s robotics sector reached US$1.1 billion in cumulative equity funding. Tracxn data reported that 51 Southeast Asian robotics companies have received institutional funding, with Singapore accounting for US$986 million, or 91.7%, of the regional total. 2026 funding has already reached a record US$696 million, largely because of Sharpa’s US$670 million Series D. Read more here.
Well done, ASEAN!
Founder Insight of the Day
How to build your investor list?
Define your criteria. If you are in the early-stage of building your startup, angel investors or small check fund would be a better fit.
Seek out investors in your specific geography. If you are raising in Thailand, narrow down your list to investors in Thailand. This will make sessions with them a lot easier. Hey, who would want to spend more time travelling to firms than building?
Think of your clients who use your service or will be. If it’s a large company, the executives would be your best shot. They might angel invest or direct you to the right person/firm. Warm intro will speed things up.
Reply to this email, and let me know your thoughts!
Tools Worth Checking
Hunter is a platform for finding and verifying professional email addresses for sales, partnerships and outreach. Check it out here.
Thanks for reading! Catch you tomorrow. Make sure to share the newsletter.
