Hivebotics raises USD 6 million in Series A funding
Hivebotics, a Singapore-based robotics company, has raised USD 6 million in a Series A funding round led by Vertex Ventures Southeast Asia & India. Fareast Land Development, part of Farglory Group, and restroom product manufacturer Rigel also participated.
Founded in 2021 out of the National University of Singapore, Hivebotics develops autonomous systems for facilities management. Its flagship robot, Abluo, uses an articulated arm to clean toilets, urinals, sinks, and floors, while its HiveIntelligence software plans and monitors cleaning jobs.
The company said Abluo has accumulated nearly 10,000 operating hours across more than 20 sites in Asia, Europe, the Middle East, and North America, including hospitals, airport terminals, and shopping malls.
Hivebotics will use the funding to move Abluo from pilot deployments into volume production, expand its distributor network across its core markets, and further develop HiveIntelligence.
NanoSkunkWorkX raises USD 2 million in seed funding
NanoSkunkWorkX, a Malaysian deep tech startup developing thin-film interfaces for advanced electronics and other applications, has raised USD 2 million in seed funding led by Singapore-based Tin Men Capital.
Founded in 2019, NanoSkunkWorkX develops interfaces designed to improve the movement of energy, heat, and electronic signals between materials. Its applications span advanced semiconductor packaging, green hydrogen, and rapid diagnostics. The company said it has developed three product lines and generated its first revenue with less than USD 1.5 million in prior external pre-seed funding. Earlier backers include Gobi Dana Impak and Kumpulan Modal Perdana.
The new capital will support semiconductor partner qualification, expansion of its interface engineering process platform, hydrogen validation and diagnostic programs across Asia, and strategic hiring.
Laters.com raises USD 1.5 million in seed funding
Laters.com, a Singapore-based online travel agency formerly known as Fly Fairly, has raised USD 1.5 million in a seed round led by XBO Ventures, the investment arm of digital asset platform XBO.com. Operators from the payments, fintech, and enterprise technology sectors also participated as angel investors in their personal capacities.
Founded in 2023 and launched in August 2024, Laters.com reportedly sells flights across more than 650 airlines and supports over 100 payment methods, including digital wallets, cryptocurrencies, and around 40 buy now, pay later and installment options. The company said it has been profitable each month since February 2025 and is operating at a rate of more than one million travelers annually using its platform to find flights.
The company completed its rebrand from Fly Fairly to Laters.com in June. It will use the seed capital to grow the brand, expand its core business, and develop new products and verticals.
Temasek co-leads Series C investment in Pixxel
Pixxel, a space technology company operating from India and the US, has raised USD 100 million in a Series C round co-led by Temasek and Seraphim. New investors 360 One Asset and IMM Investment participated alongside existing backers Radical Ventures, Growx Ventures, and others. The round brings Pixxel’s total funding to USD 195 million.
The company develops Earth observation satellites, imaging software, and satellite systems for commercial and government missions. It has deployed six Firefly hyperspectral satellites and operates Aurora, software that combines Earth observation data and turns it into usable intelligence.
Pixxel will use the capital to develop new sensing capabilities, including shortwave infrared, synthetic aperture radar, and ultra-high-resolution optical imaging. It also plans to expand Aurora, support government Earth observation systems, and increase satellite manufacturing capacity in India and the US. The first satellite in its next-generation Honeybee constellation is expected to launch in 2027.
Rwaj raises USD 1.2 million in pre-seed funding
Rwaj, a Jeddah-based live social shopping and auction marketplace, has raised USD 1.2 million in pre-seed funding. The announcement did not disclose its investors.
The startup combines live stream shopping, fixed-price purchases, and timed auctions in an Arabic-first bilingual app. Payments are held in escrow until delivery and confirmation, while shipping is handled through carriers integrated into the platform. Rwaj serves sellers across the GCC and buyers globally.
The company will use the funding to accelerate growth and product development across the region.
PvX Partners finances California-based Burlingame Studios
Burlingame Studios, a mobile game developer, has secured USD 12 million in user acquisition financing from Singapore-based financial services firm PvX Partners.
The financing is tied to the performance and cash generation of Burlingame’s titles. It will support marketing and user growth without requiring the studio to issue equity or take on fixed debt payments.
The transaction coincides with Burlingame’s renaming of its flagship game, Garden Joy, as Flourish by Garden Joy. The title began as a garden design game and has since expanded into a broader creativity and design experience. Burlingame’s team includes game developers who previously worked together at CrowdStar, Glu Mobile, and Electronic Arts.
Recent deals completed in China:
- Stonehenge, a Beijing-based provider of artificial intelligence decision infrastructure for sectors including defense, telecommunications, finance, and energy, has raised nearly RMB 500 million (USD 74.3 million) across its Series B financing. Investors include a fund affiliated with Norinco Group, Beijing Information Industry Development Investment Fund, China Unicom Venture Capital, Huge Capital, Taiping Science and Technology Innovation Fund, GF Xinde Investment, and KHK Fund, while existing investor Yueli Capital reinvested. The funds will support technology development, product upgrades, ecosystem building, and market expansion. —36Kr
- Alphalong, a Beijing-based developer of optical chips and augmented reality systems, has raised more than RMB 100 million (USD 14.9 million) in a Series B round led by existing investor Plum Ventures, with participation from Deyang and Ningbo state-backed investors. The company develops metasurface optical waveguide chips alongside AR hardware and industry solutions. It will use the funds for R&D of wide-field-of-view optical waveguide chips, capacity expansion at its Deyang production base, and commercialization of optical communications components. —36Kr
- Vast, an AI company developing 3D foundation models and products, has completed Series B and Series B+ rounds totaling around RMB 3 billion (USD 445.9 million). Matrix Partners led the financing, joined by Perfect World, BlueFocus, SPC, CDH VGC, CICC Capital, CMC Capital Partners, and others. Existing investors including Fortune Capital, Primavera Capital Group, 4399, TH EDU Capital, Vitalbridge, Ince Capital, and Tsinghua Holdings Capital reinvested. The rounds brought Vast’s cumulative funding in less than six months to around RMB 5 billion (USD 743.1 million). —36Kr
- Riyao Solar, a Changchun-based perovskite solar cell technology company, has raised an eight-figure RMB sum in a pre-Series A round from Tianjin Venture Capital and Jilin Province Technology Investment Fund. The company develops self-assembled monolayer materials, thin-film inspection equipment, and perovskite solar modules. It will use the funding to establish a pilot production line for its hole-transport materials, expand its R&D team, and build a test line for larger perovskite modules targeting automotive and aerospace photovoltaic applications. —36Kr
- Handing Intelligent Technology, a Wuhan-based developer of automotive electric power steering and steer-by-wire systems, has raised an eight-figure RMB sum in strategic funding led by Red Banyan Capital. Desay SV, WZ Group, Yangtze River Industry Group, OceanX Capital, Icon Group, LongRiver Investments, and others also participated. The company will use the capital to commercialize its steer-by-wire technology and expand production capacity for higher-end electric power steering systems. —36Kr
- QLZW Environmental Technology, a Zhejiang-based developer of hydrogen-releasing materials, has raised an eight-figure RMB sum in a Series A round led by a fund managed by Tiantu Capital. The company supplies hydrogen-related materials and products to beauty brands and manufacturers, including a dry layer designed to generate and release hydrogen when used with a wet mask. It will use the funding for technology development, construction of a production base in Huzhou, R&D hiring, and expansion of its market and customer network. —36Kr
- AIPher, an AI-native drug discovery startup incubated by Tsinghua University’s Institute for AI Industry Research, has raised a nine-figure RMB sum in angel funding. Xiang He Capital led the round, with participation from Star Chain Capital and an undisclosed industry fund. AIPher develops drug foundation models including DrugCLIP and its PharmAgents drug discovery agent engine. The proceeds will support further development of these systems, exploration of new AI drug discovery technologies, and advancement of internal and partnered drug pipelines. —36Kr
- Hemu Artificial Intelligence Technology, a Chengdu-based manufacturing AI company, has raised an eight-figure RMB sum in seed funding from Sinovation Ventures. Hemu develops AI systems for mold manufacturing, spanning areas such as quotation, design, process planning, machining, and inspection. The company said it has trained more than 1,600 specialized models for manufacturing tasks and is developing software and hardware products that can operate locally inside factories. —36Kr
- NestWorks, a desktop CNC, or computer numerical control, brand incubated by Elephant Robotics, has completed angel and angel plus rounds totaling a nine-figure RMB sum. HSG, BlueRun Ventures, Eastern Bell Capital, Vertex Ventures China, and Vision Plus Capital invested in the financings. Founded in November 2025, NestWorks develops desktop CNC machines aimed at making metal and other material fabrication more accessible to engineers without specialist CNC training. Its first product, the C500, previously raised more than USD 13 million through Kickstarter crowdfunding. —36Kr
- Nirva, a startup founded by former Meta and Xreal product executive Lu Wei, has raised an eight-figure USD sum in seed funding led by Lightspeed, with participation from South Park Commons. The company is developing AI-enabled wearable accessories, beginning with a lightweight device that can be worn as jewelry and is designed to interpret information from a user’s daily activities. Nirva will use the funding to expand its team, prepare for mass production, and develop new products. —36Kr
- NovaFusionX, a nuclear fusion company, has raised RMB 1.2 billion (USD 178.3 million) in pre-Series A financing. Existing investors DragonBall Capital and Hillhouse Capital increased their backing, while Lenovo Capital and Guozhong Capital joined as new strategic investors. The financing brings NovaFusionX’s cumulative funding to RMB 2.4 billion (USD 356.7 million). It plans to use the capital to advance work toward demonstrating net fusion energy output above Q>1 and prepare supporting infrastructure for a commercial power plant. —36Kr
Bioactivx, Lumio Solar, Ajaib, and others made recent headlines:
- Bioactivx, an A*STAR and SingHealth spinoff developing wound care technologies, raised USD 3 million in a pre-Series A round. The round was co-led by Martin Krupp, managing director of Swiss family office ContInvest, and Cocoon Capital, with participation from new and existing investors.
- Lumio Solar, a Philippine technology company building a distribution network for consumer-ready solar appliances and equipment, raised USD 900,000 in a pre-seed round led by climate technology venture builder 100×100.
- Ajaib, an Indonesian online investment platform, raised USD 270 million in a Series C round from Japan’s SBI Holdings, bringing its total funding to more than USD 500 million.
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Note: RMB figures are converted to USD at rates of RMB 6.73 = USD 1 based on estimates as of September 8, 2026, unless otherwise stated. USD conversions are presented for ease of reference and may not fully match prevailing exchange rates.