Deals in brief: Slice snags USD 17.5 million, Dubai-based National Pulse invests in Aleta Planet, Japan’s Otsuka Pharma to acquire Jnana Therapeutics, and more
Summary
Our vision was to help customers access travel while also helping them to budget sensibly and avoid financial hardship, said Farouk Ismail, CEO of Slice.The funds will be used for product enhancements and to scale the startups B2B offering, Slice Pay, for travel agents.Aleta Planet, a Singapore-based entity specializing in cross-border payment services for businesses in the Middle East, has received an undisclosed investment from National Pulse, a Dubai-based tech-focused firm. The company will establish its global headquarters in Dubai, while continuing to coordinate its expansion in Southeast Asia from its Singapore office.Additionally, Aleta Planet plans to form a joint venture with National Pulse to focus on B2B cross-border transactions, initially targeting the Middle Easts agricultural trade and logistics sectors. SynSense, a company developing neuromorphic computing solutions, has raised several hundred million RMB in a strategic financing round led by Ningbo Tongshang Fund, with participation from other investors like Samsung. 36Kr Beep, a Singapore-based internet-of-things company, raised USD 3.3 million in a pre-Series A funding round co-led by Granite Asia, Farquhar VC, SUTD Venture Holdings, and Wing Vasiksiri, with participation from M7 Ace Neo. Intellecs.ai, a Singapore-based AI-powered research and writing platform, secured USD 125,000 in pre-seed funding from Antler.If there are any news or updates youd like us to feature, get in touch with us at: [email protected].