Week 45: Asian Startup Funding Hits $573.5 Million as aSand.ai Leads

Asian startups recorded $573.5 million in funding this week, with AI and deep-tech companies accounting for some of the largest deals.

China led the biggest announcements, including a $200 million Series A+ round for AI video generation startup aSand.ai and nearly $137.5 million for AI chipmaker Moffett AI. India also saw significant activity across healthcare, robotics, clean energy, wealth management and biotechnology, while Japanese startups attracted funding for retail robotics, medical technology and digital entertainment.

The Week’s Biggest Startup Funding Rounds

These are the top startup funding rounds in the Asian region, ranked from highest to lowest:

/1. aSand.ai, $200 Million, AI Video Generation, China

Beijing-based AI video generation startup aSand.ai has raised $200 million in a Series A+ funding round jointly led by CoStone Capital and Wangsu Science & Technology.

The company develops generative video models and VidMuse, a paid video creation service. The investment will support its development of AI-powered video generation technology.

/2. Moffett AI, $137.5 Million, AI Chips, China

Shenzhen-based AI inference chip developer Moffett AI has completed a Series C+ funding round worth nearly CN¥1 billion (approximately $137.5 million).

Investors in the round include Renai Capital, Haitang Fund, Dongheng Petroleum, Biqiu Capital, Paila Capital and Zhongcai Capital. Moffett develops chips that use sparse computing to reduce the cost of running AI models.

/3. EloElo Group, $80 Million, Entertainment Technology, India

EloElo Group has secured $80 million in a Series C funding round led by Hornbill Capital and NBCUniversal.

The company plans to use the capital to expand Story TV, its microdrama platform, invest in original content, and strengthen Dolphin AI, its artificial intelligence platform.