Startup funding

Funding round would increase Perplexity’s valuation by more than 50%

Huang’s immediate focus is to raise funding to support development of firm’s four assets

It is backed by Enterprise Singapore and the corporate foundation of Dutch lender Rabobank

As VCs tighten their purse strings on consumer startups, several firms have turned to other sources of financing

Singapore-based firms secure bulk of financing, followed by those from the Philippines and Malaysia

It has worked with almost 80 founders on more than 45 new ventures, with more than half in AI and deep tech

It will be used to expand BeeX’s fleet of autonomous underwater drones and its operational reach

It previously raised a US$330 million Series G funding round in December 2025 at a US$8 billion valuation

But this is less so in Asia, where entrepreneurs seek profitability over valuations: Granite Asia’s Jenny Lee