Weekly Roundup: Asian tech news and startup deals

Here are the technology news, startup, and VC deals we tracked across the Asian region this week.

• Edtech firm Lead School, which provides tech-enabled solutions to schools, raised $100 million in funding led by GSV Ventures and WestBridge Capital, bringing its valuation to $1.1 billion, as it joins Mamaearth and Fractal in the 2022 Indian unicorn club.
• Indian fintech FPL Technologies raised $75 million in Series C funding at a $750 million valuation, from its existing investors, QED Investors, Janchor Partners, Sequoia Capital India, Matrix Partners, and Hummingbird Ventures.
• Indonesian investment app Pluang has raised an additional $55 million as a follow-on to its Series B funding, led by Accel, bringing the round to $110 million, to be used to expand in Southeast Asia.
• SaaS management platform Zluri raised $10 million in a Series A funding round led by MassMutual Ventures with participation from existing investors, Endiya Partners, and Kalaari Capital. The company will use the funding to further strengthen its product's capabilities and beef up its teams in core markets in Asia and North America.
• The ePlane Company raised $5 million in a funding round led by deep-tech venture capitalist Speciale Invest and EV/climate-focused fund Micelio.
• Power Gummies, a direct-to-consumer (D2C) nutraceutical products maker, raised $6 million in a Series A funding round led by 9Unicorns.
• India's hyper-local delivery startup Dunzo raised $240 million in a funding round led by Reliance Retail, which now owns a 26% stake, with Dunzo’s existing investors Lightbox, Lightrock, 3L Capital, and Alteria Capital also participating in the round.
• India's Flipkart acquired Yaantra, an electronics refurbishment platform for an undisclosed fee, with local media reporting that it was a cash-and-stock deal worth about $40 to 50 million.
• Curefoods raised $62 million from Iron Pillar, Chiratae Ventures, Sixteenth Street Capital, Accel Partners, and Flipkart co-founder Binny Bansal at a valuation of about $280 million.
• Agritech startup Pepper Farms raised $1 million in a seed funding round led by AxilorVentures and Himanshu Aggarwal, Co-founder of Aspiring Minds.
• The Michael & Susan Dell Foundation has led a $2.5 million equity investment in Mumbai-based fintech startup Arthan Finance, which offers loans to tiny entrepreneurs.
• Lahori, a direct-to-consumer beverage maker, raised $15 million from Verlinvest as part of its Series A funding round.
• Gold loans provider Rupeek raised $34 million in a funding round led by Lightbox to be used for its expansion plans and to invest in new products.
• Neobank Muvin raised $3 million in debt and equity in a funding round led by WaterBridge Ventures. The capital will be used for product development and hiring.
• IppoPay raised $2.1 million in seed funding from Coinbase Ventures and others to be used to develop the fintech startup’s technology stack and for expansion.
• Recykal, a tech-enabled waste management company, raised $22 million from funds managed by Morgan Stanley India.
• Indian online gaming community platform Turnip raised $12.5 million in a funding round co-led by Greenoaks and existing investor Elevation Capital.
• India-based agritech startup WayCool Foods raised $117 million in an ongoing Series D funding round that saw participation from new and existing investors.
• Dozee, a health-tech startup that offers remote monitoring solutions, raised $10 million in a fresh round led by Gokul Rajaram.
• Refyne, a platform that helps employees draw their salaries on demand, raised $82 million in new funding led by New York-based investment firm Tiger Global.
• Rooter, India’s leading game streaming and e-sports platform, raised $25 million in a Series A funding round led by Lightbox, March Gaming and Duane Park Ventures.
• Indian haircare startup Traya raised $2.2 million in a funding round led by Fireside Ventures, with existing investors Kae Capital and Whiteboard Capital also participating.
• YantraLive, a B2B platform for heavy equipment and parts, raised $1 million in a seed round to upgrade its technology platform and launch new product categories to deepen its presence in India.
• China plans to develop its digital economy with the aim of increasing the sector's share of national GDP from 7.8% in 2020 to 10% in 2025, by pushing technologies such as 6G and big data centers. The country says it will accelerate the construction of big data centers and increase the number of users of gigabit broadband from 6.4 million in 2020 to 60 million in 2025.
• Indonesia's KoinWorks, a P2P lending service for small and medium-sized businesses, raised $108 million in a Series C round led by MDI Ventures.
• Apple is expected to begin allowing alternative payment systems in South Korea in compliance with a new law in the country that bans app stores from forcing their own in-app payment systems.
• Indonesia-based eFishery, which provides feeding devices, software, and financing to fish and shrimp farmers, raised $90 million in a Series C round co-led by Temasek, SoftBank Vision Fund 2, and Sequoia Capital India, to expand into China and India.

The Draft provides a weekly roundup of the most important tech news across key emerging markets in Africa, Asia, Eastern Europe, Latin America, and the Middle East. Follow the rest of our coverage @techloy on Twitter.