Startup Flash Report

STARTUP FLASH - December 08, 2025

Airwallex secures $330M Series G at $8B valuation to double down on US expansion and AI-powered global payments[3][4]

TOP 3 STORIES:

1. Airwallex raises $330M Series G, hits $8B valuation and sets up second HQ in San Francisco
Fintech Airwallex closed a $330 million Series G led by Addition, lifting its valuation to $8 billion and funding aggressive expansion in the US and other key markets, including a second headquarters in San Francisco and expanded AI-driven product development.[3][4] For founders, this signals that cross-border infrastructure and embedded finance remain premium categories, and that scaling globally with strong regulatory and infrastructure moats can still command late-stage growth capital even in a selective market.[3][4]

2. ChemLex raises $45M to build a “self-driving lab” for AI-driven drug discovery in Singapore
Singapore-based ChemLex secured $45 million to launch an AI-powered self-driving lab that automates experiment design and execution for small-molecule drug discovery, aiming to cut timelines and costs for pharma R&D.[8] This reinforces the rise of *AI-for-science* startups: founders building in deep tech and life sciences should note investor appetite for capital-intensive platforms that combine wet labs, robotics, and foundation models, especially when tied to clear pharma partnerships and IP defensibility.[8]

3. Melt&Marble lands $8.5M Series A to commercialize precision-fermented animal-free fats for food
Swedish food-tech startup Melt&Marble raised $8.5 million Series A to scale production and launch its precision-fermented, animal-free fats designed to improve taste and mouthfeel in plant-based meat and dairy alternatives.[7] For climate and food-tech founders, this underlines that investors are still backing ingredient-level innovation with clear B2B paths into CPG and foodservice, but the bar is high on unit economics, regulatory strategy, and differentiated functionality versus commodity plant oils.[7]

Flash Insight:
Late-stage capital is concentrating around category leaders in infrastructure-like fintech and AI-for-science, where defensibility comes from regulation, data, and capital-intensive platforms rather than pure software alone.[3][4][8] At the same time, specialized vertical AI (ChemLex) and deep food-tech (Melt&Marble) show that investors are willing to fund long-horizon bets when there is a clear commercialization path and strong technical edge.[7][8] For founders, this environment rewards *focus and credibility*: tightly defined wedges, visible traction with enterprise or pharma partners, and clear capital efficiency narratives are becoming as important as headline valuations in winning competitive rounds.

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Sources & Links:

[3] Business Wire – Funding Newsroom (Airwallex funding mention)
URL: https://www.businesswire.com/newsroom/subject/funding

[4] The Business Times – “Airwallex raises US$330 million Series G funding round led by Addition”
URL: https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/startups-tech/startups/airwallex-raises-us330-million-series-g-funding-round-led-addition

[7] Green Queen – “Melt&Marble Raises $8.5M to Launch Animal-Free Fats for Food”
URL: https://www.greenqueen.com.hk/melt-and-marble-funding-precision-fermentation-fat-launch/

[8] TechNode Global – “AI-for-science startup ChemLex raises $45M, launching self-driving lab for drug discovery in Singapore”
URL: https://technode.global/2025/1