How Did AI Deals Top $1.2B This Weekend? 🤖📊💸

TL;DR

• Cybersecurity AI unicorn Torq locked in $140M growth capital
• Industrial AI player Spector.ai secured fresh expansion funding
• New visual AI startup Elorian targets $50M raise
• OpenAI–SoftBank put $1B into SB Energy datacenters

HEADLINES

Torq raised $140M for AI-first SOC 🛡️🔗

Spector.ai closed Rs 58 Cr industrial AI round 🏭🔗

Aivar raised $4.6M to build AI services 💼🔗

Google launched Universal Commerce Protocol for AI agents 🛍️🔗

Asia tech index jumped 6% on AI rotation 📈🔗

FROM THE BIG PLAYERS

OpenAI & SoftBank invested $1B into SB Energy ⚡🔗

Google & Walmart partnered to enable shopping inside Gemini 🛒🔗

Goldman Sachs went overweight Asia’s AI‑linked tech 🌏🔗

Reliance Jio announced people‑first AI platform initiative 📱🔗

RAISES

Torq raised $140M in a funding round led by Merlin Ventures 🛡️🔗

Spector.ai raised Rs 58 Cr (~$6.7M) in a funding round led by IvyCap Ventures ⚙️🔗

Aivar raised $4.6M in a seed round led by Sorin Investments 🌱🔗

RAISING

Elorian is looking to raise $50M in a Series A for multimodal visual‑audio‑language intelligence 🖼️🔗

NEW LAUNCHES

Google launched Universal Commerce Protocol for AI shopping agents 🛍️🔗

Halo AI unveiled upgraded agentic platform for brands, creators ✨🔗

Dnsys showcased AI‑assisted X1 exoskeleton at CES 2026 🦿🔗

NuraLogix unveiled Longevity Mirror for AI‑driven health scoring 🪞🔗

TRY THESE TOOLS

Longevity Mirror camera‑based smart mirror for cardiovascular risk insights ❤️🔗

Sensura Smartwatch non‑invasive AI glucose tracking on‑wrist ⌚🔗

Allergen Alert handheld AI scanner for food allergens 🥗🔗

Halo AI Platform agentic co‑pilot for scaling creator campaigns 🤝🔗

METRICS

MSCI Asia Tech Gauge up 6% in 2026 vs Nasdaq 2% 📊🔗

TSMC, Samsung, SK Hynix[have surged 8–16% year‑to‑date 🚀🔗

Big Tech AI capex forecast to hit US$440B, up 34% 🏗️🔗

Halo AI reports 378% jump in creator payouts 📈🔗

DnSys X1 exoskeleton claims 50% energy saving while walking 🏃🔗

BENCHMARKS

McKinsey estimate pegs agentic commerce at $3–5T by 2030 🛒🔗

Gartner forecast puts global AI spending near $2T in 2026 🌐🔗

Taiwan Healthy Taiwan Sprout approved NT$2.94B for 197 smart‑health projects 🏥🔗

Selangor VC strategy targets “centaur” firms above US$100M valuation 📘🔗

INFRA & COSTS

OpenAI–SoftBank–SB Energy commit $1B to multi‑gigawatt AI datacenters ⚡🔗

Selangor data‑centre policy mandates 30% capex flow to local vendors 🏭🔗

Google’s UCP standardizes payments across AI shopping agents 💳🔗

Asia AI capex surge underpins chipmakers’ profitability expectations 💾🔗

VALUATIONS

Torq reached a $1.2B valuation post‑raise 🏷️🔗

MSCI Asia Tech trades at 16.3x forward earnings 💹🔗

Nasdaq 100 / Philly Semi hover near 25x forward earnings 📊🔗

Selangor’s VC program explicitly optimizes for US$100M+ “centaur” outcomes 🎯🔗

POLICY

Malaysia regulator suspended access to Musk’s Grok AI ⚖️🔗

Indian government forced X to remove 3,500 obscene Grok posts 🛑🔗

X platform began stricter enforcement on obscene AI content 🚨🔗

SOVEREIGN

Taiwan government plans NT$100B AI venture fund, 500k talents 🏛️🔗

Taiwan smart‑health funding deploys NT$2.94B into 197 AI projects 🩺🔗

Selangor state runs RM100M chip‑focused VC fund 📡🔗

Jamaica education ministry pilots AI systems to mark school exam papers 📚🔗

SECTORS

Retail deployed Gemini‑based agentic shopping checkout 🛒🔗

Health Tech deployed AI‑driven wearables and diagnostic mirrors 🩻🔗

Industrial Operations deployed agents preventing equipment failures, downtime 🏗️🔗

Creator Economy deployed agentic AI to scale brand collaborations 🎥🔗

Public Education deployed AI grading to monitor performance in real time 🏫🔗

COMMUNITY MEMBER SPOTLIGHT

Eli Ofel launched AI‑powered Tow.Market and opened a Seed round 🚗🔗