Tin Men Capital
Edition 01  ·  November 2026  ·  Singapore
Inaugural Edition

The Tin Men Brief

Inside Southeast Asia's B2B AI, deep tech and industrial innovation ecosystem.

Welcome to the inaugural edition of The Tin Men Brief! This is our roundup of developments across Tin Men Capital, our portfolio companies and the technologies reshaping the industries we invest in.

This edition brings international media coverage, new funding milestones, industrial AI breakthroughs, and perspectives from our Co-Founders on where Southeast Asia's next generation of technology companies is headed.

The Tin Men Capital Team

TL;DR
Five things to know from this edition.
1
Ailytics raises a US$7.4M Series ATin Men led the oversubscribed round; 400+ deployments in 15 countries.
2
Graas closes a US$17M Series BLed by Temasek-founded LemmaTree, with a third acquisition, Trustana.
3
First Malaysian investmentTin Men led a US$2M seed in nanoSkunkWorkX, tackling AI chip packaging heat.
4
Groundup.ai launches GINA V2Physical AI for cognitive maintenance; eight-figure, multi-year contracts.
5
Tin Men in Private Equity InternationalPEI covers our U.S. expansion and growing institutional engagement.
US$7.4MAilytics Series A
US$17MGraas Series B
400+Ailytics Deployments, 15 Countries
56%Of US Midterm Voters Cite AI And Data Centres
In This Edition

In The Headlines

What is moving across Southeast Asian and US technology and investment.
Washington is debating how much AI to build. Singapore is paying to put it to work.
The US midterms reprice AI infrastructure, not AI adoption.

Democrats won both chambers of Congress on 3 November, and 56% of voters said AI and data centres were a major factor in their vote. Voters rejected data centre projects in 40 of 41 local ballot measures. Expect a slower, costlier US build-out and a premium on technologies that make existing assets work harder. Tariffs are unlikely to move, which keeps Southeast Asia central to US-aligned supply chains.

Read the full article at CNBC →
Singapore is paying for AI adoption, not AI experiments.

A new S$45M, three-year programme from Enterprise Singapore targets the three reasons manufacturers stall on AI: development cost, a lack of sector-specific solutions and uncertainty over outcomes. Rather than funding custom builds, it routes small and medium manufacturers to proven solutions through integrators and trade associations. That favours vendors with live deployments over pilots, the same line Jeremy draws between a medicine and a vitamin.

Read the full article at The Straits Times →
As the US debates power, Singapore funds efficiency.

The industry has committed more than S$500M to R&D over five years, with growing focus on photonics and chips built for the power demands of data centres. As US voters push back on the energy appetite of AI, the bottleneck shifts from building more data centres to making every chip use less power. That is the problem Singapore is now funding, and the one nanoSkunkWorkX is solving in our portfolio.

Read the full article at Channel NewsAsia →
Safran picks Singapore for its first international AI subsidiary.

Safran.AI will start with automated digital inspection for aircraft maintenance and serve customers across ASEAN, growing to about 50 people within five years, with hiring from early 2027. When a European aerospace and defence group places its industrial AI talent in Southeast Asia, it confirms the region as a place where industrial AI is built, not just bought. For US industrials in aerospace, automotive and defence, it is a reminder that some of the most practical maintenance AI is being built in Asia.

Read the full article at Safran →

The Portfolio Wire

Funding, launches and recognition across the Tin Men portfolio.
Funding
Ailytics
US$7.4MSeries A, Led By Tin Men
400+Deployments
15Countries

US$7.4M Series A to Scale Industrial Vision AI Globally

Tin Men Capital led Ailytics' oversubscribed US$7.4 million Series A, joined by SG Growth Capital, Japan's Safie and other investors.

Since our initial investment in 2024, Ailytics has grown from 70 projects across four countries to more than 400 deployments in 15 countries. Its platform transforms existing industrial CCTV into real-time operational intelligence, helping improve safety, productivity and compliance.

Customers report a 73% reduction in recordable incident rates and 84% fewer safety non-compliances. The new financing will support expansion across the U.S., Japan, Australia and the Gulf.

Read the Ailytics announcement →
Product
Groundup.ai
GINA V2Cognitive Maintenance Platform
8-figureMulti-Year Contracts
Top 30NextGen Tech 30

GINA V2 Launches as Physical AI Gains Momentum

Groundup.ai unveiled GINA V2 at Industrial Transformation Asia-Pacific 2026, introducing the next generation of its AI-native Cognitive Maintenance platform.

The engine combines sound, vibration and thermal data with agentic reasoning to diagnose developing equipment faults and recommend corrective actions.

The launch follows Groundup.ai's September recognition among the NextGen Tech 30, an initiative led by Granite Asia and the Singapore Exchange recognising promising growth-stage technology companies.

The company also reported eight-figure, multi-year contracts and expanding deployments across Asia-Pacific, the Middle East and Europe.

Read about GINA V2 →NextGen Tech 30 recognition →
Funding
nanoSkunkWorkX
US$2MSeed, Led By Tin Men
2xHeat Dissipation
40%Energy Efficiency

US$2M to Tackle AI Chip Packaging Constraints

Tin Men Capital led a US$2 million seed financing for Malaysia-based nanoSkunkWorkX (nSWX), marking our first investment in a Malaysian startup.

As AI infrastructure grows increasingly powerful, managing heat and electrical performance inside semiconductor packages has become a critical challenge.

nSWX is developing graphene-copper interfaces designed to improve heat dissipation (2x) and energy efficiency (40%) while remaining compatible with established manufacturing processes.

The company has also advanced applications in green hydrogen and biosensors, including a paid research programme with the U.S. Navy's Naval Medical Research Unit Indo Pacific.

Read the feature in TechNode Global →
Recognition
OnSite
FinalistEmerging Enterprise Awards 2026
100+Projects
SG + HKMarkets

Recognised Among Asia's Emerging Enterprises

OnSite was named a finalist in the 2026 Emerging Enterprise Awards, organised by The Business Times and OCBC, with its founders featured in a dedicated industry profile.

The company's AI-powered work chat platform tackles a persistent challenge in construction: the enormous volume of unstructured information shared through messages, photographs and voice notes.

OnSite turns everyday site communications into organised tasks, reports and operational records, without requiring field workers to overhaul their existing workflows.

Already supporting more than 100 projects across Singapore and Hong Kong, OnSite is bringing practical AI into an industry where operational coordination directly affects project execution.

Read the feature in The Business Times →
Funding
Graas
US$17MSeries B, Led By LemmaTree
3rdAcquisition: Trustana
AgenticCommerce

US$17M Series B and a Strategic Acquisition

Graas announced a US$17 million Series B in August, led by LemmaTree, an investment firm founded by Temasek, with participation from Tin Men Capital and other investors.

Alongside the financing, Graas acquired Trustana, an AI-native product data platform, marking its third acquisition.

The combination expands Graas' capabilities in agentic commerce, connecting product, customer and inventory intelligence to AI agents capable of supporting sales, ordering and customer engagement.

The acquisition also broadens the company's customer reach across Australia, Southeast Asia and the Gulf, adding major retailers to an established enterprise customer base.

Read the Graas announcement →
Leadership
GlobalTix
CTOWilson Tang, Appointed October 15
180,000Experiences Connected
15,000Reseller Partners

Strengthening Leadership for International Growth

GlobalTix announced the appointment of Wilson Tang as Chief Technology Officer on October 15, strengthening its executive leadership as the company accelerates its global expansion.

With more than 12 years of experience in travel technology and ticketing, Wilson will help scale the company's technology platform and international operations.

GlobalTix now connects more than 180,000 experiences with over 15,000 reseller partners worldwide, providing reservation, distribution and ticketing infrastructure for the global attractions and experiences sector.

The appointment reflects continued investment in the technology and leadership required to support its expanding international network.

Read the GlobalTix announcement →
Event
Pints AI
FOUNDATIONForum With Profinch
CXOsFrom The Philippines To Ghana
4Regulated Workflows

Moving Regulated AI from Frameworks into Production

Pints AI joined Profinch in organising FOUNDATION, a September forum in Singapore focused on governed AI in financial services. CXOs of regulated financial institutions flew in for the closed-door forum from as far away as the Philippines and Ghana.

The discussion centred on an increasingly important challenge for banks and insurers: how to deploy AI in core operations while maintaining explainability, auditability, human oversight and regulatory accountability.

Pints AI develops enterprise AI agents for highly regulated financial workflows, including underwriting, claims processing, credit decisioning and compliance.

As financial institutions move beyond AI experimentation, the company's focus on governed, production-ready deployment addresses the operational requirements of mission-critical decision-making.

Read about the Pints AI and Profinch initiative →
Event
HugoHub
SpeakerBraham Djidjelli, Co-Founder And CPO
Nov 2–6Hong Kong FinTech Week
ModularBanking Infrastructure

Taking the Conversation on AI-Native Banking to Hong Kong

HugoHub Co-Founder and Chief Product Officer Braham Djidjelli has been named to the speaker lineup for Hong Kong FinTech Week x StartmeupHK 2026, taking place November 2–6.

HugoHub provides modular banking infrastructure that enables banks and fintechs to build and operate financial products through a unified technology platform.

Its infrastructure supports digital banking, payments, lending and wealth solutions, with a growing focus on the opportunities and governance requirements created by AI-native financial services.

The upcoming event will bring together financial institutions, technology companies and policymakers to examine the next generation of financial infrastructure.

Explore the Hong Kong FinTech Week speaker lineup →

Market Perspectives

What we're thinking, what we're seeing and where we believe the opportunities lie.
Murli Ravi  ·  Co-Founder and GP

Southeast Asia's Next Chapter: Discipline, Durable Businesses and Liquidity

The region's venture reset is creating a different kind of opportunity.

At DealStreetAsia's Asia PE-VC Summit in October, Tin Men Capital Co-Founder and Managing Partner Murli Ravi joined investors and operators to discuss Southeast Asia's evolving technology ecosystem.

The conversation challenged a familiar assumption in venture capital: that success requires building a multibillion-dollar company and pursuing a major public listing.

Murli's perspective was grounded in the economics of building sustainable businesses. Companies that use less capital, retain meaningful founder ownership and grow through genuine commercial demand can generate attractive outcomes at more achievable exit valuations.

A strategic acquisition at US$200 million, for example, can represent an excellent outcome for founders and early investors when ownership and capital efficiency have been preserved.

Murli also moderated a panel at Tech in Asia Conference 2026 on the changing capital, banking and payment infrastructure required as AI companies scale and autonomous agents begin handling increasingly complex financial operations.

Read the DealStreetAsia summit coverage →Murli's perspective on LinkedIn →
Jeremy Tan  ·  Co-Founder and GP

Building AI Companies That Customers Cannot Ignore

Are you building a medicine or a vitamin?

That was the question posed by Tin Men Capital Co-Founder and Managing Partner Jeremy Tan in a feature published by The Edge Singapore examining what separates enduring enterprise AI businesses from those that struggle to move beyond pilots.

A useful AI product might make a process easier. A mission-critical solution addresses an urgent, economically significant problem that customers are willing to pay to solve.

The distinction matters as AI models become increasingly accessible.

Our portfolio companies reflect this approach, applying AI to problems where downtime, safety, compliance and operational inefficiency have measurable financial consequences.

Read Jeremy's perspective in The Edge Singapore →Jeremy's perspective on LinkedIn →
Key Takeaways
Where the opportunity lies

Capital-efficient enterprise technologies with defensible customer relationships, clear economic value and multiple potential pathways to liquidity, including strategic M&A.

What builds a durable advantage

Lasting competitive advantages are being built through proprietary industry data, deep operational expertise, regulatory knowledge, customer relationships and integration into complex enterprise workflows.

What's New At Tin Men

Tin Men Capital Featured in Private Equity International (PEI)

Expanding our global reach, connecting Southeast Asian innovation with North American capital.

Private Equity International (PEI) recently featured Tin Men Capital in an article by Luna Zhu examining our expansion into the United States and growing engagement with institutional investors.

The feature explores the opportunity for Southeast Asian venture capital as global investors reassess geographic exposure, capital efficiency and the region's increasingly important role in global manufacturing and supply chains.

With our U.S. capital formation efforts expanding across the Midwest, we are deepening relationships with institutional allocators, family offices and strategic investors, creating new channels for capital and commercial partnerships across our ecosystem.

The feature also highlights the perspective of an existing Tin Men investor, Morgan Family Trust, on Southeast Asia's positioning amid shifts in global capital and supply chains.

Read the feature in Private Equity International →

Growing Our Presence in the United States

Our expansion into the United States continues to open new opportunities for engagement with North American investors, industry leaders and strategic partners.

Led by Arielle Thompson, Global Head of Capital Formation, our U.S. efforts are developing across the Midwest, building relationships with institutional allocators, family offices and corporate groups.

The region's industrial strengths offer particularly relevant opportunities to connect Southeast Asian technologies with North American markets, including advanced manufacturing, automotive, semiconductors, logistics, defence and critical infrastructure.

We look forward to continuing to build these connections and identifying new opportunities for our portfolio companies to expand globally.

A Growing Team, and a New Chapter in Singapore

Our team continues to grow across investments, partnerships and institutional operations, strengthening the capabilities behind our portfolio and expanding global relationships.

And there's more to come.

In the first week of December, Tin Men Capital will be moving into our next Singapore office.

The move marks another milestone in the firm's evolution as we expand our team, deepen our capabilities and continue building for the long term.

Stay tuned for a first look at our new space and the people helping shape Tin Men's next chapter.

Until Next Time
Thank you for reading the inaugural edition of The Tin Men Brief!

We will continue sharing the companies, technologies and perspectives shaping Southeast Asia's enterprise and frontier technology ecosystem.

The Tin Men Capital Team

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This newsletter is provided by Tin Men Capital Private Limited for general information only. It does not constitute an offer to sell, or a solicitation of an offer to buy, any security or fund interest, and it is not investment, legal or tax advice. Information on portfolio companies and third-party developments is drawn from company announcements and public sources, has not been independently verified and may change without notice. Past performance is not indicative of future results. Links to third-party content are provided for convenience; Tin Men Capital is not responsible for their accuracy. Please maintain the confidentiality of any non-public information shared with you as an investor.