--- url: 'https://qubit.capital/blog/east-asia-series-b-plus-weekly-funding-roundup-week-3-march-2026' title: 'East Asia Series B+ Weekly Funding Roundup (Mar 14-21, 2026): $36.0M Raised Across 2 Deals' author: name: Vaibhav Totuka url: 'https://qubit.capital/blog/author/vaibhav-totuka' date: '2026-03-21T04:19:31+05:30' modified: '2026-03-21T18:54:31+05:30' type: post summary: East Asia Series B+ startups raised $36.0M this week. MustBio closed $26M Series C for immuno-oncology and XYZ Robotics secured $10M Series B for AI service robots. categories: - Weekly Funding Roundup image: 'https://qubit.capital/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/featured-east-asia-series-bplus-64436.webp' published: true --- # East Asia Series B+ Weekly Funding Roundup (Mar 14-21, 2026): $36.0M Raised Across 2 Deals East Asia’s late-stage startup ecosystem posted two significant raises this week, with South Korean companies pulling in a combined $36.0M across biotech and robotics. The deals reflect continued investor confidence in deep-tech verticals where proprietary platforms and defensible IP create durable competitive moats. Both rounds landed in South Korea, reinforcing the country’s emergence as a serious contender in hardware-intensive innovation. From multi-specific antibody engineering to humanoid robotics, Korean founders are attracting capital for technically ambitious plays that require years of R&D before commercial payoff. Notably, MustBio’s Series C saw seven of nine investors return from earlier rounds — a strong signal of insider conviction. Weekly Funding Roundup MAR 14-21, 2026 $36M TOTAL RAISED 2DEALS CLOSED MixedSTAGE $18MAVG DEAL SIZE EAST A.TOP REGION BY STAGE Series C$26M72% Series B$10M28% BY SECTOR MustBioHealthtech / Biotechnology$26M XYZ RoboticsAI / Robotics$10M Table of Contents - [1. MustBio Raises $26M For Immuno-Oncology Therapies](#1-mustbio-raises-$26m-for-immuno-oncology-therapies) [Deal Overview](#deal-overview) - [Investor Profile](#investor-profile) - [Company and Leadership](#company-and-leadership) - [Problem and Opportunity](#problem-and-opportunity) - [Product and Technology](#product-and-technology) - [Use of Proceeds and Vision](#use-of-proceeds-and-vision) - [Market Context](#market-context) - [2. XYZ Robotics Raises $10M For AI-Driven Service Robots](#2-xyz-robotics-raises-$10m-for-ai-driven-service-robots) [Deal Overview](#deal-overview-1) - [Investor Profile](#investor-profile-1) - [Company and Leadership](#company-and-leadership-1) - [Problem and Opportunity](#problem-and-opportunity-1) - [Product and Technology](#product-and-technology-1) - [Use of Proceeds and Vision](#use-of-proceeds-and-vision-1) - [Market Context](#market-context-1) - [Lessons For Founders](#lessons-for-founders) ## 1. MustBio Raises $26M For Immuno-Oncology Therapies ### Deal Overview - **Stage:** Series C - **Sector:** Healthtech / Biotechnology - **Geography:** South Korea - **Round Size:** $26M (KRW 35B) - **Total Raised:** $42.6M across three rounds ### Investor Profile The round brought together nine investors led by Korea Investment Partners, one of South Korea’s most established venture capital firms. Premier Partners, Partners Investment, Korea Development Bank, and Shinhan Capital anchored the institutional side, while Ahngook Pharm added strategic pharma industry backing. Wonik Investment Partners, Atinum Investment, and BNH Investment rounded out the syndicate. Seven of the nine investors participated in earlier rounds, demonstrating unusually strong insider conviction. The presence of Korea Development Bank — a state-backed policy bank — signals government-level confidence in MustBio’s platform as a strategic biotech asset. ### Company and Leadership [MustBio](https://www.mustbio.com) was founded in February 2021 by Maengsup Kim, a pharmaceutical veteran with prior leadership roles at Anguk Pharmaceutical and Hanmi Pharmaceutical. Headquartered in South Korea, the company has moved swiftly through its funding stages — from a $6M Series A to a $13.1M Series B and now this $26M Series C in just five years. ### Problem and Opportunity Current cancer immunotherapies, particularly checkpoint inhibitors like PD-1/PD-L1 antibodies, have transformed oncology but still fail a majority of patients. Standard IL-2 therapy activates immune cells but causes severe peripheral toxicity, limiting dosing and efficacy. The field needs next-generation molecules that can selectively activate immune responses within tumors while sparing healthy tissue. The bispecific and multi-specific antibody space is one of the fastest-growing segments in oncology, with the market projected to reach $15B by 2030. Companies that can engineer molecules targeting multiple pathways simultaneously hold a significant advantage over single-target approaches. ### Product and Technology MustBio operates two proprietary platforms. BICSTA is a multi-specific antibody engineering platform capable of producing bispecific and trispecific antibodies with enhanced anti-tumor activity. STARKINE is an immune cytokine platform designed to modulate the tumor microenvironment directly. The lead asset, MB5 (αPD-1/IL-2v), selectively activates immune cells within tumors while limiting peripheral activation — addressing the tolerability problems that have plagued conventional IL-2 therapy. MustBio also presented preclinical data at AACR 2025 on a PD-1/VEGF/IL-2v tri-specific fusion protein, demonstrating the platform’s versatility across multiple targets. ### Use of Proceeds and Vision The capital will fund clinical development of MB5, pushing it from preclinical studies through Phase 1/2 clinical trials. MustBio is positioning for clinical-stage validation that could attract partnership or out-licensing deals with larger pharmaceutical companies. The company’s long-term ambition is to build a pipeline of best-in-class multi-specific antibody drugs that go beyond existing checkpoint inhibitors, tackling cancers that remain resistant to current immunotherapies. ### Market Context The global immuno-oncology market exceeds $100B, with intense competition from Roche, AstraZeneca, BioNTech, and Xencor in the multi-specific antibody space. In South Korea, Arkgen Biosciences and Cyron Therapeutics represent emerging domestic competitors. MustBio’s dual-platform approach and the strong repeat participation from investors suggest the company has differentiated technology in a crowded but massive market. ## 2. XYZ Robotics Raises $10M For AI-Driven Service Robots ### Deal Overview - **Stage:** Series B - **Sector:** AI / Robotics - **Geography:** South Korea - **Round Size:** $10M (KRW 13B) ### Investor Profile Investor details for this round have not been publicly disclosed. The $10M raise positions XYZ Robotics to accelerate commercialization of its robot platforms at a time when South Korea’s service robotics sector is attracting increasing institutional attention. ### Company and Leadership [XYZ Robotics](https://www.xyzrobotics.com) is a South Korean service robotics company building AI-driven robots for real-world commercial environments. The company has developed multiple robot form factors, including a barista robot platform and a dual-arm humanoid robot designed for complex physical tasks. ### Problem and Opportunity South Korea faces one of the world’s most acute labor shortages, driven by a rapidly aging population and declining birth rate. Service industries — food and beverage, hospitality, retail — are particularly affected. Robots that can operate reliably in unstructured human environments represent a direct solution to this structural workforce gap. The timing aligns with broader advances in physical AI, where foundation models trained on real-world interaction data are finally enabling robots to handle the variability of commercial service settings. ### Product and Technology XYZ Robotics is developing AI-driven service robots across multiple platforms. The barista robot is designed for consistent, high-throughput beverage preparation in commercial settings. The dual-arm humanoid robot represents a more ambitious play — a general-purpose platform capable of performing dexterous tasks in unstructured environments. The dual-arm humanoid form factor is particularly significant. While single-purpose robots have found niches in logistics and manufacturing, humanoid robots with two arms can theoretically handle a far broader range of service tasks without requiring environment redesign. ### Use of Proceeds and Vision The Series B funding will support expanded development of both the barista platform and the dual-arm humanoid robot. XYZ Robotics is building toward commercially deployable robots that can operate autonomously in restaurants, cafes, and other service environments. ### Market Context South Korea is the world’s most robot-dense country by industrial robot installations per capita, and its government has invested heavily in robotics as a national strategic industry. The global service robotics market is projected to exceed $100B by 2030. XYZ Robotics competes in a space alongside international players like Figure AI, 1X Technologies, and domestic companies investing in humanoid and service robot platforms. The Korean market’s high labor costs and technology-forward consumer base create favorable conditions for early commercial deployment. ## Lessons For Founders - **Insider conviction is the strongest signal.** MustBio’s seven returning investors across its Series C demonstrate that the best fundraising proof point is existing backers doubling down. Build relationships that survive multiple rounds. - **Dual-platform strategies multiply optionality.** MustBio’s BICSTA + STARKINE combination creates multiple pipeline candidates from shared infrastructure. Founders in deep-tech should consider whether their core technology supports more than one product line. - **Demographic tailwinds create category-defining opportunities.** South Korea’s aging population and labor shortage are structural, not cyclical. XYZ Robotics is building for a market that will only grow more urgent. Founders should identify irreversible trends and build ahead of them. - **Clinical validation unlocks strategic exits.** In biotech, reaching Phase 1/2 trials is the inflection point that attracts big pharma partnerships. MustBio’s use of proceeds is laser-focused on this milestone — a model for capital-efficient biotech strategy. - **State-backed investors signal national priority.** Korea Development Bank’s participation in MustBio’s round reflects government alignment with the biotech sector. Founders in strategic industries should actively pursue sovereign and policy-bank capital as a credibility multiplier.