Hello and Namaste from Nepal!

We’re thrilled to bring you our latest edition of Nepali Dias Express, your trusted weekly digest of what’s happening back home, why it matters, and how it connects to Nepalis living around the world.

🇳🇵 NEPALI HEADLINES

1. A Crypto Ring in Kathmandu Got Busted

Cops in Kathmandu just took down a pretty massive crypto scheme running out of Kalopul. They arrested four guys who were apparently juggling around Rs 60 million in digital currency. They even found Rs 1.53 million in hard cash just chilling there. While other countries are building crazy wealth from crypto, we’re still out here with a blanket ban. In 2025.

2. The Central Bank is Freezing Sketchy Accounts

Nepal Rastra Bank basically just hit the emergency brake. They told all the payment apps (like eSewa, Khalti, the works), to immediately freeze the accounts of anyone the government flags for terrorism links. The reason being, Nepal's on the FATF "grey list" because we're not great at tracking dirty money, and we have two years to get our act together, or we get blacklisted.

The weird part is, a lot of these flagged accounts are owned by 18-to-24-year-olds who are being used as "money mules" for scammers. So yeah, if a stranger slides into your DMs offering "easy income" just to use your digital wallet for a bit, it's a scam. Just no.

3. Gold Prices Are Finally Taking a Nap

Okay, everyone can unclench. Gold is finally calming down. After almost giving the entire country a heart attack by hitting Rs 199,400 per tola, it’s dropped back down to a more reasonable (but still eye-watering) Rs 196,200. Silver is a bit cheaper too. Look, it’s still not cheap, but it gives at least some relief.

4. There Was a Ring in a Momo. Seriously.

You can't make this up. That momo place in Dharahara, Tapari Momo, just got fined Rs 200,000. Again. The last time they were in the news, it was for serving a worm. This time? Someone found a metal ring in their momo. Sadly, it wasn’t a gold ring! If it was, we may have never known about the incident. But, on a serious note, unless they're launching a new "find a prize in your momo" promotion, they seriously need to sort out what's happening in their kitchen.

🌏 Global Updates

1. A Nepali-Founded AI Company is Hitting the US Stock Market

Fusemachines, an AI company founded by a Nepali entrepreneur, Sameer Maskey, is about to be listed on the Nasdaq in the US through a SPAC deal. They even brought in a big-shot CFO from the American tech scene to help guide them. This is a genuinely huge moment for the Nepali tech scene. In this deep dive, we’ll talk about what SPAC actually is, and why we should be so proud.

2. Trump and Putin Are Talking About Ukraine; Without Ukraine

Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin are meeting in Alaska, supposedly to figure out how to end the war in Ukraine. Guess the one person who wasn't invited to this chat? Yep, it’s Ukraine's president. Unsurprisingly, Zelensky's basically saying, "That's cool, but anything you two decide without me is irrelevant." The ripple effect for us is that Trump's team is hinting that if these talks fail, India could get hit with even more US tariffs. That means things could get more expensive for our own businesses that buy from India.

3. The Stock Market is in a Weirdly Good Mood

For some reason, stock markets everywhere are happy. The big bet is that the US will cut its interest rates in September. In simple terms, that means it'll be cheaper to borrow money, which is generally good for businesses and stock prices. The only potential downside is that this can make inflation flare up again, but for now, it seems like investors are just enjoying the party.

DEEP DIVE

Fusemachines Goes Public: Nepal’s AI Star is About to Ring the Nasdaq Bell

If you’ve been scrolling through LinkedIn lately, you’ve probably seen a familiar Nepali name pop up next to words like “Nasdaq”, “SPAC deal”, and “$200 million valuation”.

That’s Dr. Sameer Maskey, the man who went from Nepal to the IBM Watson Research Center, became a Columbia University professor, and then founded Fusemachines, an AI company that now employs 350 people in Nepal and another 100 globally.

And now, he’s about to take his company public on the Nasdaq through a SPAC deal

Quick Detour: What’s a SPAC Deal Anyway?

Getting onto a major stock exchange like Nasdaq is like trying to get into the most exclusive VIP club in the world. The bouncer is strict, the line is painfully long, and the paperwork could kill a small forest.

For a fast-growing tech company like Fusemachines, that process means months, sometimes years of audits, roadshows, and regulations. That’s time and money pulled away from actually building AI products and serving clients.

So, what if you knew someone who was already inside the club and could just wave you past the line?

That’s CSLM Acquisition Corp.; a SPAC, short for Special Purpose Acquisition Company. Think of a SPAC as a publicly-listed company with a healthy bank account but no actual business of its own. Its one job? Find a promising private company, merge with it, and hand over its public listing.

It’s basically a corporate arranged marriage: CSLM brings the public listing, Fusemachines brings the actual business.

Here’s the simple play-by-play:

1. SPAC is born – A group of investors form a “blank check” company and list it on the stock market, raising money in the process. Investors don’t know the target yet; they’re betting on the sponsors’ judgment.
   

2. Find the match – The SPAC has around 18–24 months to find a private company it likes.
   

3. Announce the wedding – The chosen company (the “target”) and deal terms are revealed.
   

4. Shareholder vote – Investors vote “yes” or “no.” If they’re not convinced, they can take their money back (redemption).
   

5. Merge and trade – If approved, the private company takes over the SPAC’s place on the exchange and starts trading publicly.

Once the deal is done, CSLM's job is over, and they'll basically disappear. The new company on the Nasdaq floor will be Fusemachines Inc., and you'll see them trading under a new ticker symbol: FUSE. Simple as that.

Why do companies like SPACs? They’re often faster, less uncertain, and give founders more control over valuation. You also get seasoned sponsors who can guide you through the transition to a public company.

Why did Fusemachines pick this route?
Because they’re in the middle of a global AI growth wave and want to scale now, not two years later after a long IPO slog. A SPAC gets them on Nasdaq faster, opens access to public capital sooner, and lets them keep momentum in hiring, R&D, and market expansion

Meet Fusemachines

Okay, let's get into what Fusemachines actually is.

Officially, their address is in New York, and they build some seriously powerful AI for big-shot clients (we're talking giants like TIME Magazine.)

But that's just the on-paper story. The actual engine room, where all the heavy lifting gets done, is somewhere completely different.

Out of their 450-ish employees around the world, a massive 350 of them are based in Nepal.

Basically, the core of this company, the absolute brainpower driving a global AI firm, is working from back home. So while they have a footprint everywhere from the US to Latin America, their center of gravity is, without a doubt, in Nepal.

This was Dr. Maskey's entire vision. He set out to build a world-class tech company that didn't need a Silicon Valley zip code to be taken seriously. He's building a global powerhouse fueled by Nepali talent, proving to the world what's possible.

rom the narrow streets of Kathmandu to the halls of Columbia University and now Nasdaq, Dr. Sameer Maskey’s journey is the stuff of diaspora pride.

Meet the Founder

Meet Dr. Sameer Maskey. His journey is the kind you want to tell your kids about.

He went from Kathmandu to Columbia University for his PhD in Computer Science, and apparently liked it so much he picked up an MS and MPhil there, too.

But before he started Fusemachines, he was deep inside the legendary IBM Watson Research Center. Think about that: back when AI was still mostly science fiction for the rest of us, he was in the lab, working on the kind of tech that now powers our world, filing patents, and publishing research.

Even today, he still teaches at Columbia University as an Adjunct Associate Professor.

With that kind of resume, he could have taken any comfortable, high-paying job he wanted. But his mission was different. It was simple, but incredibly ambitious; to prove that you don't need a Silicon Valley address to find world-class talent.

He bet on Nepali engineers to power a global AI company, and now that bet is about to land on the Nasdaq.

Fusemachine’s Funding Story So Far

Fusemachines didn’t just appear on the Nasdaq stage out of nowhere; its path was built on a mix of smart fundraising, strategic partnerships, and a belief that world-class AI talent exists far beyond Silicon Valley.

Early Funding in the US

• 2014 – Seed Round: Raised about $975,000 to get the vision off the ground.

• December 2018 – Series A: Secured $3 million from venture investors, giving Fusemachines the capital to scale its AI offerings.

• 2019 – Dolma Impact Fund: Landmark $5.4 million investment from Nepal focused Dolma Impact Fund I, one of the biggest tech investments (in Nepal) at the time.

• 2020 – PPP Loan: Like many US-based firms, Fusemachines tapped into the Paycheck Protection Program to protect jobs during the COVID-19 shock.

Nepal Funding Milestones

• January 2022 – Business Oxygen (BO2): It’s Nepal entity secured $1 million in Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) from Nepal’s first private equity fund.

The Money And The IPO Deal

When the SPAC deal was first announced in January 2024, Fusemachines was valued at $200 million. That’s the kind of number that makes you sit up straight. 

The initial plan was:

• $19.44 million in PIPE (Private Investment in Public Equity)
  

• Additional pre-closing financing from CSLM affiliates

But let's be real, life is never that simple. Especially in the wild world of finance.

The economy got a bit shaky, and like most deals of this kind over the last couple of years, they had to get creative.

Here’s a quick before-and-after:

Original (2024):

$19.44M PIPE commitment, with the deal expected to close by Q2 2024

Revised (2025):

• $8.84M PIPE commitment
  

• $2.16M sponsor affiliate convertible note (converting at $0.44/share)
  

• $2.75M sponsor loan capacity
  

• Extension of two Fusemachines notes worth $6.5M
  

• Forward Purchase Agreement with Meteora Capital Partners for up to 3 million shares at $12.06/share ($36M potential capital)

Translation: The path to Nasdaq got a little bumpy and they had to reroute the funding plan. But they managed to stitch it all together to keep the dream alive and push this thing over the finish line.

The Big Vote

On July 28, 2025, CSLM shareholders voted on whether to approve the merger.

Result? 96.4% said yes 

To put that in perspective, out of more than 5 million votes, fewer than 200,000 said no. It’s the corporate equivalent of asking your entire family where to go for a picnic and having everyone instantly agree. It just doesn't happen. And just like that, the deal was officially a go.

So, champagne popping, right? Victory party?

Well, almost. Because there's one last, tiny bit of suspense left, and it's all about the cash.

Even after voting 'yes', any of those CSLM shareholders have a right to say, "You know what, this has been great, but I'd like my money back now, please." This is called a "redemption."

Think of it like everyone chipping in for a big group trip. The destination is approved, the tickets are about to be booked, but at the last second, a few people can back out and take their share of the money with them. The trip still happens, but you're leaving with a little less cash in the group wallet.

So the final suspense isn't if Fusemachines is going to Nasdaq (that's locked in.) The real cliffhanger is how much money will be left in the pot after these last-minute redemptions are counted. As of mid-August, we're all still waiting for that final tally.

Why This Matters (Especially to the Nepali Diaspora)

Be honest. How many times have you been in a room, mentioned you were from Nepal, and been met with that polite, slightly blank stare?

We all know how it goes. We pull out the hits: "Mount Everest," "birthplace of Buddha." We do it with pride, but there's always that lingering feeling that the world's story about us is a little stuck in the past.

This is the moment that rewrites the script.

Thanks to Fusemachines, the phrase 'Nepali-made' won't just mean a pashmina shawl or a handcrafted khukuri. It will also mean a world-class AI algorithm trading on the same exchange as Apple and Google.

It gives every one of us a new answer to the question, "So, what's happening in Nepal?"

Nepali tech talent now gets a credibility boost; employers abroad might start taking “trained in Nepal” a little more seriously.

And more importantly, it could inspire more Nepali founders to think beyond local markets and aim for global scale.

It’s the kind of representation moment that makes you want to send the article to every “Nepalis can’t compete globally” uncle in your WhatsApp group.

But Let’s Keep It Real

SPACs aren’t always fairy tales. Many post-merger companies have struggled with stock performance, especially if redemptions drained the cash pile before Day 1.

For Fusemachines, the real test begins now. They're stepping into an arena where you're judged every three months, purely on your numbers. The AI world is a brutal, hyper-competitive space with giants like Google and a million hungry startups fighting for every inch.

The challenge is simple: they have to prove to the world’s most skeptical investors that they can turn all this incredible potential into cold, hard, consistent revenue.

The good news is, they are walking into this fight with serious advantages: they already have a proven product, a list of big-name clients, and their ultimate ace-in-the-hole; that massive, brilliant team back in Nepal driving the engine.

So no, it’s not a guaranteed fairy tale. The road ahead is steep. But they're starting this climb with a full set of gear and a solid map.

Closing Thought

Wherever you are in the world, this is a moment to be proud. A company with deep Nepali roots is about to step onto one of the most prestigious financial stages in the world.

Sure, there are risks ahead; this isn’t a guaranteed happily-ever-after. But the fact that it’s happening at all is proof that Nepali ambition doesn’t have to stop at the border.

Now the only question is; will we see FUSE glowing on a Times Square billboard soon? 

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