Early-stage
Boyu joins $600m round for EV unit of China's Geely
Boyu Capital and Yuexiu Industrial Fund have led a USD 600m Series A round for Farizon Auto, a new energy vehicle (NEV) brand under Chinese automaker Geely.
Deal focus: Telexistence’s nimble robots target retail, logistics
Japan’s Telexistence appears to be on the cusp of a significant milestone in retail automation. Local logistics tech investor Monoful is hoping to take that promise to the warehouse
Lightspeed leads $20m round for India SaaS player Zluri
Lightspeed India Partners has led a USD 20m Series B round for Zluri, an India and US-based platform that helps companies manage and optimise their software-as-a-service (SaaS) ecosystems.
Legend Capital leads Series A for China CDMO CoJourney
China and US-based contract development and manufacturing organisation (CDMO) CoJourney has raised a Series A of USD 30m led by Legend Capital.
Antler expands into Malaysia through Khazanah partnership
Singapore-based accelerator and VC investor Antler is opening an office in Kuala Lumpur as it becomes the latest GP to join Khazanah Nasional’s Future Malaysia Programme.
Deal focus: Aerofugia wins support for eVTOL tilt
China’s Tsinghua Holdings Capital (TH Capital) regards eVTOL as the best way to leverage electrification of the skies. Aerofugia became a preferred target by virtue of its Geely ties and commitment to tilt-rotor technology
SDIC leads $97m Series A for China's Pyrotech Therapeutics
China-based Pyrotech Therapeutics, which develops treatments for inflammation and tumours, has raised a Series A of CNY 700m (USD 97m) led by state-owned investor SDIC Venture Capital.
Australia climate investor Wollemi Capital raises $147m
Wollemi Capital, an Australia-based investment firm that targets climate-related businesses globally, has raised AUD 220m (USD 147m) in Series A funding anchored by Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA).
Japan's Telexistence gets $170m Series B
Japanese connected robotics start-up Telexistence has raised USD 170m in Series B funding featuring SoftBank Group, Foxconn, Airbus, and Globis Capital Partners.
Tiger, Blume join $33m round for India's Battery Smart
Tiger Global Management and Blume Ventures have supported a INR 2.7bn (USD 33m) pre-Series B round for Indian battery-swapping electric vehicle (EV) infrastructure provider Battery Smart.
China red envelope marketing start-up raises $28m
Saoyasao, a Chinese digital commerce service provider best known for using "red envelopes" to attract customers to offline stores, has raised a CNY 200m (USD 28m) Series A round from two local investors.
Japan VC draws global attention - AVCJ Forum
Japan’s venture capital market is attracting increased international attention by virtue of its relatively stable returns and a start-up-friendly policy regime, investors told the AVCJ Private Equity & Venture Forum Japan 2023.
Deal focus: Gitee aspires to be more than China’s Github
FutureX Capital got onto Gitee’s shareholder register by suggesting a separation from Baidu. Now, FutureX is backing the company to leverage its status as China’s dominant open-source software player
Deal focus: Nothing’s swift evolution into something
A global brand developed by a European-Chinese founder, Nothing has made its presence felt on the idiosyncratic edges of the smart phone market. Investors have responded positively
Geely's China eVTOL unit gets Series A funding
Aerofugia, a subsidiary of Chinese automaker Geely that focuses on electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) vehicles, has raised a Series A round of CNY 100m (USD 13.8m) led by Tsinghua Holdings Capital.
China's GitHub substitute raises $107m
Gitee, a China-based open-source platform regarded as a domestic substitute for GitHub, has raised an extended Series B of CNY 775m (USD 107m) led by FutureX Capital.
Singapore T-cell therapist gets China government funding
Singaporean T-cell immunotherapy company Lion TCR has raised USD 40m in its second tranche of Series B funding. Guangzhou Industrial Investment and Capital Operation Holding Group led the round.
Advanced computing: Niche or indispensable?
Investors are wary of rising data processing challenges in a rapidly digitising world. They must make do with the imperfect solutions of today without failing to embrace frontier technologies
Q&A: Soul Capital’s Herry Han
Lightspeed China spinout Soul Capital is pursuing an early-stage dual-currency strategy in China. Herry Han, the firm’s founding partner and CEO, explains how and why he’s staying relevant
Japan SME fintech player raises $17m
Japan’s Olta, a financial technology provider for small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) has raised JPY 2.5bn (USD 17.6m) in Series B funding featuring SBI Investment, Spiral Capital, and DG Ventures.
China Micro LED developer Jade Bird gets new funding
Jade Bird Display (JBD), a Shanghai-based developer of micro LEDs used in artificial reality (AR) devices, has raised several hundred million renminbi through two tranches of Series A funding.
Deal focus: How to go global as a neighbourhood shop
Singapore’s Madly, a tech-enabled but e-commerce-averse jeweller, knows that future family heirlooms must be sold with a personal touch. In East Ventures, it felt a rare simpatico
Deal focus: PCG brings light to industrial use cases
Incubated by property developers and backed by a string of specialist investors, distributed power start-up PCG Power is looking to instal solar panels on the rooftops of China’s factories
Profile: Zayn Venture Capital's Faisal Aftab
Weaving geopolitical analysis into the grassroots trenches of seed-stage investment, Faisal Aftab led the deployment of Pakistan’s first VC fund having never previously invested in the country’s start-ups