Early-stage
Marcy, Bessemer back New Zealand-founded Chinese tuition platform
Marcy Venture Partners, an investment firm co-founded by US rap artist Jay-Z, and Bessemer Venture Partners have led a Series B round for Wukong Education, a New Zealand-founded teaching platform specialising in Chinese language training.
GGV, Soul Capital lead Series B for China's Yunmanman
Yunmanman, a cold-chain logistics start-up incubated by trucking platform Manbang, has raised a Series B round of several hundred million renminbi led by GGV Capital and Soul Capital. Xiang He Capital also took part.
Australia's Blackbird backs virtual football league
Blackbird Ventures has led a AUD 3m (USD 2m) pre-seed round for One Future Football (1FF), a Melbourne-based start-up that has launched an entirely virtual global football league.
Australia battery technology supplier raises $15m
Australian VC firm Artesian, Canadian GP Waratah Capital, and India's Himadri Speciality Chemical have co-led a AUD 22m (USD 15m) Series A round for Australia’s Sicona Battery Technologies.
Japan's LayerX lifts Series A to $59m
Japan’s LayerX, an enterprise billing and invoicing software provider, has lifted an ongoing Series A round to JPY 8.2bn (USD 59m) with support from several local VC firms.
China distributed power specialist PCG Power raises 70m
PCG Power, a Chinese energy management services provider incubated by property developers China Poly Group and Country Garden, has raised CNY 500m (USD 69.9m) in Series A funding.
GP profile: 500 Global
500 Global’s emergence as a preeminent seed investor in Southeast Asia has played out against the backdrop of a broader transformation from US accelerator into international multi-stage venture capital firm
Start-up banking: Filling an SVB-shaped hole
Silicon Valley Bank was arguably the only institution globally to comprehensively service the unique banking needs of start-ups. In its absence, a mix of players are rising to the challenge
CDH leads $52m round for China's Boss Digital
The venture-growth unit of China's CDH Investments has led a CNY 370m (USD 52m) round for Boss Digital Procurement Technology Development, a subsidiary of Shenzhen-listed Fujian Boss Software.
Q&A: Jafco Asia’s Shahan Sud
Singapore’s Jafco Asia, a division of Japanese VC mainstay Jafco, hired Shahan Sud last year as its first in-country investment director for India. He explains a cross-border bridge long in the making
India satellite imaging player Pixxel gets $36m Series B
Google is one of several new investors in a USD 36m Series B round for Pixxel, an India-based satellite imaging provider targeting climate change use cases. The company has now raised USD 71m in private funding to date.
Deal focus: U Power wins backing for EV turnkey proposition
China’s U Power has developed an integrated chassis as a cost-effective foundation on which electric vehicle makers can build their own creations. Government and independent investors are piling in
Square Peg leads round for India payments start-up
Australia’s Square Peg Capital has led a USD 10.2m pre-Series A round for India-based payments technology provider XFlow.
China National Energy Storage raises $143m
Zhongchu Guoneng Technology (ZGT), also known as China National Energy Storage, has raised CNY 1bn (USD 143m) in Series A funding led by a China Development Bank Capital-managed fund and Xinda Kunpeng Equity Investment Management.
Singapore's BandLab raises $25m
Singapore-based social music creation platform BandLab has raised USD 25m from Cercano Management, formerly Vulcan Capital, a vehicle established by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen.
China generative AI start-up Luchen gets Series A funding
Luchen Technology, a Chinese start-up specialising in artificial intelligence (AI) training, has closed a Series A round amounting to several hundred million renminbi.
Q&A: Gobi Partners’ Thomas Tsao
Thomas Tsao, co-founder of Gobi Partners, on Chinese investors targeting Southeast Asia, the fallout from US-China tensions, fundraising and fund strategy, and what excites him about technology
China's Biomissile secures $28m Series B
Suzhou-based Biomissile has raised CNY 200m (USD 28m) in a Series B funding round led by Kequan Capital. Existing investor Fosun Health Capital re-upped.
Australia, US carbon reporting start-up raises $9m
Understory Ventures, an Australian environmental impact investor, has led a USD 9m Series A round for Australia and US-based carbon reporting technology provider Flintpro.
India's 360 One invests $28m in data analytics provider
India’s 360 One Asset Management, formerly IIFL Wealth & Asset Management, has invested USD 28m in local data analytics start-up Course5 Intelligence.
Singapore digital health start-up Ora raises $10m
Singapore-based digital health start-up Ora has raised a USD 10m Series A round led by TNB Aura and Antler. Other participants include Gobi Partners, Kairous Capital, and GMA Ventures.
Constantinople raises Australia's largest-ever seed round
Australia’s Square Peg Capital has led a AUD 32m (USD 21.3m) seed round for local banking software provider Constantinople. It is being called the largest-ever seed investment in Australia.
China investors see long-term positives in demise of Oppo's chip unit
Investors in China's semiconductor industry expect the closure of local mobile manufacturer Oppo's chip design unit to clear the way for start-ups operating in the space, despite a likely near-term hit to valuations.
Deal focus: Indonesia food delivery goes daily
Indonesia’s Uena claims to have penetrated an untapped corner of Indonesia’s booming app-driven food delivery space. Scaling shouldn’t be overly costly, but there are menu-level nuances to consider