Technology
Japan's Beenos leads $2.5m Series A for flea market app
Japanese e-commerce incubator Beenos has led a $2.5 million Series A round of funding for Southeast Asian flea market app Duriana. Existing investors also took part in the round.
Banyan leads $50m Series A for China education platform
Banyan Capital has led a $50 million Series A round of funding for Genshuixue, committing $41 million to the online education platform.
IDG commits $24m to Kingsoft’s cloud computing unit
IDG Capital Partners has agreed to invest $24.06 million in Kingsoft Cloud Group as part of a funding round led by the cloud computing venture’s parent company, Kingsoft.
Peesh Venture Capital launches $50m fund, India accelerator
Early-stage investor Peesh Venture Capital (PVC) has launched a $50 million fund and accelerator targeting Indian start-ups.
Maybank, 1337 Ventures launch fintech accelerator
Malaysian financial group Maybank has set up a financial technology (fintech) accelerator with local early-stage investor 1337 Ventures.
CDH participates in $483m round for Chinese P2P lending platform
CDH Investments has participated in a RMB3 billion round ($483 million) round of funding for Shanghai Lujiazui International Financial Asset Exchange (Lufax), a Chinese peer-to-peer (P2P) lending platform controlled by Ping An Insurance Group.
ChinaEquity leads Series B round for education site Juesheng
ChinaEquity, a Beijing-based private bank engaging in PE and VC investments, has led a Series B round of funding for Juesheng.com, a Chinese education-focused online marketplace.
PE investors to make partial exits from India's AGS, S.H. Kelkar
Three private equity firms – TPG Capital, Actis and The Blackstone Group – are set for partial exits from their Indian investments as payment solutions provider AGS Transact Technologies and fragrances manufacturer S.H. Kelkar both filed for IPOs.
Australia revises employee share scheme law
The Australian government has given start-ups a boost with the much-anticipated introduction of a bill that means employees can defer paying tax on share options until they are actually converted into shares.
GGV boosts China internet of things exposure
GGV Capital has added three Chinese firms to its internet of things (IoT) portfolio, increasing its total holdings in the sector to eight companies.
Taiwan’s 91App raises $9m from AppWorks, CID
91App, a Taiwan-based start-up that helps e-commerce companies set up mobile apps, has secured a Series A round of funding worth $9 million led by local incubator AppWorks.
Japan's Livesense buys VC-backed e-commerce start-up
Livesense - a Japanese internet company known for its flagship career search site Jobsense - has acquired a 71.7% stake in VC-backed e-commerce start-up Waja for JPY400 million ($3.3 million).
India’s Premji and China’s Tencent back US mobile OS start-up
Premji Invest, the family office of Wipro Enterprises chairman Azim Premji, led an $80 million Series C round for US mobile operating system developer Cyanogen.
Smart cars: Picking up speed
Internet-capable cars are a novelty now, but as they gain acceptance they could remake the way we drive. What are the most important factors for investors to watch down the road?
Used-car platforms: The consumer counts
Online used car trading platforms in both India and China have received capital from private equity investors in the past week. The deals threw up a number of interesting industry statistics.
Accel raises $305m for India fund
Venture capital firm Accel Partners has raised $305 million for its fourth country-focused fund to invest in Indian start-ups.
Chinese smart bicycle maker raises $15m
700Bike, a Chinese smart bicycle manufacturer, has raised a Series A round of funding worth $15 million from Banyan Capital, China Growth Capital and IDG Capital Partners.
VC-backed Gunosy files for Tokyo IPO
Gunosy - a Japanese news app developer backed by the venture capital firm Jafco, telecoms company KDDI Corp. and B Dash Ventures - has filed for a Tokyo IPO.
INCJ consortium invests $21m in Japan stem cell start-up
Megakaryon, a Japan-based stem cell technology developer, has raised JPY2.54 billion ($21.2 million) from a consortium of investors including existing backers Innovation Network Corporation of Japan (INCJ), Mitsubishi UFJ Capital, SMBC Venture Capital...
JD.com invests in VC-backed Chinese payment platform Fenqile
Chinese online retailer JD.com has invested in Fenqille.com, a Chinese installment payment platform backed by several VC investors.
Malaysia's Ekuinas buys mobile payments firm, school chain
Ekuinas, the Malaysian government-backed private equity investor, has acquired two companies - mobile payment platform Tranglo and private school chain Tenby Educare - for a total MYR124 million($33.8 million).
IFC proposes $20m investment in India's NxtGen Technology
The International Finance Corporation (IFC) is considering an investment of up to $20 million in Indian IT data center construction and management firm NxtGen Technology, in a deal that will involve both equity and debt.
China’s Addor Capital to buy assets from travel site eLong
Addor Capital, a private equity firm owned by China’s Govtor Capital, has agreed to buy a subsidiary of US-listed online travel site eLong for RMB76.5 million ($12.2 million).
Taiwan incubator AppWorks raises $50m start-up fund
AppWorks, a Taiwanese incubator, has raised NT$1.5 billion ($50 million) for a new fund to support domestic internet start-ups.