Technology
VCs back India SME group-buying service
Despite there being around 47 million small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in India, the segment has not yet participated in the country's e-commerce boom. While 51% of online SMEs use the internet to advertise, a mere 27% use it for trade, according...
Portfolio: CLSA Capital Partners and Indonesia's Sari Wangi
Sari Wangi is Indonesia's largest private tea player. CLSA Capital Partners invested not so much for exposure to the crop as what the company offers as a platform for distributing agricultural technology.
Nissay Capital backs Japanese online ad platform Dennoo
Nissay Capital has invested $1.1 million in Japanese online ad platform, Dennoo. The investment brings the start-up's total amount of venture capital funding to $3.1 million.
Accel leads $6m investment in India B2B group buy platform
Accel Partners and return backers Kalaari Capital and Inventus Capital have put $6 million into group buying website Power2SME, in a Series B round for the company.
DCM, Infinity invest $2.7m in Japanese accounting software firm
DCM and Infinity Capital Partners have invested $2.7 million in Japanese online accounting software company, Freee, as part of a Series A round of funding.
Kartrocket gets seed funding from 5ideas Startup Superfuel, 500 Startups
Indian e-commerce platform Kartrocket has raised a seed round of funding from 5ideas Startup Superfuel and 500 Startups.
Artesian Ventures, University of Queensland to launch start-up fund
Artesian Capital Management, an alternative investment arm spun out of ANZ Banking Group, has partnered with University of Queensland to create a A$1.5 million ($1.4 million) Accelerate Investment Fund. The vehicle will invest in graduates from the university’s...
Singapore online grocer RedMart closes Series A round
Online grocery store RedMart has closed its Series A round of funding from Singapore-based Garena, which offers online gaming. The company did not disclose the exact amount raised in this round, only that the total amount of funding raised so far adds...
Japanese mobility chair firm raises $1m VC round
Whill, a Japanese startup which has designed a type of electronic mobility chair, has received JPY100 million ($1 million) in funding from a group of venture capital investors including Itochu Technology Venture, 500 Startups and Sun Bridge Global Ventures....
India’s FlipKart shops a $200m round
Indian e-commerce is in a state flux. While penetration is still relatively low compared to developed nations - just one in 10 Indians has access to the internet - the industry was worth $14 billion last year and growing rapidly. Competition for wallet...
Spreadtrum accepts sweetened Tsinghua Unigroup buyout offer
Spreadtrum Communications, a Chinese mobile chip manufacturer backed by New Enterprise Associates (NEA), is to be acquired by Tsinghua Unigroup after the buyer increased its offer. The merger - which will now go to a shareholder vote having received board...
Tata Capital backs Indian data security platform
Tata Capital has participated in a Series A round of funding for enterprise file sharing and sync (EFSS) and mobility vendor Vaultize. Financial terms were not disclosed, but the Tata Capital Innovations Fund aims to invest $4–10 million in companies...
INCJ invests in $1.7m in Japanese tech firm Exvision
The Innovation Network Corporation of Japan (INCJ) has invested JPY180 million ($1.7 million) in Exvision, a company which develops high-speed image processing technology.
Japanese software testing service in $4m VC round
Shift, a Japanese software testing service, has raised JPY400 million ($4 million) from VC investors Simplex Holdings and Movida Capital as well as strategic investor Bit-isle, a cloud data service provider.
Nissay Capital invests $2m in display component maker Cerebrex
Nissay Capital has invested JPY250 million ($2.4 million) in Cerebrex, a semiconductor start-up that produces components for liquid crystal displays.
Tiger Global, Accel invest $7.5m in India’s CommonFloor
Tiger Global Management and Accel Partners have invested another $7.5 million in Indian real estate and apartment management portal Commonfloor.com.
Fidelity leads Series B round for India's Cloudbyte
Fidelity Growth Partners India has led a $4 million Series B round of investment in Cloudbyte, a company which provides cloud-storage solutions for online applications. Existing investors Nexus Venture Partners and Kae Capital also participated.
Gree Ventures, MIC back $6m round for Japanese software firm
Gree Ventures and Mobile Internet Capital (MIC) have taken part in a JPY625 million ($6 million) investment round for Accounting SaaS Japan (A-SaaS), a developer of cloud-based accounting software.
Silicon Valley angels end first SE Asia tour in Indonesia
The Geeks on a Plane (GOAP) tour organized by Silicon Valley-based accelerator 500 Startups reaches its final leg in Indonesia this week. This is the first time one of the trips has focused specifically on Southeast Asia.
IFC, Infuse back Indian energy efficiency startup with $1.5m
The International Finance Corporation has invested $1 million in Ecolibrium Energy, a startup which provides a technology platform to reduce energy usage. Indian Fund for Sustainable Energy Ventures (INFUSE Ventures) will also invest $500,000 in the company.
Tandem Capital to launch India mobile VC fund
Silicon Valley-based Tandem Capital, which focuses on the mobile sector, is launching an India-focused fund that plans to invest in 20 startups in the country over the next year. Aarin Capital’s Ranjan Pai and T V Mohandas Pai will be partners in the...
AsiaInfo-Linkage finally accepts CITIC-backed MBO offer
Chinese telecom software provider AsiaInfo-Linkage has accepted a take-private offer from CITIC Capital Partners that values the company at approximately $890 million. The initial offer was made last January but has taken the AsiaInfo board about 16 months...
BootstrapLabs, MAD incubator launch SE Asia start-up accelerator
Malaysia-based MAD incubator has partnered with Silicon Valley-based BootstrapLabs to create a Southeast Asia-focused start-up accelerator.
OneVentures leads $1.1m round for Australia mobile video spin-out
Australian venture capital group One Ventures has led a A$1.1 million ($1.1 million) round of seed investment in Incoming, a mobile video start-up spun out of NICTA, a government-funded information and communications technology research company.