Articles by Justin Niessner
India's Innoven fractionalises venture debt fund
India’s Innoven Capital, a joint venture between UOB and Temasek Holdings-owned Seviora Holdings, has fractionalised a USD 50m venture debt fund using blockchain and smart contracts.
Temasek, A91, Kae back $135m round for India's HealthKart
Temasek Holdings, A91 Partners, and Kae Capital have invested USD 135m in Indian omnichannel wellness products retailer HealthKart.
Fund focus: Southeast Asia piques Silicon Valley interest
Singapore’s Iterative is dazzling its entrepreneurial friends in the US with tales of seed-stage success in Southeast Asia and channelling that interest into a sophomore fund
Deal focus: Prosperity7 widens mandate with Australia’s Vow
Prosperity7 Ventures has well and truly escaped its energy sector roots, leading a hefty early-stage round for Australia’s Vow, a company making cell-cultured meat with a twist
Profile: Gaja Capital’s Gopal Jain
Though pleased with India’s progress in the past 30 years, Gopal Jain set up Gaja Capital to help take it to the next level. He sees PE as a central pillar of economic growth and by extension national morale
Carlyle sells Japanese snacks maker to D Capital
The Carlyle Group has exited its 100% stake in Japanese snack maker Oyatsu Company for an undisclosed sum to D Capital after a more than eight-year hold.
India's KreditBee raises $80m Series D
Indian lending start-up KreditBee has raised USD 80m in Series D funding from Premji Invest, NewQuest Capital Partners, Mirae Asset Ventures, MUFG Bank, and Motilal Oswal Alternates (MO Alts).
FWD, Artem launch Malaysia insurtech fund
Hong Kong-based insurer FWD Group and Malaysia’s Artem Ventures have set up a MYR 45m (USD 10.2m) VC fund focused on insurance technology and Islamic financial technology in Malaysia.
Superfunds top-up Series B for Australia's Morse Micro
Five Australian superannuation funds have backed a AUD 30m (USD 20.4m) investment in local Wi-Fi chipmaker Morse Micro, extending a recent Series B round to AUD 170m.
AirTree, Greycroft back Australia's FrankieOne
Australia’s AirTree Ventures and US-based Greycroft have led a AUD 23m (USD 15.5m) investment in Melbourne-based fraud prevention platform FrankieOne, lifting its Series A round to AUD 45.7m.
Singapore insurance start-up Igloo lifts Series B to $46m
Singapore-based insurance technology start-up Igloo has added USD 27m to an initial USD 19m in Series B funding raised in March. Swiss impact investor BlueOrchard led the extension.
Singapore’s Iterative closes second VC fund on $55m
Singapore-based early-stage VC firm and accelerator Iterative has closed its second Southeast Asia fund with USD 55m in commitments.
FTX: Crypto dismisses another deathblow
An emerging technology giant has imploded. Regulations are set to tighten. Investors hit pause but remain confident about the long-term outlook. Business as usual in crypto
Q&A: Morgan Stanley Investment Management’s Patrick Reid
Patrick Reid, a UK-based managing director for alternatives distribution management at Morgan Stanley Investment Management, plots the future of themes around secondaries, longer holds, and hybrid approaches to PE
Proterra raises $200m for Asia food fund
Proterra Investment Partners has reached a final close on a Singapore-domiciled fund that will make food-related investments across Asia with more than USD 200m in commitments.
East leads $13m round for Indonesia's TipTip
East Ventures has led a USD 13m Series A round for Indonesia’s TipTip, a marketplace that connects digital media content creators and their fans.
ADIA, SC Capital to invest $2bn in Asia data centres
Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA) will provide Singapore private equity real estate manager SC Capital Partners up to USD 2bn for equity investments in Asia data centres.
Norwest invests $32m in India's Celebal Technologies
Norwest Venture Partners has invested USD 32m in India’s Celebal Technologies, a software consulting and delivery company active in artificial intelligence, big data, and cloud.
India's Kae Capital closes Fund III on $94m
Indian seed-stage investor Kae Capital has closed its third flagship fund at about INR 7.7bn (USD 94m) with about 40% of the capital coming from overseas investors.
Qualcomm backs India EV maker Ultraviolette
Qualcomm Ventures and Lingotto, the largest shareholder in Ferrari, have invested in India’s Ultraviolette Automotive, an electric vehicle maker focused on two-wheelers.
Singapore's Wavemaker names new general partner
Singapore-based Wavemaker Partners has appointed Andy Hwang, an angel investor and start-up mentor transitioning into venture capital, as a general partner.
Australia's ABGF invests $10m in local tourism player
Australia Business Growth Fund (ABGF), a partially government-backed investor that backs small to medium-sized companies, has invested AUD 15m (USD 10m) in local tourism company HMC Group.
Korea laundry start-up gets $36m Series C
H&Q Korea has led a KRW 49bn Series C round for Korean laundry app provider Laundrygo with support from SoftBank Ventures and Altos Ventures.
Deal focus: KKR agrees first Australia growth tech deal
KKR has led a USD 68m Series B round for Australia’s Advanced Navigation, an autonomous systems developer for robots and vehicles used everywhere from the freeway to orbit