Articles by Justin Niessner
Deal focus: Entering the Snoop ecosystem
As the streetwear thesis matures, East Ventures is helping bring Singapore’s Novelship, a brand-agnostic, rap star-approved marketplace, to a larger, more diverse audience
Australia's Skykraft raises $75m
Australian deep tech VC firm Main Sequence has joined a AUD 120m (USD 75m) round for Skykraft, a local space tech provider focused on in-orbit air traffic control systems.
Quest backs Vietnam robotic prosthetics start-up
Singapore’s Quest Ventures has confirmed an investment of undisclosed size in Vietnam-based robotic prosthetics start-up Vulcan Augmetics.
China's Atom Bioscience raises $83m
Chinese inflammatory and metabolic disease drug developer Atom Bioscience has raised USD 83m in Series D funding led by local biotech specialist Kaitai Capital.
TPG Rise Climate invests $176m in Tata Motors
TPG Rise Climate, a dedicated climate fund under TPG’s global impact platform, has invested about INR 14.7bn (USD 176m) in an engineering and digital services division of India’s Tata Motors.
Australia’s Five V exits Totara to trade buyer
Australia’s Five V Capital has sold its majority position in employee management software provider Totara to London-based growth equity investor Tenzing for an undisclosed sum.
Jungle launches Southeast Asia, India seed programme
Singapore-based Jungle Ventures has launched a Southeast Asia-India seed programme, claiming a first-of-its-kind investment structure to limit dilution for founders.
Japan plant-based meat player raises $47m
Japanese plant-based meat company Daiz has raised JPY 7.1bn (USD47.4m) in Series C funding that features Mitsubishi UFJ Capital.
East, SV target $100m for Southeast Asia-Korea fund
Indonesia-focused East Ventures and Korea’s SV Investment have launched dedicated Southeast Asia-Korea fund with a target of USD 100m.
India's InsuranceDekho raises $60m
Indian online insurance policy comparison and brokerage service InsuranceDekho has raised USD 60m in a Series B round featuring Goldman Sachs.
Japan's Beyond Next raises $67m for third VC fund
Japanese deep tech investor Beyond Next Ventures has achieved a first close of JPY 10bn (USD 67.1m) on its third flagship fund. The target is JPY 25bn.
Emerging LPs: Fingers in every pie
As more institutional investors dip their toes into private equity for the first time, managers must understand their motivations. Frontier sovereign wealth funds are an enticing wildcard
Warburg Pincus closes global flagship fund on $17.3b
Warburg Pincus has closed its latest global flagship fund with USD 17.3bn in commitments, making it the firm’s largest fundraise in its 57-year history.
IFC leads $24m Series B for India's Onsurity
The International Finance Corporation (IFC) has led a USD 24m Series B round for Indian employee healthcare insurance start-up Onsurity.
Hong Kong blockchain fund raises $100m
Hong Kong blockchain specialist CMCC Global has reached a first close on its latest financial technology and web3 fund, raising the full targeted amount of USD 100m.
MTR Lab, Gobi back Hong Kong construction tech start-up
MTR Lab, a technology and innovation arm of Hong Kong transport operator MTR, has teamed up with Gobi Partners to invest HKD 46.8m (USD 5.9m) in local sustainable construction start-up isBIM.
ADIA re-ups in India's Reliance Retail
Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA) has agreed to invest INR 49.7m (USD 597m) in India’s Reliance Retail within two months of USD 1.25m worth of investments from KKR and Qatar Investment Authority (QIA).
India EV infrastructure player raises $20m
Indian electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure developer Bolt.Earth has raised USD 20m from a mix of investors including US-based Union Square Ventures.
Japan's WiL joins $27m round for health platform Micin
Japan-US cross-border investor World Innovation Lab (WiL) has joined a JPY 4bn (USD 27.3m) Series C round for Tokyo-based telemedicine and health platform Micin.
KKR opens second India office
KKR is expanding its operations in India, opening a second office in India in Gurugram, a financial and technology hub near New Delhi. A Mumbai office was established in 2009.
VC-backed streetwear retailers Kream, Soda to merge
Korean streetwear retailer Kream has paid KRW 97.6bn (USD 72.1m) for a 43.6% stake in Japanese counterpart Soda as part of a merger of the two VC-backed businesses.
Mars Growth Capital launches Asia tech fund
Singapore’s Mars Growth Capital, a tech investor set up in 2021 by Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (MUFG) and Liquidity Group, has launched its maiden Asia equity fund with an initial USD 500m.
Warburg Pincus backs Asia-US BPO player Everise
Warburg Pincus has agreed to invest an unspecified sum in Asia-US business process outsourcing (BPO) company Everise at a valuation of USD 1bn, facilitating an exit for Everstone Group.
Deal focus: GPs change channel on content streaming
The Fundamentum Group sees mass-market promise in Indian digital audio platform Kuku FM. It’s targeting a 50% market share by focusing on uniquely local content in vernacular languages