Articles by Justin Niessner
Deal focus: VCs back steppingstones to immortality
Japan’s Alt is quicky commercialising a suite of learning voice recognition products as part of a plan to capture individuals’ personalities and values in a process it calls digital cloning
Silicon Valley-based Scale Asia Ventures raises $30m fund
Scale Asia Ventures (SAV), a Silicon Valley-based investor that aims to bridge the US and Asia start-up ecosystems, has raised USD 30m for its latest early-stage fund.
India payments player Kissht closes $80m Series E
Indian payments start-up Kissht has raised a USD 80m Series E round led by Temasek Holdings-owned Vertex Ventures and Brunei Investment Agency.
Singapore cancer treatment start-up gets $126m Series A
Singapore’s Tessa Therapeutics, a biotech developer with a Hodgkin's lymphoma treatment in phase-two trials, has raised a USD 126m Series A round led by US healthcare specialist Polaris Partners.
Japan personal 'clone' AI start-up gets $26m
Japan’s Alt, an artificial intelligence (AI) developer that personalises deep learning systems to make what it calls digital clones of people, has raised a JPY 3.5b (USD 26m) round featuring Vertex Ventures.
Sequoia China leads $210m Series A for Envision Digital
Sequoia Capital China has led a USD 210m Series A round for Envision Digital, a Singapore-based technology developer focused on helping organisations achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions.
Japan's Luca Science secures $30m Series B
Luca Science, a Japanese biotech start-up focused on dysfunctional and damaged tissues and organs, has raised a USD 30.3m Series B round led by life sciences specialists 4BIO Capital and DCI Partners.
India's Anicut Capital hits first close on VC fund
Indian early-stage investor Anicut Capital has achieved a first close of INR 1.1bn (USD 14.2m) on its latest VC fund, which is targeting INR 5bn. It coincides with the nomination of a new partner.
Q&A: Jungle Ventures’ Amit Anand
Singapore’s Jungle Ventures has closed its fourth early-stage tech fund on USD 600m, shattering an initial target of USD 350m. Amit Anand, a founding partner at the firm, unpacks the achievement
Australia's Go1 raises $100m at $2b valuation
Australia-based workforce training platform Go1 has raised a USD 100m growth round featuring AirTree Ventures and SoftBank Vision Fund 2 at a valuation of USD 2bn.
Indonesia crypto player Pintu gets $113m Series B
Indonesia crypto wallet and trading platform Pintu has raised a USD 113m Series B round from Intudo Ventures, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Northstar Group, and sector specialist Pantera Capital.
Alpha Wave leads $57m round for India's Cuemath
Alpha Wave Global, formerly Falcon Edge Capital, has led a USD 57m investment in Indian one-on-one online math tutoring platform Cuemath.
Elevar leads $32m round for India start-up credit provider
Indian impact investor Elevar Equity has led a INR 2.5bn (USD 32.2m) round for StrideOne, a start-up credit platform launched last year by the managing partners of local venture debt firm Stride Ventures.
Creador, InvAscent invest $68m in India medical supplier
Malaysia-based Creador and Indian healthcare specialist InvAscent have invested a combined USD 68m in Indian medical equipment supplier Accumax Lab Devices.
Fullerton reaches $100m first close on Thai PE fund
Singapore’s Fullerton Fund Management has hit a first close of USD 100m on its first Thai private equity strategy in partnership with KBank Private Banking, a division of local lender Kasikorn Bank.
Fund focus: Eurazeo has SE Asia insurance tech covered
France-based Eurazeo has set up a USD 200m Southeast Asia VC fund dedicated to insurance technology with an unnamed global insurance company as the lone LP
Japan VC: Late-stage crossroads
Japan’s late-stage technology start-ups are finally beginning to attract meaningful attention from global investors. They should not pop open the champagne
New Zealand's GD1 backs tech fund, incubator
GD1 has confirmed it is the lead investor in a new fund and incubation program from fellow New Zealand VC firm Phase One Ventures. The goal is to produce 10 tech unicorns by 2026.
Singapore's VC-backed One Animation acquired by UK strategic
One Animation, a VC-backed, Singapore-based cartoon studio, has been acquired by Moonbug Entertainment of the UK for an undisclosed sum.
Korea autonomous driving tech supplier raises $25.5m
Korea’s Autocrypt, a connected mobility technology supplier targeting the autonomous driving sector, has raised a USD 25.5m Series B round featuring STIC Ventures and Hyundai Venture Investment.
India D2C food brand Country Delight gets $108m Series D
India’s Country Delight, a direct-to-consumer (D2C) food brand best known for farm-fresh milk, has raised USD 108m in Series D funding led by Singapore’s Venturi Partners and Temasek Holdings.
India EV ride-hailing start-up raises $50m
BluSmart, which claims to be India’s first integrated electric vehicle (EV) ride-hailing and charging business, has closed a USD 50m Series A round led by BP Ventures and local cleantech investor Green Frontier Fund.
Advent raises $25bn for global PE fund, targets China
Advent International has closed its largest ever global private equity fund at the hard cap of USD 25bn with plans to expand its investment activity in Greater China in the next few years.
Singapore fund tokenisation player ADDX raises $58m
ADDX, a Singaporean digital securities exchange that helps PE firms and other fund managers tokenise funds, has raised USD 58m in pre-Series B funding featuring the Stock Exchange of Thailand.