Articles by Justin Niessner
India's Cred raises $251m at $4b valuation
Indian credit card rewards company Cred has raised a $251 million Series E round led by Tiger Global Management and Falcon Edge Capital at a post-money valuation of $4 billion.
CLSA completes exit from Japan cram school
CLSA Capital Partners (CLSA CP) has sold its remaining shares in Japanese cram school operator BC Ings to Eishinkan, a major player in the segment.
Q&A: 500 Global’s Christine Tsai
Christine Tsai, co-founder of 500 Global, formerly 500 Startups, reflects on how a planetary approach to seed-stage VC has changed the asset class, the developing world, and the firm itself
Korea GPs invest $40m in Singapore biotech player
A group of Korean private equity investors has committed $40 million in funding to Cerecin, a Singapore-based biotech developer focused on neurotherapeutics.
Singapore drone services player gets $26m Series B
H3 Dynamics, a Singapore-based autonomous drone data services and hydrogen air logistics start-up, has raised a $26 million Series B round led by Japan’s Sparx Asset Management.
Japan digitization: Easy targets, hard to hit
Japan’s massive mid-sized business sector is still trading in its fax machines for the cloud, sometimes willingly, sometimes begrudgingly. PE’s help is most needed in terms of mindset
Hitachi sells radiation devices business to Nippon Mirae Capital
Hitachi has agreed to sell its Japan-based radiation measurement devices and industrial x-ray CT devices businesses to local private equity firm Nippon Mirae Capital.
WestBridge leads $50m round for India's Fraazo
WestBridge Capital has led a $50 million round, comprised of a mix of debt and equity, for direct-to-consumer fresh produce delivery service Fraazo.
Norwest invests $60m in India mattress brand
Silicon Valley-based Norwest Venture Partners has invested $60 million in Indian mattress brand Duroflex.
LeapFrog leads $250m round for India's CarDekho
LeapFrog Investments has led a $250 million Series E round - described as a pre-IPO round - for Indian online auto marketplace CarDekho at a valuation of $1.2 billion.
India digital banking player Open raises $100m
Temasek Holdings has led a $100 million Series C round for Indian online banking company Open Financial Technologies with support from Google.
Lightspeed joins $125m round for India virtual events platform
Lightspeed Venture Partners has joined a $125 million Series B round for India-based virtual events platform Hubilo.
Vision Fund: Big is beautiful?
Previously the sole elephant in Asia’s growth-stage technology space, SoftBank’s Vision Fund program is now one of a herd. Prevailing amid increased competition may prove its thesis once and for all
Eneos to buy PE-backed Japan Renewable Energy for $1.8b
Eneos Holdings, an oil company and active technology investor, has agreed to acquire Japan Renewable Energy (JRE) from Goldman Sachs Asset Management and GIC.
Norwest, Kedaara lead $59m round for India NBFC
Norwest Venture Partners and Kedaara Capital have led a INR4.4 billion ($58.6 million) Series F round for Indian non-banking finance company (NBFC) Veritas Finance.
India's Coinswitch Kuber raises $260m
Indian crypto exchange Coinswitch Kuber is claiming to be the largest app of its kind locally following a $260 million Series C round featuring Andreessen Horowitz at a $1.9 billion valuation.
Alteria closes India venture debt fund at $241m
Alteria Capital has closed its second India venture debt fund at INR18 billion ($241 million), beating a target of INR15 billion. All the money was raised by video call.
India bus-tracking app Chalo raises $40m
India bus-tracking app Chalo has raised a $40 million round led by Filter Capital and Lightrock India with support from WaterBridge Ventures and US-based Raine Ventures.
Singapore's Incomlend gets $60m for SME ESG financing program
Singapore’s Incomlend, a financial technology provider for small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) has raised $60 million for an environmental, social, and governance (ESG) financing program.
Vietnam NFT start-up Axie Infinity raises $152m
Andreessen Horowitz has led a $152 million Series B round for Vietnam-based non-fungible token (NFT) gaming start-up Axie Infinity, also known as Sky Mavis.
Temasek leads $550m round for US cybersecurity player Orca
Singapore’s Temasek Holdings has led a $550 million Series C round for US cybersecurity provider Orca Security that will support an Asia expansion.
Deal focus: Vedantu highlights impact potential in Indian edtech
The latest round for livestreaming teaching app Vedantu reframes India’s swaggering, unicorn-populated edtech sector as the impact opportunity it always was
Deal focus: COVID-19 grows India’s Medikabazaar
Pandemic-driven demand for masks, ventilators, and the like has propelled Indian medical equipment operator Medikabazaar to its next stage of development with a global mix of investors
Falcon Edge leads $200m round for India's Ola Electric
Falcon Edge Capital has led a $200 million investment in Indian electric vehicle (EV) maker Ola Electric at a valuation of $3 billion with support from SoftBank.