Articles by Justin Niessner
Australia's V2Food gets $53m Series B extension
Australian vegetarian meat brand V2Food has raised A$72 million ($53 million) in a Series B extension featuring Belgium-based impact investor Astanor Ventures.
Tower Capital backs $230m Singapore business services carve-out
Tower Capital is backing a consortium seeking to carve out business services provider Boardroom from Singapore-listed GK Goh Holdings at a valuation of S$312 million ($230 million).
Creador, NewQuest, TR invest Yum Brands India franchisee
Creador, NewQuest Capital Partners, and TR Capital have co-led an INR11.5 billion ($155 million) investment in Sapphire Foods India, a franchisee operator of US fast food giant Yum Brands.
Indonesia’s Arise reaches first close on seed fund
Indonesia’s Arise, a seed investor set up by MDI Ventures and financial technology specialist Finch Capital, has reached a first close of unspecified size on its debut fund. The target is $40 million.
India's Stride Ventures hits $74m first close on second fund
Indian venture debt investor Stride Ventures has achieved a first close of INR5.5 billion ($74 million) on its second fund. The overall target is INR10 billion.
Japan's iSpace raises $46m Series C
Japan’s Incubate Fund has led a JPY5.1 billion ($46.5 million) Series C round for iSpace, a local lunar exploration technology developer firming up an ambitious calendar of missions.
PE-backed Policybazaar, Nykaa file for India IPOs
Insurance portal PolicyBazaar and online-offline cosmetics retailer Nykaa are the latest PE-backed businesses to file for India IPOs in a groundswell domestic public market support for tech start-ups.
Accel-KKR buys majority stake in New Zealand's Unimarket
Accel-KKR, a PE firm created by Accel Partners and KKR, has acquired a majority stake in New Zealand’s Unimarket, a diversified procurement marketplace, for an undisclosed sum.
Tiger Global leads $125m Series D for India's Infra.market
Tiger Global Management has led a $125 million Series D round for Indian construction marketplace Infra.market at a valuation of $2.5 billion. The same investor led a $100 million Series C in February at a valuation of $1 billion.
Deal focus: Chiratae sees 43x return on gaming start-up
India’s Chiratae Ventures has realized its largest-ever exit in terms of multiple with a zero-to-one leap of faith for local gaming studio PlaySimple
Southeast Asia fundraising: Indecision time
Southeast Asian GPs jockey for global attention with mixed results as the largest LPs continue to hesitate to commit to the region. A trickle of investment fuels theories about how to get more
Asia digital assets platform Matrixport hits $1b valuation
Matrixport, a two-year-old crypto financial services platform based in Singapore, has closed a $100 million Series C round at a valuation of $1 billion.
GA, Dragoneer lead $250m Series B for Vietnam's VNLife
General Atlantic and Dragoneer Investment Group have led a $250 million Series B round for Vietnamese financial technology provider VNLife.
India crypto platform raises $25m Series A
Indian cryptocurrency borrowing and lending platform Vauld has raised a $25 million Series A round led by Valar Ventures, a firm co-founded by PayPal co-founder Peter Thiel.
Japan sneaker marketplace raises $56m
SoftBank Ventures Asia has led a JPY6.2 billion ($56.4 million) Series C round for Japanese sneaker marketplace and e-commerce start-up Soda.
Airwallex founders launch VC fund
The founders of Hong Kong-headquartered financial technology provider Airwallex, which has received $500 million in VC funding, have launched their own venture capital fund.
Indonesia grocery platform HappyFresh closes $65m Series D
Indonesia-based grocery platform HappyFresh has closed a $65 million Series D round led by Korean internet giant Naver and Netherlands-based investor Gafina.
India's Trifecta hits $130m first close on VC fund
Indian venture debt firm Trifecta Capital has reached a first close of $130 million for its debut VC fund after three months in the market. The target is $200 million.
India's ShareChat raises additional $145m
Temasek Holdings, Moore Strategic Ventures, and Mirae Asset Global Investments have led a $145 million Series F round for Indian social media platform ShareChat at a valuation of $3 billion.
Riverwood leads $200m Series D for SE Asia payments player Nium
Riverwood Capital has led a $200 million Series D round for Singapore-based cross-border payments technology provider Nium at an approximately $1 billion valuation.
Deal focus: Go1 adds layers to booming HR services niche
Australia’s Go1 gains traction with a B2B approach to a rapidly expanding human resources and workforce management software industry. SoftBank Vision Fund 2 is among the believers
B Capital taps Goldman Sachs talent for Asia push
B Capital Group has hired Sheila Patel, formerly the Singapore-based chairman of Goldman Sachs Asset Management, as a vice president amid a concerted Asian expansion drive.
Incofin hits $60m first close on India impact fund
Belgium-based Incofin Investment Management, which focuses on financial inclusion and developing market agri-food segments, has reached a first close of $60 million for an India impact fund.
India's BlackBuck closes Series E, becomes unicorn
BlackBuck, India’s largest trucking platform, has raised $67 million in Series E funding led by US-based Tribe Capital, IFC Emerging Asia Fund, and VEF at a valuation of $1 billion.