Articles by Tim Burroughs
China's Jaka Robotics raises $150m Series D
Prosperity7 Ventures, a USD 1bn venture capital fund established by Saudi Arabia state oil giant Saudi Aramco, has continued its run of robotics investments in Asia by joining a USD 150m Series D for China’s Jaka Robotics.
Navis enters Asia credit space
Navis Capital Partners has launched a credit unit that will provide financing to companies in Asia that require growth capital but are reluctant to bring in equity investors.
Mutiples commits $30m to India neo-banking platform
Multiples Alternate Asset Management has invested USD 30m in India-based neobank Niyo, entering on the heels of a USD 100m Series C round that closed in February.
RRJ to invest $251m in Singapore's Fullerton Health
RRJ Capital is poised to invest SGD 350m (USD 251m) in Singapore-based integrated healthcare platform Fullerton Healthcare Corporation after the target company settled a dispute with two of its co-founders.
Deal focus: SJL fills Korea's cross-regional gap
Steve Lim launched SJL Partners to help Korean corporates pursue M&A in the US and Europe, having seen global GPs pass on such opportunities. Meridian Bioscience is the latest addition to the portfolio
Asia logistics: Cost and complexity
Investment opportunities are expected to emerge as companies look to technology as a means of easing inflationary pressure on supply chains. Will Asia’s shallow pool of specialist logistics GPs deepen?
Australia's Fortitude exits Shopper Media to Woolworths
Australian grocery giant Woolworths has agreed to buy Shopper Media Group, an out-of-home digital advertising business with 2,000 screens across more than 400 shopping centres, for approximately AUD 150m (USD 102m).
ANZ withdraws from MYOB acquisition talks
Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (ANZ) has ended its pursuit of KKR-owned Australian accounting software provider MYOB just days after confirming talks over a potential acquisition.
Australia customer reviews specialist gets $26m Series A
Okendo, an Australia-founded customer review platform for e-commerce brands, has received USD 26m in Series A funding led by US venture capital firm Base10 Partners.
China's Miss Fresh brings in state backer at knock-down valuation
Chinese online grocery delivery platform Miss Fresh, which went public on NASDAQ 12 months ago with a market capitalisation of around USD 3bn, has sold a minority stake to a state-owned enterprise at a valuation of USD 90m.
India SaaS player Detect Technologies closes $28m Series B
Detect Technologies, an India-based software-as-a-service (SaaS) start-up with a suite of artificial intelligence-enabled products that help enterprise customers assess risk exposure, has raised USD 28m in Series B funding.
China GPU chip developer Iluvatar raises $149m
Iluvatar CoreX, a Shanghai-based designer of chips used in cloud computing, has raised CNY 1bn (USD 149m) across two additional tranches of Series C funding. The first tranche closed on CNY 1.2bn in March 2021.
Canada's AIMCo to establish Asia base in Singapore
Alberta Investment Management Corporation (AIMCo), a Canadian pension plan with CAD 168.3bn (USD 127.9bn) in assets under management, has chosen Singapore over Hong Kong for its first Asia office.
KKR explores sale of Australia's MYOB to ANZ
Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (ANZ) has confirmed it is in negotiations with KKR over the potential acquisition of Australia-based accounting software provider MYOB.
IDG leads $100m Series A for China's Xpeng Robotics
IDG Capital has led a USD 100m Series A round for Xpeng Robotics, a smart robot developer affiliated to US and Hong Kong-listed Chinese electric vehicle (EV) manufacturer Xpeng.
Philippines venture builder, Ayala engineer health-tech merger
917Ventures, a corporate venture builder controlled by Philippines-based telecom operator Globe Group, has merged its KonsultaMD telehealth platform with assets held by Ayala Corporation to create a one-stop health super app.
Tiger Global leads Series A extension for Singapore's Intellect
Tiger Global Management has led a USD 10m Series A extension for Singapore-based mental health start-up Intellect, demonstrating its willingness to reach more deeply into early-stage deals in Asia.
Temasek sees portfolio hit new high, warns of global weakness
Temasek Holdings continued its rapid pace of investment over the past year as the portfolio reached a new record high valuation, but the Singapore investor warned of potential difficulties ahead, noting that the global economy is in a “fragile state.”...
Fund focus: Qiming picks its moment
China’s Qiming Venture Partners more than doubled its fund size from the previous vintage, having launched the vehicle prior to the recent chaos and leveraged LP demand for the familiar
LP interview: MetLife Investment Management
A preference for control-oriented strategies has left MetLife Investment Management with an Asia portfolio split equally between developed and emerging markets. There are no plans to upset the balance
Indonesia B2B agriculture marketplace gets $35m Series A
AgriAku, an Indonesia-based B2B marketplace that looks to improve agriculture supply chain efficiency for retailers of agricultural inputs, has raised USD 35m in Series A funding led by Alpha JWC Ventures.
Prosus leads $25m Series B for India's Vegrow
Prosus Ventures, a technology investment business controlled by Naspers, has led a USD 25m Series B round for Vegrow, an India-based marketplace that helps farmers sell their fruit crops into organised distribution channels.
Brett Sutton to leave role as CVC's Australia chair
Brett Sutton, a former partner at Affinity Equity Partners who was recruited by CVC Capital Partners last August to oversee the reestablishment of its Australia presence, will leave the firm at the end of the year.
Qiming raises $3.2b across dollar, renminbi funds
China-focused VC firm Qiming Venture Partners has closed its eighth US dollar-denominated fund at the hard cap of USD 2.5bn – more than twice the size of the previous vintage – and raised CNY 4.7bn (USD 701m) for its latest renminbi vehicle.