Articles by Justin Niessner
Korea's Google-backed Mathpresso raises $70m
Seoul-based education technology start-up Mathpresso has closed its Series C round on USD 70m following an investment of undisclosed size last year from Google.
Korea's Bespin Global gets $100m Series D
Korea-headquartered cloud services company Bespin Global has raised a USD 100m Series D round led by a unit of Emirates Telecoms Group.
Winter Capital leads $22.5m Series A for India's Uolo
Dubai-based Winter Capital has led a USD 22.5m Series A round for Indian education technology platform Uolo with support from local investor Blume Ventures.
Japan's Sparx leads $50m round for Singapore IoT start-up
Japan’s Sparx Group has led an investment in Singapore-based internet-of-things (IoT) developer UnaBiz. It completes a USD 50m Series B round that started in October last year.
Hong Kong's E15 VC raises $61m for third fund
Hong Kong’s E15 VC has hit a first close of USD 60.75m on its third global deep tech fund with an anchor investment from existing cornerstone LP Sun Hung Kai & Co (SHK).
India's Blume closes fourth India VC fund on $250m
India’s Blume Ventures has closed its fourth fund targeting seed-stage tech start-ups on USD 250m, beating a target of USD 200m. Fund III raised USD 105m in 2020.
Square Peg, Wellington back Australia's Rokt at $2.4b valuation
Square Peg Capital and Wellington Management have led a AUD 750m (USD 501m) investment in Australian e-commerce marketing technology provider Rokt at a valuation of USD 2.4bn.
India's Innoven fractionalises venture debt fund
India’s Innoven Capital, a joint venture between UOB and Temasek Holdings-owned Seviora Holdings, has fractionalised a USD 50m venture debt fund using blockchain and smart contracts.
Temasek, A91, Kae back $135m round for India's HealthKart
Temasek Holdings, A91 Partners, and Kae Capital have invested USD 135m in Indian omnichannel wellness products retailer HealthKart.
Fund focus: Southeast Asia piques Silicon Valley interest
Singapore’s Iterative is dazzling its entrepreneurial friends in the US with tales of seed-stage success in Southeast Asia and channelling that interest into a sophomore fund
Deal focus: Prosperity7 widens mandate with Australia's Vow
Prosperity7 Ventures has well and truly escaped its energy sector roots, leading a hefty early-stage round for Australia’s Vow, a company making cell-cultured meat with a twist
Profile: Gaja Capital's Gopal Jain
Though pleased with India’s progress in the past 30 years, Gopal Jain set up Gaja Capital to help take it to the next level. He sees PE as a central pillar of economic growth and by extension national morale
Carlyle sells Japanese snacks maker to D Capital
The Carlyle Group has exited its 100% stake in Japanese snack maker Oyatsu Company for an undisclosed sum to D Capital after a more than eight-year hold.
India's KreditBee raises $80m Series D
Indian lending start-up KreditBee has raised USD 80m in Series D funding from Premji Invest, NewQuest Capital Partners, Mirae Asset Ventures, MUFG Bank, and Motilal Oswal Alternates (MO Alts).
FWD, Artem launch Malaysia insurtech fund
Hong Kong-based insurer FWD Group and Malaysia’s Artem Ventures have set up a MYR 45m (USD 10.2m) VC fund focused on insurance technology and Islamic financial technology in Malaysia.
Superfunds top-up Series B for Australia's Morse Micro
Five Australian superannuation funds have backed a AUD 30m (USD 20.4m) investment in local Wi-Fi chipmaker Morse Micro, extending a recent Series B round to AUD 170m.
AirTree, Greycroft back Australia's FrankieOne
Australia’s AirTree Ventures and US-based Greycroft have led a AUD 23m (USD 15.5m) investment in Melbourne-based fraud prevention platform FrankieOne, lifting its Series A round to AUD 45.7m.
Singapore insurance start-up Igloo lifts Series B to $46m
Singapore-based insurance technology start-up Igloo has added USD 27m to an initial USD 19m in Series B funding raised in March. Swiss impact investor BlueOrchard led the extension.
Singapore's Iterative closes second VC fund on $55m
Singapore-based early-stage VC firm and accelerator Iterative has closed its second Southeast Asia fund with USD 55m in commitments.
Q&A: Morgan Stanley Investment Management's Patrick Reid
Patrick Reid, a UK-based managing director for alternatives distribution management at Morgan Stanley Investment Management, plots the future of themes around secondaries, longer holds, and hybrid approaches to PE
Proterra raises $200m for Asia food fund
Proterra Investment Partners has reached a final close on a Singapore-domiciled fund that will make food-related investments across Asia with more than USD 200m in commitments.
East leads $13m round for Indonesia's TipTip
East Ventures has led a USD 13m Series A round for Indonesia’s TipTip, a marketplace that connects digital media content creators and their fans.
ADIA, SC Capital to invest $2bn in Asia data centres
Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA) will provide Singapore private equity real estate manager SC Capital Partners up to USD 2bn for equity investments in Asia data centres.
Norwest invests $32m in India's Celebal Technologies
Norwest Venture Partners has invested USD 32m in India’s Celebal Technologies, a software consulting and delivery company active in artificial intelligence, big data, and cloud.