Articles by Winnie Liu
Seven Seas leads $54m round for China robot start-up
Seven Seas Partners, a Sino-US cross-border VC firm founded by a former executive at Tencent Holdings, has led a RMB350 million ($54 million) Series B round of funding for Roobo, a home service robot developer.
L Catterton Asia backs Korean eyewear brand
L Catterton Asia has led a consortium including Groupe Arnault - the family office of LVMH founder Bernard Arnault, which is one of the firm's LPs - to purchase a stake in Gentle Monster, a South Korean sunglasses and eyewear brand.
GPs must be selective in targeting Korea divestments – AVCJ Forum
Korea's push for chaebol reform is expected to create more PE investment opportunities as conglomerates are pressured to divest assets, but GPs told the AVCJ Korea Forum that they have to be careful in picking the right deals because asset quality varies....
China clothing rental site Yi23 raises $50m
China-based Yi23, a female clothing rental platform, has raised a $50 million Series C round of funding jointly led by Alibaba Innovation Ventures, SBCVC and Sequoia Capital.
Deal focus: Lock & Lock primed for regional expansion
Affinity Equity Partners is betting on Asian appetites for high-quality food containers in its acquisition of South Korea's Lock & Lock
Eight Roads launches $250m China healthcare fund
Eight Roads Ventures, the proprietary investment arm of Fidelity International, has launched its debut China healthcare fund worth $250 million. All the capital comes from the firm's parent.
VCs back China smart vending machine operator
Citybox, a China-based smart vending machine operator, has secured a $15 million Series A round of funding from GGV Capital, Yunqi Partners, Blue Lake Capital and ZhenFund.
China's Qingsong raises $129m early-stage tech fund
Qingsong Fund, a Chinese VC firm formed by Alvin Liu, an angel investor and co-founder of Tencent Holdings, has closed its third renminbi-denominated fund at RMB850 million ($129 million).
China cloud services provider Abcfintech raises $30m
Abcfintech, a China-based cloud services provider, has raised a combined $30 million through an angel round and Series A round.
BlueRun, Tencent back Chinese healthcare services platform
BlueRun Ventures and Tencent Holdings have co-led a RMB160 million ($24 million) Series A round of funding for Shuidi, a China-based healthcare services platform that aims to help people pay for medical services.
Goldman, Hillhouse invest $90m in China's Arrail Dental
Goldman Sachs and Hillhouse Capital have jointly invested $90 million in a Series D round of funding for Arrail Dental, a Chinese dental services provider.
Yunfeng, Alibaba invest $152m in Chinese cloud storage firm
Qiniu Information Technology, a Shanghai-based cloud storage and computer technology developer, has completed a RMB1 billion ($152 million) funding round led by Alibaba Group and Yunfeng Capital, a GP co-founded by Alibaba chairman Jack Ma.
Affinity buys majority stake in Korean food container maker
Affinity Equity Partners has agreed to acquire a majority stake in Lock & Lock, a South Korean manufacturer of airtight food containers and kitchen household goods for KRW629.3 billion ($562 million).
Hong Kong's GoGoVan merges with 58 Daojia freight unit
Hong Kong-based GoGoVan, a VC-backed logistics start-up, and 58 Suyun, a freight unit of Chinese online-to-offline local services platform 58 Daojia, have agreed on an all-share merger that will create Asia’s largest online platform in the intra-city...
China Life, Baidu launch $1b tech PE fund
China Life Insurance Group and internet search giant Baidu have agreed to form a RMB7 billion ($1 billion) private equity fund to invest in technology companies.
China's PE-backed Ele.me merges with Baidu Waimai
Ele.me, a Chinese food delivery ordering platform backed by Alibaba Holdings and several private equity investors, has confirmed its merger with Baidu Waimai, the food delivery business of Chinese internet giant Baidu.
DCM leads $31.8m round for China B2B oil trading platform
DCM Ventures has led a $31.8 million Series B round for 51Zhaoyou.com, a China-based B2B oil trading platform.
VCs in $30m round for China car sales platform
Welight Capital, a China-based venture capital firm founded by former Tencent Holdings executives, has led a RMB200 million ($30 million) Series B round for Maihaoche.com, a Chinese new car sales platform. Northern Light Venture Capital also participated....
China's VIPKid raises $200m Series D
VIPKid, a China-based English-language learning platform backed by VC investors, has completed a $200 million Series D round of funding, in what the company claims is the largest investment in the K-12 education space globally.
Aberdeen Standard Investments names new China head
Aberdeen Standard Investments, a new global asset manager created by the merger of Aberdeen Asset Management and Standard Life Investments, has named a China head to strengthen the firm’s relationships with Chinese investors.
Banyan Capital leads $21m round for China food brand
Hot Life, a Chinese online-to-offline food brand that sells spicy crayfish, has completed a RMB140 million ($21 million) Series B round led by Banyan Capital. Matrix Partners and N5 Capital also participated.
Warburg Pincus backs China-based HR tool developer
Warburg Pincus has led an extended Series B round worth RMB130 million ($19 million) for GaiaWorks, a China-based software-as-a-service provider of workforce management solutions, with participation from Matrix Partners China and Genesis Capital.
Cathay Capital leads $15m round for China's Magmode
Magmode, a China-based men’s fashion start-up, has raised $15 million in the second tranche of a Series B round led by Cathay Capital Private Equity. Existing investor Sinovation Ventures also participated.
Ribbit Capital leads $45m round for India's Capital Float
Capital Float, an online lending platform for small and medium-sized enterprises (SME) in India, has raised $45 million in a Series C round of funding led by Silicon Valley-based VC firm Ribbit Capital.