Articles by Larissa Ku
Southeast Asia talkbot secures $6m pre-A round
Singapore-based talkbot provider Wiz.Ai has raised $6 million in pre-A funding led by GGV Capital. ZWC Partners, Insignia Venture Partners, Wavemaker Partners, and Orion Fund also participated.
China's Sensors Data secures $30m Series C-plus round
Chinese big data company Sensers Data has raised an extended Series C round of $30 million led by Xiang He Capital. Other investors include Morningside Venture Capital, DCM China, Warburg Pincus, Sequoia Capital China, Linear Venture, and FutureCap.
Chinese game platform Reworld raises $42m Series B
Joy Capital has led a RMB300 million ($42 million) Series B round for Reworld, a platform offering training and IT tools that allow users to design their own videogames.
Glory closes third renminbi fund at $96m
Chinese early-stage investor Glory Ventures has closed its third renminbi-denominated fund at RMB682 million ($96 million) and also reached a first close of its second US dollar vehicle.
Chinese smart car wash business closes $84m Series C
1km, China’s largest car wash company, has raised RMB600 million ($84 million) in Series C funding across three tranches. The most recent - worth $30 million - was led by ClearVue Partners.
China mezzanine: Not the norm
China’s local currency mezzanine capital space is underpenetrated, underpopulated and different to comparable strategies elsewhere. A handful of domestic GPs have begun to get traction. Will others follow?
Chinese home fitness app raises $80m Series E
Keep, a Chinese mobile app that provides fitness training programs, has raised $80 million in Series E funding led by Jeneration Capital.
China's JD.com raises $230m for MRO unit
JD MRO, a subsidiary of Chinese e-commerce giant JD.com that specializes in industrial maintenance, repair and operations (MRO), has raised $230 million in Series A funding led by GGV Capital.
Deal focus: Pop Mart dominates China's dolls
Best known in China for the Molly series of fashion dolls, Pop Mart emerged as a leader before many others recognized the market potential. The Loyal Valley Capital-backed company is now preparing for an IPO
Cathay closes second mid-market fund at $860m
Cathay Capital has closed its second middle-market fund, which invests in China, Europe and North America, with EUR800 million ($860 million) in commitments. The original target was EUR1.2 billion.
China robotics, AI player Data Ground raises $35m
Data Ground, a Chinese robotics and artificial intelligence (AI) technology developer, has raised RMB270 million ($35 million) in an extended Series B round led by Shenzhen Venture Capital.
Tencent, Sequoia invest $244m in property manager Shimao
Shimao Services, the property management arm of Hong Kong-listed Shimao Property, has raised $244 million from Tencent Holdings and Sequoia Capital China.
Gaorong leads Series A for Chinese gene sequencing player
Qitan Technology, a Chinese gene sequencing company, has raised RMB100 million ($14 million) in Series A funding led by Gaorong Capital. Other backers include Yinxinggu Capital and Yahui Preision Medical Fund.
China's Oceanpine reaches $200m first close on Fund II
Oceanpine Capital has reached a first close of $200 million on its second fund, 30% of which was committed by the GP. The target is $400 million.
Dragon Ball, CDH lead Series C in China's Lehe Food
Lehe Food, a China-based distributor of fresh food and ingredients, has secured RMB400 million ($56 million) in Series C funding led by Dragon Ball Capital and CDH Investments. Existing backer Hezhi Investment re-upped.
Sunshine Life leads Series C-plus for China's Huisuanzhang
Huisuanzhang, a Chinese finance and tax management software developer, has raised $60 million in an extended Series C round of funding led by Sunshine Insurance Group. Existing investors Gaocheng Capital, Xiaomi and Swift Hover re-upped.
Chinese enterprise start-up WakeData gets $10m Series B
Chinese digital enterprise services provider WakeData has raised $10 million in Series B funding led by Redpoint China Ventures and Sequoia Capital China. Other investors include IDG Capital.
SummitView leads $99m round for China's Enflame
Enflame Technology, a Chinese artificial intelligence (AI) technology developer that provides deep learning solutions for data centers, has raised RMB700 million ($99 million) in Series B funding led by Summitview Capital.
China enterprise software: PaaS vs SaaS
Platform-as-a-service has become the flavor of the month in China’s software industry, but there can be a big difference between what start-ups are and what they claim to be
China car trading platform Chehaoduo raises $200m
Chehaoduo, a Chinese online auto services provider that runs used car trading platform Guazi and new car trading platform Maodou, has raised $200 million in an extended Series D round from SoftBank Vision Fund and Sequoia Capital China.
China chip maker ASR hits $1.6b valuation at Series D
ASR Microelectronics, a Shanghai-based manufacturer of chips for use in consumer electronics, has closed an extended Series D round of $119 million. The company is now valued at more than $1.6 billion.
Chinese toy figurine retailer Pop Mart raises $100m
Chinese black-box doll retailer Pop Mart has raised more than $100 million in funding from China Renaissance and Loyal Valley Capital in what is expected to be its last round before an IPO.
Chinese autonomous trucking start-up Inceptio raises $100m
Inceptio, a Chinese autonomous driving technology provider focusing on line-haul trucking has raised $100 million. The investors were not disclosed. Previous backers include logistics giant GLP, autonomous car maker Nio, and fleet manager G7.
Japan's Jafco raises $67m for debut Taiwan fund
Japanese VC firm Jafco has closed its debut Taiwan fund at approximately NT$2 billion ($67 million) with backing from the National Development Fund of Taiwan and several financial institutions.