AVCJ

Weekly digest - Jun 15 2022

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15 June 2022
ASIA CRYPTO: SOMETHING FOR EVERYONE?
COVER STORY
Traditional VCs are becoming more active in the blockchain and web3 space, despite structural and philosophical obstacles to participation.
GP PROFILE
CHINA'S FUTURE CAPITAL
CHINA'S FUTURE CAPITALChinese venture capital firm Future Capital bases its investments on strong networks and research as well as a fondness for founders who are not afraid to confound accepted wisdom.
DEAL FOCUS
VCs BACK STEPPINGSTONES TO IMMORTALITY
VCs BACK STEPPINGSTONES TO IMMORTALITYJapan’s Alt is quicky commercialising a suite of learning voice recognition products as part of a plan to capture individuals’ personalities and values in a process it calls digital cloning.
DEAL FOCUS
HAHN FINDS RICH PICKINGS IN SK GROUP
HAHN FINDS RICH PICKINGS IN SK GROUPHahn & Company’s USD 1.3bn acquisition of an industrial materials unit from SKC is its fifth deal involving SK Group in four years. Being a good custodian is regarded as key to securing repeat business.
DEAL FOCUS
SINGAPORE BIOTECH START-UP GENERATES US BUZZ
SINGAPORE BIOTECH START-UP GENERATES US BUZZSingapore’s Tessa Therapeutics has developed a cancer drug that appears to be twice as effective as other treatments in its class. It has raised USD 126m with eyes on a near-term US IPO.
By the Numbers
AVCJ RESEARCH
BEAUTY PARADE
India-focused beauty e-commerce platform Purplle has closed three funding rounds in the past 15 months, with its valuation rising from USD 330m to USD 630m to USD 1.1bn. The most recent round, announced last week , saw Korea’s Parmark Ventures came in as a new investor, while there were re-ups from the likes of Premji Invest, Blume Ventures, and Kedaara Capital.
It underlines the fundamental appeal of the segment within the direct-to-consumer (D2C) space, where marketplaces are leveraging their data and product knowledge to develop private label brands that resonate with locals. Establishing offline distribution and expanding product portfolios by acquiring smaller brands are consistent themes.
Seven leading players have raised nearly USD 900m between them since the start of 2020, according to AVCJ Research. Purplle and My Glamm Group account for more than half, with smaller contributions from Mamaearth, Sugar Cosmetics, Plum, mCaffeine, and Nykaa. The latter relied sparingly on external funding until not long before its INR 53.5bn (USD 719m) domestic IPO last November.
To some, rapid fundraising by market leaders has served to push up customer acquisition costs, making beauty and personal care less attractive. Venturi Partners, an India and Southeast Asia specialist consumer investor, has scoured the D2C space for opportunities and found little compelling. D2C still accounts for a small portion of e-commerce, which is in turn responsible for less than 10% of overall retail activity.
“D2C doesn’t change the fundamentals of any product or service – customers come back if they see real value,” Nicholas Cator, a managing partner at Venturi, told AVCJ last month. “But at some stage, these companies will have to go offline and that involves a different mindset: working with retailers, going through modern trade and general trade, being on the shelf. That’s how you get to the next stage of growth.”
BEAUTY PARADE
All of the trends featured here were sourced from AVCJ's proprietary database, AVCJ Research, featuring comprehensive information on private equity deals, fundraises and exits.
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UPCOMING EVENTS

 

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