Early-stage
Lightspeed leads Series B round for China P2P lender PPDai
Lightspeed China Partners has led a Series B round of funding for PPDai, which claims to be China’s first and largest peer-to-peer lending (P2P) platform. Other investors include Sequoia Capital and US-listed wealth management firm Noah Holdings.
India's Ineda Systems raises $17m Series B round
Ineda Systems, a US and India-based developer of chip components targeting the wearable and internet of things (IoT) segment, has raised a $17 million round of Series B funding led by Walden-Riverwood Ventures.
Vertex leads round for Southeast Asia taxi-booking app
Vertex Ventures, a unit of Temasek Holdings, has led a round of funding for GrabTaxi, a taxi booking app set up in Malaysia that is looking to continue its expansion into other Southeast Asian markets.
China online music provider Kuke secures Milestone support
China-focused Milestone Capital has committed a Series A round of funding to Kuke.com, an online music supplier.
Singapore VC: Silicon dreams
Buoyed by government support and increasing private sector interest, Singapore has created a legion of tech start-ups that now require further investment. Can it become Southeast Asia’s answer to Silicon Valley?
Fidelity, Gree invest $5m in Japan's Kaizen Platform
Fidelity Growth Partners and Gree Ventures have together invested $5 million in Japan's Kaizen Platform, the start-up behind PlanBCD, a platform that crowd-sources web design services.
Kalaari provides Series A for India big data start-up
Kalaari Capital has committed $3 million in Series A funding to Germin8, a Mumbai-headquartered big data analytics company.
KDDI incubator announces five start-ups for new program
KDDI Mugen Labo, an incubator backed by Japanese telecoms giant KDDI, has revealed the next batch of five start-ups to enter its boot camp program.
Japan flea market app raises $14m for US expansion
Mercari, the Japanese start-up behind the mobile flea market app of the same name, has raised JPY1.45 billion ($14.1 million) from Global Brain, Globis Capital Partners, Itochu Technology Venture, GMO Venture Partners, and other unnamed investors.
Japan's Cyberdyne raises $89 million in Tokyo IPO
Cyberdyne, a VC-backed Japanese robotics company that makes exoskeleton suits, more than doubled on its Tokyo trading debut following a JPY7.8 billion ($76 million) IPO on the MOTHERS (market of the high-growth and emerging stocks) section of the Tokyo...
India's Annapurna Microfinance raises $5m Series B round
The state-backed Belgian Investment Company for Developing Countries (BIO) has led a INR300 million ($5 million) Series B round for India's Annapurna Microfinance.
China health data start-up secures $2m angel round
China health data mobile app provider 37 Health has secured a RMB10 million ($2 million) seed funding round led by Broadhi Capital.
Mitsui leads $60m round for NZ cleantech play LanzaTech
Japan's Mitsui & Co has led a $60 million Series D round for New Zealand-based low-carbon fuels producer LanzaTech.
Nexus, Avalon re-up in big data platform Indix
Nexus Venture Partners and Avalon Ventures have re-upped their investment in India-based big data firm Indix Corporation via a $8.5 million Series A-1 round of funding.
India start-up targets tea change
Building a business around tea was a logical move for Kaushal Dugar when he left his job as a corporate finance analyst in Singapore to become an entrepreneur back home in India. It has been part of the family business for 80 years. But tea plus e-commerce...
Valar, SquarePeg lead $20m round for New Zealand's Vend
Vend, a New Zealand-based point-of-sale software provider, has received NZ$25 million ($20 million) in Series B funding. The round was co-led by Valar Ventures, an investment vehicle run by PayPal co-founder and early Facebook investor Peter Thiel, and...
Northstar enters Southeast Asia VC space
The Northstar Group, a Singapore-headquartered private equity firm with significant interests in Indonesia, is expanding its franchise to include venture capital. The VC unit is called Silicon Island, in reference to Singapore’s ambition to become a regional...
Taiwan fitness site iFit receives angel funding
Cherubic Ventures, an early-stage VC investor, has provided NT$25 million ($818,000) in seed funding for iFit, a Taiwanese online fitness information provider.
India's Persistent backs hand hygiene wearables start-up
Persistent Venture Fund, a VC fund controlled by listed Indian software and technology company Persistent Systems, has invested in Hyginex, a US-based wearable technology manufacturer specializing in healthcare applications.
Singapore accelerator JDFI raises $2.1m
Singapore-based tech accelerator Joyful Frog Digital Incubator (JFDI) has raises S$2.7 million ($2.1 million) from investors.
Kalaari leads $10m round for Indian online jeweler
Kalaari Capital has led a $10 million round of funding for India-based online jeweler Bluestone.com. Existing investors Accel Partners and Saama Capital also took part in the round.
Accel India, Horizen Ventures back tea commerce start-up
Accel Partners India and Horizen Ventures have together invested $1 million in Teabox, a start-up that operates out of Singapore and Bangalore.
Music service Rdio acquires India's VC-backed Dhingana
Rdio, a US-based digital music service, has acquired Dhingana - an India and US-based social music streaming service backed by Inventus Capital Partners, Helion Venture Partners and Lightspeed Venture Partners.
PE-backed Manappuram acquires Jaypee Hotels NBFC
Manappuram Finance, a listed non-bank financial company (NBFC) backed by Baring Private Equity India and India Equity Partners (IEP) among others, is to acquire Milestone Home Finance Company - a unit of Jaypee Hotels - for an undisclosed amount.