Early-stage
Lilly ups stake in Chinese pharma firm
Lilly Asian Ventures, the venture capital arm of pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly & Co., has injected an additional $20 million of capital into existing portfolio company Novast.
Australia offers residency for VC investors
The Australian government has announced plans to offer permanent residency to those who invest $5 million in domestic venture capital funds. It is expecting the most interest in the incentive to come from Asia – or more specifically, China.
Accel, Helion back Series A round for TaxiForSure
Accel Partners, Helion Venture Partners and seed investor Blume Ventures have backed a Series A round of funding for India’s Serendipity Infolabs, which runs online taxi booking site Taxiforsure.com.
IDM Venture Capital backs online gaming network
Singapore-based firm IDM Venture Capital has led a $3 million funding round for Xfire, an online social platform that for PC-based gamers. The funding will be used for Xfire’s expansion into Asian territories.
Lightspeed leads Series A round for Tujia.com
Early stage investor Lightspeed China Partners and CDH Investments have participated in a Series A round of funding for Tujia.com, the first online vacation rental services provider in China.
China VC investment lowest in five years – VentureSource
Venture capital investment in China fell to its lowest level in more than five years in the first quarter of 2012, according to Dow Jones VentureSource. A total of 45 deals were completed, raising $745 million, down 39% by volume and 56% by value on the...
Accel, IDG back Forus Health with $5m
Venture capital firms Accel Partners and IDG Ventures India have led a $5 million Series A round of funding for Indian medical technology company Forus Health.
Nanostart launches Asia Pacific arm in Singapore
German-based nanotechnology VC investor Nanostart has created a new company, Nanostart Asia Pacific, as part of its expansion into the region.
Nexus leads $26m Series A round for TalentSprint
Nexus Venture Partners has invested $26 million as part of a Series A round for TalentSprint, an Indian company that helps graduates and young professionals find jobs.
InnoSpring launches US-China technology incubator
InnoSpring, Silicon Valley's first US-China technology incubator, began operations last week to support the expansion of US and Chinese start-ups beyond their home countries. The incubator also announced the establishment of its InnoSpring Seed Fund....
Unitus Seed Fund backs Indian rural distribution start-up
Unitus Seed Fund, a US-based VC firm that targets social start-ups, has invested in Chennai-based Villgro Innovation Marketing (VIM) in a seed series of funding alongside a group of angel investors.
Helion remains committed to early-stage deals
Helion Venture Partners has restricted its third fund to $255m despite oversubscriptions. It will continue to focus on early-stage investments in the technology and consumer space
China's corporates embrace VC
Once start-ups in their own right, China’s leading technology companies are emerging are key players in the corporate venture capital space. What does it mean for incumbent investors?
VC-backed Anaphore bolts on China's RuiYi
Anaphore, a US developer of protein pharmaceuticals backed by VC firms 5AM Ventures and Versant Ventures, has acquired Chinese biologics drug discovery platform RuiYi.
VPCP and Citi back InvestLab with $10m
VantagePoint Capital Partners (VPCP) and Citigroup subsidiary Citi Ventures have led a $10 million Series A funding round for Hong Kong-based financial technology company InvestLab.
Australia's Elcano Capital hits the fundraising trail
Australian venture firm Elcano Capital is seeking to raise capital from small investment funds to finance its planned investments into early stage companies.
Accel and Tiger Global boost Zansaar with $6m
Accel Partners and Tiger Global have invested $6 million in Bangalore-based e-commerce start-up Zansaar.com to support the brand’s organic growth.
CyberAgent Ventures backs Vietnam game developer
CyberAgent Ventures has invested an undisclosed sum in Colorbox Software Corporation, a Vietnam company that develops smart phone games for the global market. This is the second investment made through CA Asia Internet Fund, which targets deals in Southeast...
China nearly matches Europe for VC funding in 2011
Chinese companies attracted $6 billion in venture capital funding in 2011, up 8% year-on-year, and putting the country at near parity with Europe, which saw commitments of $6.1 billion. On a country basis, the US remains the runaway leader, with VC funding...
Cinemacraft receives funding from 500 Startups
Asian interactive media platform provider Cinemacraft has secured funding from US-based business incubator 500 Startups.
Northern Light supports first Sino-US incubator
Northern Light Venture Capital has launched Silicon Valley’s first Sino-US incubator in conjunction with Tsinghua University Science Park, Shui On Group and Silicon Valley Bank. Known as InnoSpring, the incubator will target startups seeking to enter...
The changing face of Asia cleantech
New energy investment is becoming more specialized and service-oriented. Are venture capital firms moving fast enough, and far enough, to stay ahead of the game?
The irresistible rise of corporate VC
Corporate venture capital units are the elephant in the room. No matter where you tread in the VC sphere, these operators make an appearance – but rarely in the same form.
IDG, Accel invest $50m in US hardware firm
Bangalore-based IDG Ventures and Silicon Valley’s Accel Partners have led a $50 million Series A round of funding for Razer, a US gaming hardware company.