Early-stage
India's Finova gets $55m in equity, debt funding
Finova Capital, an Indian small business lending start-up, has raised $55 million in equity and debt, including $35 million in equity from Sequoia Capital India and Faering Capital.
China's LianBio receives $310m round
LianBio, a Chinese biotech start-up incubated earlier this year by life sciences investor Perceptive Advisors, has raised $310 million from a group featuring BlackRock.
China biotech player Gracell raises $100m Series C
Wellington Management, OrbiMed and Morningside Ventures have led a $100 million Series C round for Gracell Biotechnologies, a China-based developer of cancer treatments.
Chinese self-heating hotpot start-up gets $50m Series C
Zihaiguo, a Chinese start-up best-known for its line of self-heating hotpot products, has raised a $50 million Series C round led by CICC Capital at a valuation of $500 million.
Shunwei leads $22m round for Chinese fruit tea brand
Chinese fruit tea brand Sweet7 has raised RMB150 million ($22 million) in funding led by Shunwei Capital, with participation from Insight Fund, a vehicle launched by financial advisor MM Capital.
Japan edge computing start-up raises $19m
Idein, a Japanese start-up focused on device-level data processing technology, also known as edge computing, has raised a JPY2 billion ($19.2 million) round featuring Global Brain.
China e-sports business VSPN raises $100m
VSPN, a China-based start-up that claims to be the world’s largest e-sports provider, has raised nearly $100 million in Series B funding led by Tencent Holdings.
Southeast Asia start-ups: Trials of leadership
COVID-19 has forced start-ups founders in Southeast Asia – many of whom have never experienced a crisis before – to make tough decisions. For investors, it represents a key test of management credentials
Deal focus: Lyre’s opts for science instead of a still
Australia-founded beverages maker Lyre’s has raised $11.5 million in seed funding with a view to helping non-alcoholic spirits follow in the footsteps of alternative protein
China O2O medicine platform raises $150m
Chinese online-to-offline (O2O) medicine retailer Dingdang Kuaiyao has raised RMB1 billion ($150 million) in an extended Series B round featuring Dragon Gate Investment Partners.
Sequoia joins $22.5m round for Bangladesh's ShopUp
Sequoia Capital India and US-based Flourish Ventures have led a $22.5 million Series A round for Bangladesh B2B platform ShopUp. It is both firms’ first investment in the country.
Australia's V2Food raises $55m Series B
Australian alternative protein producer V2Food has raised a A$77 million ($55 million) Series B round featuring Sequoia Capital China and Temasek Holdings.
Vision Knight leads Series B for China education app
Shaonian Dedao, a Chinese education app for teenagers led by former CCTV host Quanlin Zhang, has raised RMB200 million ($29 million) in a Series B funding round led by Vision Knight Capital.
3H Health leads $67m Series B for China's EdiGene
China’s 3H Health Investment has led a RMB450 million ($67 million) Series B round for local genetics-based drug discovery and therapeutics developer EdiGene.
Deal focus: VR gaming comes of age
Japanese videogame publishing company Thirdverse believes the time is right to bring virtual reality entertainment to the masses. VCs with expertise in the sector are beginning to agree
Lee's Pharmaceutical spin-out gets $145m Series B
Hong Kong-based Zhaoke Ophthalmology Pharmaceutical (ZKO), a subsidiary of Lee’s Pharmaceutical, has raised a $145 million Series B round led by Hillhouse Capital and TPG Asia.
Jafco backs Japan VR game developer
Japan’s Jafco has led an $8.5 million Series A round for local virtual reality (VR) game developer Thirdverse.
Deal focus: Neuron finds clear roads down under
Having increased its Series A round to $30.5 million, Neuron Mobility is ramping up expansion of its e-scooter rental services, with Australia and New Zealand the immediate priorities
Japan voice AI player RevComm raises $14m Series A
RevComm, a Japan-based voice recognition artificial intelligence (AI) technology provider, has closed its Series A round at JPY1.5 billion ($14.2 million) with support from several local VCs.
Lee Fixel's Addition backs India news aggregation app
Inshorts, an Indian news aggregation app, has raised $35 million in funding led by Addition, an investment firm launched by Lee Fixel, who was previously involved in Tiger Global Management’s India deals.
Prosus leads $12m Series B for Pakistan's Bykea
Prosus Ventures, formerly a VC arm of South African media conglomerate Naspers, has led a $12 million Series B round for Pakistan ride-hailing and courier app Bykea.
Singapore e-scooter start-up gets Series A extension
Neuron Mobility, a Singapore-based e-scooter rental start-up, has secured $12 million in an extended Series A round as it accelerates expansion in Australia and New Zealand and prepares to enter the UK.
Deal focus: Green Monday finds mission-aligned investors
Green Monday, the Hong Kong plant-based food distributor behind the Green Common retail chain and OmniPork alternative meats, has raised its first institutional round of funding.
Lever invests five China alternative meat start-ups
Hong Kong and US-based food tech investor Lever VC has confirmed five investments in alternative protein start-ups from its recently launched China fund.