Early-stage
China online-to-offline: Retail reorientation
As technology brings the buyer closer to the seller, some investors are put off by the uncertainty while others see opportunities in finding ways to digitize – or further disrupt – traditional retailers
SIG leads $13.5m round for US, China-based Castbox
SIG China has led a $13.5 million Series B funding round for Castbox, a US and China-based podcasting platform with content in multiple languages.
Corporates embrace VC to understand disruption - AVCJ Forum
Southeast Asian corporates are becoming increasingly involved in technology investment as they seek to understand how their traditional businesses might be disrupted, executives told the AVCJ Indonesia Forum.
VCs should favor originality in SE Asia start-ups - AVCJ Forum
International venture capital firms are misguided in their attempts to find established parallels for Southeast Asian businesses in other markets because they could end up missing out on true innovation, industry participants told the AVCJ Indonesia Forum....
Singapore accelerators: Corporate orientation
The rise of corporate-backed innovation programs in Singapore suggests the emergence of a new model for start-up development. Stakeholders are monitoring the pros and cons of the phenomenon
Eight Roads launches $275m China tech fund
Eight Roads Ventures, the proprietary investment arm of Fidelity International, has launched a China-focused technology fund worth $275 million. The parent company is the sole LP.
Chinese VCs in $11m round for US-based NuProbe
Sequoia Capital China and Serica Partners have co-led an $11 million Series A round for US-based molecular diagnostics start-up NuProbe.
China car-sharing business gets $20 million
Like Chuxing, a Chinese car-sharing start-up, has raised $20 million in a combination of seed and Series A funding.
India's VC-backed True Balance raises $23m
True Balance, an Indian digital payments services provider whose backers include SoftBank Ventures Korea, has raised a $23 million bridge round from a group of Japanese and Korean investors.
Japan hiking app provider gets Series B
Japan-based hiking app provider Yamap has raised a JPY1.2 billion ($11.1 million) Series B funding round from a group of domestic investors including Advantage Partners-owned outdoor sports equipment retailer Ishii Sports.
VCs invest $25m in Japan's Plaid
Japanese digital marketing services provider Plaid has raised JPY1.5 billion ($25.1 million) from a group of VCs including existing investor Eight Roads Ventures Japan and Femto Partners.
Softbank leads $25m round for Singapore fintech player
Softbank Ventures Korea has led a $25 million Series B round for Funding Societies, a Singapore-based financial technology company focused on crowdfunding and peer-to-peer (P2P) lending.
VCs back $12m Series B for Japan's Optical Comb
Innovation Network Corporation of Japan (INCJ) has joined a group of VCs in a JPY1.3 billion ($12 million) Series B round for Optical Comb, a Tokyo-based auto industry supplier that uses advanced 3D scanning technology.
China-Indonesia VC: Biding their time
Investments by China's tech giants becoming more prominent in Indonesia's tech space, but Chinese VC investors continue to tread cautiously in the country for the most part
VCs invest $12m in US, Southeast Asia-based Element
A number of Asian VCs including MDI Ventures, a unit of Telkom Indonesia, have joined a $12 million Series A round for Element, a biometrics technology developer based in New York, Jakarta, and Singapore.
China's Meiliche Jinrong raises another $38m
Meiliche Jinrong, the online auto finance unit of Chinese consumer loans site Meili Jinrong, has raised an additional RMB239 million ($37.88 million) for its Series B round.
China's CMAB Biopharma gets $34m Series B
CD Capital, a Chinese healthcare-focused VC also known as CDBI Partners, has led a $34 million Series B round for CMAB Biopharma, a manufacturing services provider for biologic product developers.
VCs back $60m round for US, China-based Singlera Genomics
Chinese VCs Green Pine Capital Partners and Prosperico Ventures have led a $60 million Series A investment in US and China-based cancer diagnosis specialist Singlera Genomics.
VCs invest $15m in Australian space, IoT start-up
Myriota, an Australian space technology company focused on orbital internet-of-things (IoT) connectivity systems, has closed a $15 million Series A round led by Main Sequence Ventures and Blue Sky Venture Capital.
Deal focus: SBI helps Japan AI player smarten up the road
SBI Investments backs a Japanese start-up focused on improving decision-making technology in self-driving cars
China B2B consumer goods distribution platform raises $33m
Zskuaixiao, a China-based business-to-business (B2B) consumer goods distributing platform, has completed a RMB205 million ($33 million) Series B round led by warehouse operator Global Logistics Properties (GLP) and Longzhu Capital – a corporate investment...
Australia virtual data room provider gets $18.5m
Australia’s Ellerston Capital has led a A$24 million ($18.5 million) Series A round for Ansarada, a domestic business services company that provides virtual data rooms and artificial intelligence-enabled due diligence.
China's CHJ Automotive raises $474m Series B
Chinese electric vehicle maker CHJ Automotive has completed a RMB3 billion ($474 million) Series B round led by Matrix Partners China and Shougang Fund, an investment firm backed by state-owned steel producer Shougang Corporation.
Shunwei leads $25m Series B for US, China-based ScaleFlux
Shunwei Capital has led a $25 million Series B round for ScaleFlux, a hardware firm based in the US and China.