Expansion
China metaverse infrastructure start-up raises $130m
Chinese metaverse start-up Xmov has raised USD 130m in Series B and Series C funding featuring SoftBank Vision Fund, Sequoia Capital China, Northern Light Capital, and Index Ventures.
Singapore parenting app raises $22m Series D
East Ventures has led a USD 22m round for Singapore’s Parentinc, which claims that its flagship brand, theAsianparent, is Southeast Asia’s largest parenting platform.
KKR buys minority stake in India's Shriram General Insurance
KKR has acquired a 9.99% stake in Shriram General Insurance, an Indian insurer backed by local conglomerate Shriram Group and African financial services group Sanlam, for an undisclosed sum.
China's METiS Pharmaceuticals raises $150m
METiS Pharmaceuticals, a Hangzhou-based drug formulation company has raised USD 150m through two funding rounds led by PICC Capital and China Life PE.
CPPIB leads $805m round for India's VerSe
Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) has led a USD 805m Series J round for India’s Verse Innovation, parent of media apps Dailyhunt and Josh. It is said to value the company at USD 5bn.
Deal focus: Nio Capital gets real with Nreal
Nio Capital invested in Nreal with a view to seeing the Chinese start-up’s augmented reality glasses feature in smart cockpits in next-generation cars. The company is now pushing for scale
Multiples leads $111m Series D for India NBFC
Multiples Private Equity has agreed to lead a INR 8.7bn (USD 111m) Series D round for India’s Kogta Financial, a non-bank financing company (NBFC) specialising in used vehicles and micro businesses.
India's Games24x7 raises $75m, becomes unicorn
Malabar Investment has led a USD 75m funding round for Games 24x7, an India-based mobile games operator, at a valuation of USD 2.5bn.
China cybersecurity provider ThreatBook raises $47m
Beijing-based cybersecurity solutions provider ThreatBook has raised CNY 300m (USD 47m) in an extended Series E round led by CDH Investments, featuring existing investor Star Road Ventures.
China MSME financier raises $70m
Micro Connect, a China-based provider of financing to micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs), has raised USD 70m in Series B funding.
Insight leads Series C for UK, India-based Builder.ai
Insight Partners has led a USD 100m Series C round for Builder.ai, a low-code/no-code app development platform that has a significant back-office presence in India.
CDH, Huaxing lead $120m Series B for China's InnoRNA
CDH Investments and Huaxing Healthcare Fund have led a USD 120m Series B for InnoRNA, a China-based mRNA drug developer. Existing investors CPE and Fangyuan Capital re-upped.
China EV maker Eezi raises $78m
Shenzhen-based electronic vehicle (EV) manufacturer Eezi has raised a CNY 500m (USD 78m) pre-A round led by China Merchants Venture.
Paragon backs Indian caffeine-based personal care brand
Paragon Partners has led a INR 2.4bn (USD 31.7m) Series C round for mCaffeine, an India-based direct-to-consumer (D2C) personal care brand that specialises in caffeine-infused products.
BNPL: Voodoo economics?
Credit-driven e-commerce is coming to developing Asia with an attractive supply-demand equation and a mix of macro and business-level risks. Start-ups are courting incumbents, not disrupting them
Deal focus: Apis targets modes of engagement
Through investments in Giift and Xoxoday, Apis Partners is betting on the emergence of personalised, data-driven loyalty and incentives programs and Asian corporates doing more to retain staff and customers
Philippines MSME service provider secures $77m Series C
GrowSari, a Philippines-based start-up that helps micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) take retail operations online, has seen its Series C swell to USD 77.5m with the addition of the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and Temasek Holdings-owned...
China's JD Property closes $800m Series B
Warburg Pincus and Hillhouse Investment have re-upped in JD Property, the infrastructure property asset management arm of Chinese e-commerce giant JD.com, as part of a USD 800m Series B round.
A91 leads $35m Series C for India beauty brand
A91 Partners has led a USD 35m Series C round for Plum, an India-based direct-to-consumer (D2C) personal care brand. Existing investors Unilever Ventures and Faering Capital also participated.
China enterprise AR specialist Rokid raises $160m
Rokid, a China-based company specialising in augmented reality (AR) technology applications, has raised USD 160m in Series C funding across two tranches.
China AI start-up Aibee joins unicorn club
China-based artificial intelligence start-up Aibee has achieved a valuation of more than USD 1bn on closing a new funding round led by smartphone brand Xiaomi and featuring China Merchants Capital.
China smart projector brand JMGO raises $158m
IDG Capital and Chinese smartphone brand Oppo have invested CNY 1bn (USD 158m) in JMGO, a local manufacturer of smart projection equipment developer JMGO that also goes by the name Holatek.
Japan mobile banking player Kyash gets $41m Series C
Altos Ventures, Goodwater Capital, Greyhound Capital, and StepStone Group are part of an investor group that has committed JPY 4.9bn (USD 41m) in Series D funding to Tokyo-based mobile banking start-up Kyash.
Index, Coatue lead $110m round for Australia's Linktree
Index Ventures and Coatue Management have led a USD 110m round for Linktree, an Australian social media platform that drives audience engagement, at a valuation of USD 1.3bn.