Expansion
Korea cross-border consumer: Dining out
Restaurant chains can potentially ride on the tailwinds generated by demand for Korean cultural exports, but strong execution is ultimately the key factor in overseas expansion
Everstone invests in India's Translumina
The Everstone Group has invested in Translumina Therapeutics, a global manufacturer of medical devices based in India.
Grab commits $500m to Vietnam tech ecosystem
Grab, a Southeast Asia-focused ride-hailing app operator backed by a number of PE and VC firms, has committed to invest $500 million in Vietnam’s technology ecosystem in the next five years.
TA invests in Unison-backed Gong Cha - update
TA Associates has acquired a controlling stake in Gong Cha, the Taiwan-based bubble tea chain backed by Unison Capital.
CITIC joins $34m round for Japanese e-commerce platform
CITIC Capital has participated in a JPY3.6 billion ($34.1 million) funding round for Active Sonar, operator of Reclo, a Japanese online re-selling platform for luxury brands.
Fosun invests $18m in Chinese pet services player
Fosun Group has agreed to invest RMB130 million ($18.4 million) in Pet Doctor, a Chinese one-stop pet services platform that supplies everything from software for pet hospitals to consultations for pet owners.
Japan's JPIC backs $33m round for Atonarp
Japan Post Investment Corporation (JPIC) has backed a $33 million Series C round for Atonarp, a Tokyo-based molecular diagnostics systems developer that uses artificial intelligence (AI).
Ant Financial, Primavera back Chinese vending machine provider
Beijing Ubox Online Technology, a Chinese vending machine manager, has received RMB1.6 billion ($226 million) in funding from Ant Financial Services Group and Primavera Capital Group.
US fintech player Tala targets India with $110m Series D
Tala, a US financial technology provider looking to expand its microlending operations in India, has raised a $110 million Series D round from a group including PayPal Ventures.
Deal focus: India AI player Uniphore eyes post-call center world
Fresh from raising a $51 million Series C round, Uniphore's founder argues that artificial intelligence will become as much about quality of engagement as back-end efficiency
China's Ping An joins $72m round for US AI player
China’s Ping An Insurance has co-led a $72.5 million Series D round alongside Goldman Sachs for US artificial intelligence (AI) developer H2O with a view to expanding its Asian operations.
Sovereign investors and technology: Smart nations
Conservative sovereign wealth investors are increasingly comfortable making direct commitments to venture-oriented technology companies. The strategy appears to suit them but remains to be validated
Singapore's RedDoorz raises $70m
Singapore hotel management and booking platform RedDoorz has raised $70 million in Series C funding less than a month after closing a $45 million Series B.
China's CHJ Automotive gets $530m Series C
Chinese electric vehicle manufacturer CHJ Automotive has raised $530 million in Series C funding led by Xing Wang, founder of online-to-offline services platform Meituan Dianping.
Twitter leads $100m round for India's ShareChat
Twitter has led a $100 million round for Indian social networking platform ShareChat with support from private equity investor Trustbridge Partners.
KKR's China digital marketing platform gets expansion round
Cue, a China-focused digital marketing platform created last year by KKR, has raised its first round of expansion funding led by Anchor Equity Partners.
India, US-based speech AI player Uniphore raises $51m
Asian VCs have backed a $51 million Series C round for Uniphore, an India and US-based artificial intelligence (AI) developer focused on speech recognition.
Sequoia, Matrix join $20m round for Chinese fintech player
Sequoia Capital China and Matrix Partners have joined a $20 million round for Chinese financial technology provider QFPay.
China's PE-backed Zhihu raises $434m Series F round
Zhihu, a Chinese question-and-answer platform, has raised a $434 million Series F round led by domestic search engine Baidu and short video site Beijing Kuaishou Technology.
Bertelsmann leads $30m round for India fintech start-up
Bertelsmann India Investments has led a $30 million funding round for Rupeek, an India-based online gold loan marketplace.
Naspers leads $125m round for India's Meesho
Naspers has led a $125 million round for Indian e-commerce platform Meesho with support from Facebook and a number of existing VC investors.
Chinese smart city platform developer raises $283m
China Everbright has led the first phase of Series C round – worth RMB2 billion ($283 million) – for Terminus Technologies, a Chinese supplier of city-level internet of things (IoT) platforms.
India's Lendingkart raises $30m Series D
Indian financial technology platform Lendingkart has raised a INR2.1 billion ($29.9 million) Series D round from existing investors Fullerton Financial Holdings, Bertelsmann India Investment, and India Quotient.
Kleiner Perkins, Aspex lead $64m round for Korea's Viva Republica
Kleiner Perkins and Aspex Management, a pan-Asia investor founded in Hong Kong last year, have led a $64 million round for Korean financial technology start-up Viva Republica.