Expansion
SE Asia's Grab raises $2b in Toyota-led funding round
Southeast Asia-focused ride-hailing business Grab has raised $2 billion in its latest round of funding led by Japan’s Toyota Motor Corporation and involving a number of other global investors.
China's 51Zhaoyou gets $150m in Series C funding
Chinese B2B oil trading platform 51Zhaoyou.com has raised $150 million across two tranches of Series C funding.
PE and tech investment: The late show
Private equity firms are participating in late-stage rounds in Asia’s technology space as they look to gain a toehold in start-ups with the potential to transform economies. But do the valuations make sense?
China's Kemei Biotechnology raises $294m round
Legend Capital and Huaxing Healthcare Fund – a private equity arm of financial advisor China Renaissance – have led a RMB2 billion ($294 million) investment in Beijing Kemei Biotechnology, a Chinese in vitro diagnostics business.
TPG leads $100m round for India's Five Star
TPG Capital has led a $100 million funding round for Five Star Business Finance, a non-banking finance company (NBFC) focused on small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in south India.
Accel, Sequoia lead $100m round for US, India-based Freshworks
Freshworks, a cloud business software developer based in India and the US, has raised a $100 million funding round led by Accel Partners and Sequoia Capital.
IDG, Accel, Kalaari lead $120m round for India's CureFit
IDG Ventures, Accel Partners, and Kalaari Capital have led a $120 million Series C round for CureFit, a health and fitness app developer based in India.
Chinese cosmetic surgery app raises $50m Series D1 round
Hong Kong-listed photo editing and social networking app Meitu and a fund-of-funds managed by Shenzhen-based DH Fund have committed $50 million in Series D1 funding to Gengmei, a Chinese information platform that focuses on cosmetic surgery.
Singapore's C88 gets $28m Series C round
Data and financial services company Experian has led a group of investors, including Monk’s Hill Ventures and Telstra Ventures, in a $28 million Series C round for Singapore’s C88 Financial Technologies.
Gaja invests $25m in India's Educational Initiatives
Gaja Capital has made a commitment of $25 million to Educational Initiatives (EI), an India-based developer of educational technology and assessment tools.
Singapore VC-backed hotel chain gains $15m strategic investment
Zen Rooms, a budget hotel operator and online booking platform based in Singapore, has raised a $15 million from Korean online-to-offline (O2O) local services platform Yanolja.
WeWork raises $500m for China unit
Trustbridge Partners, Temasek Holdings, SoftBank Group and the SoftBank Vision Fund, and Hony Capital have led a $500 million Series B round for the China branch of US-based co-working space operator WeWork.
Deal focus: OfBusiness helps Indian SMEs find their feet
Creation Investments backs Indian financial technology start-up OfBusiness to meet the financing needs of underserved small businesses
TPG invests in India's Sai, Tata Capital exits
TPG Capital has acquired a significant minority stake in Indian drug developer and manufacturer Sai Life Sciences, providing a full exit for Tata Capital Growth Fund.
ClassPass raises $85m, targets SE Asia expansion
US-based fitness services company ClassPass has raised a $85 million Series D round led by Temasek Holdings and L Catterton as part of a global expansion effort that will emphasize Southeast Asia.
Future Fund backs $200m round for China's Tuya Smart
Australia’s Future Fund has joined a $200 million Series C round of funding for Tuya Smart, a Chinese internet-of-things (IoT) and voice artificial intelligence (AI) platform.
India healthcare: The growth infusion
Indian hospitals are increasingly attractive for private equity investors. GPs can thrive in the space with a well-defined growth strategy that takes local market requirements into account
Chinese voice AI specialist Unisound receives $89m
Unisound, a Chinese artificial intelligence (AI) solutions provider that specializes in voice recognition and language processing, has received RMB600 million ($89 million) in Series C-plus funding.
Deal focus: Keep makes a sport of data monetization
After raising a $127 million Series D round from the likes of Goldman Sachs and GGV Capital, Chinese fitness app operator Keep is set to find new ways of monetizing its user behavior data
CDIB backs Korean cosmetic masks manufacturer
CDIB Capital, the private equity arm of Taiwan’s China Development Financial, has invested an undisclosed sum in Korean cosmetics maker E.CIS Cosmetic (ECIS).
Blackbird leads $40m round for Australia's Culture Amp
Blackbird Ventures has led a $40 million Series D round for Culture Amp, an Australia-based company focused on analytics technology that helps enterprise customers manage staff morale and performance.
Coatue leads $350m round for China education player Zuoyebang
Coatue Management has led a $350 million Series D round of funding for Zuoyebang, a Chinese K-12 education platform that spun out from domestic search giant Baidu.
SE Asian corporates eye PE collaborations – AVCJ Forum
Private equity firms present attractive partnership opportunities for corporate investors in Southeast Asia as both public and private companies seek to augment their existing strengths and fuel growth strategies.
TPG leads $100m Series D for India's Bigtree
TPG Capital has led a $100 million Series D funding round for Bigtree Entertainment, an India-based ticketing services company best known for its aggregator service BookMyShow.