Investments
Cathay Innovation leads $35m round for China AI player Laiye
Cathay Innovation, the venture affiliate of Cathay Capital Private Equity, has led a $35 million extended Series B round of funding for Laiye Technology, a Chinese artificial technology (AI) start-up. Existing investors Lightspeed China and Wu Capital...
Chinese state-owned steel trading platform raises $291m
Ouyeel, which claims to be China’s largest online-to-offline (O2O) trading platform for the steel industry, has raised RMB2 billion ($291 million) in Series B funding at a post-deal valuation of RMB10 billion.
Temasek invests $300m in Li & Fung's logistics unit
Temasek Holdings has invested $300 million in Li & Fung’s logistics operation after the Hong Kong-based multinational abandoned plans to spin-out the asset through an IPO.
China GPs back US health-tech player in $22m Asia push
China’s 6 Dimensions Capital and Yonghua Capital have joined a $22 million Series C round for US-based Ultivue that will help the medical technology developer expand into Asia.
Invesco commits $300m to Southeast Asia's Grab
Southeast Asian ride hailing and online-to-offline (O2O) services platform Grab has received a $300 million commitment from global investment manager Invesco as part of its ongoing $6.5 billion Series H round.
Tiger leads $30m Series B for India fintech start-up
Open Financial Technologies, an India-based online financial services start-up aimed at small businesses, has raised a $30 million Series B round led by Tiger Global Management.
Indonesia’s KoinWorks raises $12m Series B
Indonesian P2P lending platform KoinWorks has raised S$16.5 million ($12 million) in Series B funding led by EV Growth and Quona Capital.
GPs anticipate rich flow of Japanese divestments - AVCJ Forum
The corporate carve-out opportunity in Japan is sizeable and sustainable, despite relatively lackluster large-cap deal flow in 2018, industry participants told the AVCJ Japan Forum.
India's Unacademy secures $50m Series D
Indian education platform operator Unacademy has closed a $50 million Series D round from a group of investors including Sequoia Capital India.
Deal focus: Weimai seeks healthcare monetization
Weimai plans to leverage a fresh $100 million funding round to bring new technologies to Chinese hospitals. This will include a growing focus on services outside the public health system
Bain agrees Japan human resources carve-out
Bain Capital Private Equity has agreed to acquire 100% of the human resources (HR) business and related subsidiaries of Japan corporate software developer Works Applications for an undisclosed sum.
China GPs: The Centurium strategy
After more than a decade with Warburg Pincus in China, David Li struck out on his own with Centurium Capital. Applying technology to traditional business models is central to his investment thesis
India secondaries: Mixed signals
India has skirted around an expected boom in secondaries activity for the past couple of years, but investors haven’t lost faith in the narrative’s eventual unfolding. The devil will be in the details
Singapore's PE-backed Trax secures US retail tech bolt-on
Trax, a Singapore-based developer of retail computer vision and analytics solutions with several private equity backers, has acquired US-based shopping rewards app developer Shopkick for an undisclosed amount.
Chinese online art education business raises $40m
Chinese art education platform Yiqi Technology Group has raised $40 million in the first tranche of a Series C round led by Tencent Holdings. It is said to be the largest-ever funding round for a start-up in this space.
IIFL acquires Indian eyecare chain
IIFL Asset Management (IIFL AMC) has acquired a majority stake in Infigo Life Sciences, operator of a chain of eyecare centers in India.
The 20-year review
AVCJ's Japan Forum has been going for two decades, a period during which the industry has embarked on several roller-coaster journeys. For now, though, the market appears to be in good health
Korea’s Stonebridge invests in Indonesia's CoHive
Korea’s Stonebridge Ventures has led a $13.5 million investment in CoHive, an Indonesian co-working space operator previously known as EV Hive that spun out from East Ventures.
CITIC Capital invests $20m in New Zealand travel business
CITIC Capital has invested NZ$30 million ($20 million) in Tourism Holdings, a New Zealand-listed travel services company that specializes in recreational vehicle rentals.
Unison buys Japanese hair treatment specialist
Unison Capital has acquired Pyuru, a Japanese producer of hair care and cosmetics products best known for a naturally-derived treatment for graying hair.
Japan secondary buyouts: Between friends
Negative perceptions and local sensitivities have stymied the development of secondary buyouts in Japan. International GPs – plus some of their domestic peers – have the firepower to drive change
China GPs join Singapore's Novena for $150m healthcare fund
China-based GPs Sinopharm Capital and Cedarlake Capital have announced a $20 million investment in Singapore-based healthcare platform Novena Global Lifecare, along with a strategic partnership for a $150 million fund that will support Southeast Asian...
Affirma leads pre-IPO round for China's Dianrong
Affirma Capital – formed through a spin-out of Standard Chartered’s private equity business – has led a pre-IPO round of undisclosed size for Chinese P2P lending services provider Dianrong.
India's VC-backed Druva raises $130m
Druva, a provider of cloud data protection and management services founded in India, has raised a $130 million investment led by Viking Global Investors.