Investments
Tech investment case study: True North and Seedworks
True North aimed to set Indian seed maker Seedworks apart from its competitors by leveraging digital technology. Two years into its investment the private equity firm is seeing its initiatives pay off
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.
SBI leads $15m Series A for Singapore's AntWorks
SBI Investment has led a $15 million Series A funding round for AntWorks, a Singapore-based supplier of enterprise artificial intelligence (AI) and smart automation products.
PE and tech investment: Forward planning
The growing influence of technology across every industry is forcing PE firms to review approaches to investment. Ensuring the right people have the right information sits at the heart of these efforts
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.
VCs invest $20m in China's Ultrain
A group of VCs including CDC Capital, Morningside Ventures, and Draper Dragon have backed a $20 million round for Ultrain that values the Chinese blockchain technology provider at $200 million.
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.
TPG to buy Healthscope's Asia pathology assets for $206m
TPG Capital has agreed to acquire the Asia pathology assets of Australian hospital operator Healthscope for A$279 million ($206 million), giving it control of 39 pathology laboratories across Singapore, Malaysia, and Vietnam.
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.
Singapore blockchain-based data marketplace gets $60m
Open Data Exchange (ODX), a Singapore-based decentralized marketplace developer has raised $60 million from a group of investors, including Hong Kong blockchain specialist Kenetic Capital and US-Korea firm Strong Ventures.
Longreach to buy majority stake in Japan's Fujitsu Component
The Longreach Group has agreed to acquire a majority stake in Fujitsu Component from its parent company and will launch a tender offer to buy the business outright at a valuation of JPY13.7 billion ($123.6 million).
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.
Square Peg leads $30m Series B for Indonesia's FinAccel
Square Peg Capital has led a $30 million Series B round for Indonesian financial technology start-up FinAccel to support its national and regional expansion.
Lightspeed, Blue Run back Chinese mapping player Wayz.ai
Lightspeed China Partners and Blue Run Ventures have participated in an $80 million Series A funding round for Wayz.ai, a Chinese smart mapping service provider.
CICC leads $102m Series B for China's Allcure Medical
Beijing Allcure Medical Technology, a healthcare technology provider specializing in radiotherapy and tumor diagnosis, has received RMB700 million ($103 million) in Series B funding led by China International Capital Corp. (CICC).
Singapore's TradeGecko gets $10m Series B
TradeGecko, a Singapore-based software-as-a-service (SaaS) provider for small to medium-sized enterprises (SME) has received a $10 million Series B round led by local investor TNB Ventures and Australia’s Aura Group.
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.