Investments
Deal focus: Qiming bets on resilience in China's coffee space
Qiming Venture Partners has doubled down on Chinese coffee brand Tasogare, identifying a consumer category endowed with rare advantages and poised to benefit from a broader domestic retail rebound
Deal focus: Hong Kong's Gryfyn issues web3 passport
Gryfyn, the latest project from Hong Kong’s Animoca Brands, has attracted several VC investors, most of which are not existing backers of its parent. The mission is simple: expand the metaverse
Quadrant completes New Zealand cybersecurity roll-up
Quadrant Private Equity has invested in New Zealand-based cybersecurity providers Quantum Security Services, ZX Security, and Helix Security Services with a view to supporting expansion into new geographies and service offerings.
Shunwei leads $10m round for China RPA player
Naturobot, a China-based robotic process automation (RPA) start-up, has raised a new round amounting to about USD 10m led by Shunwei Capital.
Singapore quantum computing start-up secures $18.1m
Singapore’s Horizon Quantum Computing has raised USD 18.1m from a group including Sequoia Capital India and Tencent Holdings.
VCs back Indonesia battery-swapping scooter maker
Ondine Capital, a Southeast Asia-focused VC firm set up by investors from China's CICC Capital and JD.com and Indonesia's MediaTek, has invested in Indonesian battery-swapping scooter maker Swap Energy.
Hong Kong's HKBN confirms talks with I Squared
HKBN, one of Hong Kong’s leading broadband internet providers, has confirmed that negotiations with infrastructure investor I Squared Capital over a potential acquisition are ongoing.
CCV leads round for China chip designer Cmind-Semi
Cmind-Semi, a China-based wireless communication chip designer, has raised a pre-Series A round led by China Creation Ventures (CCV). Existing investors Walden International Investment and Legend Capital also took part.
Japan 'deskless workforce' start-up raises $23m
Japan’s Coral Capital has led a JPY 3bn (USD 23m) Series B round for Kaminashi, a local software start-up targeting an under-digitalised blue-collar segment it calls the “deskless workforce.”
GIC takes co-control of Bain-owned Japan software company
Bain Capital has ceded co-control of Japanese HR software provider Works Human Intelligence (WHI) to GIC in a deal ranked among the Singapore sovereign investor’s largest acquisitions.
Bessemer leads Series C for New Zealand's Halter
Bessemer Venture Partners has led a NZD 85m (USD 53.3m) Series C round for New Zealand’s Halter, a start-up that makes solar-powered collars for managing cow herds with an app.
JIC Capital backs Japan's Hitachi Astemo
JIC Capital, the private equity unit of Japan Investment Corporation (JIC), has agreed to take a 20% stake in automotive components manufacturer Hitachi Astemo as part of a restructuring that will see Hitachi cede majority ownership.
Japan's EV Motors raises $27m in extended Series C
Japanese electric vehicle (EV) manufacturer EV Motors has completed an extended Series C round, raising JPY 3.6bn (USD 27.1m) from at least 23 investors.
Japan-inspired Chinese coffee brand gets Series C
Chinese coffee brand Tasogare has raised several hundred million renminbi in a Series C funding round led by Yijing Capital and state-controlled Jiande Group. Qiming Venture Partners and Bu’er Capital re-upped.
D Capital agrees Japan digital marketing carve-out
Japanese mid-market private equity firm D Capital has agreed to buy the local operations of Catalina, a US-headquartered digital marketing company undergoing its second restructuring in four years.
China autonomous truck developer DeepWay raises $112m
China’s DeepWay, a smart electric truck developer established by Baidu, has raised CNY 770m (USD 112m) in an extended Series A round featuring SB China Venture Capital (SBCVC).
LG backs US, China autonomous logistics start-up
LG Technology Ventures, the Silicon Valley-based VC arm of Korea’s LG Group, has led a USD 28.8m Series A round for US and China-based logistics automation player Venti Technologies.
China GPs re-up in ArriVent Biopharma's $155m Series B
Assorted Chinese investors have participated in a USD 155m Series B round for US-headquartered ArriVent Biopharma, which targets drug candidates emanating from emerging biotech hubs, including China.
India fashion supply chain player Fashinza raises $30m
Indian fashion industry supply chain platform Fashinza has raised USD 30m from Liquidity Group, an Israel and US-based financial technology company and debt investor.
GP profile: Square Peg Capital
Square Peg Capital came of age at the same time as the Australian and Southeast Asian VC ecosystems, straddling the two with a toehold in Israel. The idea was to think big, not get big. It’s doing both
Deal focus: Kredivo cuts through SE Asia growth-stage gloom
Indonesian consumer credit operator Kredivo has punctuated the VC doldrums with an ecosystem-encouraging pre-IPO round. Investors point to low customer acquisition costs as key to the success
Deal focus: China SaaS gets specific
Investors are gradually returning to China’s software-as-a-service space with an appetite for industry specialists rather than generalists. The CDH Investments-led Series B for 1Data is a case in point
Asia GPs must get smarter on target selection, costs - Bain & Co
Careful target selection – based on geography and sector – and increased emphasis on cost controls during ownership will be critical factors for Asian private equity investors as the industry braces for a downturn, according to Bain & Company.
Longreach buys Japan healthcare SaaS player
North Asia buyout specialist The Longreach Group has invested an undisclosed sum in Wellness Communications Corporation (WCC), a Japanese healthcare software-as-a-service (SaaS) provider.