Investments
China's Innovent Biologics gets $260m Series D round
A fund controlled by China’s State Development & Investment Corporation (SDIC) has led a $260 million Series D round of funding for Innovent Biologics, a domestic biopharmaceutical company working on treatments for cancer, autoimmune disorders and heart...
VC-backed KFit buys Groupon Malaysia
Malaysian gym membership app KFit, whose VC backers include Sequoia Capital and Venturra Capital, has acquired Groupon Malaysia.
Asia Climate Partners backs US-based Fluidic Energy
Asia Climate Partners, a fund set up by the Asian Development Bank (ADB), Orix Corp, and Robeco Institutional Asset Management, has committed $20 million to US-based energy storage technology developer Fluidic Energy.
WI Harper forms Sino-US fund with Chinese investors
Early-stage VC firm WI Harper Group has teamed up with two Chinese investment funds – Luxin Venture Capital Group and Shandong Leader Equity Investment Fund – to launch a cross-border fund that will invest in start-ups in China and the US.
Pagoda leads $100m Series C in China's Tiantian Paiche
China-based private equity firm Pagoda Investment has led a $100 million Series C round of funding for domestic online used car trading platform Tiantian Paiche.
Piramal invests $73m in India's Acme
India’s Piramal Enterprises has invested INR5 billion ($73 million) in Indian renewable energy and telecom solutions company Acme Cleantech Solutions.
New Zealand's Soul Machines raises $7.5m Series A
New Zealand artificial intelligence (AI) company Soul Machines has raised a $7.5 million Series A round of funding from investors including Horizons Ventures and Iconiq Capital.
KKR, Sino-Ocean invest in Beijing Capital Juda
KKR has partnered with Chinese property developer Sino-Ocean Group Holding to invest HK$1.5 billion ($190 million) in retail outlet developer and operator Beijing Capital Juda.
China Everbright’s mezz fund backs Sichuan Dekang Agriculture
China Everbright has made an equity investment in Sichuan Dekang Agriculture Technology, a livestock farming company in China, through its renminbi-denominated mezzanine fund.
China online dancing content app Tangdou raises $20m
Tangdou.com, a Chinese online platform through which users can share their dancing experiences and join recreational dance groups, has completed a $20 million Series B round of funding across two tranches.
China’s ORI Healthcare Fund leads $100m round for UK biotech firm
ORI Healthcare Fund, a Chinese sector-focused fund launched by former investment banker at Goldman Sachs, has led a $100 million Series C round for Kymab Group, a UK bio-pharmaceutical company focused on antibody drug discovery.
Lightspeed leads $4m round for India's ShareChat
Lightspeed Venture Partners has led a $4 million Series A round for Indian social networking platform ShareChat.
Deal focus: Patsnap leverages innovation boom
Sequoia Capital and Shunwei Capital Partners support Patsnap's push to provide intellectual property analytics services to Asian corporates looking to expand into new markets with minimal legal fuss
Secondaries: The personal edge
Deep relationships within the GP community can make all the difference in terms of sourcing opportunities – and acting on them quickly – in Asia’s increasingly competitive secondaries market
Sequoia, Mayfield in $19m Series C for India's Knowlarity
Sequoia Capital India and Mayfield have participated in a INR1.3 billion ($19.3 million) Series C round for Indian cloud telephony solutions provider Knowlarity Communications.
Vertex leads $5.5m round in Singapore's Spacemob
Vertex Ventures, the VC arm of Singapore's Temasek Holdings, has led a $5.5 million seed round for Singapore-based co-working space developer Spacemob.
Deal focus: Mitsui makes medical inroads
Having lost out to KKR when bidding for Panasonic Healthcare two years ago, Mitsui & Co. seized upon a second chance to get involved and offer the company access to its global network of medical assets
KKR to make $4.5b tender offer for Japanese auto parts manufacturer
KKR has agreed to buy Nissan Motor’s 41% holding in Japanese automotive components supplier Calsonic Kansei Corporation and launch a tender offer to acquire the company in full at a valuation of JPY498.3 billion ($4.5 billion).
Sequoia invests $5m in India's Vymo
Sequoia Capital India has committed $5 million in Series A funding to Vymo, an enterprise sales assistant based in India and the US.
Foxconn backs Chinese image recognition software developer
Megvii Technology, a China-based image recognition software developer, has received $20 million from Taiwan’s Foxconn Technology as part of its Series C round of financing.
Japan's LifeRobotics raises $9m Series B round
Japanese industrial robotics developer LifeRobotics has raised a JPY1 billion ($9 million) Series B round led by Global Brain.
VCs commit $5.2m to Australian big data start-up Instaclustr
Sydney-listed growth-stage investor Bailador Technology Investments has led a A$7 million ($5.2 million) funding round for domestic IT company Instaclustr alongside two domestic VCs.
RRJ invests in China HNA’s internet finance platform
RRJ Capital has led a $200 million Series A round for Jubaohui, an internet finance platform established by Chinese conglomerate HNA Group.
Standard Chartered PE invests $40m in Vietnam's N Kid
Standard Chartered Private Equity (SCPE) has invested $40 million in N Kid, a Vietnam-based children’s media platform and retailer.