Investments
Headline leads Series B for Australian payments start-up Zeller
Australian payments provider Zeller has closed an AUD 100m (USD 73m) Series B round led by Headline, a US venture capital firm, and supported by domestic superannuation fund Hostplus.
China logistics player Jumeng raises $100m
Fortuna Capital has led a USD 100m investment in Shanghai truck-based logistics platform Jumeng Logistcs, described as the third tranche in a Series B round. IDG Capital also took part.
China VC: Funding puzzles
Late-stage investors are appearing in earlier funding rounds in China, offering premium valuations but potentially leaving start-ups in situations where they have too much too soon
China 5G chip designer Cygnus raises $100m
Chinese 5G chip design company Cygnus Semiconductor has raised USD 100m in Series A funding and an extended pre-Series A round led by Matrix Partners China and Wofo Capital.
China e-commerce SaaS player secures $100m Series C
China-based e-commerce software-as-a-service (SaaS) provider Dianxiaomi has secured a USD 100m Series C round led by Tiger Global Management and Huaxing Growth Capital.
Singapore's Volopay gets $29m Series A
Singapore’s Volopay, a B2B financial technology provider specialising in cross-border transactions, has raised USD 29m in Series A funding led by Justin Mateen, co-founder of Tinder.
Deal focus: ADV’s Asia hygiene platform play
ISS Environmental Services is well-positioned as Hong Kong’s preferred provider of portable toilets. But ADV Partners has acquired the business with a view to executing a regional roll-up strategy
Deal focus: Quadria goes shopping in Vietnam
Singapore’s healthcare-focused Quadria Capital has made its most overtly consumer retail-oriented investment with Vietnam’s Con Cung. But the endgame is considered squarely on-strategy
Sequoia, Legend back China autonomous driving player Inceptio
Sequoia Capital China and Legend Capital have led a USD 188m Series B extension for Inceptio, a Chinese autonomous driving technology developer that specialises in line-haul trucking.
Deal focus: Affirma sees promise in Asia e-scooters
Affirma Capital has led a USD 93m Series B round for Singapore-based e-scooter provider Beam, citing its ability to internationalise a locally-focused and increasingly popular business model
Pakistan fintech player NayaPay gets $13m seed round
NayaPay, a Pakistan-based financial technology start-up has secured USD 13m in what is claimed to be one of the country’s largest-ever seed rounds.
China cross-border fintech start-up secures $20m
Dowsure, a Shenzhen-based financial technology start-up that has developed credit-checking software that enables banks to lend to small-scale e-commerce vendors, has secured USD 20m in Series B funding.
India banking start-up Niyo raises $100m Series C
Accel Partners and Lightrock India have led a USD 100m Series C round for India’s Niyo, which offers digital savings accounts and other banking services in partnership with traditional banks.
ZWC, IDG back China social CRM service provider
Wshoto – a Chinese social customer relationship management (SCRM) service provider that focuses on the WeChat ecosystem - has raised a CNY 300m (USD 47m) Series B round across two tranches.
Korea's Biorchestra gets $45m Series C
Biorchestra, a Korea-based drug developer specialising in RNA therapeutics for neurodegenerative diseases, has closed a Series C funding round of KRW 54bn (USD 45m).
A91, Z3Partners lead Series B for India's Shipsy
A91 Partners and Z3 Partners have led a USD 25m Series B round for India-based Shipsy, an artificial intelligence (AI) platform that helps companies automate logistics.
India's MediBuddy gets $125m Series C
Quadria Capital and Lightrock India have led a USD 125m Series C round for Indian healthcare platform MediBuddy.
Mubadala leads $500m round for Princeton Digital
Abu Dhabi’s Mubadala Investment has contributed USD 350m to a USD 500m equity round for Singapore-based data centre developer Princeton Digital Group (PDG).
Warburg Pincus commits $210m to India medical devices business
Warburg Pincus has acquired a minority interest in Micro Life Sciences, the parent company of India-headquartered medical devices manufacturer Meril, for approximately USD 210m.
Singapore crypto player Amber hits $3b valuation
Singapore-headquartered crypto financial service provider Amber Group has raised USD 200m in an extended Series B round led by Temasek Holdings, achieving a valuation of USD 3bn.
PEP targets $742m for second Australia secure assets fund
Australia’s Pacific Equity Partners (PEP) is preparing to launch its second secured assets with an AUD 1bn (USD 724m) target while planning to spin out one of the top-performing Fund I investments into a single-asset continuation vehicle.
Deal focus: Sobot’s journey from underdog to top dog
A USD 100m Series D confirmed Sobot’s status as a stalwart of China’s customer service software space, but getting there has not been a straightforward process
Infrastructure: Out of the comfort zone
Infrastructure managers in Australia are pushing into the PE space, competing with GPs for assets and buying businesses from them. It falls under the core-plus umbrella, but is the definition being stretched too far?
Deal focus: Freight player G7 eyes public listing
Having expanded its business scope from hardware into software and financial services, G7 Network is positioning its recent USD 200m PE investment as a pre-IPO round