Investments
J-GIA carves out furniture business from Japan's Seven & i
Japan Growth Investments Alliance (J-GIA) has agreed to buy a majority stake in furniture and home décor business Francfranc – which has stores in Japan and Hong Kong – from Seven & i Holdings, the parent of 7-Eleven.
Hong Kong-based crypto exchange FTX raises $900m
FTX, a Hong Kong-headquartered cryptocurrency exchange, has raised $900 million in Series B funding at a valuation of $18 billion, up from $1.2 billion on closing the Series A last year.
India's HealthifyMe closes $75m Series C
LeapFrong Investments and Khosla Ventures have led a $75 million Series C round for HealthifyMe, a mobile health and fitness app operator with a presence in India and Southeast Asia.
Insight leads Series E for Australia's Employment Hero
Insight Partners has led a $140 million Series E round for Australian human resources services start-up Employment Hero at a valuation of $800 million.
Tiger Global, Avenir lead $108m round for India's Spinny
Spinny, an Indian online used car marketplace, has raised $108 million in Series D funding led by Tiger Global Management and US-based investor Avenir Growth.
Taiwan video SaaS start-up raises $16m Series B
Kdan Mobile Software, a Taiwanese software-as-a-service company focused on corporate video and design services, has raised a $16 million Series B round featuring WI Harper Group.
Vision Fund, Prosus lead $1.25b round for India's Swiggy
SoftBank Vision Fund 2 and Prosus Ventures have led a $1.25 billion funding round for Swiggy, an India-based on-demand delivery platform.
Australia's Go1 raises $200m Series D at $1b valuation
SoftBank Vision Fund 2, AirTree Ventures, and Salesforce Ventures have led a $200 million Series D round for Australian workforce training start-up Go1 at a valuation of $1 billion.
India's Lenskart raises $220m at $2.5b valuation
Indian eyewear retailer Lenskart has raised a $220 million round led by Temasek Holdings and Falcon Edge Capital at a valuation of $2.5 million.
China beauty: Service with a smile
Beauty and wellness are at the vanguard of China’s fast-rising services sector. Investors see clear paths to growth, but size presents a plethora of problems in terms of standardizing service quality
Deal focus: Neiwai realizes value offline
Vertex Ventures China was adamant that Neiwai should expand offline on leading a Series B for the lingerie brand in 2017. Four years and two rounds later, the strategy is paying off
Deal focus: Fujitsu Ventures updates ancient grains
Fujitsu is bringing blockchain to the rice industry with a ramped up corporate VC agenda. Digital transformation is the goal; food security and sustainable trade are the outcomes
Deal focus: Targeting an insurance pain point
India’s Digit Insurance has achieved a valuation of $3.5 billion in four years with a thesis that simple is better – and more trustworthy. COVID-19 added more rocket fuel
Portfolio: Integral Corporation and Nitto FC
Japan’s Integral Corporation treads lightly in the conservative agriculture space as it helps fertilizer maker Nitto FC evolve from an owner-centric culture to a more distributed power structure
Capital Today leads $35m Series B for China's XYZ Robotics
Capital Today China Group has led a $35 million Series B round for XYZ Robotics, a Chinese start-up specializing in robotic hand-eye coordination.
PatPat raises $510m across Series C, D rounds
PatPat, a Chinese-founded children’s wear brand that claims to be the world’s largest direct-to-consumer (DTC) player in its segment, has raised $510 million across two rounds of funding.
China's Meiwei Dental raises $150m
China’s Meiwei Dental Group has raised a RMB1 billion ($150 million) Series B round from Fortune Capital, TFTR Investment, and local conglomerate New Hope Group.
India's Paytm targets $2.2b domestic IPO
Paytm, India’s largest digital payments company, has filed for an INR166 billion ($2.2 billion) domestic IPO, setting up exits for several private equity investors.
AppWorks leads $12m round for Singapore's Tinvio
Taiwanese accelerator and VC investor AppWorks has led a $12 million round for Singapore-based enterprise services platform Tinvio.
Tech investment surges in India, SE Asia as China plummets
A drop-off in PE and VC technology investment in China in the second quarter of 2021 – widely linked to a multi-faceted regulatory crackdown on the sector – was to some extent counterbalanced by record levels of activity in India and Southeast Asia.
Sherpa Healthcare leads Series A for Paq Therapeutics
Sherpa Healthcare Partners has led a $30 million Series A for Paq Therapeutics, a Chinese-founded biotech company specializing in treatments based on molecules that enhance the degradation of disease-causing entities.
SoftBank leads $150m Series C for US, India-based Netradyne
SoftBank Vision Fund 2 has led a $150 million Series C round for Netradyne, a US and India-based software provider for vehicle fleet operators.
Carlyle leads $100m Series D for Chinese lingerie brand
Chinese lingerie brand Neiwai has raised a $100 million Series D round led by The Carlyle Group. Vertex Ventures China and Qiming Venture Partners re-upped.
Vision Fund commits $1.7b to Korean travel start-up Yanolja
Yanolja, which claims to be South Korea’s only travel industry unicorn, has received $1.7 billion from SoftBank Vision Fund 2. There are no other investors in the round.