Funds
Singtel Innov8's Bao Bean joins SOS Ventures
William Bao Bean, formerly managing director with corporate venture unit Singtel Innov8, has joined SOS Ventures as its investment partner in China.
GIC leads $150m round for US e-commerce start-up Square - report
Singapore sovereign wealth fund GIC Private is said to have led a $150 million Series E round investment in US e-payments start-up Square.
Matrix India backs recruitment service GrownOut
Matrix Partners India has provided a first institutional round of funding for GrownOut, an online platform that helps companies identify potential recruits on the basis of referrals sourced via employees’ professional networks.
Avenue Capital bolsters Asia team ahead of planned fundraise
Avenue Capital Group has hired two executives from PAG – Anil Gorthy and Dan Galanter – to lead its Asia business, with a new regional fund planned for the coming year.
Google Capital in debut China VC investment
Google's discomfort at the growing level of censorship imposed on US internet players by the Chinese authorities after 2008 saw the company withdraw from the M&A scene. There were no deals at all until last week, when Google Capital – a $300 million growth-stage...
Ayannah banks on the unbanked
Explaining why cross-border remittances into the Philippines are not his core business, Mikko Perez points to Hong Kong’s Central district on a Sunday, when the domestic helpers are out in force. “It’s so cut throat – we are talking basis points of spread...
Jafco commits $4.6m in Japan footwear site Locondo
Jafco has invested JPY500 million ($4.6 million) in Japanese footwear e-commerce start-up Locondo in a Series C round of funding.
GGV, Tencent invest $13m in US tracking device maker
Tile, a US start-up that makes devices used to track lost items, has raised $13 million in funding from China-based investors.
VIDEO: Yilu Zhao of Qunar
Many VC-backed start-ups are cautious about accepting strategic capital due to concerns that these large investors will exert too much influence, particularly in terms of a potential public market exit. Yilu Zhao, chief strategy officer at Chinese travel...
Rocket Internet shares close down 13% on Frankfurt debut
German internet incubator and investor Rocket Internet saw its shares close down 13% on the first day of trading on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange following a EUR1.6 billion ($2 billion) IPO.
Matrix India backs online food-ordering platform LimeTray
Matrix Partners India has provided a Series A round of funding for Alchemy Web Private, operator of online food-ordering platform LimeTray. The size of the commitment was not disclosed.
Gree Ventures backs Philippines payments business
Gree Ventures has participated in a Series C round of funding for Philippines-based digital payments business Ayannah. Wavemaker Labs, Golden Gate Ventures, IMJ Investment Partners and Beenos Asia also participated.
China QFLP funds: Back from the brink?
Moves by Japan’s Nomura Asset Management and Singaporean lender OCBC to enter Chinese private equity through the Qualified Foreign Limited Partnership program are unlikely to spark a broader revival
Sinarmas takes Ardent cross-border
Ardent Capital is registered in Hong Kong, but Bangkok remains its home. Previous investments by the VC firm have followed the same model – start in Thailand, then expand into other Southeast Asian markets. Now, though, Ardent is preparing to incubate...
Top-up time: VC opportunity funds
Northern Light Venture Capital would like to have participated in the recent $50 million Series D round of funding for Daojia, but it could not. The Series C round last September wasn’t possible either. As it stands, the VC firm has recorded a handsome...
Google, Lightspeed lead $38m round for China's InnoLight
Google Capital, the growth-stage venture arm of Google, and Lightspeed China Partners have co-led a $38 million Series C round of funding for InnoLight Technology, a Chinese manufacturer of cloud computing optical transceivers.
Jungle Ventures commits $1.6m to Thailand fashion site
Jungle Ventures has led a $1.6 million pre-Series A round for Pomelo, a Thailand-based online fashion retailer.
Shunwei invests $10m in Chinese female social networking site
Shunwei Capital Partners has committed $10 million in Series B funding to 520guimi.com, a female-focused social networking site in China.
Pavilion, Recruit provide Series B2 for Japan's Freee
Temasek Holdings-owned Pavilion Capital and Recruit Strategic Partners, the VC arm of Recruit Holdings, have led a Series B2 round of funding worth $6 million for Freee, a Tokyo-based provider of automated online accounting software.
Singapore supports med-tech accelerator program
Spring Seeds Capital, an investment arm of government-backed Spring Singapore, has launched an initiative that could channel up to S$60 million ($47 million) into local medical technology start-ups.
VC-backed iMoney gets funding from Australia's iSelect
IMoney Group, a Malaysia-based financial comparison start-up backed by Jungle Ventures, has received approximately MYR13 million ($4 million) from iSelect, an Australia Securities Exchange-listed online comparison service.
Accel, Ribbit lead $35m round for Australian invoice app
Australia-based invoicing app Invoice2go has received $35 million in a Series A round of funding led by Accel Partners and Ribbit Capital. The company was founded in 2002 but this is its first external funding.
China's Tiantu in $63m first close on debut US dollar fund
Chinese GP Tiantu Capital has reached a first close of $63 million on its debut US dollar-denominated fund. A final close of $100 million is targeted for before the end of the year.
KPCB leads $50m round for China video app
KPCB has led a $50 million Series C round of funding for Chinese video app Miaopai, with participation from Sina, Redpoint Ventures and StarVC, a VC firm launched by a group of Chinese celebrities.