Venture
New Zealand's Pan Pacific, Taiwan to set up $40m cross-border fund
Taiwan’s state-run Institute for Information Industry (III) and New Zealand-based Pan Pacific Capital have formed a $40 million venture capital fund, with a view to promoting cross-border deals and expanding bilateral cooperation.
Daiwa, Intec invest $2m in Japan's Repica
Japan's Daiwa PI Partners and Intec IT Capital have invested JPY200 million ($2 million) in Repica, a company that develops CRM solutions for Japanese businesses.
Founder of VC-backed ShopClues faces US charges
Sandeep Aggarwal, founder of VC-backed Indian e-commerce site ShopClues, has been arrested in the US in connection with the SAC Capital Advisors insider trading investigation. He is charged with passing confidential information to a trader concerning...
Indian Angel Network invests in IndiaCollegeSearch
Indian Angel Network (IAN) investor members Vikram Kant Upadhyaya, Anupam Mittal and Varun Khurana have committed an undisclosed amount to IndiaCollegeSearch (ICS), a website that provides information on over 7,000 professional educational institutes....
Microsoft consolidates India start-up programs
Microsoft India has brought its start-up offerings under a single platform – known as Microsoft Ventures – following a similar restructuring at group level. Existing VC investment programs including BizSpark, Bing Fund and Accelerator will now operate...
INCJ invests $27m in Japan patent fund
Government-backed Innovation Network Corporation of Japan (INCJ) has invested JPY2.75 billion ($27.8 million) in a fund that will buy unused patents and license them to domestic start-ups.
Nissay Capital backs Japanese online ad platform Dennoo
Nissay Capital has invested $1.1 million in Japanese online ad platform, Dennoo. The investment brings the start-up's total amount of venture capital funding to $3.1 million.
Asia Pacific Capital completes $25m Series C round for Ciris Energy
Hong Kong-based Asia Pacific Capital (APC) has invested $15 million in Ciris Energy, a US company that converts coal to natural gas, concluding a $25 million Series C round of investment.
Femto invests $1m in Japanese restaurant app startup
Japanese venture capital firm Femto has committed JPY100 million ($1 million) of seed funding in Toreta, a start-up developing apps for the food service industry.
Revolution Growth invests $40m in Australia's Bigcommerce
US venture capital firm Revolution Growth has invested $40 million in Australian tech start-up Bigcommerce. The company sells e-commerce software for online retailers covering website design, store management, marketing and electronic payments.
Accel leads $6m investment in India B2B group buy platform
Accel Partners and return backers Kalaari Capital and Inventus Capital have put $6 million into group buying website Power2SME, in a Series B round for the company.
DCM, Infinity invest $2.7m in Japanese accounting software firm
DCM and Infinity Capital Partners have invested $2.7 million in Japanese online accounting software company, Freee, as part of a Series A round of funding.
Legend Capital joins funding round for heart valve implant maker
Legend Capital has participated in a $62.5 million Series C round of funding for Munich-based JenaValve Technology, a manufacturer of valve systems used to treat heart conditions. The company intends to apply to market products in China.
East Ventures backs Japanese flea market app Mercari
East Ventures has invested JPY50 million ($500,000) in Mercari, a Japanese flea market app launched by former Zynga Japan General Manager Shintaro Yamada.
Strategics buy Singapore start-ups Techsailor, YFind
Two Singapore-based start-ups – Techsailor and YFind – have been snapped up by strategic investors. This follows last week’s acquisition of VC-backed travel website TravelMob by NASDAQ-listed vacation rental portal HomeAway.
Jungle Ventures secures TravelMob exit
Four years ago, Asia Pacific became the world’s largest aviation market, with 647 million travelers taking flights within the region compared to 638 million in North America. This growth shows no sign of slowing down – in the first four months of 2013,...
A new alternative: SME liquidity in India
India has opened up a channel for domestic start-ups to sell shares without going through a full IPO. The platform offers new fundraising and exit options, but regulators could help by removing more red tape
The problem with Southeast Asian VC
Ahead of last week's AVCJ Singapore Forum, this column was dedicated to the less-loved investment stories in Southeast Asia. VC made the list because, despite offering a similar fundamentals to China and India – rising disposable incomes and mobile internet...
Artesian Ventures, University of Queensland to launch start-up fund
Artesian Capital Management, an alternative investment arm spun out of ANZ Banking Group, has partnered with University of Queensland to create a A$1.5 million ($1.4 million) Accelerate Investment Fund. The vehicle will invest in graduates from the university’s...
Pearson, Village Capital to fund Indian education start-ups
Pearson - a UK education company which owns the Financial Times and publishers Penguin Random House - has teamed up with social investor Village Capital to set up a business incubator for Indian education start-ups.
Oak Capital invests $6.6m in Japan's K-Lab
Japan's Oak Capital Corp. has invested JPY650 million ($6.6 million) in online mobile game designer KLab.
Southeast Asia VC still overlooked by global investors - AVCJ Forum
Southeast Asia is the region’s forgotten venture capital market despite some compelling fundamentals. Last month ASEAN overtook the US by internet users and at some point this month it will surpass the US in terms of the total number of 3G connections,...
Australia's PushStart closes accelerator program
PushStart, an Australian firm that offers mentoring to early stage Australian tech startups, has shut down its accelerator program.
HomeAway acquires VC-backed vacation rental startup Travelmob
US-based vacation rentals site HomeAway has bought a controlling stake in Singapore-based Travelmob in a bid to boost its online rental accommodations business in Asia. Early investors of the start-up include Accel Partners and Jungle Ventures, alongside...