Venture
Snapdeal partners with eBay, closes $50m funding round
Indian online retailer Snapdeal has raised $50 million from lead investor eBay, Intel Capital, Saama Capital, Russian VC ru-Net and Japan’s Recruit Holdings. Existing investors Bessemer Venture, Nexus Venture Partners and Kalaari Capital also participated...
Clearstone-backed Games2Win acquires Indian start-up
Games2Win, an Indian online gaming business backed by Clearstone Ventures, has acquired Backyard Game FactoRy (BGF) - a New Dehli-based game developer.
JAIC, CyberAgent-backed dating site in Taiwan IPO
Sunfun Info, an online dating platform backed by Japan Asia Investment (JAIC) and CyberAgent Ventures, has debuted on the Taiwan over-the-counter Gre Tai Securities Market.
Nexus invests $2.5m in Housing.co.in
Nexus Venture Partners will back Indian real estate search portal Housing.co.in with $2.5 million in funding to help expand its technology and data teams.
Shinsei Bank backs Series B for Japan's Smart Education
Shinsei Corporate Investment (SCI), a unit of Japan's Shinsei Bank, has committed JPY75.3 million ($748,000) to educational smartphone app developer Smart Education. This brings the start-up's Series B round to a total of JPY350 million.
KDDI, Yahoo, CyberAgent invest $3m in online language service
KDDI Open Innovation Fund, CyberAgent Ventures and YJ Capital - the investment arm of Yahoo Japan - have taken part in JPY330 million ($3.2 million) round of funding for RareJob, an English-language learning website.
India's Snapdeal acquires e-retailer Shopo
Sequoia Capital-backed Shopo.in, an online marketplace for Indian handicraft products, has been bought by Snapdeal.com promoter Jasper Infotech for an undisclosed amount. Shopo had raised funding from Sequoia, SRI Capital and Seeders Venture Capital in...
India's Aavishkaar to close VC Fund II at $95m, raise SE Asia fund
Aavishkaar Venture Management, which funds enterprises in India’s rural areas, is to close the Aavishkaar II fund at $95 million. Investors include the International Finance Corporation, Cisco, KfW, FMO, CDC Group and Rianta Capital, a London-based family...
500 Startups to launch Southeast Asia fund
The founder of Silicon Valley early-stage investor 500 Startups, David McClure, is looking to launch a $10 million micro fund targeting Southeast Asia.
SE Asia VC Ardent gets backing from US, Japan partners
Southeast Asia-focused venture capital firm Ardent has received its first round of external funding from US-based Siemer Ventures and Japanese VCs Recruit Strategic Partners and GMO Venture Partners. Details of the transaction were not disclosed.
SingTel Innov8 leads Series C round for TubeMogul
SingTel Innov8, the venture capital arm of Singapore Telecommunications, has led a $10 million Series C round of investment in TubeMogul, a global video marketing platform.
Tandem Capital to launch India mobile VC fund
Silicon Valley-based Tandem Capital, which focuses on the mobile sector, is launching an India-focused fund that plans to invest in 20 startups in the country over the next year. Aarin Capital’s Ranjan Pai and T V Mohandas Pai will be partners in the...
Nissay, Nippon invest $1m in online translation service
Nissay Capital and Nippon Venture Capital Co. (NVCC) have led a JPY108 million ($1 million) round of investment in Japan's Yaraku, the company behind online cloud translation service WorldJumper. Individual investors are also said to have taken part in...
Invictus Oncology gets $2m from Navam, Aarin
Indian investors Navam Capital and Aarin Capital have invested INR10.5 million ($1.88 million) in Delhi-based Invictus Oncology as part of a Series A round of funding.
Globis upbeat on Fund IV first close
When Japanese tech-focused VC Globis Capital Partners raised its third fund in 2006, it was against a very different backdrop. The process took just four months and the vehicle closed at JPY18 billion, JPY3 billion over target.
VC-backed companies lead the way in Australia R&D - study
Venture capital-backed companies in Australia spend an average 200 times more on R&D per employee than other businesses, according to a report by the Australian Private Equity & Venture Capital Association (AVCAL).
China's Kaida VC invests in VTL Associates
China’s Suzhou Industrial Park Kaida Venture Capital has invested in VTL Associates, a Philadelphia-based financial consulting firm that develops equity and fixed income indexes.
East Ventures leads seed funding round in Japan's TwitCasting
East Ventures has led a JPY64.8 million ($633,000) round of seed funding in Moi Corp., the Japanese company behind social video application TwitCasting.
China's LightInTheBox sets IPO terms, targets up to $87m
VC-backed Chinese online retailer LightInTheBox plans to raise up to $87 million through its IPO on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE).
Rocket Internet's Asian fashion startup raises $100 million
Zalora, a Hong Kong-based online fashion and beauty retailer owned by German VC firm Rocket Internet, has closed a $100 million round of financing from Investment AB Kinnevik, Verlinvest and return backers Summit Partners and Tengelmann Group - which...
SparkLabs selects 10 companies for its second start-up class
Korean start-up accelerator SparkLabs has selected a second class of 10 for its mentoring program. The program is three months in length and provides funding, office space and access to a network of entrepreneurs, venture capitalists and angel investors....
Kae Capital seeds India language-learning platform
Indian venture capital firm Kae Capital has invested an undisclosed amount for a minority stake in Intap Labs, the start-up behind language-learning platform CultureAlley.com.
Sequoia leads $5m investment in Indian energy drink maker
Sequoia Capital, Catamaran Investment and FootPrint Ventures have put $8 million (INR 440 million) into Hector Beverages, owners of energy drink brand Tzinga.
Japan's Globis reaches $78m first close on Fund IV
Tokyo-based venture firm Globis Capital Partners has reached a first close on its fourth fund a JPY8 billion ($78 million). Globis Fund IV, will focus on Japanese companies looking to capitalize on high-growth Asian markets as well as those in the domestic...