Greater China
Deal focus: Mapping malls and metaverses
Mapxus sees indoor maps of high-traffic areas in high-density cities as the last piece of infrastructure to digitalise. The Hong Kong start-up has won corporate and VC backing to expand region-wide
China artificial heart developer raises $100m
China-based medical device manufacturer Evaheart has raised a Series A of close to USD 100m led by Chinese vaccine developer Sinovac.
China industrial supplies platform ZKH pursues US IPO
ZKH Group, a China-based industrial supplies platform backed by the likes of Eastern Bell Capital, Genesis Capital, Tencent Holdings, and Tiger Global Management, has filed to list in the US.
Silicon Valley Bank's China JV reassures stakeholders
SPD Silicon Valley Bank, the China-based joint venture of SVB Financial Group, has offered assurances about the robustness of its operations following the closure of SVB Financial-owned US lender Silicon Valley Bank (SVB), while listed Chinese clients...
Qiming, Ince invest in China, US biotech start-up
Qiming Venture Partners and Ince Capital have led a USD 50m Series B round for China and US-based oncology and autoimmune diseases treatments developer Allorion Therapeutics.
China semiconductor packaging player gets Series B extension
Chinese semiconductor packaging specialist Jiangsu Jing Chuang Advanced (JCA) Electronic Technology has raised a Series B extension of several hundreds of million renminbi led by Qiming Venture Partners.
China Life, Qianhai Ark back ophthalmic device maker
China Life Private Equity and Shenzhen-based Qianhai Ark have led a CNY 300m (USD 44m) Series C round for Svision Imaging, a China-based ophthalmic device manufacturer.
Deal focus: Qiming backs Chinese GPT pioneer
Frontis.ai is a Chinese start-up founded by local entrepreneur who helped lay the groundwork for ChatGPT in the US. Qiming Venture Partners was won over by its product conception capabilities
Xiaomi hits $1.3b second close on semiconductor fund
Xiaomi Private Equity Fund Management, a unit of Chinese smart phone maker Xiaomi, has achieved a second close of CNY 9bn (USD 1.29bn) on a semiconductor fund targeting CNY 10bn.
Deal focus: Tiamat innovates around words and pictures
Tiamat originated from a Chinese college student’s experimentation with nascent text-to-image artificial intelligence technology. DCM China and VitalBridge Capital believe it will cut through the industry hype
Hong Kong: Action on innovation
Efforts to turn Hong Kong into a technology ecosystem are still at an early stage. Investors and start-up founders believe many of the ingredients are there, but the recipe can be flawed or ignored
China VCs back semiconductor start-up InventChip
InventChip Technology, a semiconductor start-up focused on silicon carbide design and fabrication, has raised hundreds of millions of renminbi in Series B funding from several local VC investors.
CDB leads $72m round for China RPA provider Kingsware
CDB Capital has led a CNY 500m (USD 72m) Series C round for Zhuhai-based robotic process automation (RPA) services provider Kingsware Information Technology.
Qiming, Matrix back Chinese AI start-up Frontis
Chinese artificial intelligence generated content (AIGC) start-up Frontis.ai has raised a round of hundreds of millions of renminbi led by Qiming Venture Partners with support from Matrix Partners China.
Hong Kong PE stalwart John Levack dies aged 64
John Levack, who spent over two decades with Electra Partners Asia and was a long-serving board member at the Hong Kong Venture Capital & Private Equity Association (HKVCA), has died aged 64.
China vaccine developer Immorna raises $100m
Immorna, a China-based biotech start-up focused on RNA-based therapeutics and vaccines, has raised about USD 100m across two Series A extensions.
China VCs back local automotive chip developer
SiEngine Technology, a China-based developer of chips for smart cars, has raised CNY 500m (USD 73m) in an extended Series A round featuring several local VC firms.
China chatbot developer raises funding to ride ChatGPT wave
Emotibot, a China-based chatbot developer, has raised a Series D extension of undisclosed size from GP Capital, KYMCO Capital, Jiangsu Cultural Investment, and Junci Investment.
China's Oricell secures $45m Series B extension
Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) and RTW Investments, a US-based healthcare investor, have led a Series B extension of USD 45m for Oricell Therapeutics, a China-based drug developer working on CAR-T cell therapies.
GP profile: Yunqi Partners
It took seven years for Yunqi Partners' 2B investment thesis to be proven with the emergence of a swath of unicorns. The Chinese VC firm expects much more from the space – at rational valuations
Asia co-investment: Gun-shy LPs?
Overallocation, risk aversion, and troubleshooting existing deals have prompted some LPs to pull back from co-investment in Asia. Others are willing to step in, but the market is selective
China edtech player Nowcoder raises $50m
Beijing-based Nowcoder Technology, a Chinese campus recruitment platform also known as Niuke, has raised USD 50m in Series B funding from Sequoia Capital China, Shunwei Capital, 5Y Capital, Tiger Global Management, and Pegasus Capital.
Regulator raises the qualification bar for Chinese GPs
China has introduced minimum paid-up capital requirements for local private equity firms that could force smaller, less sophisticated players out of the market.
Cenova leads $40m Series B for China's Eluminex
China-based healthcare investor Cenova Capital has led a USD 40m Series B round for Eluminex Biosciences, which is developing drugs and regenerative tissue used to treat eye disease and other vision-threatening medical conditions.