Region
Vietnam's Mekong invests $10m in real estate portal
Mekong Capital has invested $10.2 million in Rever, a leading online-to-offline real estate brokerage business in Vietnam.
Affirma invests $100m in Korea cloud services provider
Affirma Capital has secured a third deal for its latest Korea fund, with an agreement to invest $100 million in Metanet T Platform, a local cloud managed service provider (MSP).
Start-up profiles: Digital banking, embedded finance, crypto banking
The Philippines’ Tonik breaks ground in neo-banking; India’s YAP finds new ways to connect banks with their customers; Singapore’s Matrixport scales fast with decentralized finance
Start-up profiles: Infrastructure, insurance, data, payments
Singapore’s Fireblocks tokenizes traditional banks; India’s PolicyBazaar mulls the future of insurance; China’s Rong360 diversifies through data; Cambodia’s Clik targets a payments frontier
Start-up profiles: Transfers, risk, marketplaces
Singapore’s Thunes rethinks remittances for an enterprise clientele; China’s IceKredit brings data privacy to credit scoring; India’s OfBusiness gravitates towards a healthy loans segment
Asia fintech: Platform plays
Expansion is the dominant theme in financial technology as start-ups leverage existing assets to enter new verticals, typically in lending. Which ones will become Asia’s preeminent platforms?
Corporate VC: Appetite for disruption
Banks across Asia are leveraging their capital and domain expertise to stay ahead of the curve on financial technology. Each aspect of the corporate VC ecosystem engages with start-ups in different ways
Q&A: Airwallex's Jack Zhang
Hong Kong-headquartered Airwallex has grown from nothing to a $2.6 billion valuation in the space of six years. Co-founder and CEO Jack Zhang details his plans to build a global financial technology stack
Ascendent founder's SPAC to merge with Tim Hortons China
A special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) sponsored by Liang Meng, founding managing partner of China’s Ascendent Capital Partners, has agreed to merge with PE-backed Tim Hortons China at a valuation of $1.8 billion.
Inspiration Capital hits first close on debut China fund
Inspiration Capital Partners, a China-focused private equity firm established by investment professionals from Vivo Capital and Goldman Sachs, has reached a first close of approximately $65 million on its debut US dollar-denominated fund.
India motorcycle taxi platform raises $52m
Indian motorcycle taxi platform Rapido has raised $52 million in Series C funding featuring the corporate VC arm of Shell.
Chinese AI diagnosis player Shukun raises $108m
Shukun, a Chinese developer of artificial intelligence (AI) technology used in medical imaging diagnosis, has raised RMB700 million ($108 million) from Goldman Sachs, Primavera Capital Group, Sequoia Capital China, Marathon Venture Partners, and Sage...
Sofina, CDH wealth platform lead round for China's Petkit
Petkit, a Chinese manufacturer of smart devices for pets such as water and food dispensers, has raised $50 million in a Series D round of funding led by Sofina and CDH Investments' wealth management platform.
Affinity backs Singapore financial SaaS platform
Affinity Equity Partners has taken a joint controlling stake alongside management in Singapore-based technology-enabled financial services provider M-Daq, following an investment of approximately S$200 million ($148 million).
Singapore's Antler opens Korea office
Antler is extending an aggressive expansion with the opening of a Korean office. The Singapore-based incubator and VC investor has set up 11 overseas bases since its inception in 2017.
Partners Group buys India broadband provider for $1.2b
Partners Group has agreed to buy India-based broadband provider Atria Convergence Technologies for an enterprise valuation of nearly $1.2 billion, facilitating a full exit for True North and a partial exit for TA Associates.
India's Dailyhunt raises $450m at $3b valuation
VerSe Innovation, operator of Indian news app Dailyhunt, has raised $450 million in Series I funding featuring The Carlyle Group at a valuation of about $3 billion.
India's Eruditus raises $650m at $3.2b valuation
India’s Eruditus Executive Education, operator of professional upskilling portal Emeritus, has raised a $650 million Series E round led by Accel and SoftBank Vision Fund 2 at a valuation of $3.2 billion.
Guotai leads $66m Series B extension for China's Innovusion
Innovusion, a Chinese developer of LiDAR technology used in autonomous driving, has raised $66 million in an extended Series B round led by the private equity investment arm of Guotai Junan International.
India's Dream Sports launches $250m corporate VC fund
Dream Sports, operator of India’s largest fantasy sports platform, has established a $250 million venture capital unit that will invest in sports, gaming, and fitness-tech start-ups nationwide.
Boyu, Janchor back China medical finance start-up
MediTrust Health, China-based healthcare payments and insurance platform, has raised RMB2 billion ($309 million) in Series C funding led by Boyu Capital and Janchor Partners.
Australia's Advent buys VR gaming business
Australian lower middle-market private equity firm Advent Partners has agreed to take a majority stake in Melbourne-based virtual reality gaming company Zero Latency VR.
DSG recruits ex-Singha executive as Southeast Asia head
DSG Consumer Partners, which focuses on early-stage consumer investments in India and Southeast Asia, has appointed Sameer Mehta as an investment director and head of Southeast Asia.
Taiwan's AppWorks raises $150m for Fund III
AppWorks, a Taiwan-based venture capital firm and accelerator that also covers Southeast Asia, has closed its third fund at the hard cap of $150 million, taking its total assets under management to $212 million.