Region
China National Energy Storage raises $143m
Zhongchu Guoneng Technology (ZGT), also known as China National Energy Storage, has raised CNY 1bn (USD 143m) in Series A funding led by a China Development Bank Capital-managed fund and Xinda Kunpeng Equity Investment Management.
Japan's Heartseed raises $14m Series D
Heartseed, a Tokyo-based biotech start-up specializing in treatments that use cardiac muscle cells to initiate the remuscularization of patients who have suffered heart failure, has raised JPY 2bn (USD 14.3m) in Series D funding.
Shenzhen Capital backs Chinese titanium metal producer
Shenzhen Capital Group has participated in a CNY 2.27bn (USD 321m) funding round for Yunnan National Titanium Metal, a subsidiary of Shenzhen-listed chemicals producer LB Group.
Indonesia e-commerce player Evermos gets $39m Series C
The International Finance Corporation (IFC) has led a USD 39m Series C round for Evermos, an Indonesian social commerce platform that positions itself as an impact play.
Singapore's Qualgro seeks $150m for Fund III
Qualgro Partners, a Singapore-headquartered venture capital firm, is looking to raise USD 150m for its third fund.
PE-backed CompareAsiaGroup merges with US-listed SPAC
CompareAsiaGroup, an Asia-focused financial products comparison platform also known as MoneyHero Group, has agreed to merge with a US-listed special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) at an enterprise value of approximately USD 342m.
VC investors primed for exit with China Youzan reorganisation
Hillhouse Capital and Matrix Partners China are set for liquidity events after China Youzan, an e-commerce software-as-a-service (SaaS) business listed in Hong Kong, agreed to take full control of its key subsidiary for HKD 2.6bn (USD 334.5m).
Goldman backs Japan taxi-hailing player Go
Goldman Sachs Asset Management (GSAM) has committed JPY 10bn (USD 75m) in Series D funding to Go Inc, operator of a Japan-based taxi-hailing app.
Digital bank Tyme wins funding for SE Asia, Africa expansion
Tyme Group, an emerging markets-focused digital banking group with operations in the Philippines and South Africa, has raised USD 77.8m in pre-Series C funding. A portion of the proceeds will be used for expansion into other markets in Southeast Asia....
Australian satellite provider Fleet gets $33m Series C
Australian satellite maker and services provider Fleet has closed a AUD 50m (USD 33m) Series C round led by Blackbird Ventures following an aggressive foray into mining.
Singapore's BandLab raises $25m
Singapore-based social music creation platform BandLab has raised USD 25m from Cercano Management, formerly Vulcan Capital, a vehicle established by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen.
Japan's Mizuho to buy M&A advisor Greenhill
Boutique investment bank Greenhill, arguably best known in private equity for advising on LP and GP-led secondary transactions, has agreed to an acquisition by Japan’s Mizuho Financial Group.
UK, India-based Builder.ai raises $250m Series D
Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) has led a USD 250m Series D round for UK and India-based Builder.ai, a low-code business software platform that compares is modularity to Lego blocks.
China generative AI start-up Luchen gets Series A funding
Luchen Technology, a Chinese start-up specialising in artificial intelligence (AI) training, has closed a Series A round amounting to several hundred million renminbi.
Energy transition: An emerging speciality
Kerogen Capital is trying to plot a more nuanced course into energy transition than building renewables. It is one of a growing number of nascent specialists in the space.
Deal focus: Investcorp finds optimal entry point with Jianuo
Investcorp negotiated its debut China control deal in the shadow of COVID-19 but expects to see long-term gains through the target company’s exposure to electric vehicles and renewable energy
Deal focus: PrimeMovers buys Malaysia machinist in debut deal
PrimeMovers, which spun out from Platinum Equity last year, and UK-based Lingotto Investment Management have jointly acquired Malaysian precision manufacturing company EngTek
Fund focus: Foreign LPs creep into Japan VC
Japan’s Dimension has closed its first fund since spinning out from Dream Incubator, more than doubling its prior vintage and tracking increased interest among regional institutional investors
Q&A: Gobi Partners' Thomas Tsao
Thomas Tsao, co-founder of Gobi Partners, on Chinese investors targeting Southeast Asia, the fallout from US-China tensions, fundraising and fund strategy, and what excites him about technology
Avataar leads $45m round for India's Chalo
Avataar Venture Partners, an India-based investor in growth-stage B2B technology and software-as-a-service (SaaS) companies, has led a USD 45m funding round for bus tracking app Chalo.
China EV chassis maker U Power gets Series B funding
U Power, a China-based manufacturer of electric vehicles (EVs) and smart EV chassis, has raised several hundreds of millions of renminbi in Series B funding led by Hefei Industry Investment.
Australia's Giant Leap closes second impact fund with $30m
Australian impact VC investor Giant Leap has closed its second fund with about AUD 45m (USD 30m) in commitments. The firm raised AUD 15m for Fund I in 2016.
General Atlantic raises exposure to India's PhonePe
General Atlantic has invested USD 100m in India’s PhonePe only four months after providing the payments platform with a USD 350m round at a pre-money valuation of USD 12bn.