Regions
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.
Potentia withdraws from talks to buy Australia-listed Tyro
Australia-based specialist B2B technology investor Potentia Capital has withdrawn from talks to acquire listed payments software provider Tyro Payments – marking the second time attempts to reach an agreement have failed.
China's Biomissile secures $28m Series B
Suzhou-based Biomissile has raised CNY 200m (USD 28m) in a Series B funding round led by Kequan Capital. Existing investor Fosun Health Capital re-upped.
BII backs Southeast Asia energy transition fund
British International Investment (BII), a UK development finance institution (DFI), has committed USD 15m to a Southeast Asia-focused energy transition infrastructure fund managed by Switzerland-based Susi Partners.
KKR invests $120m in Vietnam school operator
KKR has invested USD 120m in Vietnam school operator EQuest Education via its global impact fund. The deal comprises a combination of debt and equity.
Exacta seeks $350m for SE Asia fund, wins ADB support
Singapore’s Exacta Capital Partners, a PE firm affiliated with Mizuho Asia Partners, has received USD 25m from Asian Development Bank (ADB) for its latest fund. The target is USD 350m.
Blackstone buys jewellery certification business, China's Fosun exits
The Blackstone Group has paid USD 569.7m for 100% of Belgium-headquartered jewellery certification business International Gemological Institute (IGI), taking out investors including China’s Fosun Group.
Japan Post Bank sees sharp increase in PE exposure
Japan Post Bank’s (JPB) private equity funds exposure increased 75% to JPY 5.6trn (USD 40.4bn) in the most recent financial year, which it said was largely driven by a change in accounting standards.
Australia, US carbon reporting start-up raises $9m
Understory Ventures, an Australian environmental impact investor, has led a USD 9m Series A round for Australia and US-based carbon reporting technology provider Flintpro.
India's 360 One invests $28m in data analytics provider
India’s 360 One Asset Management, formerly IIFL Wealth & Asset Management, has invested USD 28m in local data analytics start-up Course5 Intelligence.
Singapore digital health start-up Ora raises $10m
Singapore-based digital health start-up Ora has raised a USD 10m Series A round led by TNB Aura and Antler. Other participants include Gobi Partners, Kairous Capital, and GMA Ventures.
China energy storage player JD Energy raises $100m
Xi’an-based energy storage company JD Energy has raised a CNY 700m (USD 100m) Series B round led by Goldstone Investment, a private investment subsidiary of CITIC Securities.
Alibaba plans IPO for PE-backed logistics unit
Cainiao Smart Logistics Group, the private equity-backed logistics unit of Alibaba Group, will be spun off via an IPO as part of the parent company’s broader restructuring effort.
Qiming hits $930m final close on latest renminbi fund
Qiming Venture Partners has closed its seventh renminbi-denominated fund on CNY 6.5bn (USD 930m), marking what it claims is China's largest local currency fundraise of 2023 to date
CPE sells Australia used car business to Japan's Sojitz
CPE Capital has sold part of Dutton Group, an Australia-based used car dealer it has owned since 2016, to Japan’s Sojitz Corporation for an undisclosed sum.
China's Drug Farm secures $27m in first tranche of Series C
Drug Farm, a China and US-based developer of treatments for infection and immunological diseases, has raised USD27m in the first tranche of Series C funding led by Shanghai's YD Capital.
Constantinople raises Australia's largest-ever seed round
Australia’s Square Peg Capital has led a AUD 32m (USD 21.3m) seed round for local banking software provider Constantinople. It is being called the largest-ever seed investment in Australia.
Singapore's Bolttech raises $196m
Singapore’s Bolttech, the insurance technology business of Pacific Century Group, has raised a USD 196m round led by Japanese insurer Tokio Marine at a valuation of USD 1.6bn.
Bain buys Japan software player IDAJ
Bain Capital has acquired IDAJ, a Japan-based engineering solutions provider that provides digital platforms to facilitate project development and computer-based design simulation systems.