South Asia
India's Axis Bank seeks $468m for distress buyout fund
India’s Axis Bank has launched a distress buyout fund targeting INR35 billion ($468 million) via its asset management business.
India's Cred raises $251m at $4b valuation
Indian credit card rewards company Cred has raised a $251 million Series E round led by Tiger Global Management and Falcon Edge Capital at a post-money valuation of $4 billion.
Q&A: 500 Global’s Christine Tsai
Christine Tsai, co-founder of 500 Global, formerly 500 Startups, reflects on how a planetary approach to seed-stage VC has changed the asset class, the developing world, and the firm itself
Reliance Retail buys Indian fashion brand, Everstone exits
Everstone Group has exited its minority position in India-based design house Rita Kumur after domestic behemoth Reliance Industries moved to buy a 55% stake in the company.
WestBridge leads $50m round for India's Fraazo
WestBridge Capital has led a $50 million round, comprised of a mix of debt and equity, for direct-to-consumer fresh produce delivery service Fraazo.
Norwest invests $60m in India mattress brand
Silicon Valley-based Norwest Venture Partners has invested $60 million in Indian mattress brand Duroflex.
LeapFrog leads $250m round for India's CarDekho
LeapFrog Investments has led a $250 million Series E round - described as a pre-IPO round - for Indian online auto marketplace CarDekho at a valuation of $1.2 billion.
Rise Climate, ADQ commit $994m to Tata Motors EV unit
TPG Rise Climate, a climate-focused strategy under TPG’s global impact investment platform, has agreed to invest INR75 billion ($994 million) in the electric vehicle (EV) unit of India’s Tata Motors.
India digital banking player Open raises $100m
Temasek Holdings has led a $100 million Series C round for Indian online banking company Open Financial Technologies with support from Google.
3Q analysis: India advances
India technology investment continues to ramp up as China flatlines; international payments M&A drives Asia trade sale revival, but IPOs slump; fundraising remains slow
Norwest, Kedaara lead $59m round for India NBFC
Norwest Venture Partners and Kedaara Capital have led a INR4.4 billion ($58.6 million) Series F round for Indian non-banking finance company (NBFC) Veritas Finance.
India cloud kitchen player Rebel Foods raises $175m
India-based cloud kitchen operator Rebel Foods has raised $175 million in Series F funding, led by Qatar Investment Authority (QIA), at a valuation of $1.4 billion.
India's Coinswitch Kuber raises $260m
Indian crypto exchange Coinswitch Kuber is claiming to be the largest app of its kind locally following a $260 million Series C round featuring Andreessen Horowitz at a $1.9 billion valuation.
India's Licious secures $52m Series G
Licious, an India-based online retailer specializing in fresh meat and seafood, claims to have become the country’s first direct-to-consumer (D2C) unicorn following a $52 million Series G round.
India bus-tracking app Chalo raises $40m
India bus-tracking app Chalo has raised a $40 million round led by Filter Capital and Lightrock India with support from WaterBridge Ventures and US-based Raine Ventures.
Deal focus: Vedantu highlights impact potential in Indian edtech
The latest round for livestreaming teaching app Vedantu reframes India’s swaggering, unicorn-populated edtech sector as the impact opportunity it always was
Deal focus: COVID-19 grows India’s Medikabazaar
Pandemic-driven demand for masks, ventilators, and the like has propelled Indian medical equipment operator Medikabazaar to its next stage of development with a global mix of investors
China SaaS: Path to profitability
COVID-19 has driven enterprise uptake of software-as-a-service solutions in China, but paying customers are still relatively few. Other markets offer some pointers on monetization
Falcon Edge leads $200m round for India's Ola Electric
Falcon Edge Capital has led a $200 million investment in Indian electric vehicle (EV) maker Ola Electric at a valuation of $3 billion with support from SoftBank.
PE-backed Oyo targets $1.1b India IPO
Oyo, an India-focused budget hotel platform backed by the likes of SoftBank Vision Fund, is looking to raise up to INR84.3 billion ($1.1 billion) through a domestic IPO.
India's Meesho sees valuation double in five months
Indian social e-commerce start-up Meesho has raised a $570 million Series F round, doubling its valuation in less than five months to $4.9 billion.
India edtech player Vedantu raises $100m Series E
ABC World Asia, an impact investor with ties to Singapore's Temasek Holdings, has led a $100 million Series E round for Indian education technology company Vedantu at a valuation of $1 billion.
CDC backs Gobi's Pakistan fund
UK development finance institution CDC Group has provided an anchor commitment of undisclosed size to a Pakistan VC fund targeting $20 million from Gobi Ventures and local conglomerate Fatima Group.
India PE stalwart Ajay Relan dies aged 67
Ajay Relan, one of the pioneers of private equity in India, has died at the age of 67.
