South Asia
Singapore’s Capillary Technologies gets $45m Series D
India-founded and Singapore-headquartered retail industry software-as-a-service (SaaS) provider Capillary Technologies has raised a USD 45m Series D round featuring India’s Avaatar Ventures.
Deal focus: Chalo thinks beyond the bus stop
India bus-tracking app Chalo is helping fleet operators eliminate fraud and improve efficiency while giving passengers greater visibility on services. It is keen to scale – geographically and vertically
Asia private credit: Muffled momentum
The conservative virtues of private credit relative to private equity have come into fashion in a risk-off world. But global participation in the Asian side of the story will be limited
Square Peg leads round for India payments start-up
Australia’s Square Peg Capital has led a USD 10.2m pre-Series A round for India-based payments technology provider XFlow.
India home appliance manufacturer Atomberg raises $86m
Steadview Capital and Singapore’s Temasek Holdings have led a USD 86m funding round for Atomberg Technologies, an India-based home appliances manufacturer best known for its electric motor fans.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Deal focus: Ace Turtle says so long to SaaS
Ace Turtle never wanted to be India’s answer to Amazon, but it has moved from software provider to supply chain coordinator while stepping back from international markets. Investors are not deterred
Profile: Mandala Capital’s Uday Garg
Uday Garg realised an unlikely career arc from tennis to private equity with the establishment of India’s Mandala Capital. This was guided by a passion for achieving impact in food and agriculture
South by Southeast: Asia’s next growth engine?
Grouping together markets based on growth and scale is a problematic with South Asia and Southeast Asia as it was with the BRIC economies. But to some extent, investors are buying into the story
India's Convergent invests $49m in Puma sportswear spinout
Convergent Finance, a private equity firm founded by former Fairfax India head Harsha Raghavan, has invested INR 4bn (USD 49m) in Agilitas Sports, a local spinout of German sportswear giant Puma.
Apax invests $450m in India’s IBS Software, Blackstone exits
Apax Partners has agreed to pay USD 450m for a significant minority stake in India’s IBS Software, a travel and logistics industry supplier, enabling an exit for The Blackstone Group.
Macquarie Capital acquires majority stake in India’s CloudExtel
Macquarie Capital, the investment arm of Australia’s Macquarie Group, has acquired a 51% stake in Indian digital connectivity technology provider CloudExtel for about USD 100m.
Blackstone falls short in bid to delist India's R Systems
The Blackstone Group has failed to delist Indian IT provider R Systems due to insufficient interest from public shareholders six months after agreeing on a majority acquisition.
Foundation secures secondary deal with India's Carpediem
Asia secondaries specialist Foundation Private Equity has acquired stakes in three portfolio companies held by India’s Carpediem Capital through the purchase of new and existing shares.
Bessemer pledges USD 1bn for global AI deals
Bessemer Venture Partners, a US-based early-stage investor currently expanding a longstanding presence in India, has earmarked USD 1bn for artificial intelligence (AI) start-ups globally.
Fireside leads $40m Series B for India's Ripplr
Fireside Ventures has led a USD 40m Series B round for India-based distribution and logistics platform Ripplr. The round comprised USD 28m in equity funding and USD 12m in debt.
Stride hits first close on third India venture debt fund
India-based venture debt provider Stride Ventures has reached a first close of USD 100m on its third fund, which has an overall target of USD 200m.
Japan's SMBC, Incubate set up USD 200m Asia VC fund
Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC) has established a USD 200m growth and late-stage pan-Asian VC fund in partnership with Japan’s Incubate Fund, which will co-manage the vehicle.
Fund focus: Chiratae eyes global growth
Chiratae Ventures has raised a growth-stage fund to participate in later-stage rounds for Indian portfolio companies that are becoming ever larger and ever more international in their outlook
Japan VC: Global appetites
The relatively recent advent of sizeable VC funds and high-profile start-ups in Japan has exposed long-simmering ambitions to be more international. This could be a breakout moment