Sectors
RTP Global collects USD 1bn for early-stage investments
RTP Global, a global early-stage venture capital firm that has made nearly 50 investments in India and Southeast Asia, has announced the launch of its fourth fund with USD 1bn in commitments.
Australia's Adamantem hits first close on environment fund
Australian middle market GP Adamantem Capital has reached a first close of AUD 150m (USD 100m) on its debut environmental opportunities fund (EOF) and made a first investment from the vehicle in food packaging business PAC Trading.
Creador buys 40% stake in Malaysia's Pet World, COPE exits
Malaysia-based Creador has acquired a 40% stake in prominent local pet food maker and brand owner Pet World, setting up an exit for COPE Private Equity.
China EV battery solutions provider raises $229m
Sunwoda Electric Vehicle Battery (EVB), a subsidiary of lithium-ion battery maker Sunwoda Electronic, has raised a CNY 1.65bn (USD 229m) Series B round from domestic investors.
Warburg Pincus buys majority stake in India bath fittings brand
Warburg Pincus has acquired a majority stake in India’s Watertec, an affordable bath fittings brand with a nationwide footprint.
Singapore T-cell therapist gets China government funding
Singaporean T-cell immunotherapy company Lion TCR has raised USD 40m in its second tranche of Series B funding. Guangzhou Industrial Investment and Capital Operation Holding Group led the round.
Advanced computing: Niche or indispensable?
Investors are wary of rising data processing challenges in a rapidly digitising world. They must make do with the imperfect solutions of today without failing to embrace frontier technologies
Q&A: Soul Capital’s Herry Han
Lightspeed China spinout Soul Capital is pursuing an early-stage dual-currency strategy in China. Herry Han, the firm’s founding partner and CEO, explains how and why he’s staying relevant
Deal focus: L Catterton sees value in the Drools recipe
Indian pet food producer Drools is the runaway leader among local brands, trailing only multinational mainstay Mars. The challenge for L Catterton was persuading a profitable company to take its money
China ride hailing platform Ruqi Mobility secures $117m
Ruqi Mobility, a ride-hailing platform incubated by Chinese state-backed automaker GAC Group, has raised CNY 842m (USD 117m) in a Series B funding round led by Guangzhou Automobile Industry Group.
Japan's Terra Motors raises $28m
Japanese electric vehicle (EV) start-up Terra Motors has raised JPY 40bn (USD 28m) in Series C funding featuring Silicon Valley-based Pegasus Tech Ventures.
VC-backed Chinese O2O retail platform pursues HK listing
Dmall, a Chinese O2O retail platform provider for traditional retailers backed by IDG Capital among others, has filed for a Hong Kong IPO.
Japan SME fintech player raises $17m
Japan’s Olta, a financial technology provider for small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) has raised JPY 2.5bn (USD 17.6m) in Series B funding featuring SBI Investment, Spiral Capital, and DG Ventures.
Illuminate Financial closes $235m VC fund, targets Asia
Illuminate Financial, a UK-headquartered GP with a base in Singapore, has closed its third fintech VC fund on USD 235m amidst plans to expand activity in the region.
China e-commerce SaaS player files for Hong Kong IPO
Jushuitan, which claims to be China’s largest e-commerce software-as-a-service (SaaS) enterprise resource planning (ERP) provider, has filed for a Hong Kong IPO.
Japan's Integral buys UPT from Advantage, sells BTC to Capgemini
Japanese middle market private equity firm Integral Corporation has acquired United Precision Technologies (UPT), which supplies components used in smart devices, from Advantage Partners and sold IT consulting business BTC to Capgemini.
KKR sells minority stake in Japan's Kokusai to QIA
KKR has made a partial exit from Kokusai Electric, a Japan-based semiconductor industry supplier, through the sale of a minority stake to Qatar Investment Authority (QIA).
Australia's Challenger Funds acquires stake in Proterra Asia
Challenger Funds Management, one of the largest active asset managers in Australia, has acquired a stake in Singapore-based PE firm Proterra Investment Partners Asia from Australia’s Pacific Current Group.
Japan advertising AI start-up Flux raises $32m Series B
DNX Ventures has led a JPY 4.4bn (USD 32m) Series B round for Japan’s Flux, which helps businesses manage advertising strategies via a no-code artificial intelligence (AI) platform.
China UAV developer United Aircraft raises $167m
United Aircraft, a Chinese start-up specialising in unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), has raised CNY 1.2bn (USD 167m) in Series D funding from several local investors.
China Micro LED developer Jade Bird gets new funding
Jade Bird Display (JBD), a Shanghai-based developer of micro LEDs used in artificial reality (AR) devices, has raised several hundred million renminbi through two tranches of Series A funding.
L Catterton extends pet food focus to India
L Catterton’s interest in Asia-based pet food businesses has extended from China to India with a commitment of approximately USD 60m to Drools Pet Food, which claims to be the country’s leading local pet food supplier.
Deal focus: How to go global as a neighbourhood shop
Singapore’s Madly, a tech-enabled but e-commerce-averse jeweller, knows that future family heirlooms must be sold with a personal touch. In East Ventures, it felt a rare simpatico
Deal focus: PCG brings light to industrial use cases
Incubated by property developers and backed by a string of specialist investors, distributed power start-up PCG Power is looking to instal solar panels on the rooftops of China’s factories