Sectors
Tencent backs China education service provider
Tencent Holdings has joined an extended Series D round for Gaosi Education, a technology supplier for K12 after-school tutoring institutions in China that has now rebranded as Aixuexi.
Japan health tech player SmartScan gets $10m Series A
SmartScan, a Japanese medical technology supplier focused on software for diagnostics equipment, has raised a JPY1.3 billion ($10.3 million) Series A round from domestic VCs.
Australia’s V2Food raises $35m Series A
Australian alternative protein producer V2Food has secured a $35 million Series A round led by Hong Kong’s Horizons Ventures and Australia’s Main Sequence Ventures.
Hudson to privatize Hong Kong’s Sky Solar
US cleantech-focused private equity firm Hudson Sustainable Investments is set to acquire a controlling position in Hong Kong-based and NASDAQ-listed power producer Sky Solar Holdings.
TPG joins round for India’s Ess Kay Fincorp
TPG Capital, Norwest Venture Partners, and Evolvence India have jointly led a $33 million investment in Indian non-banking finance company Ess Kay Fincorp.
GGV leads $14m round for Chinese IoT player
Chinese internet-of-things (IoT) operating system provider RT-Thread has raised a RMB100 million ($14 million) Series B round led by GGV Capital. Existing investor Legend Capital re-upped.
China sensor manufacturer secures $7m
Camsense, a Shenzhen-based manufacturer of high-precision vision sensors, has raised RMB50 million ($7 million) in a round led by Chenhui Venture Partners and Feng Yang Capital.
India start-ups: Land of the giants
Indian investors are savoring a rapid proliferation in billion-dollar technology start-ups, but as the unicorn heap gets bigger, an almost unrecognizable economy will pose new challenges
India's Paytm raises $1b
Indian mobile payment and e-commerce platform Paytm has raised a $1 billion Series G round led by T Rowe Price.
Cento leads $52m round for SE Asia payments player
Cento Ventures has led a $52 million round for 2C2P, a Singapore and Bangkok-based payments platform that claims to serve some 620 million customers across Southeast Asia.
Chinese gas station platform raises $110m Series C
Newlinks Group, operator of the Chezhubang platform that helps drivers in China locate the best value gas stations, has raised a $110 million Series C round led by Joy Capital.
Taiwan's Appier gets $80m Series D
Appier, a Taiwan-headquartered start-up that develops artificial intelligence-enabled platforms intended to help corporates optimize advertising campaigns, has raised $80 million in Series D funding.
China’s Genetron secures $50m Series D, seeks US IPO
Genetron Holdings, a precision oncology technology developer in China, has raised a $50 million Series D round and filed for a US IPO.
Chinese cancer database provider secures $140m
Medbanks, a Chinese oncology database platform, has raised around RMB1 billion ($140 million) in an extended Series D funding round led by Tencent Holdings and Wu Capital.
Singapore's Carousell merges with Asia assets of Telenor
Singapore-based online consumer-to-consumer marketplace Carousell has merged with the Southeast Asia subsidiary of Norwegian telecommunications giant Telenor Group.
China targets $7b security industry fund
China Reform Holdings, a state-owned fund manager with RMB700 billion ($100 billion) in assets under management, has launched a RMB50 billion fund that will make investments in the security industry, with a particular focus on technology-enabled services.
Chinese bitcoin player completes $90m IPO, endures bumpy debut
Chinese bitcoin mining equipment manufacturer Canaan experienced a volatile first day of trading on NASDAQ after raising $90 million in a smaller-than-expected IPO.
Chinese hotel digital services provider secures $14m Serie A
Htrip, a China-based hotel digital services platform, has raised RMB100 million ($14 million) in an extended Series A funding round, led by Shenzhen Venture Capital.
Chinese cloud-based photo agency raises $14m
Fortune Capital and GF Xinde Investment have led an RMB100 million ($14 million) Series B round for VPhoto, a Chinese cloud-based photo service provider. Tzitzit Asset also participated.
IHH leads $20m round for Singapore science ministry spin-out
Lucence, a cancer screening start-up that spun out from Singapore’s Agency for Science, Technology and Research in 2016, has raised $20 million in Series A funding.
Carlyle makes partial exit from India's SBI Life
The Carlyle Group has made a partial exit from India-listed life insurance company SBI Life, selling one-third of its stake for approximately INR28.2 billion ($392 million).
Baring Asia to buy Lumenis from XIO for $1b
Baring Private Equity Asia has agreed to buy Lumenis, an Israel-headquartered medical devices manufacturer that counts Asia as its largest market, from XIO Group for a valuation of $1 billion.
PE & QSR: Selling pizza in Japan
From delightfully indulgent pizza toppings to delivery world records, Domino’s Japan has added a splash of color to the food and beverage space. It also served up robust private equity returns
New Frontier Group: Another kind of platform
Led by two former executives with The Blackstone Group in Asia, New Frontier Group has so far looked beyond traditional PE funding channels as it builds large-scale Chinese healthcare platforms