Technology
Deal focus: GPs smile at emotive robots
Kaname Hayashi, development leader of SoftBank's Pepper, is working on his own line of emotive robots. Few details have been disclosed but investors were happy enough to commit $57 million in funding
China autos: Wheeling and dealing
A nascent, fragmented and digitally savvy industry of traditional car services is set for expansion as China’s booming car market matures. Private equity investors are piling in enthusiastically
Chinese travel platform Mafengwo secures $133m Series D
Chinese travel services platform Mafengwo has raised $133 million Series D round from new investors including Ocean Link, General Atlantic, Temasek Holdings, Yuantai Investment, and Hopu Investment.
Warburg Pincus invests $350m in India's Bharti Telemedia
Warburg Pincus has invested $350 million in Bharti Telemedia, the direct-to-home (DTH) satellite television services arm of Indian telecom services provider Bharti Airtel.
Cathay Capital launches $227m China automobile fund
Cathay Capital Private Equity has launched a RMB1.5 billion ($227 million) China automobile sector fund with cornerstone investments from Yangtze River Industry Fund and French auto supplier Valeo.
Japanese online media player Candee gets $21.6m round
Eight Roads Japan has led a JPY2.45 billion ($21.6 million) funding round Tokyo-based online media start-up Candee.
Sequoia-CMC sports fund backs China's Supermonkey
Chinese fitness start-up Supermonkey has raised a Series C round of funding led by Jiansheng Sports Fund, a vehicle established by Sequoia Capital China and CMC Holdings.
Baidu Capital leads round for China's WM Motor
Baidu Capital, a VC firm backed by Chinese search engine Baidu, has led a round of funding for WM Motor Technology, a Chinese electric vehicle manufacturer.
NSI hits first close on Fund II, backs Singapore healthcare start-up
NSI Ventures has reached a first close of approximately $60 million on its second Southeast Asia venture capital fund and also participated in a $5 million Series A round for Singapore-based digital healthcare company Biofourmis.
KKR completes tender offer for Japan's Hitachi Kokusai
KKR has completed its tender offer for Japanese high-tech manufacturer Hitachi Kokusai Electric, having surpassed the 24.1% shareholder support required for the JPY322 billion ($2.9 billion) deal to proceed.
SparkLabs hires venture partner for HK fintech accelerator
SparkLabs Global has hired Sameer Chishty, founder and chairman of Hong Kong-based merchant bank Streeton Partners, as a venture partner for its new financial technology accelerator in the territory.
Bain completes tender offer for Japan's ADK
Bain Capital Private Equity has completed its tender offer for Japanese advertising agency Asatsu-DK (ADK), acquiring a majority stake in a deal that values the company at JPY153 billion ($1.3 billion).
China bike-sharing operator Hellobike raises $350m
Chinese bike-sharing operator Hellobike has raised $350 million in a Series D round of funding from several investors including Alibaba Group’s Ant Financial and Chengwei Capital.
Singapore's VC-backed Ascenz sold to trade buyer
Singapore-headquartered Ascenz, a provider of performance solutions for ships, has been acquired by French engineering company Gaztransport & Technigaz (GTT), facilitating an exit for investors including Red Dot Ventures.
Fund focus: Eight Roads fund targets Japan tech
Eight Roads Ventures has $223 million to deploy in Japan, with robotics, inbound tourism and healthcare all high on its agenda
Indian entrepreneurs drawn to corporate VC – AVCJ Forum
Indian technology start-ups are seeing corporate venture capital arms as attractive partners, but investors must be prepared to show what differentiates them from their parent companies, industry participants told the AVCJ India Forum.
B Capital leads round for India's Mswipe
Indian financial technology company Mswipe has closed a $40 million Series D funding round led by B Capital Group.
Japan household robot maker secures $57m round
Innovation Network Corporation of Japan (INCJ) and Tokyo-based asset manager Sparx Group have agreed to invest at least JPY6.4 billion ($57 million) in household robot maker Groove X.
Riverside exits Australia's Learning Seat
The Riverside Company has sold Learning Seat, an Australia-based online compliance training specialist, to NASDAQ-listed marketing services provider Callidus Software for $26.4 million in cash.
China investors launch $77m cross-border AI fund
Chinese start-up accelerator Comb+ and the Beijing Institute of Collaborate Innovation have jointly launched a fund targeting EUR65 million ($77 million) that will invest artificial intelligence (AI) companies expanding into China.
SBCVC leads $30m round for China healthcare AI firm
SBCVC has led a RMB200 million ($30 million) Series B round for 12 Sigma, a China-based biotechnology company that applies artificial intelligence (AI) technology to medical image diagnoses.
AVCJ at 30: Part Three - The Rise of China
David Pierce of HQ Capital, Gary Rieschel of Qiming Venture Partners, Shangzhi Wu of CDH Investments, and Weijian Shan of PAG Asia Capital on China's emergence as a private equity and venture capital destination
Coatue leads $177m round for Chinese comic book app
Kuaikan Comic, a mobile app that focuses on Chinese comic books, has raised a $177 million Series D round of funding led by Coatue Management.
Bain to make full exit from Japan's Bellsystem24
Bain Capital Private Equity has agreed to make a full exit from Japan-based call center business Bellsystem24 by selling its remaining 14.43% stake to domestic printing company Toppan Printing.