Technology
Fund focus: Intudo targets SE Asia’s sea turtles
Intudo has raised $10 million for a venture capital fund that will bring fast-growing start-ups from Silicon Valley and China to Southeast Asia
CITIC Capital, FountainVest to exit China's Focus Media
CITIC Capital Partners and FountainVest Partners plan to exit their entire stakes in Focus Media - the Chinese outdoor advertising business they helped take private in the US and then re-list in Shenzhen two years ago - within six months.
Eight Roads leads $12.5m Series C for India's Unbxd
Eight Roads Ventures has led a $12.5 million Series C funding round for Unbxd, an India-founded e-commerce services company now headquartered in the US.
Sapphire leads Series C for Australia's Culture Amp
Sapphire Ventures has led a $20 million Series C funding round for Australian business analytics services provider Culture Amp.
PE-backed car auction player Mychebao receives $74m
Chinese second-hand car online auction platform Mychebao, which is backed by several PE investors including PAG Asia Capital, has raised another RMB500 million ($74 million) in an extended Series C round of funding.
Warburg Pincus to invest $360m in Tata Technologies
Warburg Pincus has agreed to invest $360 million in Tata Technologies, the engineering outsourcing and product development IT services arm of Indian conglomerate Tata Group.
Canadian AI player raises $102m Series A for Asia push
China’s Tencent Holdings and Korea’s Hanwha Investment have backed a $102 million Asian expansion drive by Canadian artificial intelligence developer Element AI. It is said to be the largest Series A round ever raised by an AI company.
China C2C used car platform Guazi raises $400m
Guazi, an online consumer-to-consumer (C2C) used car trading platform that spun out from US-listed Chinese classifieds site 58.com, has completed a $400 million Series B round led by existing investor Sequoia Capital China.
Blackstone completes dividend recap of India's Mphasis
Indian IT services provider Mphasis has issued $500 million in bonds, the proceeds of which will be used to recapitalize its debt and make a dividend payment to majority owners The Blackstone Group and GIC Private.
Government-backed Cool Japan invests in 500 Startups fund
Cool Japan Fund, a government-backed venture program for promoting cultural exports, has agreed to invest up to $10 million in a recently launched Japan-focused vehicle managed by 500 Startups.
KKR founders, Fosun join $22m round for Japan's Seven Dreamers
KKR co-founders Henry Kravis and George Roberts have joined a group of investors including Chinese conglomerate Fosun International in a JPY2.5 billion ($22.8 million) round for Seven Dreamers Laboratories, a Japan-based manufacturer of personal-use devices.
Sequoia leads $9m Series A for India's MoneyTap
Sequoia Capital India has led a $9 million Series A round for domestic financial technology start-up MoneyTap.
VCs in $15m round for China software start-up PingCap
PingCap, a Beijing-based start-up that provides database solutions for enterprise customers, has secured a $15 million Series B round led by China Growth Capital.
Intudo closes debut Indonesia-focused VC fund
Intudo Ventures, a newly-formed Indonesia-focused VC firm, has raised $10 million for its debut fund that will co-found and invest in early-stage companies.
Nexus, Founders Fund invest $7m in India's HyperTrack
Nexus Venture Partners and Founders Fund have committed $7 million in Series A funding to Indian location-tracking tool developer HyperTrack.
Tencent-backed Futu Securities raises $146m
Tencent Holdings has re-upped in Futu Securities International, leading a $145.5 million Series C round for the Hong Kong-registered cross-border stock trading platform.
Japan technology: Light switch
OLED technology is seen as a quantum leap forward for digital panels, but VC investors are reluctant to get on board. Japan may have to overcome this hesitancy to maintain market share in high-end electronics
Japan carve-outs: Chips off the block
Divestment activity by Japanese conglomerates is finally translating into meaningful private equity deal flow, but unwinding people and assets from longstanding parents presents execution challenges
PE-owned Blue Star Sports enters Australia, New Zealand
Blue Star Sports, a US-based company controlled by Genstar Capital that provides management software to grassroots sports clubs, has entered the Australia and New Zealand market with the acquisition of SportsTG.
Australia's Rokt closes Series B at $26m
Australian digital marketing services company Rokt has closed a Series B funding round at $26 million led by Moelis Australia Asset Management.
China’s QingCloud raises $160m, prepares for onshore IPO
China-based cloud computing platform QingCloud, which is backed by several VC investors, has raised a new round of renminbi-denominated funding worth RMB1.08 billion ($160 million).
India's Lendingkart raises $7.8m growth round
Indian commercial lender Yes Bank has extended a INR500 million ($7.8 million) loan to domestic VC-backed finance platform provider Lendingkart.
India, Russia investors form $200m cross-border IT fund
India-listed Srei Infrastructure Finance and Russia’s state-backed Vnesheconombank have agreed to establish a $200 million fund that will promote IT and innovation exchange between the two countries.
Skylake invests $53m in Korean O2O services player
Skylake Investment has committed KRW60 billion ($53 million) in Yanolja, a South Korean online-to-offline (O2O) local services platform best known for providing discount hotel deals.