Technology
AI-dedicated GP targets South, Southeast Asia
A group of artificial intelligence (AI) investors in Africa have launched a new Singapore-based private equity firm, AI Capital, that will invest across South and Southeast Asia, as well as Africa.
Premji Invest leads $110m round for India's Mintifi
Premji Invest has led a USD 110m Series D round for Indian financial services platform Mintifi with support from Norwest Venture Partners, Elevation Capital and the International Finance Corporation (IFC).
Macquarie leads $99m round for Australia IT provider Orro
Macquarie Capital has led a AUD 150m (USD 99m) investment in Orro Group, an Australian enterprise IT services provider set up by local private equity firms Liverpool Partners and Parc Capital.
Korea audience engagement platform Bemyfriends gets $29m
Korea’s Bemyfriends, an audience engagement platform for brands and creators, has raised USD 29m in Series A funding, with the latest tranche provided by US-based VC firm Cleveland Avenue.
Deal focus: Qiming backs Chinese GPT pioneer
Frontis.ai is a Chinese start-up founded by local entrepreneur who helped lay the groundwork for ChatGPT in the US. Qiming Venture Partners was won over by its product conception capabilities
Japan's Keio Innovation targets $109m for Fund III
Keio Innovation, a VC arm of Keio University, is aiming to raise JPY 15bn (USD 109.2m) for its third fund, more than its first two vintages combined.
US, UK VCs invest Pakistan logistics start-up Trukkr
US-based Accion Venture Lab and Sturgeon Capital of the UK have led a USD 6.4m seed round for Pakistan’s Trukkr, a financial technology provider for the trucking industry.
Xiaomi hits $1.3b second close on semiconductor fund
Xiaomi Private Equity Fund Management, a unit of Chinese smart phone maker Xiaomi, has achieved a second close of CNY 9bn (USD 1.29bn) on a semiconductor fund targeting CNY 10bn.
Deal focus: Tiamat innovates around words and pictures
Tiamat originated from a Chinese college student’s experimentation with nascent text-to-image artificial intelligence technology. DCM China and VitalBridge Capital believe it will cut through the industry hype
Deal focus: Digital marketing piggybacks e-commerce boom
Malaysian digital marketing specialist Involve Asia is making hay as regional e-commerce shows no signs of slowing. Fresh VC support will guide inorganic expansion amidst erratically trendy user behaviour
Hong Kong: Action on innovation
Efforts to turn Hong Kong into a technology ecosystem are still at an early stage. Investors and start-up founders believe many of the ingredients are there, but the recipe can be flawed or ignored
China VCs back semiconductor start-up InventChip
InventChip Technology, a semiconductor start-up focused on silicon carbide design and fabrication, has raised hundreds of millions of renminbi in Series B funding from several local VC investors.
CDB leads $72m round for China RPA provider Kingsware
CDB Capital has led a CNY 500m (USD 72m) Series C round for Zhuhai-based robotic process automation (RPA) services provider Kingsware Information Technology.
Japan construction software supplier gets $8.5m
Japan’s Ballas, a software provider focused on metals procurement for the construction industry, has raised an approximately JPY 1.2bn (USD 8.5m) round led by Global Brain.
Qiming, Matrix back Chinese AI start-up Frontis
Chinese artificial intelligence generated content (AIGC) start-up Frontis.ai has raised a round of hundreds of millions of renminbi led by Qiming Venture Partners with support from Matrix Partners China.
BGH, Sixth Street's PushPay buyout bid set to fall short
New Zealand and Australia-listed payments business PushPay has announced that its NZD 1.54bn (USD 933m) acquisition by BGH Capital and Sixth Street Partners will not proceed based on proxy votes already received.
Premji Invest leads $26m round for India's SpotDraft
India’s Premji Invest has led a USD 26m Series A round for local contract lifecycle management and legal work automation supplier SpotDraft.
Multiples leads $146m for Indian EV maker
India’s Multiples Alternate Asset Management has led a INR 12bn (USD 145.7m) investment in TI Clean Mobility, an electric vehicle (EV) subsidiary of engineering conglomerate Murugappa Group.
B Capital closes US-Asia healthcare fund on $500m
US and Asia-focused VC firm B Capital has closed its first dedicated sector fund, collecting USD 500m for investments in healthcare.
China vaccine developer Immorna raises $100m
Immorna, a China-based biotech start-up focused on RNA-based therapeutics and vaccines, has raised about USD 100m across two Series A extensions.
China VCs back local automotive chip developer
SiEngine Technology, a China-based developer of chips for smart cars, has raised CNY 500m (USD 73m) in an extended Series A round featuring several local VC firms.
Northstar leads pre-Series C for Singapore's Una Brands
Northstar Group had led a USD 30m pre-Series C round for Una Brands, a Singapore-based brand agglomeration platform that operates across Asia.
China chatbot developer raises funding to ride ChatGPT wave
Emotibot, a China-based chatbot developer, has raised a Series D extension of undisclosed size from GP Capital, KYMCO Capital, Jiangsu Cultural Investment, and Junci Investment.
India's Nexus Venture closes Fund VII on $700m
Nexus Venture Partners has reached a final close on its seventh India venture capital fund with USD 700m in commitments, taking the firm’s total assets under management past the USD 2bn mark.