Technology
Chinese agricultural drone platform secures Series A round
Farm Friend, a Beijing-based agricultural drone services platform, has raised a RMB50 million ($7 million) Series A round led by Gobi Partners.
IDG partners Unilever, AWS on India early-stage program
IDG Ventures India has joined Unilever Ventures and Amazon Web Services (AWS) for an initiative aimed at supporting early-stage technology start-ups in India.
Deal focus: CounterTack locks up funding for security
At a time when websites have never seemed more vulnerable, CounterTack has a software solution that can plug holes in online security systems. It has raised $20 million in Series D funding to support expansion
Singapore's VC-backed MoneySmart gets $10m Series B
MoneySmart, a personal finance portal backed by Golden Gate Ventures, has received a $10 million Series B funding round led by Japanese shopping price comparison site operator Kakaku.
Qualgro leads $8m Series B for Singapore's Wavecell
Singapore-based cloud communications platform Wavecell has raised an $8.2 million Series B round led by Qualgro, a VC firm active in Southeast Asia and Australia.
Hong Kong tech IPOs: Compromise solution
Hong Kong wants to reinvest itself as a destination for Chinese technology listings with a new board that would be open to companies that are pre-profit and have dual-class share structures. Will it fly?
Blackbird joins $12m round for Australia-US marketing player
Blackbird Ventures has led a $12 million round for Sydney and San Francisco-based marketing software provider Autopilot.
Deal focus: IP Group targets tech commercialization
IP Group has built a business in the UK and US working with universities to turn academic ideas into investable business models. It has now raised $149 million for expansion in Australia and New Zealand
Gobi leads $6m round for Malaysia's Carsome
Gobi Partners has led a $6 million funding round for Malaysia-based online used car purchasing platform Carsome.
KKR bids $1.6b for Australian telecom player Vocus
KKR has offered to acquire Vocus Group, one of Australia's leading high-speed broadband internet providers, in a deal worth approximately A$2.1 billion ($1.6 billion).
China cloud computing business Huayun Data raises $220m
Wuxi Huayun Data Technology Service, a Chinese cloud computing infrastructure provider, has raised RMB1.5 billion ($220 million) in a pre-IPO round from a group of domestic investors.
Legend raises $448m for seventh China VC fund
Legend Capital has closed its seventh China-focused venture capital fund at $448 million. The vehicle is smaller than the firm’s previous vehicle – which raised $500 million in about five months – and spent longer in the market.
Warburg Pincus invests $300m in emerging markets TMT platform
Warburg Pincus has invested $300 million in Princeton Growth Ventures (Princeton GV), a telecom, media and technology (TMT) buy-out platform that seeks to acquire assets in emerging markets.
Deal focus: Swiggy aims to deliver on food promise
Swiggy plans to use its $80 million Series E round of funding to challenge the likes of Zomato and Food Panda for market leadership in India's online food delivery industry
Q&A: Vertex Ventures' Ben Mathias
Ben Mathias, managing director and head of India at Temasek Holdings-backed Vertex Ventures, discusses the firm’s priorities for adding value to Indian start-ups looking to the global stage
Chinese courier start-up gets $50m Series C-plus
Chinese intercity courier services provider Shansong has secured an extended Series C round of funding led by Shunwei Capital Partners and Chinese retailer Beijing Hualian Group.
Sequoia discloses China, India fundraising activity
Sequoia Capital has topped up its fourth India fund – having closed the fifth country vehicle early last year – and disclosed that its most recent China growth vehicle closed at $899.5 million.
Emerging India invests $50m in domestic travel site
Emerging India Focus Funds has invested $50 million in Indian online travel portal Goomo, a division of its portfolio company Orbit Corporate & Leisure Travels.
Fund focus: Lyfe attracts a diversified following for Fund II
Having been supported by fund-of-funds when raising its first China healthcare vehicle, Lyfe Capital has added pension funds, endowments and family offices to its $420 million second fund
PE-owned Samyang closes up on debut after $60m IPO
Korean camera lens manufacturer Samyang Optics ended its first day of trading on KOSDAQ at a slight premium to its IPO price, having raised KRW66.8 billion ($60 million) in the offering and enabled VIG Partners to make a partial exit.
China P2P site Tuandaiwang raises $262m
Chinese peer-to-peer (P2P) online lending platform Tuandaiwang confirmed it has raised a RMB1.8 million ($262 million) pre-IPO round led by China Minsheng Investment Group (CMIG).
Chinese GPs set up semiconductor JV with Qualcomm
The two Chinese private equity firms that bought NXP Semiconductors’ standard products business in February have teamed up with Qualcomm – which subsequently bid for NXP outright – to manufacture chipsets for mass-market smart phones sold in China.
Everbright-IDG joins Series C for Chinese electric car maker
Everbright-IDG Industrial Fund has invested an undisclosed sum in China-based smart electric car maker Nio - formerly known as NextEV - as part of a Series C round that is still in the process of being raised.
Singapore Exchange to lower barriers for tech IPOs
The Singapore Exchange (SGX) has partnered with Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA), Singapore’s technology and media regulator, to help technology start-ups list in the territory.