Technology
Government investors support Chinese EV player Letin
Chinese state-backed investors have pumped CNY 3.2bn (USD 447m) into local new energy vehicle start-up Letin amid reports that the company had run into financial distress.
Lightspeed backs China autonomous driving industry supplier Daisch
Lightspeed China Partners has backed Daisch, a domestic supplier of high-precision products for autonomous driving, as the sole participant in a Series A round.
Lighthouse seals partial exits from India's Nykaa with 14x return
Lighthouse Funds has generated a more than 14x multiple on its investment in India-based beauty e-commerce platform Nykaa following two partial exits in the past fortnight.
Singapore's Wavemaker names new general partner
Singapore-based Wavemaker Partners has appointed Andy Hwang, an angel investor and start-up mentor transitioning into venture capital, as a general partner.
Korea laundry start-up gets $36m Series C
H&Q Korea has led a KRW 49bn Series C round for Korean laundry app provider Laundrygo with support from SoftBank Ventures and Altos Ventures.
Q&A: AC Ventures’ Adrian Li
Adrian Li, founder and managing partner of Indonesia-focused AC Ventures, on Chinese incursions into Southeast Asia, localisation versus scale, the prospect of a protracted downturn, and being an Ironman
Deal focus: KKR agrees first Australia growth tech deal
KKR has led a USD 68m Series B round for Australia’s Advanced Navigation, an autonomous systems developer for robots and vehicles used everywhere from the freeway to orbit
Japan PE sees digitalisation as national imperative – AVCJ Forum
Digital transformation is an urgent social issue as much as an operational one, Japan-focused investors told the AVCJ Private Equity & Venture Forum.
GSV leads $45m round for India's Simplilearn
GSV Ventures has led a USD 45m round for Indian education technology provider Simplilearn. The Blackstone Group acquired 70% of the company last year for USD 250m.
Blackstone pursues $359m take-private of India's R Systems
The Blackstone Group has agreed to acquire a majority stake in India-based IT services provider R Systems International at a valuation of INR 29.04bn (USD 359m) and moved to delist the company.
Tread more cautiously in PE-infra overlap – AVCJ Forum
Investors are increasingly challenged to reconcile a vanishing divide between some infrastructure and PE strategies, the AVCJ Private Equity & Venture Forum heard.
China's CCV raises $150m opportunity fund
China Creation Ventures (CCV) has raised USD 150m for an opportunity fund that will participate in follow-on rounds and back spin-outs from established companies.
Australia cultured meat start-up gets $49m Series A
Blackbird and Prosperity7 Ventures, a unit of Saudi Arabian oil company Aramco, have led a USD 49.2m Series A round for Australian cell-cultured meat company Vow.
Indonesia's INA, Chinese partners form $2bn EV fund
Indonesia’s sovereign wealth fund, Indonesia Investment Authority (INA), has launched a USD 2bn green electric vehicle (EV) fund with Chinese battery manufacturer CATL and the international arm of China Merchants Bank (CMB).
Crypto’s hyped transparency remains muddy – AVCJ Forum
Centralised finance (cefi) manifestations of decentralised finance (defi) technologies are becoming problematic for mainstream investors, the AVCJ Private Equity & Venture Forum heard.
India fintech player Lentra gets $60m Series B
India’s Lentra, a financial technology provider focused on cloud-based lending, has raised USD 60m in Series B funding led by Bessemer Venture Partners and SIG Venture Capital.
KKR leads $48m Series C for Indonesia's Privy
KKR has led a USD 48m Series C round for Privy, an Indonesia-based company that specialises in technology for providing legally binding digital signatures.
Singapore's Speeddoc gets $28m pre-Series B round
Bertelsmann Investments, Shinhan Venture investment, Mars Growth and Vertex Ventures Southeast Asia & India have participated in a USD 28m pre-Series B round for Singapore virtual healthcare platform Speedoc.
Indonesia's Blibli completes $509m IPO
Indonesian e-commerce marketplace Blibli posted a small gain on its first day of trading on the Indonesian Stock Exchange (IDX) following a IDR 7.99trn (USD 509) IPO, the second-largest of the year in Jakarta.
Local investors pump $54m into China's Rokid
Rokid, a China-based company specialising in augmented reality (AR) technology, has raised CNY384m（USD53mn）across two tranches, largely from state-linked investors.
China AR start-up with celebrity founder raises $55m
Meituan investment unit Dragonball Capital has led a CNY 400m (USD 55m) angel round for Thin Red Line, a China-based start-up that provides operating systems for augmented reality (AR) glasses.
China to Singapore: A VC invasion
Chinese venture capital firms are establishing and expanding operations in Singapore in response to challenges at home and to address the Southeast Asian market. Do they have staying power?
China battery maker WeLion secures $207m Series D
Beijing WeLion New Energy Technology, a China-based manufacturer of lithium-ion batteries, has raised CNY 1.5bn (USD 207m) in Series D funding led by Chengtong State-Owned Enterprises Mixed Ownership Reform Fund.
Quona closes third financial inclusion fund on $332m
Quona Capital, which invests under a financial inclusion strategy across emerging markets, has closed its third fund on USD 332m, beating a target of USD 250m.