Technology
US-based 500 Startups unveils $15m South Korea fund
US-based accelerator 500 Startups has launched another $15 million Asian satellite fund in Korea - called 500 Kimchi - a little over a week after it announced a similar vehicle in Thailand.
Accel, Matrix invest $111m in NZ accounting software firm
Accel Partners, and existing investor Matrix Capital, have together invested NZ$147.2 million ($111 million) in New Zealand-listed accounting software developer Xero.
Japan's Nippon Venture, ATR set up $42m specialist tech fund
Nippon Venture Capital (NVC) and the Advanced Telecommunications Research Institute International in Kyoto have set-up a JPY5 billion ($42 million) fund for niche technology investments.
Singapore space junk start-up raises $7.7m Series A
Astronscale, a Singapore-based start-up that develops satellites to remove space debris, has raised $7.7 million in a Series A round of funding from JAFCO and nine entrepreneurs from Japan.
Chinese K12 education site 17zuoye raises $100m
H Capital has led a $100 million Series D round of funding for 17zuoye.com, a Chinese K-12 online learning and teaching platform. Singapore’s Temasek Holdings, DST Advisors and Shunwei Capital Partners, also took part in the round.
NXP forms Chinese semiconductor JV with JAC Capital
NXP Semiconductors, a Dutch chip manufacturer listed in the US, has announced it plans to form a Chinese joint venture with state-owned private equity firm JianGuang Asset Management (JAC Capital).
Helion leads $5m round for Indian shopping app
Indian fashion discovery and shopping app Wooplr has managed to raise $5 million in a Series A round of funding led by Helion Venture Partners.
Shunwei closes first RMB fund at $160m
Shunwei Capital Partners, a Chinese VC firm set up by Lei Jun, a founder of mobile phone maker Xiaomi, has closed its first renminbi-denominated fund at RMB1 billion ($160 million).
US accelerator 500 Startups launches $10m Thai fund
Silicon Valley-based accelerator and early stage investor 500 Startups is understood to be launching a new $10 million micro-fund for Thailand.
VCs invest $34m in Japan online printing start-up
Japanese online printing service Raksul has managed to raise JPY4 billion ($33.7 million) from a slew of local venture capital investors.
Tiger Global leads $4m Series A round for India news app
Tiger Global has led a $4 million Series A round investment in India's News In Shorts (NIS), a mobile-based service that aggregates shortened news stories.
China’s two largest VC-backed taxi-booking apps to merge
Didi Dache and Kuaidi Dache, China's two largest venture capital-backed taxi-booking app start-ups, are planning to merge to create one of the largest companies of its kind in the world.
Sequoia, Matrix commit $30m to Indian doctor search site
Sequoia Capital India and Matrix Partners have invested $30 million in a Series B round of funding for Practo Technologies, an Indian start-up that provides a search portal matching patients and doctors.
YJ Capital invests $3.4m in Japanese online laundry service
WhitePlus - the Japanese start-up behind an online laundry service called Lenet - has managed to raise JPY408 million ($3.4 million) from Yahoo! Japan's corporate investment arm, YJ Capital.
Japanese app monetization platform raises $36m Series C round
Metaps, a Japanese start-up that provides an app monetization platform using artificial intelligence (AI), has raised a $36 million Series C round of funding.
KIP leads $10m Series A round for China cosmetics review app
Korean Investment Partners (KIP), South Korea’s biggest venture capital firm, has led a $10 million Series A round of investment for Cosmeapp, a Chinese mobile app that provides cosmetics reviews.
China B2B platform targets supply chain disruption
Chinese B2B trading platforms Zhaogang.com and Zhaosuliao.com share more than just a desire to bring about technology-enabled disruption of inefficient offline industry supply chains. They also have several backers in common: IDG Capital Partners, Matrix...
Australian biotech start-up raises $20m Series B round
Vaxxas, an Australian biotechnology start-up developing a novel vaccination platform, has raised a A$25 million ($20 million) Series B round of funding from a group of new and existing investors led by OneVentures.
SAIF, Innovation Works back China healthcare start-up
SAIF Partners and Innovation Works have provided a Series A round of funding for Beijing Dnurse Technology, a Chinese company that develops technology used to track sugar levels in the body.
INCJ to invest up to $27m in Japan DNA research start-up
The government-backed Innovation Network Corporation of Japan (INCJ) will invest up to JPY3.3 billion ($27 million) in Quantum Biosystem (QB), a VC-backed Japanese start-up that develops instruments used to automate the DNA sequencing process.
Japan messaging app Line launches $42m investment fund
Japanese messaging app developer Line Corporation has launched a JPY5 billion ($42 million) investment fund to invest in start-ups.
UK's Amadeus picks Bhavani Rana to lead new India office
UK tech-focused VC firm Amadeus Capital Partners hired Intel Capital's Bhavanipratap (Bhavani) Rana as partner and head of India operations as it opens a new office in Bangalore.
Lightbox leads $20m round for India QSR chain
Lightbox Ventures has led a $20 million Series B round of funding for Faaso's Food Service, a tech-enabled quick-service restaurant (QSR) chain based in India.
India mobile recharge platform FreeCharge raises $80m
Two hedge funds, San Francisco-based Valiant Capital Management and Hong Kong’s Tybourne Capital Management, have participated in an $80 million Series C round for Indian mobile top-up platform FreeCharge.