Technology
Premji Invest leads $50m round for India fashion site Myntra
Bangalore-based fashion portal Myntra Designs has raised $50 million from investors led by Premji Invest, an investment arm owned by Indian tycoon Azim Premji.
Sony agrees to sell Vaio PC unit to JIP
Sony has confirmed that it plans to sell its loss-making Vaio PC division to Tokyo-based mid-market buyout shop Japan Industrial Partners (JIP). Financial details have not been disclosed but previous estimates valued the deal at around JPY40-50 billion...
VCs commit $14.3m to Japan online printing start-up
A consortium of Japanese venture capital investors including Global Brain, World Innovation Lab (WiL), Itochu Technology Ventures and GMO Ventures have invested JPY1.45 billion ($14.3 million) in Raksul, a Tokyo-based start-up providing online printing...
Globis, Gree invest in Japan crowd-sourced editing platform
Globis Capital Partners and Gree Ventures have together invested JPY300 million ($2.9 million) in Viibar, the Japanese start-up behind the video production-focused crowd sourcing platform of the same name.
Fortisure leads Series C for Indian ad tech player
Jivox, an advertising technology company with operations in India and the US, has raised $5.8 million in Series C funding led by existing investor Fortisure Ventures. Shah Capital also participated, as did existing investors Opus Capital and Helion Venture...
CDC supports funding round for Indian e-commerce platform
CDC Group will contribute approximately $27.5 million to the latest round of funding for Jabong, a fashion and apparel-focused Indian e-commerce platform.
Rocket Internet’s Foodpanda secures $20m in funding
Foodpanda, an online meal delivery marketplace incubated by Rocket Internet, has received $20 million in funding from several venture capital firms, including existing investor Phenomen Ventures.
Jungle Ventures backs Singapore's Klinify
Klinify, a Singapore-based electronic medical records management service provider, has received S$770,000 ($604,000) in seed funding round led by Jungle Ventures.
IDG, Ascent invest in India's Newgen, Headland exits
IDG Ventures India and Ascent Capital have acquired a minority stake in Newgen Software Technologies, a Dehli-based business management services provider, for INR1.1 billion ($17.6 million). The investment facilitates the exit of Headland Capital Partners.
JIP in talks to buy Sony’s PC business – report
Japan Industrial Partners (JIP) is said to be in talks with Sony Corp. over the tech conglomerate’s loss-making personal computer division. It would be one of the country’s highest-profile corporate divestments and part of a business reorientation...
Matrix India leads Series B for Mswipe
Mswipe Technologies, a Mumbai-based mobile payment services provider, has raised a Series B round of funding led by existing investor Matrix Partners India. Axis Bank and DSG Consumer Partners also participated.
PE consortium buys Aditya Birla Nuvo's BPO unit for $260m
An investor group led by Capital Square Partners and CX Partners has agreed to buy Aditya Birla Minacs Worldwide, a business process outsourcing (BPO) unit owned by Aditya Birla Nuvo (ABNL), for an enterprise value of $260 million.
Bull Capital invests in Singapore-based IT security specialist
Bull Capital has bought a 41.67% stake in i-Sprint Group, a Singapore-based IT security service provider owned by Automated Systems Holdings, for $9.85 million.
RedMart fills Singapore’s e-groceries void
When entrepreneur Steve Melhuish moved to Asia from the UK his wife was a prodigious online shopper, having grown accustomed to ordering her groceries from Ocado or Waitrose. While he made headway in Singapore’s internet space, launching realty portal...
VC firms back Irish start-ups in China
Led by the likes of Google, Facebook and LinkedIn, US tech companies have flocked to Ireland due to its EU access and business friendly policies, creating around 140,000 local jobs in the process. This has fostered spin-outs and serial entrepreneurs across...
Vertex backs FirstCry’s O2O e-commerce push
Indian baby and kids-focused e-commerce site FirstCry.com was not the first mover in its segment when it launched in 2010. Kalaari Capital-backed HushBabies and Babyoye, an Accel Partners and Tiger Global portfolio company, were among those already operating...
Primavera supports $1.9b Shanda Games take-private
Primavera Capital is supporting a buyout of NASDAQ-listed Chinese online game developer and operator Shanda Games that values the company at $1.9 billion. The PE firm is backing controlling shareholder Shanda Interactive Entertainment in the deal.
TAL Education invests $25m in VC-backed Babytree
TAL Education, a China-based after-school tutoring services provider, has acquired a minority stake in childcare website Babytree for RMB150 million ($25 million). The online baby nursing information provider secured previous investments from Matrix Partners,...
Suning acquires VC-backed group buying site Manzuo
Suning Commerce, a Chinese home appliance retailer, has acquired group buying site Manzuo.com. Transaction terms were not disclosed but the investment was said to facilitate a full exit for VC backer KPCB China.
PricePanda gets $3m from Tengelmann for SE Asia expansion
Rocket Internet’s price comparison platform, PricePanda, has raised $3 million from German retailer Tengelmann Group to expand its Southeast Asia footprint. It currently operates in Malaysia, Philippines, Indonesia and Singapore.
Legend re-ups in US sports tech manufacturer Zepp
Legend Capital has re-upped in athlete training technology developer Zepp Labs, participating in a $15 million Series B round of funding led by GGV Capital. Bertelsmann and Cherubic Ventures also committed capital.
Blume Ventures leads seed round for India’s Turtle Yogi
Blume Ventures has led a seed round of funding for Bangalore-based Turtle Yogi Technologies, which runs cloud-based video calling service 1Click.io. Chennai Angels member R. Narayanan and Shead Holdings are also investors in the round.
Japan's Venture United raises $11m fund
Venture United - the corporate investment arm of Japanese media group United - has raised a new JPY1.26 billion yen ($11 million) fund focusing on internet-related start-ups.
CyberAgent Ventures backs Japan language learning site
CyberAgent Ventures, the corporate VC arm of the company behind Japanese blogging site Ameba, has invested an undisclosed amount in language learning platform Lang-8.