Technology
Fund focus: Lightspeed ramps up in India, Southeast Asia
Lightspeed Venture Partners is leaning hard into developing Asia with long-range vision, added operational resources, and a new USD 500m war chest
Asia logistics: Cost and complexity
Investment opportunities are expected to emerge as companies look to technology as a means of easing inflationary pressure on supply chains. Will Asia’s shallow pool of specialist logistics GPs deepen?
Australia's Fortitude exits Shopper Media to Woolworths
Australian grocery giant Woolworths has agreed to buy Shopper Media Group, an out-of-home digital advertising business with 2,000 screens across more than 400 shopping centres, for approximately AUD 150m (USD 102m).
India blockchain player raises $100m Series A
India’s 5ire, a one-year-old blockchain infrastructure provider focused on promoting sustainable crypto-relate practices, has raised USD 100m in Series A funding at a valuation of USD 1.5bn.
Glade Brook leads $20m round for Indonesia's Kitabeli
Glade Brook Capital Partners has led a USD 20m round for Kitabeli, which claims to be the largest fast-moving consumer goods social commerce platform in Indonesia’s lower-tier cities.
ANZ withdraws from MYOB acquisition talks
Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (ANZ) has ended its pursuit of KKR-owned Australian accounting software provider MYOB just days after confirming talks over a potential acquisition.
Australia customer reviews specialist gets $26m Series A
Okendo, an Australia-founded customer review platform for e-commerce brands, has received USD 26m in Series A funding led by US venture capital firm Base10 Partners.
Australia retail AI player raises $30m
Tiger Global Management has led a USD 30m Series B round for Australia’s Hivery, an artificial intelligence (AI) developer for the retail industry.
Japan's MPower backs construction workers' platform
Japanese environmental, social, and governance (ESG) focused private equity firm MPower has led a JPY 1.8bn (USD 13.4m) investment in Sukedachi, a jobs platform for construction workers.
China's Miss Fresh brings in state backer at knock-down valuation
Chinese online grocery delivery platform Miss Fresh, which went public on NASDAQ 12 months ago with a market capitalisation of around USD 3bn, has sold a minority stake to a state-owned enterprise at a valuation of USD 90m.
India SaaS player Detect Technologies closes $28m Series B
Detect Technologies, an India-based software-as-a-service (SaaS) start-up with a suite of artificial intelligence-enabled products that help enterprise customers assess risk exposure, has raised USD 28m in Series B funding.
China GPU chip developer Iluvatar raises $149m
Iluvatar CoreX, a Shanghai-based designer of chips used in cloud computing, has raised CNY 1bn (USD 149m) across two additional tranches of Series C funding. The first tranche closed on CNY 1.2bn in March 2021.
Global Brain leads $14.5m round for Japan's SmartBank
Japan’s Global Brain has led a JPY 2bn (USD 14.5m) Series A round for SmartBank, a local start-up that provides prepaid Visa cards and accompanying expense management apps.
Hong Kong's Animoca Brands raises another $75m
Hong Kong’s Animoca Brands – a start-up with interests spanning gaming and the metaverse – has raised USD 75.3m from several VC firms. It brings total funding in the past eight months to about USD 500m.
KKR explores sale of Australia's MYOB to ANZ
Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (ANZ) has confirmed it is in negotiations with KKR over the potential acquisition of Australia-based accounting software provider MYOB.
IDG leads $100m Series A for China's Xpeng Robotics
IDG Capital has led a USD 100m Series A round for Xpeng Robotics, a smart robot developer affiliated to US and Hong Kong-listed Chinese electric vehicle (EV) manufacturer Xpeng.
Philippines venture builder, Ayala engineer health-tech merger
917Ventures, a corporate venture builder controlled by Philippines-based telecom operator Globe Group, has merged its KonsultaMD telehealth platform with assets held by Ayala Corporation to create a one-stop health super app.
China autonomous road sweeping start-up raises $30m
Chinese autonomous road sweeping start-up Autowise.ai has raised an extended Series B round of CNY 200m (USD 30m) featuring a VC unit of Shanghai-listed new energy company Shanshan Group.
Navis backs Singapore expansion for family office software provider
Navis Capital Partners has led a USD 38m Series C round for Eton Solutions, a US software provider for family offices currently establishing a Singapore office.
Lightspeed raises $500m for India, Southeast Asia
Lightspeed India Partners, which also targets Southeast Asia, has closed its fourth early-stage VC fund with USD 500m in commitments.
2Q analysis: Substituting China?
India and Southeast Asia come to the fore as China demonstrates weakness in both growth-stage investment and fundraising; exits continue to struggle amid reluctance from strategic buyers
Fund focus: Qiming picks its moment
China’s Qiming Venture Partners more than doubled its fund size from the previous vintage, having launched the vehicle prior to the recent chaos and leveraged LP demand for the familiar
Southeast Asia tech: Resilient with an asterisk
Southeast Asia’s booming tech space no longer lends itself to an easy narrative. As start-up fever cools globally, the region charges forward. Cracks are beginning to show but so are counterintuitive bright spots
India's Axilor targets $100m for second seed fund
Indian seed investor Axilor Ventures has launched its second fund with a target of USD 100m. This compares to USD 30m for its first fund.