Technology
China flying vehicle developer HT Aero raises $500m
HT Aero, an urban air mobility (UAM) company affiliated with Chinese electric vehicle manufacturer Xpeng, has raised a $500 million Series A round led by Xpeng, IDG Capital, and 5Y Capital.
ADIA to lead pre-IPO round for Indonesia's GoTo
Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA) has committed $400 million to Indonesia super app GoTo as the lead investor in a funding round ahead of the company’s much-anticipated IPO.
Q&A: 500 Global's Christine Tsai
Christine Tsai, co-founder of 500 Global, formerly 500 Startups, reflects on how a planetary approach to seed-stage VC has changed the asset class, the developing world, and the firm itself
Korea GPs invest $40m in Singapore biotech player
A group of Korean private equity investors has committed $40 million in funding to Cerecin, a Singapore-based biotech developer focused on neurotherapeutics.
Singapore drone services player gets $26m Series B
H3 Dynamics, a Singapore-based autonomous drone data services and hydrogen air logistics start-up, has raised a $26 million Series B round led by Japan’s Sparx Asset Management.
Japan digitization: Easy targets, hard to hit
Japan’s massive mid-sized business sector is still trading in its fax machines for the cloud, sometimes willingly, sometimes begrudgingly. PE’s help is most needed in terms of mindset
Fund focus: Vitalbridge plays it safe
The China-based venture capital firm declined to increase its Fund II hard cap as regulatory uncertainty mounted. It now has $275 million in dry powder earmarked for services digitalization
Deal focus: Whale takes a bite of big data
China-focused digital marketing start-up Whale has secured $50 million in Series B funding to hone a product offering that helps companies optimize customer engagement by analyzing traffic flows
Hitachi sells radiation devices business to Nippon Mirae Capital
Hitachi has agreed to sell its Japan-based radiation measurement devices and industrial x-ray CT devices businesses to local private equity firm Nippon Mirae Capital.
China's Vitalbridge closes Fund II at $275m
Vitalbridge Capital, a China-based venture capital firm that spun out from Trustbridge Partners, has raised $275 million for its second US dollar-denominated fund.
China digital marketing platform gets $50m Series B
Whale, a China-focused digital marketing platform, has raised a Series B round of $50 million led by Temasek Holdings. Existing investors Nio Capital, Linear Capital, and Alpha Startups Fund re-upped.
Rise Climate, ADQ commit $994m to Tata Motors EV unit
TPG Rise Climate, a climate-focused strategy under TPG’s global impact investment platform, has agreed to invest INR75 billion ($994 million) in the electric vehicle (EV) unit of India’s Tata Motors.
India digital banking player Open raises $100m
Temasek Holdings has led a $100 million Series C round for Indian online banking company Open Financial Technologies with support from Google.
Lightspeed joins $125m round for India virtual events platform
Lightspeed Venture Partners has joined a $125 million Series B round for India-based virtual events platform Hubilo.
Vision Fund: Big is beautiful?
Previously the sole elephant in Asia’s growth-stage technology space, SoftBank’s Vision Fund program is now one of a herd. Prevailing amid increased competition may prove its thesis once and for all
3Q analysis: India advances
India technology investment continues to ramp up as China flatlines; international payments M&A drives Asia trade sale revival, but IPOs slump; fundraising remains slow
Q&A: Glow Capital Partners' Justin Ryan
Having teamed up with the founder of Adore Beauty to launch Glow Capital Partners, Justin Ryan discusses life after Quadrant Private Equity, growth-stage investment in Australia, and gender balance
Deal focus: Digital brokerage Ajaib finds the right fit
Ajaib grew from nothing to become Indonesia’s fifth-largest stockbroker by volume in the space of six months. The newly appointed unicorn is now raising capital just as quickly
Fund focus: Yunqi reaffirms its enterprise focus
Yunqi Partners was the first Chinese GP dedicated to enterprise services and now claims to be the largest early-stage investor in the space. SaaS, in various forms, will account for the bulk of Fund III
China's Yunqi closes third US dollar fund at $300m
Yunqi Partners, an early-stage investment firm focused on enterprise software and services in China, has raised $300 million for its third US dollar-denominated fund.
China's Source Code raises $1.1b renminbi fund
Chinese venture capital firm Source Code Capital has raised RMB7 billion ($1.1 billion) for its fifth renminbi-denominated fund after approximately three months in the market.
China in six trends
Key themes in China private equity fundraising, investment, and exits
PE-backed MicroTech Medical targets $254m Hong Kong IPO
MicroTech Medical, a China-based manufacturer of insulin pumps for diabetes sufferers that counts Lilly Asia Ventures (LAV) and Qiming Venture Partners among its investors, is looking to raise up to HK$1.98 billion ($254 million) in a Hong Kong IPO.
China Renaissance hits first close on flagship US dollar fund
Huaxing Growth Capital, a new economy-focused private equity division of China Renaissance, has reached the first close on its fourth US dollar-denominated fund of $550 million.