Technology
China gas station platform Newlink raises $308m
Newlink Group, operator of a platform that helps drivers in China locate the best value gas stations and charging piles, has raised RMB2 billion ($308 million) led by China Merchants Capital.
Postman becomes India's top SaaS unicorn
Software-as-a-service (SaaS) provider Postman has closed a $225 million Series D round at a valuation of $5.6 billion, making it the most valuable start-up of its kind in India.
Faering leads $40m Series C for India fintech start-up
Indian private equity firm Faering Capital has led a $40 million Series C round for stock trading and thematic portfolio platform Smallcase, with support from Amazon and Premji Invest.
China vaccine developer Abogen raises $700m
Suzhou Abogen Biosciences, a Chinese vaccine developer targeting COVID-19, has raised $700 million in Series C funding featuring Temasek Holdings, Loyal Valley Capital, and Lilly Asia Ventures.
China's PatPat gets $160m in Series D extension
PatPat, a Chinese-founded children’s wear brand, has raised $160 million from Softbank Vision Fund in a Series D round extension.
Affirma invests $100m in Korea cloud services provider
Affirma Capital has secured a third deal for its latest Korea fund, with an agreement to invest $100 million in Metanet T Platform, a local cloud managed service provider (MSP).
Start-up profiles: Infrastructure, insurance, data, payments
Singapore’s Fireblocks tokenizes traditional banks; India’s PolicyBazaar mulls the future of insurance; China’s Rong360 diversifies through data; Cambodia’s Clik targets a payments frontier
Start-up profiles: Digital banking, embedded finance, crypto banking
The Philippines’ Tonik breaks ground in neo-banking; India’s YAP finds new ways to connect banks with their customers; Singapore’s Matrixport scales fast with decentralized finance
Start-up profiles: Transfers, risk, marketplaces
Singapore’s Thunes rethinks remittances for an enterprise clientele; China’s IceKredit brings data privacy to credit scoring; India’s OfBusiness gravitates towards a healthy loans segment
Asia fintech: Platform plays
Expansion is the dominant theme in financial technology as start-ups leverage existing assets to enter new verticals, typically in lending. Which ones will become Asia’s preeminent platforms?
Blockchain: Going mainstream
The most disruptive technology in financial services is also the most esoteric and misunderstood. As a long, speculative uptake phase unfolds, investors are coming to terms with the future
NFTs: Spirits in an invisible world
The use of blockchain to create digital assets has evolved from the mass circulation of ethereal, volatile, and interchangeable tokens into something that feels much more real
Corporate VC: Appetite for disruption
Banks across Asia are leveraging their capital and domain expertise to stay ahead of the curve on financial technology. Each aspect of the corporate VC ecosystem engages with start-ups in different ways
Q&A: Airwallex's Jack Zhang
Hong Kong-headquartered Airwallex has grown from nothing to a $2.6 billion valuation in the space of six years. Co-founder and CEO Jack Zhang details his plans to build a global financial technology stack
Inspiration Capital hits first close on debut China fund
Inspiration Capital Partners, a China-focused private equity firm established by investment professionals from Vivo Capital and Goldman Sachs, has reached a first close of approximately $65 million on its debut US dollar-denominated fund.
Chinese AI diagnosis player Shukun raises $108m
Shukun, a Chinese developer of artificial intelligence (AI) technology used in medical imaging diagnosis, has raised RMB700 million ($108 million) from Goldman Sachs, Primavera Capital Group, Sequoia Capital China, Marathon Venture Partners, and Sage...
Affinity backs Singapore financial SaaS platform
Affinity Equity Partners has taken a joint controlling stake alongside management in Singapore-based technology-enabled financial services provider M-Daq, following an investment of approximately S$200 million ($148 million).
Partners Group buys India broadband provider for $1.2b
Partners Group has agreed to buy India-based broadband provider Atria Convergence Technologies for an enterprise valuation of nearly $1.2 billion, facilitating a full exit for True North and a partial exit for TA Associates.
Guotai leads $66m Series B extension for China's Innovusion
Innovusion, a Chinese developer of LiDAR technology used in autonomous driving, has raised $66 million in an extended Series B round led by the private equity investment arm of Guotai Junan International.
India's Dream Sports launches $250m corporate VC fund
Dream Sports, operator of India’s largest fantasy sports platform, has established a $250 million venture capital unit that will invest in sports, gaming, and fitness-tech start-ups nationwide.
Australia's Advent buys VR gaming business
Australian lower middle-market private equity firm Advent Partners has agreed to take a majority stake in Melbourne-based virtual reality gaming company Zero Latency VR.
Taiwan's AppWorks raises $150m for Fund III
AppWorks, a Taiwan-based venture capital firm and accelerator that also covers Southeast Asia, has closed its third fund at the hard cap of $150 million, taking its total assets under management to $212 million.
Stellaris closes second India VC fund on $225m
Stellaris Venture Partners has closed its second early-stage India fund on $225 million, comfortably exceeding the $160 million target while diversifying the LP base.
Vision Fund pulls back from China amid regulatory uncertainty
SoftBank Vision Fund is taking a “wait and see” approach to China, holding back on new investments in the country until the full ramifications of regulatory action in the technology sector are known.