artificial intelligence
Japan's Abies Ventures seeks $69m for Fund II, courts foreign LPs
Japanese deep-tech investor Abies Ventures has set a JPY 10bn (USD 69m) target for its second fund and is looking to tap international investors for the first time.
Japan advertising AI start-up Flux raises $32m Series B
DNX Ventures has led a JPY 4.4bn (USD 32m) Series B round for Japan’s Flux, which helps businesses manage advertising strategies via a no-code artificial intelligence (AI) platform.
Philippines VC firm Kaya raises $12m across two funds
Philippines-based VC investor and venture studio Kaya Founders has achieved a first close of USD 12m across two early-stage funds. The target - for both vehicles - is USD 25m.
Japan's LayerX lifts Series A to $59m
Japan’s LayerX, an enterprise billing and invoicing software provider, has lifted an ongoing Series A round to JPY 8.2bn (USD 59m) with support from several local VC firms.
Nuvama leads $53m round for India's Course5
India’s Nuvama Asset Management, formerly Edelweiss Wealth Management, has led a USD 53m investment in local data analytics start-up Course5 Intelligence.
China AI player Mobvoi files for Hong Kong IPO
Mobvoi, which claims to be China’s largest revenue-generating artificial intelligence (AI) company focusing on content generation, has filed for a Hong Kong IPO.
Baidu launches $145m China AI fund
China-based technology giant Baidu has launched an artificial intelligence (AI) fund of CNY 1bn (USD 145m) that will focus on generative AI companies.
China generative AI start-up Luchen gets Series A funding
Luchen Technology, a Chinese start-up specialising in artificial intelligence (AI) training, has closed a Series A round amounting to several hundred million renminbi.
India's 360 One invests $28m in data analytics provider
India’s 360 One Asset Management, formerly IIFL Wealth & Asset Management, has invested USD 28m in local data analytics start-up Course5 Intelligence.
Bessemer pledges USD 1bn for global AI deals
Bessemer Venture Partners, a US-based early-stage investor currently expanding a longstanding presence in India, has earmarked USD 1bn for artificial intelligence (AI) start-ups globally.
Portfolio: AIG
Advance Intelligence Group has developed a relatively narrow enterprise fintech business into one of the region’s leading digital lending operations with the help of several VC investors
China pool cleaning robot start-up gets $29m angel round
GL Ventures, Shunwei Capital, and Source Code Capital have participated in a CNY 200m (USD 29m) angel round for Xingmai Innovation, a China-based developer of robots that clean swimming pools.
China generative AI player LangBoat gets pre-Series A
LangBoat, a China-based generative artificial intelligence (AI) company, has raised a pre-Series A round led by Beijing Zhongguangcun Science City. Eight Roads and Sinovation Ventures re-upped.
China chatbot maker Xiao-I trades down after US IPO
China-based chatbot company Xiao-I has traded down 17.5% since raising USD 39m in a disappointing NASDAQ IPO on March 9.
AI-dedicated GP targets South, Southeast Asia
A group of artificial intelligence (AI) investors in Africa have launched a new Singapore-based private equity firm, AI Capital, that will invest across South and Southeast Asia, as well as Africa.
Deal focus: Qiming backs Chinese GPT pioneer
Frontis.ai is a Chinese start-up founded by local entrepreneur who helped lay the groundwork for ChatGPT in the US. Qiming Venture Partners was won over by its product conception capabilities
Deal focus: Tiamat innovates around words and pictures
Tiamat originated from a Chinese college student’s experimentation with nascent text-to-image artificial intelligence technology. DCM China and VitalBridge Capital believe it will cut through the industry hype
CDB leads $72m round for China RPA provider Kingsware
CDB Capital has led a CNY 500m (USD 72m) Series C round for Zhuhai-based robotic process automation (RPA) services provider Kingsware Information Technology.
Qiming, Matrix back Chinese AI start-up Frontis
Chinese artificial intelligence generated content (AIGC) start-up Frontis.ai has raised a round of hundreds of millions of renminbi led by Qiming Venture Partners with support from Matrix Partners China.
Premji Invest leads $26m round for India's SpotDraft
India’s Premji Invest has led a USD 26m Series A round for local contract lifecycle management and legal work automation supplier SpotDraft.
China chatbot developer raises funding to ride ChatGPT wave
Emotibot, a China-based chatbot developer, has raised a Series D extension of undisclosed size from GP Capital, KYMCO Capital, Jiangsu Cultural Investment, and Junci Investment.
Singapore's Grayscale hits first close on debut VC fund
Grayscale Ventures, a Singapore-based VC firm set up last month by South Asia-focused investors at Japan’s Strive, has achieved a first close of about USD 10m on its debut fund.
Deal focus: Small is beautiful at Quantum Brilliance
Australia-based Quantum Brilliance has raised USD 18m in pre-Series A funding on the back of technological breakthrough that delivers quantum computing without large-scale cooling infrastructure
Australia quantum computer maker raises $18m
Australian quantum computer start-up Quantum Brilliance has raised USD 18m from several local VC firms, plus US-based investors Ultratech Capital Partners and CM Equity Partners.