Fintech
AirTree, Greycroft back Australia's FrankieOne
Australia’s AirTree Ventures and US-based Greycroft have led a AUD 23m (USD 15.5m) investment in Melbourne-based fraud prevention platform FrankieOne, lifting its Series A round to AUD 45.7m.
India's Kae Capital closes Fund III on $94m
Indian seed-stage investor Kae Capital has closed its third flagship fund at about INR 7.7bn (USD 94m) with about 40% of the capital coming from overseas investors.
Crypto’s hyped transparency remains muddy – AVCJ Forum
Centralised finance (cefi) manifestations of decentralised finance (defi) technologies are becoming problematic for mainstream investors, the AVCJ Private Equity & Venture Forum heard.
India fintech player Lentra gets $60m Series B
India’s Lentra, a financial technology provider focused on cloud-based lending, has raised USD 60m in Series B funding led by Bessemer Venture Partners and SIG Venture Capital.
Quona closes third financial inclusion fund on $332m
Quona Capital, which invests under a financial inclusion strategy across emerging markets, has closed its third fund on USD 332m, beating a target of USD 250m.
India's 8i Ventures hits first close on Fund II
8i Ventures, an India-based early-stage venture capital firm, has achieved a first close of approximately USD 25m on its second fund. The overall target is USD 50m.
Singapore digital family office platform raises $90m
Arta Finance, a digital family office start-up established by Caesar Sengupta, the Singapore-based former head of Google’s Next Billion Users initiative, has raised USD 90m in Series A funding.
Deal focus: Reap looks beyond Hong Kong
Having proved its business model and build up a customer base in Hong Kong, small business credit specialist Reap will use part of its USD 40m Series A round to pursue international expansion
Hong Kong payments player Reap gets $40m Series A
Hong Kong-based financial technology company Reap has raised a USD 40m Series A - comprising equity and debt - led by Acorn Pacific Ventures, Arcadia Funds, and HashKey Capital.
Philippines fintech start-up gets $16m Series A
Abu Dhabi’s ADQ has backed a USD 16m Series A round for a Philippines-based financial technology start-up founded by former executives of Russian digital banking leader Tinkoff Bank.
Singapore's Bolttech hits $1.5b valuation with Series B
Singapore's Bolttech, an insurance technology provider set up by Pacific Century Group in 2020, has raised an undisclosed sum in Series B funding, claiming a valuation of USD 1.5bn.
SIG leads Series B extension for SE Asia payments start-up
Southeast Asia-focused B2B payments specialist Ayoconnect has closed a Series B extension of USD 13m led by SIG Asia. CE Innovation Capital and Prosus-owned PayU also took part.
Japan digital bank Nudge raises $16m Series A
Japanese digital bank Nudge has completed a USD 16m Series A round led by One Capital, a VC firm led by the former head of Salesforce Ventures Japan.
Airwallex raises another $100m, valuation holds steady
Hong Kong-based Airwallex, a cross-border payments provider turned broader financial technology platform, has raised USD 100m in a second extension to its Series E round at a valuation of USD 5.5bn. It comes 11 months after the company secured the same...
Citi, Accel back Hong Kong crypto start-up Xalts
Citi Ventures and Accel have invested in Hong Kong-based Xalts, a start-up founded by former HSBC and Meta personnel, with a view to facilitating digital asset management for institutional investors.
India's TVS Capital recruits managing partner from Flourish
Anuradha Ramachandran, who was previously an India-based director at financial technology specialist Flourish Ventures, has joined TVS Capital Funds as a managing partner.
PayU terminates $4.7b acquisition of India's BillDesk
The USD 4.7bn acquisition of Indian payments app BillDesk by industry peer PayU – which was poised to facilitate exits for the likes of TA Associates, General Atlantic, and Temasek Holdings – has collapsed.
India insurance start-up Zopper raises $75m
Indian private equity firm Creaegis has led a USD 75m Series C round for local insurance technology provider Zopper.
Indonesian crypto exchange Reku raises $11m
Indonesia’s AC Ventures has led a USD 11m Series A round for Reku, a local crypto exchange that claims to offer the lowest fees in the market.
Indonesia’s Fazz raises $100m Series C
Indonesia’s Fazz, a financial services provider for Southeast Asia micro businesses, has raised a USD 100m Series C round featuring Tiger Global, DST Global, and B Capital Group.
Billionaire Venture, DBS to invest $200m in India start-ups
India’s Billionaire Venture Capital and DBS Bank have agreed to invest USD 200m in 150m Indian start-ups via a special purpose vehicle and joint venture (JV).
Bessemer closes latest global VC fund on $3.85b
US-based Bessemer Venture Partners, which is currently expanding a longstanding presence in India, has closed its latest global VC fund with USD 3.85m in commitments.
Deal focus: Jai Kisan taps India rural resurgence
The founders of technology-enabled credit platform Jai Kisan went against the grain by forgoing urban customers and targeting India’s rural poor. A USD 50m Series B is an indicator of its progress
Singapore, Thailand blockchain remittance player gets $50m
Singapore and Thailand-based Lightnet, a blockchain-enabled payments and remittance services provider, has raised USD 50m from US-based LDA Capital.