India
Trio of Indian short video apps raises funding
Indian short video apps Chingari, Mitron and Trell have all received venture capital backing as they look to slowly fill a void left by the suspension of ByteDance-owned TikTok’s operations in the country.
WestBridge invests $75m in India’s IndiGo
India-focused WestBridge Capital has invested INR5.5 billion ($75 million) in budget airline operator IndiGo.
India’s Prime Venture names Helion co-founder as partner
Ashish Gupta (pictured), a co-founder of Helion Ventures, has joined Indian VC firm Prime Venture Partners as a partner emeritus. He will remain based in the US.
Start-up profiles: Sustainability agendas
Early-stage innovators across the region are leveraging both enterprise and consumer-facing models to address sustainability challenges with one eye on rapid commercialization
Rocketship targets Asia with second global VC fund
Rocketship, a US-based data science-focused venture capital firm that has backed a number of Indian start-ups, has closed its second global fund at $100 million with a strong focus on Asia.
India cosmetics brand MyGlamm acquires content platform
MyGlamm, an online Indian cosmetics brand, has agreed to acquire POPxo, a women-focused content platform, for an undisclosed sum. Both companies have several VC backers.
India clean energy: Shock treatment
The economic fallout from COVID-19 will not spare any sector, but careful planning can ensure private equity firms can take advantage of India’s ambitious energy transition goals
Actis acquires two solar assets in India
Actis Capital has acquired a 400 megawatt portfolio of operating solar projects in central India from Acme Solar.
India used car platform Spinny acquires rival Truebil
Indian online used car marketplace Spinny has acquired local counterpart Truebil, setting up several venture capital exits.
India's Byju's acquires online coding school
Byju’s, an Indian online learning platform backed by several PE and VC firms, has acquired WhiteHat Jr, a platform that helps students learn to code.
GPs & climate change risk: Material matters
Climate change risk is becoming a broader debate within private equity, taking in the long-term impact of floods, droughts, and fires on portfolios. Most GPs have yet to turn thought into action
Advent to acquire Indian pharma player
Advent International has agreed to buy a controlling stake in Indian pharmaceutical company RA Chem Pharma.
Oyo founder establishes VC firm in Singapore
Ritesh Agarwal (pictured), the founder of Indian hotel booking platform Oyo, has launched a Singapore-headquartered venture capital firm called Aroa Ventures.
India’s Toppr raises $50m from Foundation Holdings
Indian educational technology startup Toppr has raised $50 million (INR3.5 billion) in a Series D funding round led by United Arab Emirates-based investment firm Foundation Holdings.
India online education: Learning process
With millions of Indian students facing the possibility of an academic year conducted entirely online, educational technology start-ups have an opportunity for business model validation
Deal focus: Vedantu adds to war chest as rivals encroach
India's Vedantu has raised $100 million in funding to support its ongoing diversification into non-test preparation services. Other players in the online education space have similar plans
Asia online gaming: Game on
Videogaming has outgrown entertainment and media to become a sector unto itself, with new angles for exposure multiplying rapidly. E-sports is an area to watch
India looks to expand scope of Chinese app ban
India has banned 47 more Chinese apps - saying they are clones of earlier outlawed products - and there are expectations that the crackdown could extend even further.
Probe into death of Indian founder reveals PE link
An investigation into the apparent suicide of V.G. Siddhartha, founder of Indian coffee chain Café Coffee Day, has revealed that a promise of guaranteed returns to private equity investors might have contributed to the entrepreneur's untimely demise.
Steadview backs India SaaS player Freshworks
Steadview Capital has invested $85 million in India and US-based cloud business software developer Freshworks through the purchase of shares from existing investors.
Indian agritech VeGrow secures seed funding
Indian agricultural technology start-up VeGrow raised $2.5 million in a seed funding round led by Ankur Capital and Matrix Partners India.
India’s True North closes sixth fund below target
Indian private equity firm True North closed its sixth fund last year at about $600 million, falling short of a revised target.
Asia VC: Vertex's evolving early-stage network
Vertex Holdings’ Chua Kee-Lock likens his network of VC funds seeded by the Temasek-owned entity as a distributed computer system. It will draw down more power as it grows
Walmart leads $1.2b round for India's Flipkart
Walmart has led a $1.2 billion funding round for Flipkart, the Indian e-commerce business in which it acquired a majority stake at a valuation of $24 billion in 2018.