Lightspeed Venture Partners
Energy transition: Getting comfortable
Private equity investors are leaning into energy transition with new funds, strategies, and attitudes about risk as more emerging categories go mainstream. Regulation remains the perennial spoiler
Lightspeed leads $50m round for Singapore's YouTrip
Lightspeed Venture Partners has led a USD 50m Series B investment in Singapore-based travel wallet and currency exchange app YouTrip.
Citi, MUFG back Singapore digital wealth platform Endowus
Citi Ventures and MUFG Innovation Partners have joined a USD 35m funding round for Endowus, a Singapore-based digital wealth platform that serves high net worth individuals and public pensions.
Lightspeed leads $20m round for India SaaS player Zluri
Lightspeed India Partners has led a USD 20m Series B round for Zluri, an India and US-based platform that helps companies manage and optimise their software-as-a-service (SaaS) ecosystems.
China Micro LED developer Jade Bird gets new funding
Jade Bird Display (JBD), a Shanghai-based developer of micro LEDs used in artificial reality (AR) devices, has raised several hundred million renminbi through two tranches of Series A funding.
India satellite imaging player Pixxel gets $36m Series B
Google is one of several new investors in a USD 36m Series B round for Pixxel, an India-based satellite imaging provider targeting climate change use cases. The company has now raised USD 71m in private funding to date.
Square Peg leads round for India payments start-up
Australia’s Square Peg Capital has led a USD 10.2m pre-Series A round for India-based payments technology provider XFlow.
Lightspeed China hits first close on renminbi fund
Lightspeed China Partners has returned to the renminbi funds space for the first time in seven years, reaching a first close of CNY 800m (USD 116m) on its latest local currency vehicle.
Southeast Asia VC: Drought survivors
As weaker sentiment for technology risk cools venture capital markets globally, Southeast Asia is lagging in limbo. Investors remain bullish but continue to hold their fire amidst questions around valuations
India's HealthPlix raises $22m Series C
India’s HealthPlix, a medical records platform for doctors that aims to democratize access to digital healthcare in remote areas, has raised a USD 22m Series C round led by Avataar Venture Partners.
China IPOs: Back to New York
With regulatory challenges receding, Chinese companies are once again targeting US listings. But the journey to New York – in terms of approvals, locations, and valuations – isn’t necessarily smooth
China VCs back semiconductor start-up InventChip
InventChip Technology, a semiconductor start-up focused on silicon carbide design and fabrication, has raised hundreds of millions of renminbi in Series B funding from several local VC investors.
Profile: Lightspeed China Partners’ James Mi
Rejecting a life-changing job offer from Google and overseeing a failed start-up are two of James Mi’s mistakes. He learned from them and then made a success of Lightspeed China Partners
China biosynthesis start-up Bluepha raises $58m
Bluepha, a Chinese start-up focused on bio-based chemicals, has raised CNY 400m (USD 58m) in a fourth tranche of Series B funding.
Singapore's Aspire closes Series C on $100m
Singapore-based B2B banking platform Aspire has closed an oversubscribed Series C round with USD 100m in commitments. Lightspeed Venture Partners and Sequoia Capital Southeast Asia took the lead.
Hesai gains 11% on debut after $190m US offering
Hesai Technology, a China-based developer of sensors used in autonomous driving, traded up on debut after completing the largest US IPO by a Chinese company since Didi in 2021.
AI: Asia awakens to ChatGPT
ChatGPT has sent shockwaves through the technology sector globally. Asia is no exception as investors look for ways to leverage the platform and China contemplates a standard of its own
China LiDAR specialist Hesai aims for US IPO
Hesai Technology, a China-based developer of sensors used in autonomous driving, is targeting a US listing. Its investors include Lightspeed China Partners, Baidu, Bosch, and Xiaomi.
China satellite developer Minospace raises $60m
Beijing-based satellite developer Minospace has raised nearly CNY400m (USD 59.6m) across a Series B round and a Series B extension.
Lightspeed backs China autonomous driving industry supplier Daisch
Lightspeed China Partners has backed Daisch, a domestic supplier of high-precision products for autonomous driving, as the sole participant in a Series A round.
Deal focus: Prosus looks to aggregate India’s fruit farmers
B2B marketplaces are the prevalent theme in Prosus Ventures’ agricultural technology investments in Asia. However, as fruit specialist Vegrow demonstrates, supply chain dynamics are not uniform
Fund focus: Lightspeed ramps up in India, Southeast Asia
Lightspeed Venture Partners is leaning hard into developing Asia with long-range vision, added operational resources, and a new USD 500m war chest