seed
Australia's M.H. Carnegie, Vivant Ventures launch accelerator
M.H. Carnegie & Co, the venture capital firm set up by Australian investor Mark Carnegie, has launched an A$80 million ($76 million) accelerator fund for emerging technology companies. It will be run in collaboration with Vivant Ventures, an Australia-based...
Angels say SE Asia ripe for 500 Durians
Dave McClure, Silicon Valley super angel and founding partner of 500 Startups, was on the road in Asia once again this month as part of his firm’s “Geeks on a Plane” (GOAP) tour. While this was not the first time the tech-focused venture capital...
East Ventures leads seed funding round in Japan's TwitCasting
East Ventures has led a JPY64.8 million ($633,000) round of seed funding in Moi Corp., the Japanese company behind social video application TwitCasting.
SparkLabs selects 10 companies for its second start-up class
Korean start-up accelerator SparkLabs has selected a second class of 10 for its mentoring program. The program is three months in length and provides funding, office space and access to a network of entrepreneurs, venture capitalists and angel investors.
Accion backs Asian financial services start-ups
Non-profit microfinance pioneer Accion will provide funding to three Asian start-ups through its $10 million seed initiative, Venture Lab. Singapore-based Coda Payments, Demyst Data and Indian education access provider Varthana are among the five businesses...
BootstrapLabs, MAD incubator launch SE Asia start-up accelerator
Malaysia-based MAD incubator has partnered with Silicon Valley-based BootstrapLabs to create a Southeast Asia-focused start-up accelerator.
OneVentures leads $1.1m round for Australia mobile video spin-out
Australian venture capital group One Ventures has led a A$1.1 million ($1.1 million) round of seed investment in Incoming, a mobile video start-up spun out of NICTA, a government-funded information and communications technology research company.
Bessemer Ventures leads $1m round in Singapore’s Nitrous.IO
Bessemer Venture Partners has led a $1 million round of seed investment in Singapore tech start-up Nitrous.IO.
High-profile angel investors back Australian start-up Canva
Australian online design start-up Canva has attracted $3 million in seed funding from a group of high-profile angel investors, including Adrian MacKenzie, who left his position as head of CVC Capital Partners’ local operations late last year.
Australia's Blackbird Ventures reaches first close on VC fund
Sydney-based VC firm Blackbird Ventures has reached a first close of A$20 million on its A$30 million ($31 million) internet-focused venture capital fund.
Indonesian incubator Grupara invests in fashion site
Indonesian venture capital firm Grupara has invested in men's fashion e-commerce site Maskool.in for an undisclosed amount.
SingTel Innov8, Optus launch new funding round for Australian start-ups
SingTel Innov8 and Optus have launched a second round of funding for Australian start-ups under the companies’ Innov8 seed program.
India’s BookAdSpace gets angel investment
BookAdSpace, an online platform for buying and selling physical advertising space, has received angel funding from Aakrit Vaish, the director of Flurry India, and Mitesh Sampat, the vice-president of product strategy at Quova.
Unitus raises $8m for India seed fund
Unitus Seed Fund (USF) has raised more than $8 million for its seed-stage venture capital fund focused on start-ups serving India's low-income consumers.
China's Mailman to set up early-stage Asia fund
Mailman, a social media and digital marketing company based in China, is a forming a start-up fund that will provide Series A funding rounds.
Japan’s Fuller gets $1.2m seed round
Japanese internet service provider ASAHI Net and m8 Capital, a London-based VC firm, are leading a JPY100 million ($1.2 million) round of seed funding for Japan-based start-up Fuller Inc.
Golden Gate invests in three Singapore e-commerce firms
Golden Gate Ventures, a Southeast Asia-focused early stage technology seed fund, has added three Singapore-based e-commerce businesses to its portfolio: TradeGecko, RedMart and Coda Payments.
Golden Gate, JFDI form Asian start-up alliance
Golden Gate Ventures and JFDI.Asia will form a strategic alliance to support early-stage digital start-ups in Asia as they move from concept to pre-Series A funding.
Korean start-up accelerator appoints new GPs
Korean start-up accelerator SparkLabs has appointed Jay McCarthy and Awy Julianto as general partners. They are managing partner and general partner, respectively, at Singapore-based boutique M&A and financial advisory firm Pacific Advisors.
Australia's Starfish Ventures invests in email company Atmail
Starfish Ventures has invested $2 million in Atmail, a Australia-based enterprise email and web communication company. The capital will help the Atmail scale-up its technical team and expand into overseas markets.
One97 Mobility Fund backs Indian mobile payment player
One97 Mobility Fund has invested an undisclosed amount in Mobiswipe Technologies, a mobile payment solution provider based in Mumbai.
Anand Prasanna leaves Squadron Capital
Anand Prasanna, an investment director at Squadron Capital has left the firm after five years to join another Asia-focused fund-of-funds. He will start his new job in mid-December.
South Korea VC: State subsidies
South Korea’s venture capital industry is the fourth-largest in the world thanks to generous government support. But is this support helping or hindering the development of self-sustaining investment ecosystem?
Japan's NTT DoCoMo to set up $125m venture fund
Japanese mobile giant NTT DoCoMo is to set up a venture fund and incubation program targeting mobile business models and technologies.