Technology
India's StartupXSeed launches $4.5m venture fund
Indian seed-stage venture investment firm StartupXSeed has launched a VC fund, with an initial corpus of INR300 million ($4.5 million), to invest in Indian technology start-ups.
Global Brain backs Japan 3D printing start-up
Global Brain has committed JPY400 million ($3.3 million) to Japan-based Kabuku, which runs the 3D printing service Rinkak.
Intel Capital invests $60m in China drone maker Yuneec
Intel Capital has committed more than $60 million in Yuneec International, a Chinese drone manufacturer.
Times Internet backs Coursera, supports India expansion
Times Internet, an Indian internet and mobile service provider that has backed several local start-ups, has joined a $49.5 million first close of a Series C round for US-based online education provider Coursera.
Deal focus: Standard Chartered PE backs exceptional Dianrong
Regulators are catching up with China’s booming online peer-to-peer (P2P) lending industry. Last month the People Bank of China (PBoC), in conjunction with nine other government agencies, issued the first guidelines for policing internet finance. P2P...
Deal focus: Tata Capital bets on Uber in India
Tata Opportunities Fund (TOF) has deployed $400 million of its $600 million corpus over the last two years, with two thirds of that capital going to India-based companies that have global operations. The recent investment in ride-hailing app Uber Technologies...
China drone start-up EHang gets $42m Series B round
GP Capital, a China-focused PE fund backed by Shanghai International Group, has led a $42 million Series B round of funding for EHang, a Chinese commercial drone manufacturer.
Japan’s Freee raises $30m Series C round
DCM, Recruit Holdings and Japan Co-Invest have committed $30 million in Series C funding to Freee, a Japan-based provider of automated online accounting software.
Philippines targets 500 domestic tech start-ups by 2020
The Philippines government has outlined plans to achieve 500 domestic technology start-ups with a combined valuation of $2 billion by 2020.
NEA, Orios commit $4m to India's IntelligenceNODE
IntelligenceNODE, a retail-oriented big data analytics start-up based in India, has raised a $4 million Series A round led by New Enterprise Associates (NEA) and Orios Venture Partners.
Tata Opportunities Fund invests in Uber
Tata Capital will make a significant investment in ride-hailing service Uber through its Tata Opportunities Fund (TOF).
China agriculture: Seeds of hope
Fragmentation and inefficiency have hampered Chinese agriculture for years, but a combination of policy reform and consumer demand may allow the sector to unlock its potential. Does private equity have the key?
Deal focus: Blume targets e-commerce’s back-end
Asian e-commerce companies are having a hard time living up to their billing. Orders may come in at the speed of light, but deliveries come from warehouses that largely still dependent on relatively slow human labor.
Softbank, Foxconn, Alibaba lead $500m round for Snapdeal
SoftBank Group, Foxconn Technology Group and Alibaba Group have led a $500 million investment in Indian online marketplace Snapdeal.
Kalaari leads funding round for YourStory
Indian tech business news website YourStory has raised a Series A round led by Kalaari Capital, with participation from Qualcomm Ventures, Ratan Tata and T.V. Mohandas Pai.
Alibaba, Tencent in $313m round for CMC’s smart TV start-up
Whaley Technology, a smart TV maker founded by Chinese media mogul Ruigang Li, has raised RMB2 billion ($313 million) in funding from Li’s media-focused fund CMC Capital Partners, Alibaba Group and Tencent Holdings.
Samurai Incubate launches Israel accelerator
Tokyo-headquartered start-up accelerator Samurai Incubate is recruiting Japanese companies to participate in its three-month Israel accelerator program.
Japan bitcoin exchange raises $4m
Tokyo-based bitcoin exchange platform bitFlyer has raised a JPY510 million ($4 million) round of funding from a group of Japanese investors.
India's AgroStar raises $3.6m from IDG Ventures, Aavishkaar
IDG Ventures has led a $3.6 million funding round for Indian agriculture-focused mobile commerce firm AgroStar, with participation by existing investor Aavishkaar Venture Management Services.
Bessemer leads $50m round for Indian online grocer
Indian online grocer BigBasket has raised a $50 million funding round led by existing investor Bessemer Venture Partners.
Zodius leads $20m round for India's Allygrow
Zodius Technology Fund has led a $20 million funding round for Indian engineering services start-up Allygrow Technologies.
ChrysCapital invests $63m in US IT consulting firm Infogain
ChrysCapital has invested $63 million in Infogain, an Silicon Valley-based IT consulting firm, in exchange for a majority stake in the business.
Malaysia's Axiata Group buys VC-backed Komli's SE Asia unit
Malaysian telecommunications giant Axiata Group has acquired the Southeast Asian business of Komli Media, the Mumbai-based digital media firm backed by a slew of venture capital investors, for $11.25 million.
IDG, Carlyle invest $1b in China's SouFun Holdings
IDG Capital Partners and the Carlyle Group are investing $1 billion in Beijing-based online real estate portal SouFun Holdings alongside the company's management.