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Deal focus: India e-sports early-mover makes waves
Loco is positioned to take a leadership role in India’s up-for-grabs game streaming industry following a sizeable Series A round and promising early traction in community building
Investment becomes Tencent's main profit driver in 2021
Investment accounted for the bulk of Tencent Holdings' annual profit for the first time in 2021 as the Chinese technology giant saw earnings from its core business contract in the second half of the year.
Australia's Carthona hits $75m first close on VC fund
Australia-based VC firm Carthona Capital has reached a first close of AUD 100m (USD 75m) – against a target of AUD 200m – on its fourth fund, which will add Web3 to its existing focus areas.
IIFL Private Equity targets $524m for latest India pre-IPO fund
IIFL Private Equity is seeking up to INR 40bn (USD 524m) in commitments for its latest India pre-IPO fund as part of a broad fundraising push intended to secure INR 70bn to INR 80bn across multiple strategies over the next 12 months.
PropertyGuru completes SPAC merger, trades flat
PropertyGuru, a private equity-backed Southeast Asia real estate portal, traded flat on its New York Stock Exchange debut following a merger with a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) at an enterprise value of USD 1.36bn.
China smart projector brand JMGO raises $158m
IDG Capital and Chinese smartphone brand Oppo have invested CNY 1bn (USD 158m) in JMGO, a local manufacturer of smart projection equipment developer JMGO that also goes by the name Holatek.
Index, Coatue lead $110m round for Australia's Linktree
Index Ventures and Coatue Management have led a USD 110m round for Linktree, an Australian social media platform that drives audience engagement, at a valuation of USD 1.3bn.
PE-backed GoTo targets $1.1b Indonesia IPO
Indonesia-based ride-hailing service turned super app GoTo, which counts Alibaba Group and SoftBank Vision Fund among its largest external investors, is looking to raise at least IDR 15.2trn (USD 1.1bn) through a domestic IPO.
India's Licious raises $150m at $1.6bn valuation
India’s Licious, a direct-to-consumer fresh meat and seafood delivery company, has raised a USD 150m round led by Amansa Capital at a valuation of USD 1.6bn.
Korean metaverse player closes Series A, hits $807m valuation
VA Corporation, a Korean virtual content provider that is positioning itself as a metaverse platform, has achieved a valuation of KRW 1trn (USD 807m) on closing a KRW 100bn Series A round.
Tiger Global leads Series A for New Zealand's ArchiPro
Tiger Global Management has led a NZD 35m (USD 24m) Series A round for New Zealand’s ArchiPro, a platform that connects homeowners with interior design and construction professionals.
India's Byju's raises $800m at $22b valuation
Indian education platform Byju’s has raised USD 800m at an estimated valuation of USD 22bn, with the company’s founder Byju Raveendran providing USD 400m.
AVCJ Awards 2021: Deal of the Year – Mid Cap: Danggeun Market
A social, hyperlocal overlay has made Korea’s Danggeun Market a subversively complex e-commerce play. As the company scales and experiments, it reflects new confidence in its home market
Deal focus: Freemium works for Dianxiaomi
China cross-border e-commerce services platform Dianxiaomi has achieved traction, and profitability, by only charging for value-added services. Its Series C will fuel global expansion
Accel raises $650m for seventh India fund
Accel Partners has raised USD 650m for its seventh India VC fund, which will also make early-stage investments in Southeast Asia. The firm’s total assets under management in the region now top USD 2bn.
India edtech player Filo gets $23m Series A
Filos, an India-based instant live-tutoring platform, has raised USD 23m in Series A funding led by US investor Anthos Capital. It is said to be the largest-ever Series A in India’s education technology space.
China's VC-backed Perfect Corp agrees $1bn SPAC merger
Perfect Corp, a Chinese software developer specialising in artificial intelligence (AI) and augmented reality (AR) solutions that allow consumers to experience brands, has agreed to merge with a US-listed special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) at...
China VC: Funding puzzles
Late-stage investors are appearing in earlier funding rounds in China, offering premium valuations but potentially leaving start-ups in situations where they have too much too soon
AVCJ Awards 2021: Exit of the Year – IPO: Zomato
Zomato’s milestone offering last year saw a pandemic-ready business model awaken the local market to internet-based risk profiles as global investors shifted interest from China to India
India's IvyCap secures foreign LP backing for Fund III first close
India’s IvyCap Ventures is progressing on efforts to diversify its LP base, with 15% of the first close commitments in Fund III coming from international investors, while many of its domestic institutional backers re-upped.
Ex-Hostplus PE head launches state-level early-stage fund
V-Ignite, an investment firm established by the former PE and VC head at Australian superannuation fund Hostplus, is looking to raise AUD 120m (USD 86m) for a fund-of-funds that will support managers in the state of Victoria.
Apis doubles down on Asia rewards, incentives space
Apis Partners has backed India-based rewards and incentives start-up Xoxoday through a USD 30m joint investment with Giift, one of its portfolio companies.
India's MediBuddy gets $125m Series C
Quadria Capital and Lightrock India have led a USD 125m Series C round for Indian healthcare platform MediBuddy.
Deal focus: Freight player G7 eyes public listing
Having expanded its business scope from hardware into software and financial services, G7 Network is positioning its recent USD 200m PE investment as a pre-IPO round