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Innovation Works’ Kai-Fu Lee diagnosed with cancer
Kai-Fu Lee, founder and CEO of Innovation Works and former head of Google Greater China, has been diagnosed with lymphoma, a type of blood cancer.
Meridian Capital invests in China fashion app Ichuanyi
Meridian Capital has committed a Series A round of funding for Chinese fashion and clothing mobile app Ichuanyi.com. The investment size was not disclosed.
Battle of the strategics
We have grown accustomed to China’s incumbent internet giants engaging in M&A. Since 2010, the BATS – Baidu, Alibaba Group, Tencent Holdings and Sina – have deployed around $6.5 billion (and that’s just disclosed transactions), eight times the...
SmartPay joins Ping An’s e-payment push
Ping An Insurance Group has taken the fight to Alibaba Group once before. In 2010 it bought an 80% stake in online grocery retailer Yihaodian and helped build the business into one of China’s leading B2C e-commerce players, finding space in the corner...
Sequoia invests $10m in China personal finance site
Sequoia Capital has committed a total of $10 million across two rounds of funding for Feidee.com, a Beijing-based personal finance management website.
Indonesia flight booking service gets Series A round from Samwer brothers
Global Founders Capital (GFC) a VC firm co-founded by Rocket Internet’s Samwer brothers, has made its first Asia investment - committing an undisclosed sum to Indonesian flight search engine Traveloka.
Shenzhen Capital invests in China mobile app start-up ShareSDK
Shenzhen Capital Group has committed a Series A round of funding to ShareSDK, a Guangzhou-based mobile app service provider. Details of the investment were undisclosed.
Patni Brothers set up incubator for India big data start-ups
The co-founders of Nirvana Venture Advisors, brothers Arihant and Amit Patni, have set up Hive Technologies to help launch and fund Indian big data start-ups.
Lunar Capital exits China mobile payment business to Ping An
Lunar Capital and co-investors RRE Ventures and Icon have exited SmartPay, one of China’s leading third-party online payment providers, to an affiliate of Ping An Insurance Group. The insurer, which also has bank and asset management interests, is said...
Nissay Capital leads $1.5m round for Japan skills marketplace
Nissay Capital has a led a JPY150 million ($1.5 million) round of investment in WelSelf, the Tokyo-based start-up behind online skils marketplace Coconala. Other investors include internet marketing companies Opt and Adways, and the CEO of cosmetics site...
Patent funds: Creative returns
Asia is now responsible for just over half of all patent filings worldwide. Will independent patent funds, which have already won a niche following in the US, catch on over here?
Japan's Rakuten acquires VC-backed video site Viki
Japanese e-commerce giant Rakuten has acquired Viki, a VC-backed global video streaming platform.The financial details of the transaction were not disclosed.
Morningside, Jingdong invest in Chinese food delivery service Daojia
Existing backer Morningside Ventures and B2C e-commerce site Jingdong (formerly 360Buy) have led a Series C round of investment in Chinese online food ordering platform Daojia. The financial details of the transaction were not disclosed.
China video app Yixia.com completes $25m Series B round
China mobile video app Yixia.com has completed a $25 million Series B round of investment led by internet giant Sina Corporation. Existing backers Redpoint Ventures and Morningside Ventures also participated in the round.
Blume Ventures backs India software firm Kuliza
Bangalore-based Kuliza Technologies, a marketing software maker has raised seed funding from Blume Ventures. Financial details of the deal were not disclosed.
Nalanda Capital invests in India’s Info Edge
Nalanda Capital has invested more than INR268 million ($3.9 million) in listed online classifieds company Info Edge India. The PE firm bought 1.7 million shares on the secondary market for around INR300 apiece.
Japan's Rakuten leads $23m Series B round for e-commerce app Slice
Rakuten Group - Japan's largest e-commerce firm - has led a $23 million financing round for the Silicon Valley-based start-up behind online shopping app Slice.
Morpheus Fund invests $6m in TVC Skyshop
India’s Morpheus Fund has invested INR420 million ($6.17 million) for an 8% stake in direct-to-consumer retailing platform, TVC Skyshop.
China education site Fenbi.com to raise Series B round
Fenbi.com, a Beijing-based online education platform, is about to close its second round of VC funding. It is said that IDG Capital Partners and Matrix Partners China have joined the round, taking total capital raised to $7 million.
JFDI.Asia launches latest accelerator program
Joyful Frog Digital Incubator (JFDI.Asia) - a Singapore-based accelerator - has launched its latest 100-day program with an intake of 10 new start-ups. The teams were chosen through an open competition that attracted 321 applications.
SIG Asia leads $18m round for China photo app Camera360
SIG Asia Investment (SAI), an affiliate of US financial group the Susquehanna International Group, has led a $18 million Series B round of funding for Camera360, a photo-editing mobile app. Existing backers Matrix Partners China and Gobi Partners also...
Qiming invests in China mobile games developer Cachejoy
Qiming Venture Partners has invested in a Series B round of funding for Cachejoy, a Chinese mobile gaming developer also known as Beijing Tiangua Online Technology. The size of the round was not disclosed.
Taiwan GPs: Cross-strait strategies
Taiwanese GPs are looking for investments in the higher growth markets of mainland China. But how do they differentiate themselves from Chinese private equity firms chasing similar deals?
Tech giants and VC: When the chips are down
Taiwan has a long history as a tech manufacturing powerhouse, but with the decline of the PC times have changed. Can the wavering tech giants re-invest themselves and what can VC do to help?