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SoftBank, Sequoia back $1b round for India's Oyo
India-based online hospitality platform Oyo has raised a $1 billion funding round aimed at supporting domestic and overseas expansion from existing investors including SoftBank Vision Fund and Sequoia Capital India.
India's Pi Ventures closes early-stage fund at $31m
Pi Ventures, an Indian early-stage investor focused on artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning, has closed its debut fund at INR2.25 billion ($30.9 million).
Japan payments player Origami raises $60m Series C
Origami, a Tokyo-based mobile payments platform, has raised JPY6.6 billion ($60 million) in Series C funding from investors including SBI Investment, Union Pay International, Mitsui Sumitomo Card, and Credit Saison.
Chinese B2B liquor trading platform gets $200m Series C
Tencent Holdings and Meituan-Dianping have led a $200 million Series D funding round for business-to-business (B2B) online liquor trading platform Yijiupi.
Meituan-Dianping gains on debut after $4.2b Hong Kong IPO
Chinese online-to-offline (O2O) lifestyle services platform Meituan-Dianping gained 5.3% on its trading debut in Hong Kong following a HK$33.1 billion ($4.2 billion) IPO.
TPG, Goldman invest $70m in India's Livspace
Indian home design portal Livspace has raised $70 million in Series C funding led by TPG Growth, the middle market investment platform of TPG Capital, and Goldman Sachs.
Investcorp makes China debut, backs Everbright fund
Investcorp, a Bahrain-listed asset manager, has made its first foray into China by committing $150 million to China Everbright’s New Economy Fund. There is an additional co-investment right of up to $100 million.
Deal focus: Video++ targets digital dollars
Chinese start-up Video++ raises Series C1 round to grow its AI advertising business aimed at China's streaming video platforms
Chinese investors commit $50m to India’s Ola
Indian ride-hailing app Ola has raised a $50 million round of funding from Sailing Capital and the China-Eurasian Economic Cooperation Fund (CEECF), a vehicle backed by the Chinese government to support the One Belt One Road (OBOR) initiative.
Q&A: Emerald Media's Paul Aiello
KKR-backed Emerald Media was formed to invest in Asia’s media landscape, but it has found a growing number of opportunities in technology. Managing Director Paul Aiello discusses how the sectors have grown together
Deal focus: PingCap sees borderless future in the cloud
Fosun Group and Morningside Venture Capital lead a $50 million Series C round to support PingCap's US-China cloud database services push
Golden Gate closes SE Asia VC fund at $100m
Golden Gate Ventures has closed its third Southeast Asia-focused fund at $100 million. Like its predecessors, the oversubscribed fund will invest in start-ups using technology to disrupt traditional business models in the consumer sector.
Ant Financial backs Chinese working hours tracking app
Anxinji, a Chinese app used by many of the country’s blue-collar workers to keep track of their working hours, has closed a Series B funding round led by Alibaba Group affiliate Ant Financial.
Chinese auto after-sales services player Tuhu raises $450m
Tuhu, a Chinese B2C platform specializing in automobile after-sale services, has raised $450 million in a Series E funding round led by investors including Tencent Holdings, The Carlyle Group, and Sequoia Capital.
China's Qutoutiao soars on debut after $84m US IPO
Chinese news aggregator app Qutoutiao raised $84 million in a downsized US IPO – continuing a recent trend among Chinese tech start-ups – but then saw its stock price more than double on the first day of trading.
Beijing blockchain gaming platform receives $40m
Cocos-BCX, a Beijing-based blockchain game development platform, has raised $40 million from a group of strategic and VC investors to support its expansion plans.
China healthcare big data platform gets $30m Series B
Weimai, a Chinese healthcare-focused big data platform that operates on a city-by-city basis, has received $30 million in Series B funding led by Cenova Ventures, Source Code Capital, Vision Plus Capital, and Matrix Partners China.
China Renaissance set for wealth management push
China Renaissance Holdings is planning an aggressive push into wealth management services, targeting high net worth individuals in China’s new economy, with proceeds from its upcoming Hong Kong IPO.
Indonesia fintech platform raises $24m Series B
Sequoia Capital India has led a $24 million Series B round for Moka, a developer of cloud-based point-of-sale (POS) systems based in Jakarta.
PE-backed Chinese online pharmacy completes $100m US IPO
Chinese online pharmacy operator 111 Inc – best known for its 1 Drugsstore platform – traded down slightly on its NASDAQ debut after raising $100.5 million in a scaled back IPO.
Deal focus: Fave scales fast as Southeast Asia goes O2O
Malaysia-based Fave raises $20 million to connect Southeast Asia's conservative small businesses with the region's emerging cashless economy
Profile: AlphaX Partners' Chuan Thor
Over the course of more than two decades – with Jafco, Highland Capital Partners, and now AlphaX Partners – Chuan Thor has participated in China’s transition from tech follower to tech leader
Vertex, Sistema lead $30m Series C for India's Kissht
Vertex Ventures, the VC arm of Temasek Holdings, has led a $30 million Series C round for Indian financial technology platform Kissht alongside Russian VC investor Sistema Asia Fund.
Deal focus: Miss Fresh showcases future of e-commerce
With $450 million in new funding, Chinese online grocer Miss Fresh plans to build out its supply chain operation and underline its credentials as a new-generation e-commerce player