Venture
AVCJ at 25: Lewis Rutherfurd of Inter-Asia Venture Management
Lewis Rutherfurd, co-founder of Inter-Asia Venture Management, has been active in the industry for 40 years. During that time he brought McDonald’s and Ikea to Hong Kong – and set up Asian Venture Capital Journal
Helion, Nexus commit $10m to Indian e-commerce player ShopClues
Helion Venture Partners and Nexus Venture Partners have invested INR540 million ($10 million) in e-commerce firm Shopclue.com. Netprice.com CEO Teruhide Sato also participated in the funding round.
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.
Temasek's Vertex leads Series B round for Clearbridge BioMedics
Vertex Ventures, a VC unit of Temasek Holdings, has led a Series B round of financing for Singapore-based Clearbridge BioMedics worth S$9 million ($7.2 million). Other participants include existing investor BioVeda, Spring Seeds Capital, Biosensors International...
Life sciences VC investor Domain creates China partnership
US-based venture capital firm Domain Associates has teamed up with Chinese financial advisor Elite Consulting to support Western healthcare companies entering China. Several global VC investors and related service providers have been bulking up their...
Li Ka-Shing's Horizon Ventures leads Nipendo round
Horizons Ventures, which manages VC investments for Hong Kong magnate Li Ka-Shing, has led an $8 million series B round of funding in Nipendo, a cloud-based trading community platform.
Fidelity Growth Japan leads Metaps series B round
Fidelity Growth Partners Japan has led a JPY1 billion ($10 million) Series B round of investment in Metaps, a Tokyo-based mobile software developer. Existing investors have also taken part in the round.
KPCB, IDG-Accel invest $10m in China's EntreMed
KPCB China and IDG-Accel China have agreed to invest $10.7 million in EntreMed, a clinical-stage pharma company that develops drugs in the US and China for global release.
Aditya Birla-backed Tree House to acquire Brainworks
Pre-school management company Tree House Education, backed by Aditya Birla Capital Advisors, is to acquire 100% of Brainworks Learning Systems, a national chain of pre-schools. Brainworks is part of Better Value Brands.
India to tax buyback exits by foreign investors
India plans to impose a 20% withholding tax on foreign investors in private companies who exit their holdings through a buyback of shares. Investments routed through jurisdictions such as Mauritius and Singapore to take advantage of double tax treaty...
JAFCO invests $5 million in HiringBoss
Japanese venture capital firm JAFCO has put $5 million into HR software provider HiringBoss in a Series A round of funding.
IAN, Sequoia swap Jigsee holding for Vuclip stake
Indian Angel Network (IAN) and Sequoia Capital have become shareholders in VC-backed XinLab, which operates under the brand Vuclip, following its acquisition of mobile video start-up Jigsee in an all-stock deal.
NZVIF receives $49m underwrite for new fund investments
New Zealand Venture Investment Fund (NZVIF), a venture capital fund-of-funds, will receive a NZ$60 million ($49 million) underwrite facility from the New Zealand government.
China's Beisen gets Series B funding from Matrix, Sequoia
Beisen, a Chinese supplier of HR evaluation and testing tools and services, has received $10 million in Series B funding from Matrix Partners and Sequoia Capital. It comes three years after the company’s first-round of financing, which saw Shenzhen Capital...
Korea's AmorePacific leads pharma firm's Series B round
AmorePacific Ventures, the VC arm of Korea's largest cosmetics group, has led a $7 million Series B round of investment in Miami-based Brickell Biotech, a pharma firm specializing in skin conditions. Further details of the deal were not disclosed.
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.
Helion provides Series A round for India's Lifecell
Helion Venture Partners has committed INR350 million ($6.5 million) to a Series A round of funding for LifeCell International, India’s first and largest stem cell banking company. The capital will be used to expand LifeCell’s domestic presence and support...
China e-commerce: End of the line
Burning through cash and with no public market exit in site, many of China’s e-commerce players are losing the confidence of their investors. New rounds of funding come at depressed valuations – if they come at all
China vacation homes rental start-up gets Series B funding - Update
Tujia.com, China’s first online vacation homes rental service, has secured a Series B round of financing led by GGV Capital. Lightspeed China Partners, CDH Investments, Qiming Venture Partners, CBC Capital also participated alongside strategic investors...
Saudi Arabia's Kingdom Holdings leads $400m round for 360Buy
Chinese online retailer 360Buy has raised $400 million through a Series F round of funding led by Kingdom Holding, an investment company controlled by Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, a Saudi Arabian billionaire.
SEBI approves first Indian social venture fund
The Incube Connect Fund has become the first social venture fund to be approved under the Securities and Exchange Board of India’s (SEBI) new registration regulations.
Bessemer backs Indian IT services provider Anunta
Bessemer Venture Partners (BVP) has invested in Anunta Technology Management Services, a cloud-based IT services company, as part of Series A investment round. Financial details of the deal were not disclosed.
Unilazer Ventures invests in Valyoo Technologies
Unilazer Ventures has joined IDG Ventures in investing INR530 million ($10 million) in Delhi-based Valyoo Technologies, which owns e-commerce sites LensKart, BagsKart, WatchKart and JewelKart.
Lightspeed nets $168m for China fund
Lightspeed Venture Partners' China fund has been more than seven years in the making, having been under consideration ever since the GP included an international allocation – Asia and Israel, in addition to the US – in its seventh global vehicle. The...