Venture
Tech crunch: Bridging the Series A gap
On both sides of the Pacific, the venture capital industry is suffering from a dearth in Series A funding. How widespread is the problem and who is most affected?
Australia's Telstra loses VC unit founder
Deena Shiff, managing director of Telstra’s captive VC unit, has resigned her post to focus on a non-executive career and directorships. She remains as an advisor to the firm and as a board director for investee companies.
Australia's Adventure Capital targets $100m VC fund
Australian VC firm Adventure Capital is targeting around $100 million for its debut vehicle. It has already received $20 million in commitments from high net worth individuals – having signed up its first cornerstone investor in late 2010 – and is now...
Lightspeed closes debut China fund at $168m
Lightspeed China Partners has reached a final close of $168 million on its debut China fund, exceeding the target size of $150 million. The fund, which includes an affiliated co-investment vehicle, will target early-stage investments in the internet,...
Kaizen, Bertelsmann invest in online education firm
Kaizen, an education-focused Indian private equity firm, has led a $4 million Series B round investment in Educomp Solution's subsidiary authorGen, which produces online education platform WizIQ. German global media company Bertelsmann has also participated...
Summit Partners to invest $25m in The Iconic
Summit Partners is expected to invest $25 million into Australian fashion online retailer, The Iconic.
Fulcrum Venture India invests $1.5m in Congruent Solutions
Fulcrum Venture India has invested INR80 million ($1.5 million) for a 20% stake in Congruent Solutions, a specialist software service provider in the pension administration industry.
Norwest invests $11m in India's Perfint Healthcare
Norwest Venture Partners has invested $11 million in Indian medical technology company Perfint Healthcare as part of a Series D round of funding. Norwest previously invested $7.2 million in the Chennai-based company in 2010.
DCM invests in Chinese game developer Cmune
DCM has provided an undisclosed amount in Series A funding to Cmune, a China-based developer of 3D social games. The company is best known for UberStrike, which claims to the most popular first-person-shooter game on Facebook with 1.4 million monthly...
Matrix Partners India invests in Mswipe
Matrix Partners India has led the first institutional round of funding in Mswipe Technologies, a mobile payment services provider based in Mumbai.
India Awards: VC Deal of the Year – Flipkart
In India's fiercely competitive e-commerce market, the mantra is eat or be eaten. Flipkart, through a combination of new funding and lateral acquisitions, has placed itself firmly in the former camp.
Chinese short-term rental sites secure $20m in VC backing
Xiaozhu.com and Mayi.con, two competing Chinese websites specializing in short-term room rentals, have each secured $10 million in VC funding.
CanBank Venture backs India's Vinyas Innovative Technology
Canbank Venture Capital Fund, the PE unit of Canara Bank, has invested INR100 million ($1.8 million) in Mysore-based electronic manufacturing services firm Vinyas Innovative Technologies.
Unitus raises $8m for India seed fund
Unitus Seed Fund (USF) has raised more than $8 million for its seed-stage venture capital fund focused on start-ups serving India's low-income consumers.
China's Mailman to set up early-stage Asia fund
Mailman, a social media and digital marketing company based in China, is a forming a start-up fund that will provide Series A funding rounds.
Indonesia's Berrybenka gets funding from Gree Ventures
Gree Ventures, the VC arm of social Japanese social networking giant Gree, has completed its third investment in Indonesia, providing a Series A round of funding to fashion-focused e-commerce start-up Berrybenka. The size of the investment was not disclosed....
SVB provides loan to VC-backed Zoomin
SVB India Finance, a subsidiary of Silicon Valley Bank, has provided INR80 million ($1.5 million) in venture debt funding to Zoomin.com, an online digital photo printing and merchandise company backed by early-stage investors Sherpalo Ventures and First...
VCs and mobile internet: The race to stay relevant
Venture capital investors targeting the mobile and social media space are only as good as their understanding of the consumer habits and technologies that underpin industry trends
Wilson Sonsini opens Beijing office
Venture capital-focused law firm Wilson Sonsini has opened an office in Beijing, enlarging a Greater China footprint that already takes in Shanghai and Hong Kong. The office is led by Kefei Li, a partner with the firm. He reports to Weiheng Chen, the...
Japan's Fuller gets $1.2m seed round
Japanese internet service provider ASAHI Net and m8 Capital, a London-based VC firm, are leading a JPY100 million ($1.2 million) round of seed funding for Japan-based start-up Fuller Inc.
Ticketgoose plans second round funding from VCs
One of India's leading online bus tickets firms, Ticketgoose.com, is looking to raise INR250 million ($4.6 million) in a second round of VC funding, CEO Arun Athiappan said.
Predictions for 2013
Growth capital, buyouts, public and private exits, secondaries and new frontiers – private equity professionals from Asia and beyond predict the future
PE-backed Xiaomi gets 10% of Kingsoft's cloud computing unit
Chinese smart phone maker Xiaomi has agreed to purchase a 10% stake in Kingsoft Cloud Group, a unit of Chinese software maker Kingsoft, for $1.82 million in total.
Singapore travel website gets seed funding from TNF, SingTel Innov8
Singapore-based online travel booking site Flocations has raised $570,000 seed funding round led by TNF Ventures and including SingTel Innov8, the corporate venture arm of SingTel – and angel investor Ben Ball.