Venture
US, India-focused Naya reaches first close on VC fund
Naya Ventures, a US-based VC firm that also invests in India, has reached a first close of $50 million on a fund targeting the mobile and cloud markets. Its approach involves providing capital and industry expertise to early-stage companies with a view...
Blume, First Light invest $500k in India's MadRat Games
Blume Ventures and First Light Ventures have invested $500,000 in Bangalore-based gaming start-up MadRat Games.
Fenox VC invests in Japan's Dream Link Entertainment
Silicon Valley-based Fenox VC has invested in Japanese flash animation studio Dream Link Entertainment (DLE).
Asia Awards: VC Deal of the Year – Xiaomi
The hugely successful launch of Xiaomi’s smart phone, and the subsequent $216 million Series C round, justified Morningside Technologies and Qiming Venture Partners’ early faith in the Chinese company
Asia Awards: VC Professional of the Year – Sanjeev Aggarwal
SanjeevAggarwal, managing partner at Helion Venture Partners, reflects on a successful fundraise, the popularity of Indian venture capital, and a portfolio that is becoming increasingly international
Golden Gate, JFDI form Asian start-up alliance
Golden Gate Ventures and JFDI.Asia will form a strategic alliance to support early-stage digital start-ups in Asia as they move from concept to pre-Series A funding.
VCs back $8m Series B round for Shubham HDFC
Accion and Saama Capital have jointly invested $4 million in India's Shubham Housing Development Finance Company. The venture capital firms join existing investors Elevar Equity and Helion Venture Capital in a second round of funding worth $8 million...
Iris Capital opens offices in Tokyo and Beijing
Iris Capital has opened offices in Tokyo and Beijing as part of an international expansion which also sees the French venture capital firm open three offices in North America.
Sequoia backs Chinese online lender Ppdai
Sequoia Capital has invested in a Series A financing round of Ppdai, a Chinese peer-to-peer online lending firm. The capital is expected to expand the company’s capacity on technology infrastructure and marketing campaigns.
Korean start-up accelerator appoints new GPs
Korean start-up accelerator SparkLabs has appointed Jay McCarthy and Awy Julianto as general partners. They are managing partner and general partner, respectively, at Singapore-based boutique M&A and financial advisory firm Pacific Advisors.
Patni brothers buy stake in Grameen Capital India
Amit and Arihant Patni, the brothers who set up internet-focused VC firm Nirvana Venture Advisors, have acquired a stake in Grameen Capital India (GCI) from its original investor IFMR Trust. The transaction is said to represent a first-of-its-kind exit...
IncuCapital backs genetic diagnostic start-up
IncuCapital, an incubation and early-stage investment firm, has invested an undisclosed amount in Mumbai-based genetic diagnostics and research start-up Navigene Genetic Science. IncuCapital’s Surojit Nandy will join the Navigene board.
CyberAgent Ventures backs Vietnam food review site
CyberAgent Ventures has made an undisclosed commitment to Vietnamese food review site, Foody. The venture capital arm of Tokyo-based internet firm CyberAgent made the investment through its CA Asia Internet Fund I, a Southeast Asia-focused VC vehicle....
CBay Systems founder moves into venture capital
V. Raman Kumar, the founder of CBay Systems, is setting up two venture capital funds targeting the domestic and international markets. The size of funds will be INR1 billion ($18 million) and INR2.5 billion, respectively.
Secura launches second Shariah compliant VC fund
Secura Investment Management, part of the Hi LITE group, has launched its second India-focused Shariah compliant venture capital fund with a size of INR500 million ($9 million).
VC-backed Happiest Minds targets IPO by 2019
Happiest Minds Technologies, an Indian cloud-based services provider backed by Canaan Partners and Intel Capital, is targeting an IPO by 2019.
VCs channel $25m into China's Innovent Biologics
Innovent Biologics, a China-based manufacturer of monoclonal antibodies, has raised $25 million in Series B financing from Lilly Asia Ventures, the VC arm of global pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly, and existing investors Fidelity Biosciences and Fidelity...
Pension plans unsure about VC commitments
North American pension plans are exhibiting mixed feelings towards venture capital funds – some find GPs that were once refused to take meetings are now opening up to a wider range of investors while others are backing off from the asset class, blaming...
SingTel Inov8 leads Series D round in mobile video firm Vuclip
SingTel Inov8, the venture capital arm of Singapore telecom giant SingTel, has led a $13 million round of series D funding in mobile video firm Vuclip.
LionRock leads $11m round for Chinese casual dining chain
LionRock Capital has led an $11.5 million Series C funding round for YPX Cayman Holdings, which operates the Cloud 9 casual dining chain in China. Existing investors Qiming Venture Partners and Ignition Capital also participated.
Bamboo Finance buys controlling interest in microfinance fund
Bamboo Finance, the Luxemburg-based social investment firm with a strong focus on Asia, has acquired a controlling interest in specialist private equity fund Accion Investments in Microfinance for $105 million.
Investors give prognosis for healthcare investment in Asia - AVCJ Forum
Despite regulatory hurdles and a waning IPO market, the healthcare care sector is an increasingly attractive area of investment for venture capitalists.
China's innovative entrepreneurs are chasing Silicon Valley - AVCJ Forum
China’s venture capital industry may not yet be ready to rival Silicon Valley, but companies are still exhibiting strong growth and, in certain cases, pursuing business models as innovative as those found in the US.
SEBI settles charges against power sector VC fund
The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has agreed to a INR3.7 million ($69,000) settlement against power sector venture capital fund Small is Beautiful for its alleged violation of venture capital investment regulations.