Venture
India mobile payment firm raises Series A round
Mobile payments company Ezetap Mobile Solution has raised a Series A round of funding from Silicon Valley-based venture capital firm Social+Capital Partnership, PayPal’s Peter Thiel and David Sacks of Microsoft, among others. Existing investor AngelPrime...
Australian's Verde targets $52m VC fund
Australian venture capital firm Verde is seeking to raise A$50 million ($52 million) for a fund that will focus on bringing technology to market. It will concentrate on innovations in the medical, defense and technology sectors.
South Korea VC: State subsidies
South Korea’s venture capital industry is the fourth-largest in the world thanks to generous government support. But is this support helping or hindering the development of self-sustaining investment ecosystem?
Japan's CyberAgent invests in Taiwanese start-up
CyberAgent Ventures has invested $500,000 in Polydice, the Taiwanese start-up behind recipe-themed social network iCook.tw
Profile: Founders Fund's Bruce Gibney
Founders Fund Partner Bruce Gibney became a multi-millionaire by investing in PayPal while still at university. He was later involved in the first angel investment made in Facebook
Japan's NTT DoCoMo to set up $125m venture fund
Japanese mobile giant NTT DoCoMo is to set up a venture fund and incubation program targeting mobile business models and technologies.
Dhingana raises $7m in Series B funding from VC players
Lightspeed Venture Partners has led a $7 million Series B funding round for Dhingana, a Indian social music streaming site. Existing investors Inventus Capital Partners and Helion Venture Partners also participated.
Mumbai Angels to launch $20m sidecar fund
Mumbai Angels, an Indian investment firm focusing on early stage companies, is to launch a maiden sidecar fund of INR1 billion ($20 million) next month.
Shanghai VC firm launches JV with MicuRx Pharma
Shanghai Zhangjiang Biomedical Industry Venture Capital has formed a joint venture with MicuRx Pharma, a Sino-US bio-pharmaceutical company, to support the development and commercialization of antibiotic MRX-I for the Chinese market.
DCM exits game developer Pokelabo to GREE
DCM has generated a 6x money multiple on its investment in social mobile game developer Pokelabo after the company was sold to Japanese media giant GREE for $175 million.
Mayfield backs Indian Incubator AngelPrime
Mayfield Fund will take a majority interest in AngelPrime, a Bangalore-based incubator. The investment will be used to support operations as well as seed capital for companies that AngelPrime plans to incubate over the next three years.
Asia's untapped VC market
Southeast Asia has potential as a venture capital market, but fragmentation and the absence of large, self-sustaining entrepreneur communities are obstacles to growth
Matrix, Lightspeed invest $5m in India's LimeRoad
Matrix Partners and Lightspeed Venture Partners have invested $5 million in Series A funding for LimeRoad.com, a social commerce site aimed at women in India.
Motilal Oswal PE plans $59m impact investment fund
Motilal Oswal Private Equity plans to raise an impact investment fund with a corpus of INR2.5-3 billion ($47-59 million) that will target socially relevant businesses.
Aditya Birla PE invests $10m in Olive Bar & Kitchen
Aditya Birla Private Equity has invested $10 million in Olive Bar & Kitchen, a Mumbai-based hospitality firm that runs a chain of fine-dining restaurants across India.
Tech-focused US M&A advisor sets up in Seoul
J. Moore Partners, a technology-focused investment bank based in San Francisco, has opened an office in Seoul as part of plans to expand into Asia. It claims to be the first US technology M&A advisory firm to establish a presence in the city.
Jungle Ventures launches $10m 'super angel' fund
Jungle Ventures, a Singapore-based investment firm, has launched a new "super angel” fund, which has raised an initial $10 million to be invested in start-ups across Asia.
New Zealand, Taiwan ink $200m co-investment pact
New Zealand Venture Investment Fund (NZVIF) and Taiwan’s National Development Fund (NDF) have formed a co-investment partnership which aims to commit up to $200 million into venture capital funds in the two nations.
Australia's Kaz Capital to launch venture fund
Australian boutique financial advisor Kaz Capital is planning a venture fund that will support small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in need of expansion capital. The company claims to have received conditional regulatory approval to establish an...
PE-backed Samhi invests in Accor-owned Indian hotel chain
Samhi Investments has acquired a 60% stake in Barque Hotels, the company that owns 15 Formule 1 hotels in India, from French hospitality group Accor.
Panorama leads Series D round for Skyfire's Asia expansion
Panorama Capital has led a $10 million Series D round of funding for Skyfire, intended help the mobile video optimization and cloud solutions company expand in Asia.
Partners VC buys stake in Korea's Panax Etec
Partners Venture Capital has purchased a 10% stake in Panax Etec, a South Korean battery electrolyte manufacturer, for KRW10 billion ($9 million). The investment facilitates the partial exit of Samsung Venture Investment and Bokwang Investment.
500 Startups hires India investment professional
500 Startups, the US-based incubator founded by serial entrepreneur Dave McClure, has hired Pankaj Jain to head up its India operations. He was previously consulting for TLabs in New Delhi, focusing on deal sourcing and running the start-up accelerator...
Founder of Australia's Seek plans PE platform
Paul Bassat, co-founder of Australian job search site Seek, is looking to set up a private equity platform with Tony Holt, who recently left his position as a senior managing director with Macquarie Group in Hong Kong.