Venture
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INCJ joins $4.3m round for Japan AI player
Innovation Network Corporation of Japan (INCJ) and Bank of Kochi have agreed to jointly invest JPY470 million ($4.3 million) in Japanese artificial intelligence (AI) technology developer Nextremer.
China B2B fabrics trading app Baibu secures $25m
Chinese VC firm Yunqi Partners has led a RMB165 million ($25 million) extended Series B round for Baibu, a textile and fabrics B2B trading platform.
Qiming leads $20m round for China cancer specialist
Qiming Venture Partners has led a $20 million round for New Horizon Health, a Chinese start-up that develops cancer screening technology, with participation from existing investors Legend Capital and SBCVC.
Deal focus: VCs to rebalance Indian shortcoming
Lifestyle changes due to economic development in India are impacting the country's disease patterns. Fidelity International is bringing much needed venture capital to a medical research space addressing the issue
SparkLabs launches Taiwan accelerator
US and Korea-based venture capital firm SparkLabs Global Ventures has launched an accelerator program in Taiwan that will focus on internationalizing local technology start-ups.
WeWork to acquire Singapore's VC-backed Spacemob
US-based co-working space operator WeWork plans to acquire Singapore-based counterpart Spacemob for an undisclosed sum. The capital will come from a $500 million investment pool established to fuel WeWork's expansion in Southeast Asia and South Korea.
M17 Entertainment gets $40m Series A round
M17 Entertainment, a Taiwan and Singapore-based media streaming company, has raised a $40 million Series A funding round led by Japan’s Infinity Venture Partners.
Alibaba fund invests in Hong Kong bike-sharing service
Hong Kong bike-sharing start-up Gobee Bike has raised a $9 million Series A round from investors including the Alibaba Group’s Hong Kong Entrepreneurs Fund.
Alibaba's Tmall leads $300m round for PE-backed Yiguo
Tmall, Alibaba Group’s B2C e-commerce unit, has led a $300 million Series D round for Yiguo.com, a PE-backed Chinese grocery shopping platform. This is the fourth time an Alibaba entity has invested in the company.
India's VC-backed Mobikwik attracts $35m investment
Indian non-banking financial company (NBFC) Bajaj Finance has agreed to invest about INR2.2 billion ($35.3 million) in Mobikwik, a domestic mobile wallet developer backed by a number of venture capital firms including Sequoia Capital.
Japan's KDDI to acquire VC-backed Soracom
Soracom, a Japanese internet of things (IoT) communications platform that has several VC backers, will be acquired by domestic telecom operator KDDI Corporation.
Goldman backs China food delivery platform Meican
Goldman Sachs Investment Partners has participated in a Series D round of funding for Meican.com, a Chinese online food delivery services platform that targets the corporate market.
Blue Lake reaches $120m first close on China VC fund
Blue Lake Capital, a China-focused VC firm led by two former GGV Capital and Sequoia Capital executives, has reached a first close of more than $120 million on its second early-stage fund. The full target is $200 million.
Eight Roads, F-Prime invest $25m in India's PlasmaGen
Indian biopharmaceuticals company PlasmaGen BioSciences has raised a $25 million funding round led by Eight Roads Ventures.
China’s Xiaomi confirms $1b debt deal
Chinese PE-backed smart phone maker Xiaomi has raised a new $1 billion loan to support global expansion and the build-out of its offline retail network.
Deal focus: VCs see potential in karaoke booths
Telephone booth-sized karaoke units in shopping malls are the latest penchant among China's emerging middle-class millennials. A group of VCs has invested $15 million in MiniKTV to support a nationwide roll-out
Indian healthcare services platform receives $15m Series C
Indian healthcare services platform operator 1mg Technologies has secured a $15 million Series C round led by HBM Healthcare Investments.
IDG co-leads round for China security software developer
IDG Capital and CASH Capital, the VC arm of the state-owned Chinese Academy of Sciences Holdings, has co-led a RMB100 million ($15 million) Series B round for Hansight, a Beijing-based cybersecurity company.
China-based English language learning app secures Series C
CMC Capital Partners and Wu Capital – a Beijing-based family office for Longfor Properties – have jointly led a Series B round of funding for Liulishuo, a language learning app powered by artificial intelligence (AI).
Chinese financial tech firm Qiancheng gets $30m
Qiancheng Technology, a Chinese financial technology company that provides micro-lending services, has raised a RMB200 million ($30 million) Series B round of funding from existing investors Tiantu Capital and U51.com, a VC-backed credit card management...
Goldman, Accel invest $25m in India's FabHotels
FabHotels, an Indian technology-enabled budget hotel chain, has raised a $25 million Series B round led by Goldman Sachs, with participation by existing investor Accel Partners.
China's VC-backed DotC United raises $350m Series B
Chinese mobile app publisher and developer DotC United, which is backed by several VC investors, has raised a Series B round of funding worth $350 million.
Singapore tech group launches $150m VC fund, incubator
Singapore-based industrial technology company ST Engineering has launched a $150 million venture capital unit and associated start-up incubator.
China project funds: Cut to fit
Project funds have become popular in China on the back of increased demand for PE exposure from corporates and high net worth individuals. It remains to be seen if they have true staying power