Venture
Israeli Rainbow Medical raises $25m from Chinese investors
Rainbow Medical, an Israeli medical investment firm, has raised $25 million from a group of Chinese investors including Ping An Insurance and telecom giant ZTE Corporation,financial company Yongjin Group and undisclosed Chinese venture capital funds....
China's two largest VC-backed taxi-booking apps to merge
Didi Dache and Kuaidi Dache, China's two largest venture capital-backed taxi-booking app start-ups, are planning to merge to create one of the largest companies of its kind in the world.
Australia drafts new rules for VC investor visa scheme
The Australian government plans to change the current rules for its Significant Investor Visa (SIV) program as part of efforts to boost the availability of capital for local start-ups.
Sequoia, Matrix commit $30m to Indian doctor search site
Sequoia Capital India and Matrix Partners have invested $30 million in a Series B round of funding for Practo Technologies, an Indian start-up that provides a search portal matching patients and doctors.
NSI Ventures leads round for Singapore insurance marketplace
NSI Ventures, the VC unit of Northstar Group, has led Series A round of funding worth $8 million for Asian insurance and wellness marketplace CXA, alongside consumer and technology fund F&H and healthcare investor BioVeda.
YJ Capital invests $3.4m in Japanese online laundry service
WhitePlus - the Japanese start-up behind an online laundry service called Lenet - has managed to raise JPY408 million ($3.4 million) from Yahoo! Japan's corporate investment arm, YJ Capital.
Japanese app monetization platform raises $36m Series C round
Metaps, a Japanese start-up that provides an app monetization platform using artificial intelligence (AI), has raised a $36 million Series C round of funding.
KIP leads $10m Series A round for China cosmetics review app
Korean Investment Partners (KIP), South Korea’s biggest venture capital firm, has led a $10 million Series A round of investment for Cosmeapp, a Chinese mobile app that provides cosmetics reviews.
Singapore start-ups: Another option
The Singapore Exchange and Clearbridge Accelerator are launching a capital-raising platform for Asian start-ups. Does it represent a much-needed stepping stone between private and public markets?
China B2B platform targets supply chain disruption
Chinese B2B trading platforms Zhaogang.com and Zhaosuliao.com share more than just a desire to bring about technology-enabled disruption of inefficient offline industry supply chains. They also have several backers in common: IDG Capital Partners, Matrix...
Australian biotech start-up raises $20m Series B round
Vaxxas, an Australian biotechnology start-up developing a novel vaccination platform, has raised a A$25 million ($20 million) Series B round of funding from a group of new and existing investors led by OneVentures.
SAIF, Innovation Works back China healthcare start-up
SAIF Partners and Innovation Works have provided a Series A round of funding for Beijing Dnurse Technology, a Chinese company that develops technology used to track sugar levels in the body.
INCJ to invest up to $27m in Japan DNA research start-up
The government-backed Innovation Network Corporation of Japan (INCJ) will invest up to JPY3.3 billion ($27 million) in Quantum Biosystem (QB), a VC-backed Japanese start-up that develops instruments used to automate the DNA sequencing process.
Japan messaging app Line launches $42m investment fund
Japanese messaging app developer Line Corporation has launched a JPY5 billion ($42 million) investment fund to invest in start-ups.
UK's Amadeus picks Bhavani Rana to lead new India office
UK tech-focused VC firm Amadeus Capital Partners hired Intel Capital's Bhavanipratap (Bhavani) Rana as partner and head of India operations as it opens a new office in Bangalore.
Lightbox leads $20m round for India QSR chain
Lightbox Ventures has led a $20 million Series B round of funding for Faaso's Food Service, a tech-enabled quick-service restaurant (QSR) chain based in India.
India mobile recharge platform FreeCharge raises $80m
Two hedge funds, San Francisco-based Valiant Capital Management and Hong Kong’s Tybourne Capital Management, have participated in an $80 million Series C round for Indian mobile top-up platform FreeCharge.
Renren backs China used car platform Cheyipai
Chinese social networking platform Renren has led $110 million Series D round of funding for Cheyipai, a Chinese second-hand car trading platform.
Sequoia leads $60m round for China construction site
Sequoia Capital has led a $60 million funding round for Wangzhu Corporation, an online construction services provider controlled by Chinese property developer Greentown Group.
Japanese mobile games developer MyNet raises $6.2m
MyNet, a Japanese mobile games developer, has raised JPY730 million ($6.2 million) from a slew of investors including B Dash Ventures, SMBC Venture Capital, Shinsei Corporate Investment, and Sumitomo Mitsui Bank.
Alipay confirms investment in India's VC-backed One97
Ant Financial Service Group, Alibaba Group’s online financial service affiliate, has agreed to acquire a 25% stake in Indian VC-backed mobile internet services provider One97 Communication.
DBS launches Singapore venture debt program
DBS Bank has launched a venture debt program to support Singapore start-ups, presenting a capital-raising channel that involves little or no dilution of equity.
GGV leads $50m round for China credit card management app
GGV Capital has led a $50 million Series B round of funding for 51Zhangdan, a Chinese mobile app that helps manage credit card spending.
Australia's DesignCrowd wins backing from AirTree Ventures
DesignCrowd, an Australia-based crowdsourcing platform used to source designs from hundreds of freelance designers, has received A$6 million ($4.6 million) in a Series B funding round led by AirTree Ventures.