Venture
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Australia’s Looop raises $2m
Looop, an Australian online learning platform for employees, has raised a $2 million seed round from an undisclosed education investor.
IvyCap, IDG invest in Indian online apparel retailer eShakti
IvyCap Ventures and IDG Ventures India (IDGVI) have participated in a undisclosed Series B round investment for India's eShakti.com, an online women's apparel retailer.
Baidu backs China online learning site SmartStudy
Chinese internet giant Baidu has invested $10.6 million in a Series A round of funding for Smart SmartStudy.com, an online education platform.
Xiaomi, Shunwei lead $37m round for China P2P lending site Jimubox
Chinese smart phone maker Xiaomi and Shunwei Capital Partners, both founded by Chinese angel investor Lei Jun, have jointly led a $37.2 million Series B round of funding for Jimubox, a peer-to-peer (P2P) lending start-up in China.
VCs back Zai Lab drug development model
Few VC firms are keen to invest in China's early-stage drug discovery space because the development cycle is long and risky. Taking a new drug from clinical testing to commercialization often takes 7-10 years and the success rate in China is less than...
Portfolio: YPX and China casual dining
YPX Cayman was born out of an idea for a tech-style start-up in China's casual dining space. Backed by a string of investors, the firm is making headway with Cloud 9 and preparing to launch new concepts
GenNext Ventures, Microsoft India launch tech accelerator
GenNext Ventures, the VC arm of Reliance Industries, has tied up with Microsoft Ventures India to launch an accelerator program, with a view to catalyzing the Indian technology start-up ecosystem.
Japan’s Relux raises $3.1m from Recruit Holdings, others
Japanese luxury hotel booking site Relux has raised JPY330 million ($3.1 million) from Recruit Holdings and other undisclosed investors.
Gobi invests in China second-hand car trading site Mychebao
Gobi Partners has invested in a Series A round of funding for Mychebao.com, a Chinese online trading platform for second-hand cars.
Rebright leads $1m seed round for Singapore’s Smove
Japanese seed investor Rebright Partners has led a $1.1 million funding round for Clean Mobility Singapore, the Singapore-based start-up behind car rental service Smove, with participation from 500 Startups and Wavemaker Pacific.
Foxconn invests $2m in Taiwan’s AirSig
Electronics manufacturer Foxconn Technology Group has invested $2 million for a 10% stake in AirSig, a Taiwan-based mobile authentication start-up.
Rocket, Kinnevik to form emerging market fashion e-commerce giant
German start-up incubator Rocket Internet and Investment AB Kinnevik, Rocket's biggest backer, are to consolidate five emerging market fashion e-commerce brands into a single global company with a combined valuation of EUR2.7 billion ($3.5 billion).
Shunwei, Angelvest back English evaluation firm Vericant
Shunwei Capital Partners and Anglevest have led a Series A round of funding for Vericant, a Chinese company that provides a third-party English evaluation services to North American universities.
VCs take part in $2.1m round for Japan's Innova
Nippon Venture Capital, Draper Nexus and strategic investor Salesforce.com have together invested JPY220 million ($2.1 million) on Tokyo-based search engine optimization (SEO) and content marketing agency Innova.
Singapore Red Dot Payment complete Series A round
Wavemaker Pacific and GMO Global Payment Fund have taken part in a Series A round of funding for Singapore's Red Dot Payment, an online payment solutions provider. The financial details were not disclosed.
H&Q leads $16.7m round for cloud insurance software firm
H&Q Asia Pacific has led a $16.7 million Series A round for US cloud insurance software provider One Inc.; Camp One Ventures and AGI Partners also took part in the round.
Tencent invests $20m in Korea’s PATI Games
China’s Tencent Holdings has invested KRW20 billion ($20 million) in Korean mobile game developer PATI Games.
Korea VC: Seoul-searching
The South Korean start-up community is flourishing as early-stage investors flock to the country in search of opportunities. What is driving this renewed interest and can it last?
VC-backed Xunlei to buy storage business from Kingsoft
Xunlei, a Chinese file-sharing service backed by a string of VC firms, will pay $33 million to acquire a personal storage business unit owned by Kingsoft Corporation.
China's Baidu backs Finland-based indoor mapping start-up
Chinese internet giant Baidu has agreed to invest $10 million in IndoorAtlas, a VC-backed Finnish software developer that specializes in indoor mapping.
Chengwei invests $20m in Chinese drone manufacturer
Chengwei Capital Partners has invested $20 million in a Series A round of funding for XAircraft Aerial Solutions, a Chinese multi-rotor and drone maker.
Fosun VC provides Series B for Chinese personal finance app
Fosun Venture Capital Investment, a VC arm of Fosun Group, has invested in a Series B round of funding for Feidee.com, Beijing-based personal finance management website, with participation from existing investor Sequoia Capital.
Banyan Capital invests $10m in Chinese air purifier firm
Banyan Capital has committed $10 million in Series A funding to Three Daddies, a Chinese air purifier maker.
Taiwan's Acer to launch $34m VC fund
Taiwanese computer maker Acer has established a NT$1 billion ($33.5 million) venture capital fund to invest in start-ups, with a view to strengthening the group’s technology development as well as generating financial returns.