Venture
Japan's VC-backed Oncolys Pharma raises $64m in Tokyo IPO
Oncolys Pharma, a VC-backed developer of drugs targeting cancer and serious infectious diseases, saw its stock open at JPY3,500 per share - a 34.6% premium on the offering price - on its first day of trading in Tokyo. This followed a JPY6.6 billion ($64.4...
Matrix provides Series A for India traffic information portal
Matrix Partners India has provided a Series A round of funding for real-time traffic and travel information platform Birds Eye Systems. The size of the investment was not disclosed but the capital will be used to expand the company’s coverage from Mumbai,...
Horizon Ventures leads $15.2m Series B for Misfit Wearables
Hong Kong-based Horizon Ventures has led a $15.2 million Series B round for Misfit Wearables, the US start-up behind the physical activity monitor Shine. Existing investors – which include Founders Fund, Khosla Ventures, Norwest Venture Partners, OATV,...
Sequoia-backed Citrus Payment raises $5.5m in Series B funding
Citrus Payment Solutions has raised a $5.5 million Series B round from Japanese investors econtext Asia, an online payments company, and Beenos. Existing investor Sequoia Capital also participated in the round.
BootstrapLabs launches Korea accelerator
Silicon Valley-based accelerator program BootstrapLabs, and Coolidge Corner Investment (CCVC), a Korean technology venture firm, have together formed BootstrapAccelerator Korea, a Seoul-based six-month accelerator program.
Jafco Asia leads Series B round for US games developer
Japanese venture capital investor Jafco Asia has led a Series B round of funding for US games developer Playnery. The value of the transaction was not disclosed.
Online fashion retailers Zalora, The Iconic raise $112m
Rocket Internet’s Zalora Group has raised $112 million in funding from US-based Access Industries, Scopia Capital Management and other unnamed institutional investors. Southeast Asia-focused Zalora.com and Australia’s The Iconic are part of Zalora Group....
Japan's Ride On Express raises $23m in Tokyo IPO
Ride On Express, a Japanese food delivery franchise operator backed by Jafco Ventures, saw its stock open at JPY3105 per share - a 55% premium on the offering price - on its first day of trading. The company earlier raised JPY2.3 billion ($22 million)...
VCs to take Kingsoft across borders, platforms
Hong Kong-listed software developer Kingsoft is not in desperate need of capital. It posted a net profit of RMB466.4 million ($76.6 million) in 2012, up 39% year-on-year, and its cash reserves stood at RMB2.4 billion for the year. Furthermore, in July...
Asia Awards: VC Professional of the Year – Richard Liu
Richard Liu has spent 14 years investing in tech, media and telecom for Morningside Technologies. He has witnessed increasing competition, ups and downs in e-commerce, and the rise of the domestic super angel
Asia Awards: VC Deal of the Year – Tujia
Lightspeed China likes disruptive business models that build up traction online and then use the momentum to gain a foothold offline as well. This has worked to good effect with Meilele, an online furniture retailer that now has a network of 200 offline...
China Huace Media buys stakes in VC-backed Herun Media
Shenzhen-listed film and television producer Huace Media has picked up a 20% stake in Herun Media, a Beijing-based marketing specialist backed by several domestic VCs, for RMB104 million ($17 million).
Portea Medical raises $7.6m from Accel, Ventureast
Accel Partners and Ventureast have contributed INR480 million ($7.69 million) in Series A funding for Indian home healthcare provider Portea Medical.
Itochu, Mizuho back Japan restaurant finder app
Itochu Ventures and Mizuho Capital have led a JPY330 million ($3.2 million) Series B round of funding for Retty, the Japanese start-up behind the restaurant app of the same name.
Singapore's Coda Payments gets Series A round
Carrier billing provider Coda Payments has raised $2.3 million in Series A funding from GMO Global Payment Fund, Rakuten Ventures, CyberAgent Ventures, and return backers Golden Gate Ventures and Skype co-founder Toivo Annus.
Blackbird leads round for Australian bitcoin start-up
Blackbird Ventures has invested A$250,000 ($227,645) to lead a A$500,000 round of funding for Melbourne-based CoinJar, a bitcoin wallet and exchange provider. Angel investors in the round include RetailMeNot founders Guy King and Bevan Clark and game...
Highland leads Series A round in food ordering website
Highland Capital Partners has provided approximately $10 million in Series A funding to Etaoshi, a Chinese online food ordering and delivery platform. Several undisclosed domestic venture capital firms also participated in the round.
IvyCap leads $5m round for India's Aujas Networks
IvyCap Ventures has led a INR310 million ($5 million) round of funding for Aujas Networks, an information risk management (IRM) service provider. Existing investor IDG Ventures India, along with new entrant Rajasthan Venture Capital Fund (RVCF), also...
China's CBC invests in travel website Breadtrip
China Broadband Capital (CBC) has provided a Series B round of funding for Breadtrip.com, an online travel platform. The company has now raised about $10 million across two rounds.
India's Girnar Software raises $15m from Sequoia Capital
Sequoia Capital has invested $15 million in a first round of funding for Girnar Software, which owns the automotive marketplace Cardekho.com. The funds will be used to support the marketplace's expansion plans.
US retailer Target to launch India accelerator
Target plans to launch a corporate incubator in Bangalore in January 2014. The Target Accelerator Program will give Indian start-ups specializing in big data, content aggregation, mobility and search up to $30,000 in funding.
INCJ commits $100m to Global Brain Fund V
The government-backed Innovation Network Corporation of Japan (INCJ) will commit up to JPY10 billion ($98.7 million) to Global Brain No.5 Investment Limited Partnership, the latest vehicle launched by IT-focused VC Global Brain Corporation (GBC).
Sequoia leads $25m round for China online takeout service
Sequoia Capital China has led a $25 million Series C round of funding for ele.me, a Chinese food ordering service. This latest round - which also includes existing backer Matrix Partners - values the company approximately $100 million.
Northern Light backs Chinese analytics provider TalkingData
Northern Light Venture Capital has provided $10 million in Series A funding to TalkingData, a Chinese mobile data analytics provider. The company plans to use the new capital to enhance its product offerings in mobile gaming, advertising, e-commerce and...