Venture
SAIF, Kalaari provide Series A round for Urban Ladder
Indian online furniture store Urban Ladder has raised $5 million from SAIF Partners and return backer Kalaari Capital in a Series A round.
Vision Knight, Softbank China back tourism site 8trip
Vision Knight Capital has led a RMB150 million ($25 million) round of funding for 8trip, a Chinese B2B online travel website. SoftBank China Venture Capital (SBCVC) also participated in the round.
SoftBank China invests in P2P lending site Yooli.com
Chinese peer-to-peer financing platform Yooli.com has received $10 million in Series A funding from Softbank China Capital. The platform launched in February but already has nearly 100,000 registered users and has transacted more than RMB264 million ($43...
Matrix, Tiger Global back Indian cab rental firm Olacabs
Olacabs has received a Series B round of funding from Matrix Partners India and existing investor Tiger Global Management, reportedly worth $20 million.
Singapore's itBit raises capital for Bitcoin exchange
Canaan Partners and RRE Ventures have co-led a $3.25 million round of funding for Singapore-headquartered Bitcoin exchange itBit. Liberty City Ventures, as well angel investors such as The Jordan Company’s Jay W. Jordan II and Beluga co-founder Ben Davenport...
China online video: Big fish, small fish
As Chinese online video consumers switch to mobile platforms, venture capital investors are looking for ways to ride the wave – but they must do it with one eye on strategic players also entering the space
Profile: Helion Venture Partners' Sanjeev Aggarwal
Sanjeev Aggarwal, co-founder of Helion Venture Partners, has been at the vanguard of several pivotal developments in India’s tech industry, from the birth of BPO to the flowering of e-commerce
Gobi backs China travel site Yododo
Gobi Partners has committed $4 million in Series A financing to Yododo.com, a Chinese hostel booking and travel site.
VC fundraising: Where angels flock
Venture capital fundraising has become difficult for all but the select few in Asia as LPs concentrate their resources on established names. Where will replacement investors come from?
Baidu to invest in VC-backed handset manufacturer Digione
Chinese search engine giant Baidu has invested in Digione, a Shenzhen-based handset manufacturer. Financial terms were not disclosed.
Google launches incubation program in Hong Kong
Google has partnered with The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) to launch a one-year incubation program to help students and young entrepreneurs in Hong Kong build their own businesses.
Globis backs online stock photo site Pixta
Globis Capital Partners has invested JPY70 million ($700,000) in Pixta, the Japanese company behind stock photo and online storage service site Pixtastock.com.
Qunar shares nearly double on NASDAQ debut
Qunar, a Chinese-travel website majority-owned by internet search giant Baidu, saw its stock nearly double on the first day of trading on NASDAQ on Friday. It betters the 42% gain posted by VC-backed Chinese classifieds website 58.com a day earlier.
Kaiwu nears $100m mark on debut China VC fund
Kaiwu Walden Capital, a China-based early-stage venture capital firm, has so far raised $98 million for its debut fund after just over one year in the market.
Baidu, VC-owned Qunar ups US IPO target
Qunar, a Chinese-travel website majority-owned by internet search giant Baidu, has increased the indicative price range for its forthcoming IPO and is now expected raise as much as $155.4 million.
New Zealand, Taiwan cross-border fund ups target to $70m
A cross-border fund launched by New Zealand-based Pan Pacific Capital and Taiwan's state-run Institute for Information Industry (III) has raised its target to $70 million and is nearing a first close.
Matrix provides Series A for Shotformats Digital Works
Matrix Partners India has provided a Series A round of funding for Shotformats Digital Works, a distribution and digital entertainment company. Financial terms were undisclosed.
Sequoia leads $16m investment in Cloudnine hospital chain
Sequoia Capital has led INR1 billion ($16.3 million) investment into Bangalore-based infant and maternity care hospital chain Cloudnine. Existing investor Matrix Partners also participated in the round.
Vision Knight teams up with strategics to tap China online education
Vision Knight Capital - the private equity firm set up by former Alibaba CEO David Wei - has partnered with games developer NetDragon Websoft and a unit of electronics maker Hon Hai Precision Industry to launch a $33 million online education venture....
Vietnam government launches 'Silicon Valley Project'
Vietnam’s Ministry of Science and Technology will build two accelerators under its Silicon Valley Project for technology commercialization - turning research into practical applications.
Chinese digital magazine Viva receives $20m round
Viva, a Chinese digital magazine operator, has received a $20 million Series C round of financing from an undisclosed French investment institution. Minhong Yu, founder of Chinese education provider New Oriental, also participated in the round.
Fosun VC, ChinaRock back Shijiebang Series A round
Fosun Venture Capital Investment, Fosun Group’s VC arm, and US-based ChinaRock Capital Management have invested in a Series A round of financing for online travel site Shijiebang. Angel investor Jerry Yang, co-founder and former CEO of Yahoo, also participated...
Hony, Suning to take controlling stake in China's PPTV for $420m
Hony Capital and home appliance retailer Suning Commerce - also one of the PE firm's portfolio companies - will buy a controlling interest in Chinese online TV provider PPTV for $420 million. The deal, which values PPTV at approximately $568 million,...
CDH leads $20m round for movie ticket site Gewara.com
Existing investor CDH Investments has led a $20 million round of funding for Gewara.com, a Shanghai-based online movie ticket website.