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Binance partners with South Korean entertainment firm YG Entertainment to develop metaverse, NFT and gaming opportunities

Binance has partnered with YG Entertainment (YG) to develop metaverse, non-fungible token (NFT) and gaming opportunities. As part of the strategic partnership, Binance and YG will cooperate on a range of blockchain projects, including collaborations in the NFT space. Binance will provide the NFT platform and technology infrastructure while YG will supply…

Indian payment platform Razorpay buys majority stake in Malaysian fintech firm Curlec

Razorpay announced Tuesday its first international expansion into South-East Asia with the acquisition of a majority stake in Curlec for an undisclosed amount. This marks Razorpay’s fourth acquisition overall and its first in international waters, taking one step closer to becoming a fintech leader in emerging markets.

Australian mobile gaming firm iCandy buys 51 percent stake in Southeast Asian game developer Storms for $5.7M

iCandy Interactive Limited (iCandy) is acquiring 51 percent stake in Digital Games International Pte. Ltd. (Storms) for A$8 million ($5.69 million), which will be settled via the issuance of new fully paid ordinary shares of iCandy. The acquisition of Storms will allow iCandy to leverage its distribution network to further target a number of markets in Asia…

Vietnamese investing app Infina closes $6M in seed funding from Sequoia India’s Surge, Y Combinator, Saison Capital and more

Infina has closed $6 million in seed funding from investors such as Sequoia Capital India’s Surge, Y Combinator, Saison Capital, Starling Ventures, Alpha JWC, and AppWorks. Additional investors who have backed Robinhood, Coinbase, and similar models in other markets also participated in the funding.

Indian Ethereum scaling platform Polygon raises $450M led by Sequoia Capital India

Polygon has raised about $450 million through a private sale of its native MATIC token in a funding round led by Sequoia Capital India. The round also saw the participation from SoftBank Vision Fund 2, Galaxy Digital, Galaxy Interactive, Tiger Global, Republic Capital and prominent investors like Alan Howard (Co-Founder, Brevan Howard) and Kevin O’Leary…

Japanese VC firm Genesia Ventures raises $90M in first close of third fund to invest in Japan, SE Asia

Genesia Ventures announced the first close of its new fund, Genesia Venture Fund 3 Investment Limited Partnership, with a total amount of approximately $90 million. Similar to the first and second funds, the third fund is focused on investments in pre-seed and seed stage startups in Japan and Southeast Asia (SEA),

Indonesian online grocery platform Happy Fresh launches HappyFresh Supermarket

Happy Fresh has launched HappyFresh Supermarket to extend fresh and dry grocery accessibility by significantly growing its dark store presence in the Southeast Asian region. It aims to provide an easy and convenient online grocery shopping experience, with high-quality and freshly handpicked products brought right to their customers’ doorsteps with free…

Singaporean construction management platform Hubble raises $8.5M Series B funding

Hubble Pte Ltd has concluded its Series B funding round with S$11.35 million ($8.45 million) of investment. The round brings new investors to the table, such as Singapore and Australia’s Taronga Ventures, Singapore’s Kajima Ventures and Singapore’s Seeds Capital, to participate alongside existing investors OSK Capital Partners of Malaysia and…