Asia

Peppermint Innovation Ltd (Peppermint), an Australia-based FinTech firm, announced Wednesday the company has been granted a license to operate as an electronic money issuer (EMI) by the Central Bank of the Philippines Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP). The EMI license authorises the company to deliver e-wallet services through its bizmoto mobile app…

Germany music entertainment firm SoundCloud announced Tuesday it has acquired Musiio, a Singapore-based music artificial intelligence (AI) firm. Musiio will amplify SoundCloud’s existing music intelligence capabilities and allow the company to further leverage its vast data to identify what’s next in music trends and talent.

Just nine months after launching, Indian quick commerce firm Zepto has announced its $200 million Series D fundraise, valuing the company at around $900 million. Y Combinator Continuity doubled down and led Zepto’s Series D, with new investor Kaiser Permanente joining in to back the company.

BarRaiser, an India-based artificial intelligence (AI)-powered smart interviewing platform, announced Monday that it has raised $4.2 million in seed financing. The seed funding round was led by 021 Capital and Global Founders Capital, with participation from other angel investors.

Geniemode, an India-based business to business (B2B) cross-border tech platform for lifestyle goods, said Friday it has scooped up $28 million Series B funding led by Tiger Global. Existing investor Info Edge Ventures, also doubled down in the round.

Animoca Brands, a Hong Kong-based company advancing digital property rights for gaming and the metaverse, announced Thursday that it has partnered Germany-based football media platform OneFootball and United States-based venture capital firm Liberty City Ventures to set up OneFootball Labs, which will enable clubs, leagues, federations and players to…

Coherent, a Hong Kong-based no-code software-as-a-service (SaaS) provider, announced Wednesday it has closed a $75 million Series B funding round led by Maverick Capital, including Maverick Ventures, with participation from Owl Rock, a Blue Owl division, GreatPoint Ventures, and existing investors Cathay Innovation and Franklin Templeton.

Neuron Mobility, a Singapore-based shared e-scooter and e-bike operator, announced Wednesday it has successfully raised $43.5 million in Series B funding, follows 19 months of significant growth and brings the company’s total funding to $77.7 million. The investment round was co-led by global venture firms GSR Ventures and Square Peg. Also joining the round…

Singapore algorithms e commerce firm Adgorithmics and South Korea blockchain platform Klaytn Foundation announced Thursday a partnership to utilize non-fungible tokens (NFTs) for an e-commerce incentive system and customer loyalty program through the MetaGachas platform.

United States-based MassMutual Ventures (MMV) announced Wednesday that its Asia-Pacific (APAC) and Europe team has launched a new fund of $300 million to invest in early and growth-stage companies in digital health, financial technology, enterprise software as a service (SaaS), and cybersecurity.