Asia

Japan’s chat commerce firm Zeals raises $38.77M funding led by JIC Venture Growth Investments

Zeals Co., Ltd. (Zeals), a Japan-based Chat Commerce provider, announced Thursday that it has raised a total of ¥5 billion ($38.77 million) in funding.JIC Venture Growth Investments led the ¥3.5 billion ($27.14 million) Series E round with participation from Z Venture Capital, a venture investment arm of Z Holdings, Japan Post Capital, and Salesforce…

Singapore’s GIC leads $170M Series F financing in US blockchain data platform Chainalysis

Chainalysis, a United States-based blockchain data platform, announced Thursday a $170 million Series F financing led by GIC, Singapore's sovereign wealth fund, bringing its valuation to $8.6 billion. Previous investors Accel, Blackstone, Dragoneer, and FundersClub increased their investment in the company, and the Bank of New York Mellon (BNY Melon) and…

India’s Ather Energy raises $128M Series E round led by Strategic Opportunities Fund and Hero Moto

Ather Energy, an India-based electric two-wheeler company, announced Thursday the completion of its Series E round of funding with signing of investment agreements amounting to $128 million with National Investment and Infrastructure Fund Limited’s (NIIFL) Strategic Opportunities Fund (SOF), and Hero MotoCorp.

Hong Kong’s Gusto Collective completes seed plus financing round of $11M

Gusto Collective, Hong Kong-based BrandTech holding company, said Thursday it has raised $ 11 million in its seed plus funding round led by Animoca Brands and Gaw Capital. The oversubscribed round also received participation from BlackPine, YCI Limited, and several existing shareholders including ClearVue Partners. With the completion of this round, the…

SC Ventures and SBI Holdings sign MOU to speed up portfolio expansion and build ecosystems

SC Ventures, Standard Chartered’s innovation, fintech investment and ventures arm, announced that it had entered into a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with SBI Holdings, Inc. SC Ventures aims to expand their portfolio at a business and geographic level and to explore new ecosystems through this partnership.

Taiwan’s Gogoro to launch battery swapping platform & smartscooters in Israel

Gogoro Inc., a Taiwan-based battery swapping ecosystems provider, announced Thursday it was partnering with Israeli two-wheel vehicle distributor Metro Motor and Israeli gas and energy company Paz Group to launch its battery swapping platform and smartscooters in the Tel Aviv metropolitan area this summer and other cities in Israel in the future.

South Korea’s oHouse raises $182M Series D funding from SoftBank Ventures Asia and others

oHouse, a South Korean home furnishing and remodeling unicorn, announced Friday that it has raised $182 million Series D funding from prominent global investors to power the global growth of its groundbreaking lifestyle platform. The funding came investors including SoftBank Ventures Asia, BRV Capital Management, Vertex Growth which is anchored by…

SoftBank Ventures Asia leads South Korean Seadronix’s $5.8M new funding round

SoftBank Ventures Asia, the early stage venture capital arm of Japanese conglomerate SoftBank Group, announced Tuesday its participation in a $5.8 million new funding round of Seadronix, a next-generation, artificial intelligence (AI)-powered solution for the maritime industry that develops autonomous navigation and assistant systems in South Korea.

The K-Startup Grand Challenge 2022 opens its doors to Southeast Asia, Australia & New Zealand

Applications opened on Apr 15, 2022 and will close on May 31, 2022 for startups keen on the opportunity to work and build a strong foundation in South Korea.

Airwallex rolls out more global payments services in Singapore with virtual business cards and card expenses launch

After officially entering the Singapore market in January, global fintech firm Airwallex continues to progressively roll out key offerings in its global payments suite with Tuesday’s launch of its Airwallex Borderless Card and integrated expense management solution.