After a disastrous start to the new year, fundraising by Indian startups surged to $1.4 billion on the back of a few mega-deals in March, giving hopes of a revival in fortunes.
However, it seems to have been just a blip in the unusually prolonged tech winter as funding for Indian startups fell to $1 billion in April, down 24% over March 2023 and 66% over April 2022. Will it be any different for Southeast Asia and China? Watch out for our deal reviews next week.
Moving on to the other headlines of the week…
The exclusives
Singapore-based climate investor TRIREC is closing its second fund at around $80 million, which is above its $75 million initial target. It is also raising a new fund, said its founder & managing partner Melvyn Yeo.
Indonesian healthtech startup Halodoc is said to be closing a new funding round worth over $50 million. The round will most likely be led by the local conglomerate and existing investor PT Astra International Tbk.
Southeast Asian healthtech company Good Doctor Technology is said to be raising up to $15 million in a new funding round, according to sources privy to the development.
Vietnam-based omni channel sales and management platform Sapo Technology is in talks to raise $20 million in a Series A funding round, founder and CEO Tran Trong Tuyen said.
Indonesian coffee chain and unicorn Kopi Kenangan, which expanded to Malaysia late last year, plans to further widen its geographical footprint starting next year. It may also consider a fresh round of fundraising to fuel the dream, co-founder and CEO Edward Tirtanata said.
LP-GP news
Although state-backed limited partners are reshaping China’s PE-VC landscape, contributing to 26.9% of the total RMB fundraising in 2022, not all fund managers are enthusiastic about taking on government capital after weighing the pros and cons.
Indian private equity (PE) firm Multiples Alternate Asset Management is looking to broaden its investment horizon and tap opportunities in the country’s sunrise green economy sector as it makes the first close of its fourth fund at $640 million, founder, MD & CEO Renuka Ramnath said.
Centrum Alternatives is looking to launch its second private credit fund at a time when volatility in the equity markets, coupled with a high interest rate environment, is making it difficult for companies in India to raise capital.
Private equity giant KKR has increased its stake in Japanese supermarket chain Seiyu to 85% from 65% by buying out Rakuten Group‘s stake in the company, per an announcement. The investment is being made out of its Asian Fund IV.
Deal counter
Hong Kong-listed real estate giant ESR has officially expanded into Thailand with the opening of a new office, as it looks to invest about $235 million to develop two logistics and industrial parks in the country.
Grab-and-go coffee chain Flash Coffee has raised a total of $50 million in its extended Series B funding round anchored by US venture capital firm White Star Capital.
DEG, the investment arm of German state-owned development bank KfW, has committed to invest $8 million in Indonesian biopharma startup Etana in exchange for a 3% stake in the company.
World Bank Group member International Finance Corporation (IFC) is considering a proposal to invest up to $113 million in ALBA Group Asia‘s unit, according to a disclosure.
Singaporean film and television content rights marketplace Allrites Holdings has agreed to go public in the US through a merger with blank cheque company Aura FAT Projects Acquisitions Corp.
Vietnamese edtech startup TEKY Alpha JSC has raised $5 million in funding from Sweef Capital, marking the Singapore-based impact investor’s first investment from its Southeast Asia Women’s Economic Empowerment Fund.
Singapore-based venture debt firm Mars Growth Capital is launching two new debt funds that will provide financing to Japanese and European startups.
Big Idea Ventures, the US- and Singapore-based food tech investor backed by Temasek, has hit the market to raise its second alternative protein fund, according to a US SEC filing.
Indonesian edtech company Ruangguru has acquired the Vietnamese online learning platform Mclass.
Indonesia-listed PT Global Digital Niaga Tbk, an entity that includes the e-commerce firm Blibli, online travel agency Tiket.com, and supermarket chain Ranch Market, plans to issue 4 billion new shares, amounting to 3.38% of the company, in a private placement.
Vietnamese automobile manufacturer VinFast has announced a business combination agreement with a special purpose acquisition company, Black Spade Acquisition Co, to go public in the US.
Singapore-based commerce enablement company AnyMind Group has made its first acquisition after its listing on the Tokyo Stock Exchange Growth Market in March.
India updates
Indian edtech firm BYJU’S has closed $250 million in fresh funding from US-based fund manager Davidson Kempner Capital Management and is in talks to close another $750 million by the end of the month, a source familiar with the matter told DealStreetAsia.
Indian early-stage venture capital investor 3one4 Capital has raised $200 million for its fourth fund to back startups in sectors including consumer internet, SaaS, and fintech.
IFC is considering an investment of up to $150 million in India Grid Trust, India’s first listed power transmission infrastructure investment trust.
Stride Ventures, which has backed the likes of HealthifyMe and Mensa Brands, has hit the first close of its third venture debt fund at $100 million with a target to finally close it at $200 million.
US-based asset manager Invesco has marked down the valuation of its stake in Indian food delivery giant Swiggy to about $5.5 billion from $10.7 billion earlier.
Mankind Pharma, the maker of Manforce brand condoms and pregnancy test kits, rallied 32% on its debut on the Indian stock exchange, setting the stage for other IPO hopefuls in an otherwise muted public market this year.
Online math tutoring platform Cuemath, backed by the likes of Sequoia and Google’s CapitalG, is laying off around 100 employees across teams. The move coincides with founder Manan Khurma returning as the chief executive officer to run the company’s day-to-day affairs.
US fund manager Vanguard Group has slashed the valuation of Indian ride-hailing startup Ola by 35% from $7.4 billion to $4.8 billion.
Chinese whispers
Alibaba‘s logistics arm Cainiao aims to raise up to $2 billion via a listing in Hong Kong likely early next year, bolstering hopes for a capital markets revival in the Asian financial hub, Reuters reported.
ProLogium Technology Co, a Taiwanese manufacturer of solid-state batteries for electric vehicles, is looking at raising up to $300 million in fresh funding at a valuation of about $2 billion.
Shanghai-based construction services provider Horizon Construction Development Ltd on Friday filed for an IPO, aiming to raise up to $223 million in a Hong Kong listing by May 25.
Autonomous driving software provider Mushroom Chelian Information Technology has bagged $83.9 million in a Series C2 round.
Cullgen, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, has bagged a total of $40 million in a Series C round.
Long reads
The rapid rise of pay later and electronic money (e-money) services has had an unlikely fallout for Indonesia’s credit card industry, which has remained almost stagnant in the past few years.
Nearly half of all acquisitions that have ever taken place in the Indian edtech sector were sealed in 2021 and 2022, as consolidation became a key growth strategy for startups in the sector, shows data compiled by DealStreetAsia and Tracxn.
SquareX’s efforts to combat cyber threats in an unconventional way got the attention of venture capital investor Sequoia Capital Southeast Asia, which anchored the startup’s $6 million seed funding. Following the funding, the company has emerged from stealth mode, founder Vivek Ramachandran told DealStreetAsia in a candid chat.
GC Ventures, the corporate venture capital arm of Bangkok-listed petrochemical company PTT Global Chemical, is planning to invest in advanced petrochemical technology startups that have decarbonisation capabilities, investment manager Tas Pojanavaraphan said in an interview.
