TVM Capital Healthcare invests in Alina Vision
TVM Capital Healthcare, a healthcare-focused growth-stage investment firm, has announced the closing of an equity investment round in Alina Vision, an eye care business currently operating two hospitals in Vietnam. TVM Capital joined forces with existing investors The Fred Hollows Foundation and Rohto Pharmaceutical for this investment.
Established in 2018 by The Fred Hollows Foundation, an international development organization, Alina Vision has been receiving consistent support from both the foundation and Rohto to meet the increasing demand for cataract surgeries.
In addition to the equity investment, TVM Capital will extend its involvement in this deal by providing Alina Vision with access to operational, clinical, training, and management resources.
Social commerce platform Toki raises USD 1.8 million in pre-seed round
Toki, a collectibles-focused social commerce platform, has raised USD 1.8 million in a pre-seed funding round from Kaya Founders and Foxmont Capital Partners.
Additional contributors to this round include Anthony Oundjian (BGC Philippines), Brian Cu (SariSuki), and Ernest Cu (Globe), among others. Notably, Bigboy Cheng, a prominent Southeast Asian collector of sneakers, toys, and art, has also joined as an investor in Toki.
“The sizable and growing collectibles market in Southeast Asia represents an immense opportunity, bolstered by developments in adjacent industries like e-commerce and financial technology. … We believe that what [Frederic Levy] and his team are building at Toki can deliver something truly innovative to the social commerce category while servicing all forms of collectors across the region,” said Paulo Campos, founding managing general partner at Kaya Partners.
HashKey Group completes Series A round
HashKey Group, a digital asset financial services company, has completed its Series A funding round, bagging close to USD 100 million at a pre-money valuation surpassing USD 1.2 billion.
This round saw the participation of both new and existing investors, including prominent Web3 institutions and strategic partners of the company. HashKey did not disclose the names of the investors for this round.
According to HashKey’s statement, it will utilize the capital to consolidate its Web3 ecosystem, accelerating the diversification of products offered by its licensed business in Hong Kong, and driving compliance- and innovation-related developments globally.
Roojai acquires Indonesian insurance broker Lifepal
The Thai online insurance company has announced its acquisition of Lifepal, an online insurance broker in Indonesia.
According to Roojai’s statement, Lifepal had been looking for a new investor with deep insurance expertise and “found the perfect match” with Roojai. Following this acquisition, Lifepal will provide Roojai access to ostensibly the largest online distribution channel for insurance in Indonesia, while tapping into Roojai’s capabilities in the areas of pricing, underwriting, customer experience, and more.
Lifepal’s operations in Indonesia will remain independent from Roojai and the entity will continue to deliver online comparison services for car and health insurance.
OKX Ventures leads strategic investment in BeWater
BeWater, a Web3 venture studio and developer platform, has secured an undisclosed amount of strategic investment from OKX Ventures, the investment arm of crypto exchange and Web3 technology company OKX.
“BeWater’s vision aligns perfectly with ours, as it seeks to capture the progress achieved through the experience of building from scratch. Together, we aim to advance the widespread adoption of Web3 technology, enhance practical use cases, and deepen engagement in Web3 from Web2,” said Dora Yue, founder of OKX Ventures.
OKX Ventures has also recently backed Polyhedra Network, a developer of zero-knowledge proof (ZKP) protocols.
Goodnotes completes acquisition of Dropthebit
Goodnotes, a digital paper company, has acquired Dropthebit, the company behind Traw, an artificial intelligence-based service that automatically organizes meeting, lecture, and video content into video- or text-based summaries.
Following this acquisition, Goodnotes will enhance and integrate Traw’s generative AI technology into its platform.
This deal marks Goodnotes’ inaugural acquisition, although it is not the company’s first investment venture aimed at expediting improvements to its overall user experience. In September last year, the company invested KRW 2.5 billion (USD 1.9 million) in WeBudding, a South Korean digital stationery platform, identifying WeBudding’s solutions as complementary to its offerings.
Kisankonnect raises INR 310 million in pre-Series A round
Kisankonnect, an Indian agritech startup, has raised INR 310 million (USD 3.7 million) in a pre-Series A funding round led by Green Frontier Capital (GFC). Dhanuka Agritech, VC Grid, and unnamed family offices also took part in this round.
The company intends to utilize the capital to double down on agricultural interventions with onboarded farmers, strengthen its fresh produce supply chain technology, and to add new stores. Kisankonnect currently operates stores in Mumbai and Pune.
DayaTani secures USD 2.3 million in seed round
The Indonesian agritech company has raised USD 2.3 million in a seed funding round led by Ascent Venture Group, a platform launched in September 2023 by Telkom Indonesia’s corporate venture capital arm MDI Ventures. —DealStreetAsia
Recent deals completed in China:
- Susallwave, a Shenzhen-based sustainable fintech company, has raised an eight-figure RMB sum in a Series A funding round led by CICC Capital. The round also saw participation from corporate venture capital institutions as well as Chi Fu Investments and Ninghe Hengtong, which are the angel investors of Susallwave. —36Kr
- Zinger Technology, a Shenzhen-based developer of automotive head-up displays (HUDs), has secured an eight-figure RMB sum of equity funding in a Series A+ round from Qingsong Fund. InvesTarget acted as the exclusive financial advisor for this investment. —36Kr
- Kecong Control Technology, a Hangzhou-headquartered robotics company, has bagged close to RMB 100 million (USD 14 million) in a Series A funding round from Vision Plus Capital. The company will use the funds for R&D, product iteration, and to expand its global marketing network. —36Kr
- Stairmed, a technology company specializing in brain-computer interfacing (BCI) systems, has secured a nine-figure RMB sum in a Series A funding round from OrbiMed and Oriza Seed. Stairmed will utilize the capital for R&D and to expand its team. —36Kr
- Zhizu IoT Technology, a battery charging and swapping technology company, has raised a nine-figure RMB sum following the completion of its Series C funding round. The round was led by Jintong Capital with the support of 58.com (Pegasus Capital), Western Capital Management, Svolt Capital, Lingxuan Capital, Tongying Capital, Anqing New Energy Investment Development, and other institutional investors. Zhizu will allocate the capital toward technology R&D, global market expansion, and to enhance its battery swapping network. —36Kr
- One Hour, a provider of aftermarket services for consumer electronics, has secured over RMB 100 million in a Series B+ funding round from various investors. —36Kr
- Nayuta Space, a Beijing-registered space technology company, has banked an undisclosed amount of seed funding from multiple investors. The names of the investors were not disclosed. —36Kr
- ETaker, a Shenzhen-registered energy storage company specializing in portable and energy-efficient products, has raised an eight-figure RMB sum of angel funding from DLH Capital. ETaker will use the capital primarily for product R&D and marketing. —36Kr
- Jixing Pharmaceuticals, a Shanghai-headquartered biotechnology company, has raised USD 162 million from Bayer and RTW Investments. The two investors contributed USD 35 million and USD 127 million to this deal respectively. According to DealStreetAsia, Bayer will be granted privileged rights to negotiate the commercialization of Jixing’s pipeline assets in the areas of cardiovascular diseases and ophthalmology, and will form a joint portfolio strategy committee with Jixing to explore business opportunities.
Purpose Venture Capital, Grab, Parag Agrawal, and more led yesterday’s headlines:
- Purpose Venture Capital, a Singapore-based early-stage venture capital firm, invested in Bioworks through a third-party allotment of new shares. Purpose Venture Capital is one of several investors that participated in this investment, alongside Lavender Hill Capital, 18 Salisbury Capital, and Yagi & Co, among others. The firm did not disclose the exact amount it invested in the company.
- Grab, one of Southeast Asia’s prominent superapps, reportedly injected SGD 145.1 million (USD 108.9 million) into digital bank GXS Bank, a joint venture it established with Singtel, a Singapore-listed telecommunications company.
- Parag Agrawal, the former CEO of Twitter (now known as X), raised around USD 30 million to support a new artificial intelligence startup. The investment was reportedly led by Khosla Ventures, with contributions from Index Ventures and First Round Capital.
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