With the rise of Open Banking, Psd2 Regulation, InsurTech, and the whole, general Fintech boom, tech investors have realized that there is an increasing place for dedicated funds which double down on this ongoing movement. When you look at the rise of banking-as-a-service offerings, payments platforms, insurtech, asset management, and infrastructure providers, you realize that […]
Indian online insurer PolicyBazaar files for IPO, seeks to raise over $800 million
Indian online insurance aggregator PolicyBazaar has filed for an initial public offering in which it is seeking to raise $809 million, becoming the fourth startup in the past two months from the South Asian market to explore public markets. In papers submitted to the market regulator in India, PolicyBazaar said it is looking to raise […]
Indian edtech Unacademy valued at $3.44 billion in $440 million fundraise
Indian online learning platform Unacademy has raised $440 million in a new financing round as investors double down on the South Asian market and elsewhere following a widening series of regulatory crackdowns in China that wiped hundreds of billions of dollars last month. Temasek led the Bangalore-based startup’s new financing round while Mirae Asset and […]
Refugees hit hardest as deadly floods sweep across continents
Death toll rises as storms continue to rip through communities, destroying homes and livelihoodsAs heavy rains and floods dominate headlines around the world, displaced people and those living in conflict zones are among the worst affected. Wind and he…
China roundup: Keep down internet upstarts, cultivate hard tech
Hello and welcome back to TechCrunch’s China roundup, a digest of recent events shaping the Chinese tech landscape and what they mean to people in the rest of the world. The tech industry in China has had quite a turbulent week. The government is upending its $100 billion private education sector, wiping billions from the […]
Microsoft in talks to back India’s Oyo
Indian budget hotel chain Oyo may have lost a significant portion of its business amid the pandemic, but it is inching closer to finding a new investor: Microsoft. Microsoft is in advanced stages of talks to invest in Oyo, according to two people with knowledge of the matter. The size of the investment and the valuation are […]
Japanese sneaker platform SODA raises $56.4M, accquires rival Monokabu
Just half a year after leading SODA’s Series B, SoftBank Ventures Asia is raising its bet on the Tokyo-based sneaker resell platform. The early-stage venture capital arm of SoftBank Group announced today it has returned to lead SODA’s Series C, which currently totals $56.4 million. Other investors include South Korean sneaker reselling platform KREAM (another […]
INKR draws in $3.1M to make more comics accessible to worldwide audiences
INKR is a digital comics platform that crosses cultural and language divides, enabling creators to reach global audiences with its proprietary localization technology. Previously bootstrapped, the company announced today that it has raised $3.1 million in pre-Series A funding led by Monk’s Hill Ventures, with participation from manga distributor TokyoPop founder and chief executive Stu […]
High-profile entrepreneurs launch $85 million fund to back Indian SaaS startups
Four high-profile Indian entrepreneurs who are among those who kickstarted India’s SaaS journey, building and helping startups scale and win customers globally and also backed about 100 such firms, are ready for their next phase of participation in the country’s startup ecosystem. The group — Girish Mathrubootham of Freshworks, Manav Garg of Eka Corporation, Shubham […]
Indian automobile marketplace Droom valued at $1.2 billion in pre-IPO funding
An online marketplace for automobiles has become the latest Indian startup to attain the coveted unicorn status. Gurgaon-headquartered Droom said on Wednesday it is raising up to $200 million in what it described as a pre-IPO growth funding round. The new investment, part of which has been secured, valued the seven-year-old startup at $1.2 billion, […]