Vertex Ventures raises $210 million for Southeast Asia, India start-ups

Vertex Ventures, the venture capital arm of Singapore state investor Temasek Holdings, said it has raised a $210 million fund to invest in Southeast Asian and Indian startups, exceeding its original target size of $150 million. Vertex plans to continue its strategy of investing in early-stage technology companies in Southeast Asia and India across enterprise technology, financial technology and consumer internet, it […]

OTF and Qatar Science and Technology Park sign MoU to develop venture investment 

The Oman Technology Fund (OTF) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Qatar Science and Technology Park, part of Qatar Foundation Research and Development (QF R&D), recently. The MoU, lasting for three years, focuses on venture investment. It will help in consolidating partnerships to establish an attractive investment environment in the region, stated a press […]

Hong Kong launches HK$2 billion fund to support tech start-ups 

The government said on Friday it is inviting venture capital funds to apply to become co-investment partners of the new Innovation and Technology Venture Fund (ITVF). “The ITVF will help fill the funding gap for local technology start-ups. We are confident that having this new fund will be conducive to developing a more vibrant Hong […]

Airbus invests in satellite antenna-sharing startup Infostellar in $7.3m round 

Tokyo-based startup Infostellar has announced raising $7.3 million in a Series A round led by the venture-capital arm of aerospace company Airbus, with participation from WERU Investment, D4V, and Sony Innovation Fund, as well as existing investors FreakOut Holdings and 500 Startups Japan. The latest round brings the total funds raised by the startup to […]

SparkLabs launches $50M fund for promising early-stage startups in Korea 

SparkLabs Group started in 2012 with a Seoul-based accelerator dedicated to boosting South Korea’s then-nascent startup ecosystem. Now it’s going back to its roots with the launch of a $50 million fund for early-stage Korean startups that want to expand globally. The Korean fund’s anchor investors are SeAH and Korea Development Bank/Multi-Asset. Led by Brian Kang and […]

American University of Sharjah calls on entrepreneurs to participate in the Sheraa Accelerator program

The second edition of Sheraa’s accelerator program is now accepting UAE and international entrepreneurs applications for its second cycle. Sheraa, Sharjah’s official entrepreneurship center, is based at the American University of Sharjah and runs the Emirate’s flagship accelerator program, focusing on scaling innovative, high-growth ventures that drive economic diversification and job creation. “Our second edition […]

Hong Kong X Technology Fund backs six startups, expands to Jordan

Hong Kong X Technology Fund has backed six HK-based emerging technology companies as part of an accelerator programme. This coincides with the launch of its second X-LAB, a co-working space for technology companies, in Jordan on 12 August 2017. This will see several of the investee companies move into X-LAB, sponsored by publicly-listed Sino Group, one […]

First half of year start-up funding in Middle East surges 

The number of start-up funding deals in the UAE surged in the first half of the year following Amazon’s high-profile acquisition of local online retailer Souq.com and a US$150 million investment in the ride-hailing service Careem. The rise in the number of investments also comes amid intensifying efforts by governments in the region to help small […]

Deep tech start-ups may get $100m boost by SPRING Singapore

Up to half of the funds in the Startup SG Equity scheme could be set aside for start-ups working in the sectors of advanced manufacturing and engineering, health and biomedical sciences, and urban solutions and sustainability. That could mean around $100 million going to what are known as deep technology firms exploring opportunities in these […]

New venture fund launched – run by Singapore university students, for students

Entrepreneurship community Kairos Asean and the Singapore Management University’s (SMU) Institute of Innovation & Entrepreneurship (IIE) have launched a new venture fund run by university students for students. Called Protege Ventures, it aims to give undergraduate and postgraduate students from Singapore-based universities a shot at “practical, real-life venture capital experience” in sourcing, analysing and investing in technology-enabled […]