On the occasion of International Women’s Day, DealStreetAsia released the fourth edition of its annual report on the gender funding gap in India.
According to the Female Founders in India 2024 report, venture funding for Indian startups (co-)founded by women rebounded in 2024 after two consecutive years of decline, but their share in overall fundraising fell to 8.8% from 9.25% in 2023. The share of women co-founded startups in total funding was even higher at 13% in 2022 and 14.56% in 2021.
Startups founded solely by women raised $118.6 million, or a mere 0.7% of total funding bagged by private companies in 2024. In comparison, all-male founding teams secured nearly 91.2% of all equity and debt funding for startups in India last year. Additionally, they closed larger rounds than startups with a female (co-)founder.
Grab a copy of the report for more insights on women-led startups in India.
Moving onto the other headlines of the week:
Breaking news
Indonesia’s agri-focused P2P lending startup, CROWDE, has reportedly appointed Magdalena Joyce Andries as its new CEO, replacing Yohanes Sugihtononugroho, amid allegations of fraud and data manipulation, DealStreetAsia has learnt.
FTI’s draft audit report, reviewed by DealStreetAsia, shows that Kabayan financing was a major cash drain for beleaguered Indonesian aquatech startup eFishery, accounting for a sizeable chunk of its account receivables and bad debt.
Digital Classifieds Group (DCG), the Australian company that bought proptech firm Lamudi Indonesia in 2023, has entered into ‘External Administration’ or ‘Controllership’, according to a filing to the Australian Securities & Investments Commission, seen by DealStreetAsia.
In more bad news for Indonesia’s startup industry, insurtech firm Qoala, P2P lender Julo, and edtech firm Arkademi have laid off staff. While Qoala and Julo are said to have reduced around 10% of their workforce, Arkademi has offered voluntary resignations to employees as it sunsets its Prakerja Program.
PT Yupi Indo Jelly Gum, which owns one of Southeast Asia’s largest gummy bear brands, is gearing up for an imminent initial public offering that may take place in Jakarta in the coming months.
Apollo Hospitals Enterprise, led by Indian entrepreneur and cardiologist Dr Prathap Reddy, is in advanced talks to acquire Belenus Champion Hospital, amid a spurt in M&A activity in India’s hospital sector.
Investment firms are ramping up hirings in the private wealth sector across Asia stepping into 2025, underscoring the region’s rising prominence as a global hub for private wealth management.
Sarona Asset Management, a Canadian private investment firm, is currently on the road to raise its third global emerging markets fund-of-funds as it looks to increase its deployment in Asia.
Deal updates
India-based HR tech platform Darwinbox has raised $140 million in a round co-led by global investment firms Partners Group and KKR, to scale its presence in international markets, which now account for the majority of its revenue.
Dutch development bank FMO is considering a proposal to invest a total of $12 million in Dvara KGFS, a non-banking finance company in India, according to a disclosure.
Vietnam-based healthcare clinic chain FDcare, formerly Heli Care, has secured $2.5 million in Series A funding for expansion led by US-based Cercano Management and Singapore venture capital firm Golden Gate Ventures.
Australian marketing platform Instant has raised $18 million in its Series A funding round anchored by global generalist venture investor Hummingbird Ventures.
Chinese artificial intelligence startup Zhipu AI has raised more than 1 billion yuan ($137.22 million) in fresh funding, months after securing a 3 billion yuan investment.
Hong Kong-based private equity firm Gaw Capital Partners has invested an undisclosed sum for a majority stake in Vietnam-based K-12 education company NPX Point Avenue.
Navis Capital Partners is selling its entire stake in Eastern Grocer Sdn Bhd—the parent company of Malaysia’s Everrise supermarket—to three entities controlled by Southeast Asian superapp Grab for an undisclosed amount.
Blackstone has acquired a 60% stake in CMIC Co, a Japanese contract research firm that helps drug companies run clinical trials. CMIC Holdings, an entity led by its founder Kazuo Nakamura, will retain the remaining 40% stake in the company, which was founded over three decades ago.
India’s A Junior VC, led by solo general partner Aviral Bhatnagar, has closed its debut Rs 100-crore ($12 million) venture fund, amid a difficult fundraising climate for first-time investors.
Blackbird-backed Australian AI healthcare startup Heidi has raised $16.6 million in a Series A follow-on round anchored by venture capital firm Headline.
Vietnam’s Vingroup has inked an MoU with JTA Investment Qatar that will see the latter explore an equity investment of at least $1 billion in EV maker VinFast and Vinpearl, which owns five-star hotels, resorts and amusement park clusters.
Dutch development bank FMO has proposed an equity investment of up to $20 million in Ace International, an Indian dairy derivatives company. Separately, it is supporting the merger of Indian non-banking financial companies BlackSoil Capital and Caspian Impact Investments by proposing a $7.3-million funding.
Beijing has launched a 100 billion yuan ($13.7 billion) fund to invest in artificial intelligence, robotics, and “other industries of the future”, making it the latest mega-sized industry fund set up by a regional government after DeepSeek’s AI breakthrough.
StarFive Technology, a Chinese chip design house backed by search engine giant Baidu, has raised a strategic investment from the government-owned Hong Kong Investment Corporation Limited (HKIC) as the city commits to promoting AI research, including open-source technology.
Leap Finance, the student lending arm of Indian edtech startup Leap, has raised $100 million in debt from HSBC under its ASEAN Growth Fund.
The Indonesia Investment Authority (INA), the country’s sovereign wealth fund, and US-based Ares Management Corporation have signed an investment framework agreement to boost investments through innovative financing.
The International Finance Corporation is considering an equity investment of up to $15 million in Arkam Fund II, according to a disclosure. The fund managed by Arkam Ventures was launched in 2023 and has a target corpus of $180 million.
Analyses & interviews
NYSE-listed Sea Ltd. posted a net income of $447.8 million in 2024—its second straight annual profit. The net income marks a 175.2% increase from the previous year and a significant rebound from a $1.7 billion net loss in 2022. Once a gaming giant, Sea is now powering ahead thanks to its e-commerce and financial services businesses. Shopee, the e-commerce unit, recorded a more than 4x jump in adjusted EBITDA in Q4 2024, while Sea Money became the second-highest revenue-generating business segment for the group in 2024.
Swedish private equity major EQT is in expansion mode, looking to take its private wealth business to five new Asian markets this year, said Sueann Yeo, Managing Director and Head of Asia-Pacific Private Wealth Client Relations and Capital Raising at EQT.
While DeepSeek’s AI breakthrough has rekindled public market appreciation for China’s technology stocks, private-market investors expect more complicated, longer-term implications, especially concerning venture capital and startup opportunities in this new AI era.
Twenty-four Indian companies that already have an overseas presence, or are firming up plans to foray into global markets, received venture backing in January this year, based on an analysis of Tracxn data. The number of such companies more than doubled compared with January 2024.
The recent global financial market downturn has weighed on venture capital as an asset class, with Southeast Asia being no exception, says pan-Asian VC firm MindWorks Capital‘s founding partner, David Chang.
Islamic finance is expanding across Southeast Asia, attracting new players and products as institutions seek to tap what is still a relatively small sector in most countries.
DeepSeek’s emergence has ushered in a new era of AI in China, where the focus has shifted from consumer adoption to raw technological advancement. As tech giants race to refine their models, secure computing power and stake their claim in the next frontier for expert systems, one thing is clear: the competition is just getting started.
German investment manager PATRIZIA’s $250-million investment in the Philippines-based parking infrastructure company Parkwise underscores the firm’s commitment to deploying capital across the Asia-Pacific region, said Liam Tierney, senior director for infrastructure at PATRIZIA.
Southeast Asia’s largest bank by assets, DBS, is set to broaden its portfolio of climate transition financing and double down on financing projects aimed at a low-carbon economy.
While governance issues such as the alleged fraud at eFishery, will hurt LP sentiment, startups and the funds that back them can stay resilient by embedding strong governance principles from day one, rather than treating them as an afterthought, Jussi Salovaara, co-founder & Managing Partner Asia at Antler, said in an exclusive interview.
In the latest senior-level departure from Peak XV Partners, one of India and Southeast Asia’s largest venture capital firms, longtime investor Shraeyansh Thakur has exited after nine years with the firm.
Jeremy Loh, co-founder & Managing Partner at Singapore-based Genesis Alternative Ventures, said in an interview that there is growing demand for venture debt across Southeast Asia, and this trend is likely to persist.
