We published the monthly startup fundraising data and trends from across India, Greater China, and SE Asia this week, and the performance across markets in August has been uneven.
Startup funding in India picked up modestly in August with private capital investments crossing the $1-billion mark, after dipping a tad below the ten-digit level in July. Local startups raised $1.03 billion across 96 private equity and venture capital transactions during the month, up nearly 7.3% from the $960 million raised across 88 deals in July. Startup funding in India has been volatile between January and August this year, with capital deployment witnessing sharp swings.
In Greater China, startup financing pulled back in August from July’s record high. Privately held companies in mainland China, Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan raised nearly $7.3 billion last month, 37.6% below the $11.6 billion recorded in July. Deal volume, meanwhile, slipped 7.7% to 251 transactions from 272.
In Southeast Asia, startup funding rebounded sharply in August after a steep decline in July, although deal activity remained subdued, with funding concentrated in a handful of large transactions. Privately held companies in the region raised about $1.34 billion across 30 equity deals in August. There were four megadeals in August, which accounted for roughly 87% of the region’s total funding during the month.
Let’s move on to the other top headlines from the week.
The 11th Asia PE-VC Summit is less than two weeks away. We have put together a roster of 90+ stellar speakers and a high-impact agenda that runs across four tracks. Do consider registering for the summit that comes at a crucial point for Asian private capital as LPs become more selective and exits come under greater scrutiny.
LP-GP corner
At a time when venture fundraising remains difficult and institutional capital is concentrating around fewer managers, Dubai Future District Fund (DFDF) is moving in a different direction. The Dubai government-backed investment platform is now committing to roughly one to two fund managers a month, across both global and local funds. Unlike a traditional LP that may build deeper relationships with a relatively small group of managers, DFDF sees value in having a wider network. “For us, there is value in width,” Nader Albastaki, Managing Director of DFDF, told DealStreetAsia.
Abu Dhabi Investment Authority increased its target allocation to private equity in 2025, raising the range from 12-17% to 15-20%. This makes private equity the sovereign wealth fund’s second-largest single allocation after developed market equities. The higher allocation came as the fund continued to monetise private assets.
Asian capital is taking on a bigger and more diverse role in private markets, with sovereign wealth funds looking to diversify further into Europe, Hong Kong insurers increasing private equity allocations, and family offices entering alternatives through private-bank channels, according to a senior executive at Ardian.
In this week’s Beyond the Buyout edition, we examined the growing influence of China’s corporate LPs and the much-awaited IPO of Indian stock exchange operator NSE. The newsletter also looked at the mismatch in Asia’s data centre market, which is flush with assets on sale but faces a picky buyer universe.
Deal exclusives
Indonesia’s sovereign wealth fund INA is likely to have made an equity investment in international school operator Nord Anglia Education. The move is seen as part of INA’s broader strategy to build platforms in globally underinvested sectors of the Indonesian economy, including education.
Japanese industrial group Nissha Co Ltd is set to dispose of its entire investment in Vietnam-based USM Healthcare Medical Devices, just four months after acquiring a controlling stake in the medical device maker, over allegations of inappropriate accounting practices. Nissha completed its acquisition of a 60% stake in USM in May 2026.
Singapore deep tech startup N&E Innovations has raised about $1.7 million in a Series A round led by Australian agrifood investor Tundra Capital, with participation from SGInnovate, Archipelago VC, The Radical Fund and SG7 Group.
Funding updates
US stablecoin issuer Circle Internet Group has agreed to acquire Singapore-based cross-border payments firm Tazapay in an all-stock transaction carrying aggregate consideration of $400 million—twice the valuation the company commanded in a Series B financing earlier this year, according to DealStreetAsia DATA VANTAGE. The acquisition also comes just over a year after Circle entered Tazapay’s cap table.
IDG Capital has led a seed financing of almost $100 million in PHYMI, a nascent embodied AI foundation model startup launched by a former executive of self-driving unicorn DeepRoute.ai.
LeapFrog Investments has invested approximately $42 million in Marengo Asia Hospitals, a multi-specialty hospital platform. The investment is being made from Leapfrog’s fourth fund.
Zankore, an AI infrastructure venture backed by Indosat Ooredoo Hutchison and Ooredoo Group, has secured a senior term loan facility of up to $3.1 billion to finance its AI infrastructure buildout in Southeast Asia.
Mubadala Investment Co. has made a $1 billion minority investment in Chinese coffee chain Luckin Coffee. Mubadala joined Luckin’s controlling shareholder Centurium Capital in the transaction, which highlights the investor’s optimism about long-term opportunities in China’s consumer sector.
Analyses and interviews
As funds raised during the 2021-2022 market peaks reach full deployment, a large group of China-focused top venture capital fund managers is expected to re-enter the market over the coming months for fundraising campaigns. A multi-year industry consolidation could reshape how global capital approaches the country’s VC market.
ARC Group is expanding its asset and wealth management business in Hong Kong, deploying in-house capital across a mix of traditional industries and high-growth tech sectors before it looks to open the strategy to external investors. Nigel Wong, head of asset & wealth management at ARC Group’s Hong Kong office, said the firm has made available nearly $100 million of in-house capital for multi-strategy investments, such as pre-IPO financing, structured equity and debt, special opportunities, and digital assets.
Global investors are increasingly looking for opportunities outside traditional asset classes that remain defensive through cycles, amid rising inflation and interest rates. One sector that could fill that need sits between infrastructure and real estate, according to alternative real estate asset manager MA Financial.
Over the past year, Big Tech’s AI ambitions have come with increasingly large cheques. Nvidia, Meta, Google, Anthropic and Qualcomm have also spent billions over the past year buying their way into coveted AI talent, technology and infrastructure. In Asia-Pacific, there are early signs of companies making similar calculations.
