A lot of funding went to edtech startups this week

The startups that raised the most this week: PropertyGuru, Viva Republica, Unacademy, and more [Open this email in your browser]( FOMO Saturday --------------------------------------------------------------- Hello {NAME} As someone who never went to university, I often find myself weighing the pros and cons of getting a degree now. On one hand, my parents would be really happy to see their eldest child be considered “educated” in their world. On the other hand, I’m just not at my best in a classroom setting - I’m sure that my lecturers from my school days can attest to that. Plus, there are just so many modules to take, some of which might be irrelevant to my career. So reading about education tech startups like Unacademy, which bagged US$92.3 million in a series C funding round this week, intrigues me because it’s becoming more likely that I can take a bunch of certificate courses, where I actually learn applicable and practical knowledge. With these learning platforms leading the charge this week, scoring a total of US$282.4 million in funding, it appears that I have a lot of options to choose from. What do you think? Should I just take up some relevant short courses or is that university degree still important? Anyway, for all the other important investment deals that happened in the last few days, check out our [weekly funding news wrap-up](. Let’s dive into the biggest deals and M&As that recently took place.  --------------------------------------------------------------- The biggest deals by country 🇸🇬 [PropertyGuru]( The Singapore-based online property portal raised US$220 million this week in a series E round led by KKR and TPG Capital. It’s also worth mentioning that Biofourmis raised [US$100 million]( from SoftBank Vision Fund and other investors. 🇰🇷 [Viva Republica]( This Korean fintech startup provides peer-to-peer money transfer services through a mobile app called Toss. It raised US$173 million from Altos Ventures, Aspex Management, Goodwater Capital, Greyhound Capital, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, and Sequoia Capital. 🇮🇳 [Unacademy]( This Indian startup aims to make the best explanations for every educational topic available online. It raised US$150 million from Blume Ventures, Facebook, General Atlantic, Nexus Venture Partners, Sequoia Capital, and SoftBank in a series E round. 🇯🇵 [Tier IV]( Based in Japan, the startup is building an open ecosystem of intelligent vehicles with Autoware. Tier IV raised US$92.3 million in a strategic investment round with Sompo Holdings. 🇨🇳 [WaterStone]( The Chinese bio-pharmaceutical company raised a US$60 million series C round from Bioventure, Panxi Capital, SDIC Julil Investment, and Yichang SDIC Ronghe Investment. Here’s the complete list of this week’s funding chart, detailing [108 deals worth over US$1.5 billion](.  --------------------------------------------------------------- M&A 🇻🇳 Vietnam’s Galaxy Media and Entertainment has acquired [Hocmai]( a local education portal with free and premium lessons, study guides, information on universities, and admission exams, for an undisclosed amount. 🇲🇾 Malaysia-based Rev Asia has acquired [iMedia]( a digital media company that sells media advertising solutions for popular local language sites, social influencer platforms, and mobile apps. The deal amount was undisclosed.  --------------------------------------------------------------- Going deeper 1️⃣ Harvard-connected VC seeks to spawn techpreneurs Xfund, a venture capital firm born out of a collaboration between Harvard University, New Enterprise Associates, and Breyer Capital, [closed its most recent fund at US$130 million](. The new fund seeks to provide graduates with the support they need to pursue creative entrepreneurship. Xfund hopes that this will give graduates the push they need to “make them the next Gates or Zukerberg.”  2️⃣ She spends, investors listen Investors in China are often attuned to the latest market trends, so it’s no surprise they’ve noticed that [Chinese women are spending more]( accounting for 75% of all consumer purchases in the mainland. A 2019 report by Accenture puts the value of the Chinese “sheconomy” at US$1.5 trillion.  3️⃣ APAC-focused private equity reaches US$1.3 trillion AUM The increasingly interconnected region is developing rapidly, and it needs capital to sustain that growth. In response, the assets under management (AUM) of private equity venture capital focused on the Asia Pacific have [surged to a record high of US$1.3 trillion]( as of December last year.  4️⃣ Will venture builders replace VCs? Every founder knows that starting up is difficult. Answering questions like, “How do you grow an idea from the ground up with little to no resources or reputation?” can stump even the most capable of aspiring entrepreneurs. In a [venture builder model]( founders can find an investor who bankrolls and helps grow the business - nuances that are sometimes lost in the VC model. So could venture building be the future of investment?  5️⃣ What makes Singapore and Southeast Asia the future of “big impact”? According to Jenny Lee, managing partner of global VC firm GGV Capital, the adverse impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on startups is unavoidable in the short term, but long-term outlook can be positive. Southeast Asia, where Singapore leads in terms of investment activity, [will see acceleration]( in 5G, communication technology, and fintech, while online education and health could experience a boost. FYI, Jixun Foo, managing partner of GGV Capital, will be speaking at the virtual Tech in Asia Conference 2020. So if you need more insights into investments in Southeast Asia or just want to connect with him, grab your [early bird tickets]( here.  --------------------------------------------------------------- Pitch decks for your reference - [Buzzfeed’s series A pitch deck]( helped it raise US$3.5 million in 2008. Since then, it has become one of the most influential media companies of the past decade. - [Contently used this pitch deck]( to raise US$9 million from investors in a series B round in 2014, allowing the content marketing solutions firm to evolve and develop a wider range of services. - [TenCube’s 2009 pitch deck]( enabled the firm to raise US$1.5 million from One97, now more commonly known as the company that runs Paytm. Computer security software giant McAfee acquired TenCube in 2010, and founder Darius Cheng went on to start property portal 99.co.  ---------------------------------------------------------------  Lists of most active investors in the region [China]( | [India]( | [Indonesia]( | [Japan]( | [Singapore](  List of top-funded startups in Asia [China]( | [India]( | [Indonesia]( | [Japan]( | [Hong Kong]( | [Singapore]( | [Vietnam](  --------------------------------------------------------------- Did these eye-popping figures shock you? Share this with a friend who would enjoy this week’s funding news as much as you do. 😉 If you liked today’s edition, give us some feedback [here](. Tech in Asia’s newsletters are handcrafted daily with love ❤️ - and sometimes powered by good coffee. ☕ Today’s edition was written by Nathaniel Fetalvero. It’s edited by Eileen C. Ang. To ensure that you don’t miss out on the biggest tech news and analysis, add newsletter@techinasia.com to your address book, contacts, or safe sender list. Or simply move us into your inbox.
Copyright © 2020 Tech in Asia, All rights reserved. Don't want to receive these emails anymore? [Unsubscribe](.