S&P Global Market Intelligence provides a roundup of recent investment deals and updates in the Asia-Pacific technology, media and communications sector.
Top news
* The Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia, or PIF, and Abu Dhabi's Mubadala Investment Co. expressed concerns over SoftBank Group Corp.'s planned US$16 billion investment in co-working startup WeWork Cos. Inc., The Wall Street Journal reported. As WeWork is expected to lose approximately US$2 billion in 2018, PIF and Mubadala have reportedly questioned WeWork's business model, which could leave it exposed if the economy turns.
* Naspers Ltd. led a US$1 billion series H round in Indian online food delivery startup Swiggy with a US$660 million investment in the company. The funding round also drew participation from Swiggy's existing investors DST Global, Meituan Dianping and Coatue Management LLC, along with new investors Tencent Holdings Ltd., Hillhouse Capital and Wellington Management.
Startup funding
* Chinese online-education platform Yuanfudao secured US$300 million of capital from its latest financing round led by Tencent Holdings, TechCrunch reported. Other investors include Warburg Pincus LLC, Matrix Partners China and IDG Capital Partners.
* Cambridge Mobile Telematics Inc., a telematics and analytics provider, secured a US$500 million investment from SoftBank Vision Fund. The company plans to use the funding to accelerate its DriveWell platform, which measures driving performance and vehicle dynamics.
* California-based car-leasing company Fair raised US$385 million in a series B financing round led by SoftBank Group. Other investors in the round include Exponential Ventures, G Squared, Creditease Corp. and Munich Re Venture's ERGO Funds AS.
Capital investments
* U.S. private equity firm Strattam Capital LLC made a majority growth investment in Australian talent management software provider Acendre Pty. Ltd. The deal is expected to help boost Acendre's expansion in the U.S. and Australia.
* Mineski, a Southeast Asian esports organization based in the Philippines, will invest US$2 million in 2019 to boost the esports ecosystem in Indonesia, Fox Sports reports.
* NetEase Inc. will invest 100 million yuan for a remote learning program in Chengdu, China. According to Invest Size, the company will set new strategies for its open courses segment and technology for equal access to education livestreaming project.
* Chinese smartphone maker Vivo will invest US$559 million to build its second plant in India, Reuters reports.
Other funding
* Baidu Inc. launched a 1 billion yuan innovation fund to accelerate its mini-program ecosystem, TechNode reports. The fund will be used to design and host open online courses and seminars, as well as offline workshops catering to developers.
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