Australia
Melbourne-based LIFX, maker of a WIFI-connected LED light bulb, raises $12 million from Sequoia Capital, a new investor from Sand Hill Road in the Australian market.
INDIA
Fidelity Growth Partners invests $13 million in series C funding in India's dairy foods company Milk Mantra.
Sequoia has invested an additional $5.2 million in Akosha.com, an online consumer forum it's backed since 2001.
JAPAN
Japanese e-commerce giant Rakuten launches $100 million fund to invest in tech startups in Asia, Israel and the U.S. (Yes, these are the global hotspots!) Rakuten Ventures will be run by Saemin Ahn (photo), based in Singapore.
Moi Corp., the Tokyo startup behind Twitcasting, raises $5 million for mobile live streaming in an investment led by Indonesia's Sinar Nas.
Japanese news app Gunosy receives $12 million in investment led by telecom giant KDDI and VC firm JAFCO.
KOREA
Travel guide service MyRealTrip raises $1 million led by SmileGate Investment along with Capstone Partners.
US / Silicon Dragon
DCM has led a $10 million financing of Yik Yak, a social messaging app for 'yaking' anonymously with other users from any location. Joining the round were Renren (a Facebook of China), Azure Capital Partners and venture capitalist Tim Draper.
The fast-growing app, founded in late 2013 y entrepreneurs Brooks Buffington and Tyler Droll, is popular on college campuses. "The evolution of social networks is moving toward a private, unfiltered communication model, and Yik Yak is at the center of this shift," said Buffington.
YikYak raised $1.5 million in an earlier infusion in April from DCM, Azure and several angels.
Walden International portfolio company GoPro went public June 26 on NASDAQ and traded up 30.6% by market close on its first trading day. Priced at the high end of its range at $24 per share, GoPro raised $213.6 million. GoPro, which makes cameras and accessories popular for filming extreme action sports, reached a market cap of $3.9 billion at closing.
GoPro raised VC from early investor Walden, then with Riverwood Capital, Steamboat Ventures, US Venture Partners and others in 2011. Foxconn also had a stake in GoPro.
CHINA
 | Interviewing Gary Yang for Silicon Dragon |
Gary Wang's
Chinese animation studio Light Chaser Animation, which aims to be a Pixar of China, has raised Series B financing of $20 million from GGV Capital and Chengwei Capital.
Wang was the founder of Tudou, the online video sharing platform that went public in the U.S. and was bought by rival Youku in a $1 billion deal. GGV also backed Tudou.
Lightspeed China Partners has closed its Fund II, with $260 million in capital. The fund was heavily oversubscribed and had several new LPs including Singapore's GIC and Horsley Bridge, MD James Mi noted.
 | Lightspeed China MD James Mi tells about his new $260M VC fund |
The focus is largely the same as its first fund of $168 million - early stage investment in China-based Internet, mobile Internet, tech-enabled services, and enterprise IT sector, except more deals in cloud computing, SaaS and Internet security. The China VC firm collaborates strategically with Silicon Valley's Lightspeed Venture Partners, but they're separate funds.
Winners in the Lightspeed China's portfolio include Tujia, which on its way to be China's AirBnB/Homeaway, and Rong360.com, Qunar for the financial industry. Lightspeed China led series A financings two years ago for both. Tujia just raised $100M series C while Rong360.com is closing a series C round with over $50M soon.
Tian Ge Interactive, operator of China's online video broadcasting platform 9158, files to go public on the HKSE.
Investors Tencent and Innovation Works cash out on a $434 million acquisition of Chinese portfolio company Elex Technology to Chinese Universe Publishing and Media Company. Elex assists Chinese gaming and Internet companies on internationalization strategies.
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