As per the latest deal with by Chinese investment firm, this had developed to be one of the most active dealmakers in the Indian startup ecosystem.
Renowned Chinese investors like Xiaomi and Shunwei Capital, that also have deep linkages, have struck their first deals. This is a big deal for the Indian startup ecosystem, majorly because they look forward to add their portfolios in Asia’s third-largest country.
An asset of around $3 billion is being managed by Shunwei Capital has co-led a $5.5 million investment round in regional language podcast app Kuku FM. This deal has emerged as the latest one struck by the Chinese investment firm.
Vertex Ventures, the VC arm of Temasek would also be a part of the deal. The company, based out of Mumbai, would use the proceeds from the Series A investment to expand its content, and also increase the number of languages on the platform. This would be the 18th funding round that Shunwei Capital has participated in the last one year, as per Tracxn.
The Beijing-based firm that is investing out of its $1.2 billion sixth fund – has gained the likes of Zomato, ShareChat, Rapido and Meesho. Also, Xiaomi has been one the largest smartphone manufacturers in India, and has invested around INR. 42 crore in WorkIndia.
As per reliable sources, the deal is supposed to have closed last month. Also, this would be the latest by the bigwigs, that has seen a market capitalisation of about $30 billion. During the last two years, Xiaomi has gained the likes of ShareChat, Zest Money, and TouchTalent.
During this time, Chinese investors have been scouting for deals in India that began by accelerating their deal-making activity. This would nearly double investments in Indian startups to $3.9 billion in 2019, up from $2 billion in the last year.