SoftBank Ventures Asia
Scope
Date
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Bio & Pharma
FutureChem seeks FDA nod for prostate cancer radiopharma trials
FutureChem Co., a South Korean radiopharmaceutical company, is seeking the US Food and Drug Administration’s approval for clinical tests of it...
Apr 20, 2022 (Gmt+09:00)
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Korean startups
Fortune-telling app receives $4 mn in Altos Ventures-led Series A funding
Chunmyung and Company, the operator of its namesake fortune-telling app, announced on Tuesday it has secured Series A funding worth five billion w...
Apr 19, 2022 (Gmt+09:00)
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Bio & Pharma
Kolon Life inks technology transfer deal with Juniper Biologics
South Korea’s pharmaceutical company Kolon Life Science Inc. signed a technology export deal worth up to 723.4 billion won ($589.1 million) wi...
Apr 13, 2022 (Gmt+09:00)
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Markets
S.Korea’s retail investors put record amount in overseas stocks
South Korea’s retail investors poured 22.9 trillion won ($18.8 billion) into purchasing overseas stocks last year, according to the country's ...
Apr 07, 2022 (Gmt+09:00)
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Korean startups
Startups need to embrace ESG, industry insiders say
Environmental initiatives such as RE100 and high Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) standards are not just for conglomerates anymore, accor...
Apr 06, 2022 (Gmt+09:00)
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Venture capital
Venture capitalists in S.Korea enjoy record salaries in 2021
South Korea’s venture capitalists put record high investments into startups last year. Thanks to positive returns on investments, a number o...
Apr 04, 2022 (Gmt+09:00)
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Mergers & Acquisitions
Samsung Asset Mgmt. buys 20% stake in US ETF sponsor Amplify
South Korea’s Samsung Asset Management Co. invested in a US exchange-traded fund sponsor to expand its global presence in the market.Samsung s...
Apr 01, 2022 (Gmt+09:00)
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Private equity
MBK sees most productive year ever, returning $5.3 bn to investors
MBK Partners will be bold in moving into more Asian markets this year, wrote the company's founder and chairman Michael ByungJu Kim, in his annual l...
Mar 30, 2022 (Gmt+09:00)
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Private equity
MBK's $1.2 bn stake sale brings value on par with TPG
North Asia-focused MBK Partners has closed a $1.18 billion deal to sell its 12.5% stake to New York-based Dyal Capital at an equity valuation of nea...
Mar 22, 2022 (Gmt+09:00)
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Edtech startup Riiid joins Fast Company's list of most innovative firms
South Korea’s AI education startup Riiid has made it onto Fast Company's annual list of the World’s Most Innovative Companies. Since 20...
Mar 11, 2022 (Gmt+09:00)
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Companies
South Korea's contact lens exports surge in 2021
South Korea's contact lens brands accelerated their penetration into the global market estimated at $10 billion in 2021, thanks to the market's rebo...
Mar 10, 2022 (Gmt+09:00)
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Chief Executives
Thanks to deep learning, we're in biggest tech boom cycle: GFT Ventures
"We believe we're in one of the biggest technology boom cycles,” said Jeff Herbst, co-founding managing partner of Palo Alto-based GFT Venture...
Mar 08, 2022 (Gmt+09:00)
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Private equity
Korean SPAC Valuence Merger debuts on Nasdaq, targets bio M&As
Valuence Merger Corp. 1, a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC), led by South Korean fund managers, has debuted on the Nasdaq, targeting Asian...
Mar 04, 2022 (Gmt+09:00)
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Bio & Pharma
Korean bio ventures struggle with fundraising
Biopharmaceutical companies of South Korea are having a tough time fundraising of late. Bio ventures without specific public offering plans are pa...
Mar 01, 2022 (Gmt+09:00)
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Korean startups
Chicken startup shakes up crowded market with robotic arms
Preparing fried chicken requires a simple, but laborious process: Placing pieces of chicken on dough and frying powder; putting them into an iron ba...
Feb 22, 2022 (Gmt+09:00)
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Venture capital
Live commerce platforms like Grip to keep growing in Asia Pacific: Google
In April 2021, there were some 200 unicorns in the Asia Pacific region, second only to the United States which had 290 startups each valued at $1 bi...
Feb 22, 2022 (Gmt+09:00)
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Batteries
Korea battery makers at risk from reliance on China materials
South Korea’s secondary battery makers face a risk from heavy reliance on Chinese raw materials, while the industry has sought measures to ens...
Feb 16, 2022 (Gmt+09:00)
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Tech, Media & Telecom
Samsung regains top spot in SE Asia smartphone market
Samsung Electronics Co. outpaced Chinese rival Oppo last year to regain the top spot in the smartphone market in four major Southeast Asian countrie...
Feb 11, 2022 (Gmt+09:00)
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Fintech
Korea's Toss targets SE Asia, Japan with super app
South Korea's mobile financial platform Toss is evolving from a payment service app into a full-fledged financial service provider, or a super app, ...
Feb 03, 2022 (Gmt+09:00)
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Pre-IPOs
IMM to invest $120 mn in SoftBank-backed subtitle firm
South Korea's IMM Investment Corp. has agreed to invest 140 billion won ($120 million) in Iyuno-SDI Group, valuing the world's largest dubbing and s...
Jan 28, 2022 (Gmt+09:00)
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Batteries
Samsung SDI in talks with global automaker for battery joint venture
South Korea’s Samsung SDI Co. is in talks with a global automaker to launch a battery production joint venture following its partnership last ...
Jan 28, 2022 (Gmt+09:00)
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Korean chipmakers
SK Hynix to invest more in US chip design startup SiFive
SK Hynix Inc., South Korea’s major chipmaker, decided to make an additional investment in a US chip design startup SiFive in order to secure s...
Jan 24, 2022 (Gmt+09:00)
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Economy
Korea to see second month of trade deficit
South Korea is slated to see a trade deficit for a second straight month in January for the first time since the 2008-09 global financial crisis on ...
Jan 24, 2022 (Gmt+09:00)
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Venture capital
Stonebridge Ventures to set up $168 mn new fund in H1
Stonebridge Ventures Inc., South Korea’s most profitable venture capital firm, plans to establish a fresh fund of $168 million, the largest in...
Jan 19, 2022 (Gmt+09:00)
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Automobiles
Motional to begin robotaxi dispatch next year
US-based autonomous vehicle company Motional Inc. announced its plans for the commercialization of driverless cars based on the all-electric Hyundai...
Jan 13, 2022 (Gmt+09:00)
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Venture capital
SoftBank invests $146 mn in AI startup Qraft
SoftBank Group Corp. is investing $146 million in South Korea’s artificial intelligence company Qraft Technologies, Inc. The investment includ...
Jan 11, 2022 (Gmt+09:00)
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Biotech
SK invests $350 mn in US CDMO firm
SK Inc., the holding company of SK Group, announced Sunday that it invested $350 million into Pennsylvania-based Center for Breakthrough Medicines (...
Jan 10, 2022 (Gmt+09:00)
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Metaverse
Biotech firm EDGC embarks on metaverse journey
EONE-DIAGNOMICS Genome Center Co. ( EDGC ) announced this week it would participate in AI Human Metaverse Project consortium – along with seven ...
Jan 05, 2022 (Gmt+09:00)
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BTS’ NFT venture hits sour note with fans
SEOUL—When BTS unveiled plans last month to break into the NFT business, the South Korean boy band’s supporters revolted online, threate...
Jan 03, 2022 (Gmt+09:00)
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Venture Capital
Pipeline software solutions provider Cloa wins $5.1 mn in additional funding
NAVER Corp.’s startup accelerator D2SF (D2 Startup Factory) has made an additional investment into data pipeline solutions provider Cloa, the ...
Dec 29, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)