Asia news roundup: WeWork buys Naked Hub, Warburg mulls Ant investment, and more

Photo credit: Eloise Ambursley / Unsplash

In today’s news, there were exciting times for co-working startups as one nabbed millions in investment, one unveiled a high-profile advisory council, and another was acquired by a big-name competitor.

Property and real estate

WeWork acquires Chinese co-working space startup (China). The New York-based co-working firm announced it has bought competitor Naked Hub, but didn’t release terms of the deal. But a Bloomberg report puts the value of the deal at US$400 million. WeWork has been pushing for expansion into Asia, having purchased Singapore-based competitor SpaceMob last year. Naked Hub had negotiated a merger with Singaporean competitor JustCo in July last year, though this later fell through due to “unaligned” expectations, according to the latter. Naked Hub itself acquired a majority stake in Australian shared workspace provider Gravity this January. (WeWork)

Fast Five lands US$18 million investment (South Korea). Meanwhile, another co-working space startup, Fast Five, received a total investment of US$18 million from Atinum Investment and Time Folio Asset Management. The firm says it’ll use the funds to open up to 20 venues this year and enhance its service platform. It also plans to enter the housing service market later this year. (e27)

Level3 forms advisory board to spur startup engagement (Singapore). The co-working space, created by Unilever Foundry and Padang & Co and designed to help startups collaborate with each other, announced its new advisory board. The team comprises six top executives from firms like Google and Lazada. Level3 will work with the board to identify growth opportunities. (Unilever Foundry)

Delivery and logistics

Xianshiji secures US$15.9 million in series B funding (China). The B2B supply chain platform for fresh produce and fast-moving consumer goods will use the capital to expand its business in eastern China, including the construction of around 10 new logistics centers in the region. IDG Capital and HJ Capital led the round, with participation from Century Capital, Hudai, Sky Saga Capital, and ZhenFund. (KrAsia)

Fintech

Warburg Pincus in talks to invest in Ant Financial’s pre-IPO round (China). The US private equity firm is reportedly planning to invest in Ant Financial, Alibaba’s fintech unit that runs Alipay. The round is expected to raise at least US$8 billion, thanks to strong demand from investors. The firm is talking to other global and Chinese investors about the fundraising, including Singapore’s sovereign fund Temasek Holdings, which could value the firm at approximately US$150 billion in the run-up to a possible IPO. (Reuters)

Photo credit: Ant Financial

US$1 million seed capital injection for Ideal Insurance (India). The Kolkata-based comprehensive insurance management startup will use the funds to develop infrastructure and make key hires, as well as for marketing. The funding came from Venture Catalysts, a consortium of industrialists and business leaders that includes Nitesh Prakash of Ola and Atul Jain of Samyakth Finserv, among others. (Inc42)

Artificial intelligence

Element raises US$12million in series A (Indonesia). The startup, which provides a platform for decentralized biometric identities for banks, hospitals and similar institutions, has closed its series A funding, with PTB Ventures and GDP Venture co-leading the round. Among the participants were the venture capital units of two Indonesian banks, Bank BCA and Bank BRI, and Telkom Indonesia, to name a few. The firm did not say how it would use the funding. (Element)

Student-led Protege Ventures invests in AI community platform (Singapore). A student venture fund created by Kairos ASEAN and Singapore Management University announced that it will invest around US$19,000 into Nature.AI, a local platform that allows for global collaborative research into artificial intelligence. (Singapore Management University)

Photo credit: alex.ch

Agtech

Health and well-being

Travel and hospitality

Blockchain and cryptocurrencies

Transportation