GPCA covers the latest fund, investment and industry news across our markets in two newsletters: NewsWatch is a weekly round-up of key transactions across asset classes; the Global Tech Brief is a bi-weekly review of tech transactions and innovations with cross-border applications. Subscribe in the left-hand sidebar.

Access past editions of NewsWatch here.

Sequoia India Leads USD32m Series C for Indian SaaS Whatfix

Sequoia Capital India led a USD32m Series C for India-based Saas Whatfix. Eight Roads Ventures, F-Prime Capital, and Cisco Investments also participated in the round. Read More

Naspers Leads USD113m Series I for Indian Food Delivery Platform Swiggy with Participation from Meituan and Wellington Management

Naspers has led a USD113m funding round for Indian online food delivery platform Swiggy. Existing investors Meituan Dianping and Hadley Harbour Master Investments (a unit of Welling Management) also participated in the Series I round. Read More

Blume Ventures Reaches USD102m Final Close for Fund III

India-focused early stage venture capital firm Blume Ventures has reached a USD102m final close for its Blume Ventures Fund III.  Read More

Japan’s MUFG to Invest Over USD700m in Ridesharing Company Grab

Japan-based Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (MUFG) will invest up to USD727m in Grab, a Singapore-based ride-hailing transport services company valued at USD14b and backed by SoftBank Group. Read More

Affirma Capital Invests USD34m in Vietnam’s Transcendental Human Resources

Emerging markets private equity fund manager Affirma Capital (formerly known as Standard Chartered Private Equity) has agreed to invest USD34m in Vietnam-focused online recruitment platform Transcendental Human Resources (known locally as Sieu Viet). Read More

OTB Ventures Reaches USD100m Final Close for Debut Fund

Poland-based VC OTB Ventures has reached a USD100m final close for its first early growth technology fund. The vehicle will invest in technology companies in Central and Eastern Europe. Read More

General Atlantic and Facebook Lead USD110m Series E for Indian Edtech Unacademy

General Atlantic and Facebook led a USD100m Series E for Indian edtech Unacademy. Existing investors Sequoia Capital India, Nexus Venture Partners, Steadview Capital, and Blume Ventures also participated in the round, as well as Flipkart CEO Kalyan Krishnamurthy and Udaan co-founder Sujeet Kumar. Read More

ECP to Acquire Burger King South Africa for USD46m

Africa-focused private equity fund manager Emerging Capital Partners has agreed to acquire the Burger King South Africa franchise and a related burger-making plant from Grand Parade Investments for ZAR697m (approximately USD46m). Read More

ARCH EM Partners Invests USD16.5m in CrossBoundary Energy for African Solar Projects

ARCH Emerging Markets Partners has agreed to commit up to USD16.5m in equity funding from its Africa Renewable Power Fund to CrossBoundary Energy to support C&I solar projects across Africa. Read More

Darby Completes Debt Investment in Mexican Blueberry Producer Bloom Farms

Darby, emerging market private capital arm of Franklin Templeton, has completed a debt investment in Bloom Farm, a Mexican blueberry producer located in Jalisco. Transaction details were not disclosed. Read More

Apis Partners, Gobi Partners, MEC Ventures, and Riyad Taqnia Fund Co-lead USD20m Series B for Indonesia’s Eureka AI

Apis Partners, Gobi Partners, MEC Ventures, and Riyad Taqnia Fund led a USD20m Series B for Indonesia-based AI enterprise software company Eureka AI. SG Innovate, GDP Ventures, Pacific Bridge, and Cianna Capital also participated in the round. They join existing investors in the company that include SoftBank, PPF Home Credit, and East Ventures. Read More

Kinea Acquires Minority Stake in Brazil’s Matera for USD23m

Kinea, the alternative asset management subsidiary of Brazil-based financial services group Itaú, has agreed to acquire a minority stake in Brazil-based financial and retail technology company Matera for BRL100m (approximately USD23m). Read More