Attracting Angels And Cross-Border Investment Across Asia

The recent Singapore Budget 2010 announcement of a new tax incentive for angel investors is only one of the efforts in Singapore in attracting more angel investment in Singapore. The Business Angel Network of Southeast Asia (BANSEA) recently organised the inaugural Asian Business Angel Forum (ABAF) held last week over 2 days here in Singapore. The primary aim of ABAF was to talk about cross-border angel investment and to help exchange ideas and discuss the possibility of an Asian Business Angel Network (ABAN). Read more

PatSnap Negotiating Series A Funding, To Pitch At ABAF

3 year old PatSnap just secured is in the process of negotiating Series A funding. No word yet on the funding quantum and which firm(s) are involved. Their aim is to grow into a multi-million company within the next 3-5 years.

Update: PatSnap is also one of the three local startups chosen to pitch at the upcoming Asian Business Angel Forum.

Founder Institute Singapore Opens For Applications

The Founder Institute is an entrepreneurship training programme “run for founders, by founders”. It was set up last year by Adeo Ressi (TheFunded.com) with the aim of mentoring entrepreneurs by people who have started and run successful startups themselves. Previously only available in the US, The Founder Institute has just expanded its programme internationally in collaboration with local partners. For Founder Institute Singapore, Battle Ventures (venture advisory and investment firm) and Ascendas iAxil (venture accelerator) will work with the Institute’s headquarters in bringing the programme to Singapore and the rest of Southeast Asia’s entrepreneurs. Read more

India’s Leading Telecom App Services Provider One97 Makes Strategic Investment In tenCube

Seems like tenCube has not just made waves in 2009 when we last picked the mobile security company as one of the “5 Tech Entrepreneurship Events that Rocked SG in 2009″, but they also started out the new year with a big bang. Read more

EDBI Leads Series D Investment in Innovalight, Vertex Joins Round

Two Singapore venture funds joined US-based (Sunnyvale, California) Innovalight as investors in the latter’s series D of financing. EDB Investments (EDBI) led the USD 18 million round, with another Singapore venture firm, Vertex Venture Holdings joining in, together with existing investors Apax Partners, ARCH Venture Partners, Convexa Capital, Harris & Harris Group, Sevin Rosen Funds and Triton Ventures. Read more

iGlobe Partners Wins Red Herring 100 Global VCs Award

From over 1800 VC firms from over 30 nations that have invested in two or more technology companies in the past five years, Red Herring chose 200 of these firms as finalists for the Red Herring 100 Global VCs award. From this 200, we now have the top 100 and Singapore VC iGlobe Partners is one of them. Read more

Why Entrepreneurs should not pay Investors to Pitch

Recently, I read that Angels Den from Europe has landed in Singapore. In their proposal, they are charging startups S$1499 upfront to pitch, and takes a 5% success fee. It also prompted response from local blogger DK that entrepreneurs should not pay investors to pitch. My stance is that entrepreneurs and start-ups should not pay investors to pitch and here are my opinions on this issue. Read more

7 Incubators Selected for Singapore NRF TIS Means More Money For Startups

Back in August 2009, the National Research Foundation (NRF) of Singapore announced a call for incubators to apply for a new Technology Incubation Scheme (TIS). The scheme, with its 85-15 (gov-incubator) funding split and attractive buyout options, favours the incubator who has the resources to fullfill its criteria and execute operations. When the call was announced, there were no specific number of incubators that NRF said they will appoint. It would all have to depend on the quality of incubators who applied. Now, 7 incubators have been selected. Here they are. Read more

Mozat Raises Series A Funding From JAFCO Asia

The company behind popular mobile social networking platform Mozat (formerly known as Morange) has previously raised seed funding from Singapore investment funds such as BAF Spectrum, Symphony Investments, SPRING SEEDS Capital and NUS Enterprise. This time, it raises an undisclosed amount of Series A funds from JAFCO Asia. Read more

Investment and Acquisition Interests of Benchmark, Google and DFJ Revealed

Who does not want a private one-to-one session with companies such as Benchmark Capital, Google and Draper Fisher and Jurvetson (DFJ) to pitch their companies to? The folks at MDA and Expara are arranging for post-iMatch International Launchpad private half hour meetings on 10th Dec with these investors for companies which fit the criteria. Read more

Next Page »