GGV Capital becomes latest global VC to split its US and Asian funds
Sequoia’s former India and SE Asia unit has set a positive example for funds that split from global entities
Welcome back,
The Easter weekend break went on a little longer at ATR Towers, so here we are with a newsletter on Wednesday. But there’s lots to get into, including a little inside baseball on Asia VCs (always a favourite topic) after GGV Capital, one of the world’s top US-China funds, announced a split into two independent VC firms.
There’s also another canceled IPO from Alibaba (it’s logistics arm), a large investment from PayPal in Southeast Asia, chips are taking over South Korea, and there’s a long list of US-China tech war updates.
We’ll be back on Monday—enjoy the rest of your week!
Jon
PS: Follow the Asia Tech Review LinkedIn page for updates on posts published here and interesting things that come our way. If you’re a news junkie, the ATR Telegram news feed has you covered with news as-it-happens.
GGV Capital splits into independent US and Asia funds
The bifurcation of US-Chinese funds continues as GGV Capital finalised a split between its US and Asia operations, which was announced last September.
Once heralded as of the world’s best performing funds for its ability to pick winners in both Silicon Valley and China—including Xiaomi, Alibaba—over more than two decades, GGV has split into two with standalone and independent partnerships, as was the case with Sequoia and its multiple global entities last year.
GGV Capital Asia’s branch will now be known as Granite Asia—it has some $5 billion in assets under management and it will be led by Jenny Lee and Jixun Foo in SIngapore. The firm said it will focus on China, Japan, South Asia, Australia and Southeast Asia. On the face of it, that could keep it out of competition with its US sibling—Notable Capital—which includes feted partner Hans Tung, who maintains a strong presence in China, among its team.
Sequoia’s former funds, meanwhile, have always appeared to be likely to overlap given each fund’s desire to be global. Peak XV—the India and Southeast Asia fund—in particular has made a major play for the US, particularly given the Asian diaspora in Silicon Valley. GGV Capital’s investments were split evenly between the US and Asia, with many of the partners enjoying a profile in both markets, so it will be interesting to see whether the two interact in the future.
Already, though, Granite is considering a move into private debt for the first time, according to Bloomberg.
On a related note, Peak XV MD Shailendra Singh has said his firm is on course to double its investment spend this year thanks to investors moving money away from China. Peak XV certainly was an underdog in the Sequoia family, but, based on Singh’s comments, it is now able to be more nimble when operating independently.
The US-China chip war
There’s a lot to digest, so this week it is a digest of bullets:
Some of the biggest US companies in artificial intelligence have asked their Taiwanese manufacturing partners to step up production of AI-related hardware in Mexico, seeking to diminish reliance on China link
China’s newest guidelines mean US microprocessors from Intel and AMD will be phased out of government PCs and servers link
The US is asking allies to impose more restrictions on maintaining chipmaking equipment in China link
The US is also drawing up a list of advanced Chinese chipmaking factories barred from receiving key tools to make it easier for companies to stem technology flows into China. link
Merchants at Shenzhen’s Huaqiangbei, the world’s biggest wholesale electronics marketplace, are stockpiling graphics cards link
China is quietly making progress on a new technique to develop advanced chips without the need for EUV systems from Dutch giant ASML, a breakthrough that could potentially thwart US trade sanctions link
China
Alibaba is calling off an IPO for its Cainiao logistics arm, shelving a much-anticipated debut that could have raised more than $1B link
To cushion the blow, Cainiao will double year-end bonuses for employees link
The US and UK imposed sanctions on China’s elite hacking units, accusing Beijing’s top spy agency of a yearslong effort to place malware in America’s electrical grids, defence systems and other critical infrastructure, and of stealing the voting rolls for 40M British citizens link
Huawei saw its fastest growth in four years in 2023, with a rebound in its consumer segment and income from new businesses like smart car components accelerating its recovery from US sanctions link
Revenue rose 9.63% from a year earlier to 704.2B yuan ($97.48B), with the consumer business contributing most to that figure, growing 17.3% to 251.49B yuan.
Shanghai is planning a $13.8B fund of funds with an eye on AI, biotech and semiconductors link
HeyGen, a three-year-old AI startup that generates avatars and voices for videos, is raising $60M at a pre-money valuation of $440M—six times higher than the startup’s valuation four months ago link
ByteDance’s Douyin, aka TikTok’s Chinese sibling, launched a stand-alone shopping app in China link
ByteDance has started cutting jobs at its enterprise collaboration unit Feishu, affecting about 1,000 employees link
ByteDance has shuttered its WhatsApp clone LetsChat in Africa link
India
India’s fintech firms are tapping into cross-border payments, with the likes of Razorpay, Cashfree, PayGlocal, and others applying for RBI's PA-CB licence for B2B cross-border payments market link
WhatsApp has increased the cost for international one-time passwords (OTP) for enterprises in India—which now costs 20X but is still half of what conventional services would charge link
India court permits Byju's key shareholder meeting for $200M rights issue link
Byju’s secures 50% votes for rights issue, offers battling investors to participate in funding link
Southeast Asia
Indonesia-based insurance startup Qoala raised $47M in a round co-led by PayPal link
Bitkub, Thailand’s biggest crypto exchange, is planning an IPO for 2025 link
Indonesian logistics giant J&T turns first profit in China, which makes up most of its revenue, despite a price war link
Philippines regulators have taken steps to block Binance link
HSBC is setting up a $1B growth fund to provide lending to growth companies in Southeast Asia link
Singapore-headquartered StealthMole raised $7M for its AI-powered dark web intelligence platform link
ShopeeFood has dropped a controversial non-compete clause that forbade its workers from working for rivals link
South Korea
South Korea’s output of semiconductors jumped the most in 14 years in February (up 65% year-on-year) in proof that the country is increasingly becoming a global player link
Chipmaker SK Hynix tops $100B in market value, becoming Korea’s second most-valued company, thanks to an AI-powered rally link
SK Hynix plans to invest $4B to build an advanced chip-packaging facility in West Lafayette, Indiana link
An increasing number of budget-conscious South Koreans are turning to Chinese online marketplaces such as Shein, AliExpress and Temu link
Rest of Asia
Crypto exchange KuCoin laundered $9B and ‘flouted’ anti-money laundering laws, according to a US DOJ indictment link
Japan has allocated up to ¥590B ($3.9B) in subsidies for 2-year-old chip startup Rapidus, to help buying equipment and advancing processes link
Uzum—an e-commerce startup offering online shopping, fintech and food deliveries to millions of customers in Uzbekistan—raised $114M to become the country’s first unicorn with a valuation of $1.16B link
Rakuten may combine its financial units to promote collaboration link