China/HK Digest: ZhenFund backs Kapwing; Arbor Ventures joins globaliD’s round

Residential and commercial buildings are seen from Victoria Peak in Hong Kong, China, on Monday, Sept. 11, 2017. Photographer: Billy H.C. Kwok/Bloomberg Photo by Bloomberg

By Juliet Shwe Gaung

July 17, 2018

Venture capital firm ZhenFund has participated in the $1.7-million seed round of video editing platform Kapwing while Hong Kong-based Arbor Ventures has joined the $6-million Series A round of US-based globaliD.

Kleiner Perkins, ZhenFund back $1.7m seed round for Kapwing

Kapwing, a US-based video editing website, has raised $1.7 million in a seed round led by Silicon Valley-headquartered Kleiner Perkins along with other participating investors including Beijing-based venture fund ZhenFund, founded partly by Sequoia Capital China, according to an announcement.

Silicon Valley funds like Shasta Ventures, Sinai Ventures, Village Global and Shrug Capital also joined the round.

The financing will be used for product development and expansion of its online video editing platform targeted at casual creators.

Mamoon Hamid, General Partner, Kleiner Perkins, said, Kapwing makes it “easier for creators to produce and publish video at scale”. Founded in October 2017, the platform is led by Julia Enthoven and Eric Lu as CEO and CTO respectively.

Hong Kong’s Arbor Ventures takes part in $6m Series A for globaliD

US-based globaliD, which manages online identity, has raised a $6-million Series A financing round from Hong Kong-based Arbor Ventures, Altair Ventures, 500 Startups, HardYaka and Monex Ventures.

The latest financing will be used to help scale the team, product and its portfolio.

“The team at globaliD has made significant strides over the last year, turning their unique vision for identity into a reality — creating a solution which enables people to manage their online identity in an increasingly digitized society, and additionally positions the company to capitalize on a huge market opportunity,” said Wei Hopeman, managing partner of Arbor Ventures.

This is a follow-on investment by Arbor Ventures after its seed investment in the startup a year ago.

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Singapore Reporter/s

In Singapore, we are looking to double our reporting team by this year-end to comprehensively cover the fast-moving world of funded startups and VC, PE & M&A deals. We want reporters who can tell our readers what is really happening in these sectors and why it matters to markets, companies and consumers. The ability to write precisely and urgently is crucial for these roles. Ideal candidates must have to ability to work in a collaborative, dynamic, and fast-changing environment. We want our new hires to be digitally savvy and ready to experiment with new forms of storytelling. Most importantly, we are looking for hard-hitting reporters who work well in a team. Collaboration and collegiality are a must.

Following vacancies can be applied for (only in Singapore).

Following vacancies can be applied for (only in Singapore).   

  • A reporter to track companies/startups that have raised private capital, and have the potential to become unicorns. SEA currently has over 40 companies with a valuation of over $100 million and under $1 billion.
  • A reporter who can get behind the scenes and reveal how funding rounds are put together, or why they’ve failed to materialise. She/he in this role will largely focus on long-format stories. 
  • A journalist to track special situations funds, distressed debt and private credit (from the PE angle) across Asia.
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Singapore Reporter/s

In Singapore, we are looking to double our reporting team by this year-end to comprehensively cover the fast-moving world of funded startups and VC, PE & M&A deals. We want reporters who can tell our readers what is really happening in these sectors and why it matters to markets, companies and consumers. The ability to write precisely and urgently is crucial for these roles. Ideal candidates must have to ability to work in a collaborative, dynamic, and fast-changing environment. We want our new hires to be digitally savvy and ready to experiment with new forms of storytelling. Most importantly, we are looking for hard-hitting reporters who work well in a team. Collaboration and collegiality are a must.

Following vacancies can be applied for (only in Singapore).

Following vacancies can be applied for (only in Singapore).   

  • A reporter to track companies/startups that have raised private capital, and have the potential to become unicorns. SEA currently has over 40 companies with a valuation of over $100 million and under $1 billion.
  • A reporter who can get behind the scenes and reveal how funding rounds are put together, or why they’ve failed to materialise. She/he in this role will largely focus on long-format stories. 
  • A journalist to track special situations funds, distressed debt and private credit (from the PE angle) across Asia.
APPLY NOW