Eight Roads Ventures launches $275m China tech fund

Photo: Eight Roads website

By Ardi Wirdana

April 25, 2018

Eight Roads Ventures, the investment arm of Fidelity International, has announced the launch of a $275-million fund dedicated to Chinese tech startups.

The fund, the company said in a release, aims to back China’s next generation of tech entrepreneurs and support the country’s rapid development into a global technology hub, with a strong focus on enterprise tech, fintech and consumer tech.

“The launch of a specialized China technology fund reflects the country’s fast emergence as a global leader in technology, as well as its growing maturity and the opportunities that come with it,” said Eight Roads Ventures Asia Managing Partner Jarlon Tsang.

“There are no borders in technology – it’s a global game and we need to help Chinese entrepreneurs win on a global scale,” he added.

Eight Roads boasts 85 China investments to date, including in leading companies such as Alibaba, AsiaInfo and iSoftStone.

The latest fund follows the launch of a dedicated Eight Roads China healthcare fund in September 2017, and new enlarged funds for Japan, India and Europe.

Eight Roads is one of the region’s earliest venture capital funds. With teams in China, Japan, UK, India and the US, it currently has investments in over 175 portfolio companies with a team of 70 investment professionals, 30 of whom focus on China investments.

In one of its latest investments in the region, Eight Roads participated in a $25-million funding round for Plaid Inc., a Japanese startup that provides real-time web analytics services to e-commerce sites. This came after its participation in a “multimillion-dollar” pre Series A funding round for Singapore-based fintech startup Silot.

Eight Roads has also recently announced its appointment of former Goldman Sachs executive Shweta Bhatia as a partner in its India team.

Also Read:

Eight Roads backs Japanese web analytics firm Plaid’s $25m round

China fund plans to raise up to $31.5b to back homegrown chip companies

SE Asia-focused China fund plans raising up to $3b for Silk Road projects

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

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