Alibaba takes a big step forward in Southeast Asia.
Alibaba announced this morning that it’s investing $1B into e-commerce platform Lazada, which includes $500M in new equity and the purchase of existing shares, in a deal that makes Alibaba the controlling shareholder. Singapore-based Lazada, which was founded by Rocket Internet in 2011, is now valued at $1.5B.
Accel has raised a brand-new European fund.
Shortly after raising $2B for two U.S.-focused funds, Accel has raised $500M for Accel London V, a fund focused on Series A and B investments in Europe and Israel. Among the firm’s recent European bets: food delivery company Deliveroo, online lending platform Funding Circle, and ridesharing unicorn BlaBlaCar.
And Tim Draper has raised his own fund.
Nearly three years after leaving Draper Fisher Jurvetson, the firm he co-founded, Tim Draper announced he’s raised a new, $190M early-stage fund that he will co-lead with his son, Billy, as well as Andy Tang. The trio are using the Draper Associates brand (traditionally Draper’s personal investment vehicle), and this new fund represents the first time outside investors are involved, though Draper remains its biggest LP.
The biggest quarter for venture in a decade.
Given the flurry of new funds recently, it’s no big surprise that U.S. venture firms have closed on more capital commitments in Q1 2016 than they have in any quarter since Q2 2006, according to new data from the National Venture Capital Association and Thomson Reuters. To be specific: U.S. firms raised $12B for 57 funds in Q1 2016, compared to Q2 2006 when firms raised $14.3B for 79 funds.
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