Deals in brief: Krutrim and Elice secure funding, SoftBank Ventures Asia closes new fund, InnoVen Capital launches second China fund, and more
Summary
Notably, Krutrim unveiled its base large language model (LLM) last month, asserting that it contains the largest representation of Indian data in its training datasets.Elice, a South Korean AI-powered edtech company, has secured KRW 20 billion (USD 14.9 million) in a Series C funding round led by Vertex Growth, a growth-stage venture capital fund anchored by Temasek subsidiary Vertex Holdings. Elices platform, evidenced by its impressive growth and endorsements from prominent teaching institutions and corporate clients, stands out as the only market solution adequately addressing these market needs and is poised to appeal to the overseas workforce upskilling and reskilling market, said Tam Hock Chuan, general partner at Vertex Growth.SoftBank Ventures Asia rebrands as SBVA following closure of new fundFrom February 1, SoftBank Ventures Asia will officially rebrand itself as SBVA, marking the change following its acquisition by The Edgeof from SoftBank Group Corporation in June last year.This rebranding coincides with the recent closure of the firms 2023 Alpha Korea Fund, boasting a total committed amount of approximately KRW 200 billion (USD 149.6 million), surpassing the initial target of KRW 100 billion (USD 74.8 million). The deployment of capital is expected to commence as early as next month.The fund has set a goal of raising JPY 15 billion (USD 101.3 million) by the end of this year, primarily from both domestic and foreign institutional investors. 36Kr DXWand, a Dubai-based AI software company, has secured USD 4 million in a Series A funding round jointly led by Shorooq Partners and Algebra Ventures, with participation from existing investor DFDF. The farming-as-a-service startup plans to use the capital to facilitate its regional expansion, specifically in Saudi Arabia, and to deliver committed projects to clients such as Hilton Worldwide, Jumeirah Group, and Marriott International.