Deals Digest: Kakao’s Radish buys Wuxiaworld; Australia’s Voly bags $13m

Radish, a subsidiary of South Korean startup Kakao Entertainment, has acquired Wuxiaworld for $37.5 million while Australian instant grocery delivery startup Voly has secured about $13 million in seed funding.

Radish acquires Wuxiaworld for $37.5m

Radish, the serialised fiction app subsidiary of South Korea’s Kakao Entertainment, has acquired Wuxiaworld, an Asia fantasy fiction platform, for about $37.5 million, according to an announcement.

Wuxiaworld, founded in 2014 by former American diplomat Jingping Lai, claims to be the largest English-language Asia fantasy platform in the US in terms of the number of users. Lai will also continue to be the CEO of Wuxiaworld.

The platform comprises thousands of Chinese and Korean fiction chapters that have been translated into English by fans. It has generated millions of page views daily in over 100 countries with a majority male audience.

The acquisition gives Kakao Entertainment its third storytelling platform, in addition to Radish and Tapas. According to the announcement, the South Korean company will expand into international markets in 2022 with the goal of tripling its transaction from overseas in the next three years.

Instant grocery delivery startup Voly scores $13m funding

Sydney-based instant grocery delivery startup Voly announced that it has raised about $13 million in its seed funding round led by Sequoia Capital India and backed by existing investors Global Founders Capital and Artesian Capital.

The five-month-old startup, which raised $1 million in its pre-seed round, offers nearly 2,000 SKUs and assures customers that they can deliver the groceries in 15 minutes with a flat rate of about $2.14.

According to the announcement, Voly plans to grow its SKUs to 3,000. It will also use the fresh funds to expand its business to cities and towns across Australia.

The startup operates in Australia’s grocery market, which sees $90 billion in annual spending, Abheek Anand, managing director at Sequoia India, said in a statement.

Go to Source