The target company is Smarteducation, a Japan start-up that develops bi-lingual mobile apps for childhood education including apps such as Oyako de Sumahon in Japanese and Kids'n Books in English.

News of the proposed acquisition have boosted shares in Nasdaq-listed AutoNavi by more than 30% since the start of May and stand at about $14.77 per share.

US-based software maker Citrix Systems backs Indian software start-up Tuebora with $250,000.

In April 2010, NTT Investment Partners, a corporate venturing unit of the Japan-based phone operator Nippon Telegraph and Telephone, made a $2m equity investment in Ubitus after the companies entered a strategic alliance the year before.

Kakao, a South Korea mobile technology company that owns mobile messaging service Kakao Talk and social network Kakao Story, will start to invest in start-ups in its domestic market with a government-supported $27m investment fund.

LG Life Sciences hires managers for fund, which will see it and the National Pension Service of Korea invest KRW 200bn ($180m) each in the fund.

Wesfarmers, the Western Australian farmers' cooperative cum conglomerate, is looking to diversify even further its sector footprint with the formation of a venture unit.

Japan-based CyberAgent Ventures is spreading its wings by earmarking a new $16m Chinese-focused mobile internet start-up fund.