Singaporean sovereign wealth fund Temasek Holdings (Private) Ltd backed chocolate retail chain The Cocoa Trees with an undisclosed amount of fresh capital as the travel retail sector of Asia enjoys a sudden rise in income.

Seoul, South Korea-based early stage venture capital firm K-Cube Ventures has emerged as one of the key players in the country's startup industry with its quick and risky investment deals that focus on startups that offer unique solutions to existing problems.

Hong Kong-based private equity firm EmergeVest picked up a controlling stake in Derbyshire, UK-based chilled and frozen food distributor NFT Distribution Operations for an undisclosed amount to expand its sales.

Canadian real estate investment firm Cannabis Rx reportedly purchased a 9.26-acre property near the Sarasota-Bradenton International Airport in Florida in a $1.2-million deal to turn it into a licensed grow facility or distribution center.

Although Google reportedly considered San Francisco, US-based mobile payments system Square Inc as a potential acquisition or merger candidate, the latter denied reports that it has entered acquisition talks with search giant.

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia-based outsourcing startup Supahands wants to help Southeast Asian clients save time and gain focus for more important tasks by providing them with multi-lingual and home-based virtual assistants who can do various tasks for them.

A new mobile app and Chrome extension called FIO provides users with a simple way to track five of their chosen time zones at a time with corresponding colors to help frequent travelers cut through jet lag.

Singapore City, Singapore-based same-day hotel booking app In2Nite raised $2.8M in a venture round led by IDG Ventures and other undisclosed investors to expand its reach across the Asian market.

US-based search giant Google has just hired high profile biochemist Cynthia Kenyon of the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) to be part of its secretive Project Calico which aims to come up with a way to extend the lifespan of humans.

Seattle, US-based entrepreneur Liz Havlin is set to launch a crowdfunding campaign via Kickstarter to raise $30,000 to develop a 3D printer called the Legacy that uses recycled colored plastic as ink.

Orlando, US-based sports footwear, apparel, and accessories maker Nike is about to cut off 70 out of the 200 members of its Digital Sport unit in a bold move to stop manufacturing hardware and focus its wearable tech efforts on software.

New York, US-based precision cut diamond and customized jewelry retailer Simply Diamonds acquired Buffalo, New York-based color stone and men's fine jewelry maker MA Reich & Co for an undisclosed amount .

Missouri, US-based holding company Enterprise Holdings, the operator of the Enterprise Rent-A-Car and National Car Rental, purchased Denver-based car-sharing services provider OccasionalCar for an undisclosed sum to widen its local network of transportation options.

Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE)-based firm Abraaj Group picked up a stake in Casablanca, Morocco-based chocolate manufacturer Kool Food for an undisclosed amount to back the latter's international distribution plans.

Mumbai, India-based real estate startup Grabhouse makes realty deals easier by helping young Indians find an apartment or flat for rent that is compatible with their needs without going through a broker.

Santa Clara, US-based semiconductor chip maker Intel Corp shelled out $100 million to establish an innovation center in China to accelerate the innovation of smart equipment in the Asian country.

Mountain View, US-based business-oriented social networking service LinkedIn already reached the 300-million mark in registered users worldwide, with half of that number coming from countries outside of its home country.

Kansas, US-based wire rope manufacturer WireCo WorldGroup Inc acquired the assets of Gouda, Netherlands-based construction and transport materials supplier Endenburg BV for an undisclosed amount to beef up its delivery system.

Cloud storage giant Dropbox spent an undisclosed amount to add San Francisco, US-based photo and video cloud storage and smart collaborative tool Hackpad to expand its product offering and improve its auto-upload features.

While news have already spread about Google's plan to bring the Internet to more people using high-altitude balloons in its "Project Loon" initiative, the search giant has finally started testing the solar-powered balloons over Nevada.

Beverly Hills, US-based live entertainment and e-commerce firm Live Nation Entertainment picked up a minority stake in Live Nation Japan for an undisclosed amount to become the latter's full owner.

Melbourne, Australia-based animal therapeutics developer Nexvet Biopharma scored $31.5 million in a funding round from investors and shareholders to expand its product portfolio and clinical program for pets' health.

Irvine, California-based firm Newlight Technologies pocketed $9.2 million in its third funding round to create low-costs plastics from greenhouse gases in a bid to help address climate change.

Gurgaon, India-based online travel agency Yatra.com took home INR140 crore in its fifth funding round led by IDG Ventures India and Vertex Venture Holding to fund future acquisitions.

Santa Rosa, US-based healthcare informatics firm AdverseEvents secured $2 million in its Series A funding round led by London, UK-based life science research firm Evaluate Ltd to accelerate its growth.

Austin, US-based startup M87 closed $3 million in its Series A funding round led by Qualcomm Ventures, 21Vianet, and other angel investors to fund its 4G-bandwidth sharing project for mobile networks.

Durham, US-based social media marketing startup Argyle announced through an email to its customers that it will shut down its operations on May 31 because it couldn't compete anymore with its rivals in the industry.

Richardson, US-based secure cloud hosting firm FireHost received $25 million in its latest funding round led by Little Rock, Arkansas-based investment firm Stephens Group to fuel its growth and marketing campaigns.

Mountain View, US-based Internet of Things (IoT) cloud Jasper landed a $50-million investment in a funding round led by Temasek to bring its IoT technology to Coca-Cola's new initiatives.

Milan, Italy-based mobile app development platform AppsBuilder bagged $1.5 million in a funding round from United Ventures to consolidate its businesses in the UK and the US.