ByteDance, the China-based digital media company that owns social media app TikTok and which was valued at $75bn as of a $3bn funding round in late 2018, counts consumer electronics producer Xiaomi as a backer, after it invested in 2014, The Information has reported. Other previously unrevealed investors are Singaporean sovereign wealth fund GIC and internet group Tencent, which bought a sub-2% stake in 2016 it has since divested. The company’s backers also include corporates SoftBank and Susquehanna International Group.
Verta, the US-based developer of a modelling software platform for artificial intelligence and machine learning, emerged from stealth on Tuesday with $10m from a series A round led by Intel Capital, the corporate venture capital subsidiary of semiconductor and data technology producer Intel. The corporate was joined by VC firm General Catalyst, which the company said had previously led its seed round.
US-based entertainment royalties collector and finance provider Stem Disintermedia has received $10m in financing from individuals including Coach K, Mark Gillespie and Baron Davis, Music Business Worldwide reported on Wednesday. The round took Stem’s total funding to $22m, including $8m in series A funding from Evolution Media, the investment firm co-founded by talent agency CAA, as well as Aspect Ventures, Upfront Ventures and unnamed existing investors in 2017. Its other backers include music management agency Three Six Zero Group, BBG Ventures, Vayner Capital, Ludlow Ventures and Scooter Braun.
Investment banking firm JP Morgan provided an undisclosed amount of funding for US-based blockchain software provider Consensys on Tuesday in connection with its acquisition of Consensys’s enterprise blockchain subsidiary, Quorum. Consensys had secured $8.6m from telecommunications firm SK Group in July 2019 representing the only previous equity financing to be disclosed by the company, three months after The Information had reported it was looking to raise money at a $1bn valuation.
Bookstore and DVD rental chain Culture Convenience Club joined VC firm W Ventures to provide ¥1bn ($9.4m) in series B funding for Go Today Shaire Salon, the Japan-based operator of a room-sharing service for freelance hairdressers, on Monday. The company had received $540,000 from e-commerce company iStyle, beauty product distributor Beauty Garage, domestic services provider Lifull and members of its management team in September 2018. W Ventures then led a $2.4m round in August 2019 that included Beauty Garage unit BG Ventures and Freebit Investment, part of internet service provider Freebit.
Pocket Marché, the Japan-based operator of a direct-selling platform for the farming industry, completed an ¥850m ($8m) series B round on Monday featuring OrangePage, a food media subsidiary of rail operator JR East, and Makoto Capital, the investment arm of consulting firm Makoto, as well as retail group Marui, agricultural machinery producer Kobashi Industries, JTB/Setouchi Tourism Revitalisation Fund and PNB-Inspire Ethical Fund. It had raised $3.1m from Kobayashi, PNB-Inspire, marketing firm Dentsu, Iwagin Jigyo Souzou Capital and OKB Capital (on behalf of Bank of Iwate and Ogaki Kyoritsu Bank) in August 2019. PNB-Inspire, biofuel producer Euglena and e-commerce firm Mercari had already invested $1.6m in the company in 2017.
Identity data technology provider GBG has led a $7m series A round for CredoLab, a Singapore-based developer of risk assessment technology for the financial industry. The companies had already formed a technology partnership in June this year, and the series A comes after CredoLab raised more than $1m in a 2017 pre-series A round led by VC firm Fintonia Group and backed by Reliance Capital Management’s Reliance Modal Ventura unit, and $1m from VC firm Walden International in May 2018.
South Africa-based intelligent manufacturing software provider DataProphet has raised $6m in series A funding from investors including Norican, the foundry equipment producer with which it formed a collaboration agreement in January this year, Forbes reported on Monday. The corporate was joined by the government-owned Industrial Development Corporation of South Africa and Knife Capital, the growth equity firm that invested a multi-million dollar amount in DataProphet in March 2018.
Indonesia-based e-commerce services provider Sirclo closed a $6m series B round today featuring Sinar Mas Land, the property development subsidiary of conglomerate Sinar Mas, and OCBC NISP Ventura, the VC arm of financial services firm OCBC NISP, as well as East Ventures and Skystar Capital. It came after Sirclo received up to $5m in series A funding from Sinar Mas Land, Skystar Capital, East Ventures and e-commerce company Beenos’ Beenos Plaza subsidiary in March 2019.
Fez, a Japan-based provider of digitisation technology for the retail industry, secured ¥630m ($5.9m) on Tuesday from Nissay Capital, the corporate venturing arm of insurance firm Nippon Life, and VC firm Incubate Fund as well as debt financing from undisclosed banks. The cash will go to enhancing sales and advertising as well as development of a platform that directly connects manufacturers and retailers.
WeShine, a China-based smart marketing technology provider backed by internet group Tencent, has received an undisclosed amount in a series A round led by VC firm Sequoia Capital China, DealStreetAsia reported yesterday, citing a company statement. Tencent invested an undisclosed sum in WeShine in 2018 according to DealStreetAsia and the latter will put the cash into research and development and the expansion of its service team.
Switzerland-based digital bank Neon completed a funding round on Wednesday sized at more than CHF5m ($5.5m) that included Helvetia Venture Fund, the VC arm of insurance firm Helvetia, along with media company TX Group, e-commerce platform QoQa Services, financial services firm Schwyzer Kantonalbank, Backbone Ventures and private investors including Roland Brack and Bettina Hein. It came in the wake of a $5m series A round led by media company Tamedia and backed by existing investor Backbone Ventures that closed in September 2019.
Switzerland-based blood purification device developer Hemotune has also closed a CHF5m ($5.5m) series A round led by VC firm Occident that also featured pharmaceutical and medical supplies producer Green Cross Medical Science Corp. The round included financial services firm Zürcher Kantonalbank and it came after ETH Zurich, the university that spun out Hemotune, announced last month it would be co-investing about $700,000 in the company. It has now raised about $11m altogether, including $135,000 from Venture Kick in 2017.
Payment services firm Visa announced an investment of undisclosed size in US-based software management technology developer MagicCube on Monday. MagicCube raised an undisclosed sum from electronics manufacturer Sony’s Innovation Fund in May this year after $10.7m from investors including Visa, Azure Capital, Epic Ventures, Bialla Venture Partners, Bold Capital Partners, Social Starts and Silicon Valley Bank across rounds in 2015 and 2017. Telecoms firm NTT, CVentures and Luqman Weise Capital are also backers.
Idom CaaS Technology, a car services spinoff of Japan-based used car dealer Idom, raised ¥370m on Tuesday ($3.5m) from an unnamed financial institution with which it has formed a partnership agreement. The company was spun off in April this year and will use the financing to expand its services and further develop its core platform.
Canada-based advanced materials producer OTI Lumionics secured an undisclosed amount of funding on Wednesday from LG Technology Ventures, a corporate VC subsidiary of diversified conglomerate LG Group, as well as Anzu Partners and Draper Dragon. OTI was awarded $4.5m from the Canadian government in 2015 and its earlier investors include FundersClub.
Canada-based medical engagement platform developer SeamlessMD received C$4m ($3m) on Wednesday in a series A round led by non-profit organisation Medteq+ that included pharmaceutical company Hikma’s strategic investment arm, Hikma Ventures. The round also featured AIoT Health, Anges Québec and entrepreneur Sanjay Malaviya, and it took the company’s total funding to about $5.5m. It had raised $830,000 in seed capital from BDC Capital, FundersClub and angel investors including Ray Muzyka and Daniel Schwartz in 2015.
E-commerce and home electronics group Amazon’s Alexa Fund supplied an undisclosed amount for US-based artificial intelligence platform developer Fiddler Labs on Tuesday. The deal came days after a likely $800,000 investment by Lockheed Martin Ventures, part of aerospace manufacturer Lockheed Martin. Fiddler had previously received a total of $13.2m from media group Bloomberg’s big data investment arm, Bloomberg Beta, as well as Lightspeed Venture Partners, Haystack Ventures and Lux Capital, as of September 2019.
Japan-based online pharmacy Minacolor secured ¥300m ($2.8m) on Monday from Asahi Media Lab Ventures, an investment vehicle for mass media group Asahi Shimbun, as well as digital media company Gree’s Strive fund, pharmaceutical firm Kaigen Pharma, Incubate Fund and Spiral Innovation Partners. The company said it has now received about $9.4m in total, its earlier investors including consumer finance provider Aiful Corporation’s AG Capital vehicle, pharmaceutical firm Japan Medic, Globis University’s Graduate School of Management, Chiba Dojo and angel investor Keisuke Honda.
Financial services firm Standard Bank has invested an undisclosed sum in TradeSafe, the South Africa-based operator of an escrow and payment management service that holds money in Standard Bank accounts, BusinessTech reported on Tuesday. The deal gave the bank a 35% stake in TradeSafe and it will also get two seats on the company’s board of directors.
RNAimmune, a messenger RNA drug and vaccine developer spun off by biopharmaceutical company Sirnaomics, closed a $2.35m seed round on Monday featuring private equity firm Terra Magnum Capital Partners. The capital will support the company’s early development work on a Covid-19 vaccine and a neoantigen-based cancer vaccine.
Third, the Japan-based creator of a real estate and construction management software platform, agreed ¥240m ($2.3m) in bond funding yesterday in a round led by conglomerate Sojitz’s shopping centre management subsidiary, Sojitz Commercial Development. Real estate developers Mori Trust, Tokyo Tatemono, Hankyu Hanshin Properties and Tokyu Fudosan Holdings also took part in the round, Hankyu Hanshin and Tokyu Fudosan through HHP Co-Creation Fund I and TFHD Open Innovation Program respectively.
Insurance firm Thinkseg has paid an undisclosed sum for a 30% stake in Comparaencasa, a UK-based provider of digital auto insurance for customers in Mexico, Brazil and Argentina, Valor Econômico has reported. Thinkseg made the investment as part of an international expansion drive, and the deal will also involve its insurance and financial product marketplace, Bidu, transferring assets to Comparaencasa.
Hiber, the Sweden-based creator of an online game development platform, has secured $2.25m in seed capital from mobile game producer Sybo, hosting services provider Rasmussen, Luminar Ventures, Wild Sloths, Bumble Ventures, GFR Fund and Konvoy Ventures, VentureBeat has reported. The company had previously received $800,000 in an August 2019 round led by Luminar Ventures.
Chemical producer BASF’s corporate VC unit, BASF Venture Capital, has announced it is leading a forthcoming funding round for UK-based intelligent mining software developer IntelliSense.io. The round will also feature angel investors including Steve Garnett and Stephen Kelly and it follows a partnership agreed between BASF subsidiary BASF Mining Solutions and IntelliSense last month.
Maersk Growth, the corporate venturing arm of shipping firm Moller – Maersk, has led a A$2.8m ($2m) seed round for Australia-based freight services provider Ofload, which rebranded from Loadsmile in the process, Australian Financial Review reported on Monday. The round included VC fund Global Founders Capital and Flash Ventures, which had previously supplied an undisclosed amount of pre-seed funding.
Japan-based quantum annealing technology developer Jiji secured ¥200m ($1.9m) yesterday in a funding round co-led by SoftBank’s artificial intelligence investment fund, Deepcore, and VC firm Anri. The round also featured Tokyo Institute of Technology’s Innovations and Future Creation fund and it came after Anri invested an eight-figure yen amount (¥10m = $92,000 at contemporary rates) in the startup in February 2019.
JTB/Setouchi Tourism Revitalization Fund, a vehicle backed by travel agency JTB and destination marketing organisation Setouchi DMO, invested an undisclosed sum in Otomo, a company that offers private tours across 15 prefectures in its home country of Japan, on Tuesday. Although it did not disclose the precise size of the deal, Otomo revealed its overall funding stands at $1.7m.
Canada-based remote learning software provider Synapse has received C$2m ($1.5m) in seed funding from Ripple Ventures, the VC arm of currency transfer service Ripple, as well as Differential Ventures, BDC Capital and Generation Ventures, together with $500,000 in debt financing from Comerica Bank, Betakit has reported. Synapse raised $725,000 in a 2016 round featuring Edge EdTech Fund and Thought into Action Ventures before adding $2,5m from Ripple Ventures, Generation Ventures, Differential Ventures, CEAS Investments, Cathexis Ventures, Ideal Ventures and angel investor Neal Dempsey in April 2019.
Digital transformation technology provider UST Global provided an undisclosed amount for Tastry, the US-based developer of an artificial intelligence-equipped taste assessment system, on Wednesday. Tastry has not revealed details of earlier financing but its existing investors include VC fund RevTech Ventures and it plans to leverage UST’s help to expand the provision of its technology to more retailers.
Diversified trading group Itochu closed a ¥150m ($1.4m) investment in Estate Technologies, a Japan-based developer of artificial intelligence analytics software for the real estate industry, through subsidiary Itochu Technology Ventures last month, it revealed on Tuesday. The seed capital was provided through convertible note financing and will support work on technology that can calculate the fair value of a property.
Crofarm Agriproducts, the India-based owner of fresh produce marketplace Otipy, has secured $1m in pre-series A funding from angel investment platform Inflection Point (IP) Ventures, VCCircle reported on Monday. Internet and e-commerce company Smile Group invested $1m in the company in June this year following $500,000 from angel investors including Ramit Sethi and Vinay Mittal in January 2019.
British Virgin Islands-registered decentralised finance platform developer OIN Finance completed a $1m private funding round on Monday featuring cryptocurrency exchange operator FTX and its sister company, digital currency trading firm Alameda Research. The round was also backed by FBG Capital, Blockwater VC, GBIC, Signum Capital, Ruby Capital, CMS and Waterdrip Capital, and was raised ahead of a planned public share offering for OIN.
Salesforce Ventures, the investment arm of enterprise software provider Salesforce, took part in a A$1.5m ($1m) funding round for Socialsuite, the Australia-based creator of a social impact assessment system, in May this year, Socialsuite announced on Monday. The round was led by VC fund Tidal Ventures and it followed a $100,000 investment by Salesforce in early 2018 and a $1.3m round in February 2019 that was led by AddVenture Fund and backed by Salesforce Ventures.
Brandit, a Japan-based developer of digitisation technology for the fashion industry, has raised ¥100m ($940,000) pre-series A round led by IT recruitment firm Geechs and backed by Mitsubishi UFJ Capital, a subsidiary of financial services firm Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, and incubator operator Dream Incubator’s Dimension Fund. The company, which was spun off by video marketing agency Candee, had previously received an undisclosed amount in a November 2019 seed round led by Dimension Fund that included unnamed angel investors.
Enterprise software provider Viasoft has invested an undisclosed sum in Market4u, the Brazil-based operator of a vending machine retail service, at a valuation of R$60m ($11.3m), Startupi has reported. The corporate is interested in how Market4u’s machines could integrate with the facial recognition technology developed by its VisionSpace subsidiary.
Japan-based last-mile delivery service 207 received ¥80m ($760,000) in funding from online furniture retailer Vega Corporation and VC firm Energy & Environment Investment on Monday. The cash will go to adding new services to its offering and more features to its Todocu delivery management app.
Pharmaceutical firm Taisho provided an undisclosed amount of series A funding on Tuesday for Aiwell, a Japan-based startup developing artificial intelligence technology for the study of proteins: a method known as proteomics. Aiwell, which was spun out of Tokyo Institute of Technology, had previously secured an undisclosed amount of A funding from angel investor Takafumi Kaya last month.
Enterprise communication app developer Slack supplied $500,000 in funding for US-based digital voice messaging startup Yac through corporate VC subsidiary Slack Fund, TechCrunch reported on Monday. The company had raised a total of $1.5m from Boost VC, Betaworks and Active Capital as of January this year, according to TechCrunch. Yac’s technology was created by digital agency SoFriendly and the app was launched in January.
Panalyt, a Singapore-based creator of human resource assessment software, raised an undisclosed amount yesterday from Kaonavi Next Fund, a vehicle for HR management software provider Kaonavi. The company’s earlier investors include Wavemaker Partners.
Kaonavi Next Fund also invested an undisclosed amount in Haleruto, the Japan-based creator of a software product intended to enhance labour efficiency in the agricultural industry, on Monday. The corporate expects to achieve synergy with Haleruto’s technology as part of its HR management activities.
TeTra, a Japan-based startup looking to develop a single-seater airborne vehicle, has received ¥50m ($470,000) in funding from aircraft component manufacturer Yoshimasu Seisakusho, Nikkei reported yesterday. The startup had previously raised $460,000 from Drone Fund, Incubate Fund and TomyK in May 2019 and Yoshimasu will assist by providing titanium and aluminium parts capable of withstanding high temperatures.
SC Digital Media, a subsidiary of diversified conglomerate Sumitomo, invested an undisclosed sum in Kiyono, the Japan-based developer of an analysis software platform for customer data, on Tuesday. The capital will go to product development, with a particular focus on leveraging assets held by Sumitomo.
Lego Ventures, the strategic investment arm of toy manufacturer Lego, led a seed round for UK-based interactive family game developer Caper on Monday that EU-Startups reported was about €300,000 ($390,000) in size. The corporate was joined in the round by Founders Factory, the startup studio where Caper was incubated.
IT services firm BRQ Digital Solutions has provided an undisclosed amount of pre-seed funding for Brazil-based financial digitisation technology startup Certdox, Baguete has reported. The capital was supplied by BRQ’s Innovation Hub and will be allocated to technology development.
Actress Maisie Williams has made an investment of undisclosed size in US-based air purifier provider Molekule. The company had secured more than $96m in funding as of a $58m series C round in February this year and its investors also include communication equipment maker Inventec Appliances Corp, contract manufacturer Foxconn, RPS Ventures, Foundry Group, Crosslink Capital, Founder’s Circle Capital, Uncork Capital, SoftTech VC, CSC Upshot and TransLink Capital.
Additional reporting by Liwen-Edison Fu.
