Funding
US-based passwordless authentication technology provider Hypr raised $35m yesterday in a series C round featuring payment services firm Mastercard and Samsung Next, a subsidiary of consumer electronics producer Samsung. The round was led by private equity firm Advent International’s Advent Tech fund and included RRE Ventures, .406 Ventures, BoldStart, Top Tier Capital, Mesh, Alumni Ventures Group and Allen & Co. Hypr said it has now raised over $70m in total, Mastercard and Samsung Next having both backed its $18.3m series B round in late 2019.
Archipelago, a US-based developer of risk management software for commercial property owners, has secured $34m in series B funding from investors including Prologis Ventures, the corporate venturing arm of warehouse operator Prologis. The round was led by venture capital firm Scale Venture Partners and also featured existing backers Canaan Partners, Ignition Partners, Zigg Capital and principals from Stone Point Capital. It had already raised $4.1m from unnamed investors in 2018, $15.2m in June 2019, $13m two months later and $6m in May 2020, according to securities filings.
Aleo, the US-based developer of a software platform enabling users to build private applications, has received $28m from investors including Coinbase Ventures, the corporate venturing vehicle for cryptocurrency exchange operator Coinbase. VC firm Andreessen Horowitz led the round, which also featured Placeholder VC, Galaxy Digital, Variant Fund, Polychain Capital, Slow Ventures, Dekrypt Capital, Scalar Capital, A_Capital, ZKValidator, Ethereal Ventures and angel investor Balaji Srinivasan.
Tifin Group, a US-based provider of asset and wealth management technology, has completed a $22.3m series B round that included investment communication technology producer Broadridge, financial information provider Morningstar, investment bank JP Morgan’s Asset Management subsidiary and unnamed individuals. The company had previously closed $5.4m in funding in March 2020, according to a regulatory filing.
Insurance firm American Family has led a $20m series B round for US-based insurance management software provider Gradient AI through strategic investment arm American Family Ventures. Kyle Beatty, managing director of the unit, will take a board seat in connection with the round, which included MassMutual Ventures, a subsidiary of insurer MassMutual, as well as fellow existing investors Sandbox Insurtech Ventures and Forte Ventures in addition to BSC Capital and principals from Stone Point Capital. The round was originally reported on last week and took the company’s total funding to $31m.
Candex, a US-based company which functions as a master vendor for small product suppliers, has raised $20m in a series A round featuring American Express Ventures, the corporate venturing arm of payment services firm American Express Ventures. VC firm Altos Ventures led the round, which included investment bank JP Morgan and VC firm NFX. It had raised $3.5m in a 2018 seed round backed by NFX, Edenred Capital Partners, Partech Ventures, Advisors.Fund, Camp One Ventures, Tekton Ventures, Big Sur Ventures and angel investor Mark Goines.
Private equity firm Financial Services Capital has invested $15m in Nymbus, a US-based open banking software producer that counts credit provider Home Credit Group and startup services provider Vensure Enterprises as investors. Nymbus had raised a total of over $93m as of a $53m round led by growth equity firm Insight Partners last month, and Financial Services Capital said it has now invested more than $31m in the company.
Catch&Release, a US-based content licensing software provider backed by advertising agency MDC Partners, has secured $14m in a series A round led by Accel that included unnamed existing investors including fellow VC firm Cervin Ventures. The company said it has now raised in excess of $26m altogether, and its earlier backers include MDC Partners vehicle MDC Ventures and VC firm Array Ventures. It had previously secured $8.5m in April 2019, according to a regulatory filing.
Class Technologies, a US-based developer of educational tools for use on videoconferencing platform Zoom, has received approximately $12.3m in funding from investors including Salesforce Ventures, a subsidiary of enterprise software producer Salesforce. The round also featured Sound Ventures and private investors Tom Brady and Guy Oseary. It followed $16m in seed funding from Revolution’s Rise of the Rest Seed Fund, GSV Ventures, Swan & Legend Venture Partners and various individuals in September 2020 and a $30.8m series A round in February that was co-led by Insight Partners and Owl Ventures and backed by all the startup’s existing investors.
US-based gene therapy developer Code Biotherapeutics has launched with $10m from a seed round co-led by UPMC Enterprises, the strategic investment vehicle for healthcare provider UPMC. The round was co-led with VC fund 4Bio Capital and also featured pharmaceutical firm Takeda’s corporate VC unit, Takeda Ventures, as well as CureDuchenne Ventures, JDRF T1D Fund and New Enterprise Associates.
Peru-headquartered last-mile delivery service Chazki has completed a $7m series A round that included retail group Grupo Falabella, LatAm List reported on Monday. Investment firm Talipot Holdings led the round, and Chazki’s earlier backers include Wayra, the open innovation subsidiary of telecoms firm Telefónica, and NXTP Labs.
Okra, the Nigeria-based creator of an open finance data platform, has raised $3.5m in a seed round backed by Accenture Ventures, the strategic investment vehicle for professional services firm Accenture, Disrupt Africa reported today. VC firm Susa Ventures led the round, which included TLcom Capital, the VC firm that supplied $1m in pre-seed funding for the startup in April 2020.
Morght, the Japan-based creator of a mattress called Nell Mattress which is designed to provide relief for body pain, has received more than ¥100m ($920,000) in equity and debt financing from investors including mobile game producer KLab’s Anobaka subsidiary. The round also featured VC firm TLM and 13 private investors, and the capital has been earmarked for research and development activities.
Nesto, the Japan-based operator of an online community platform that supports users’ physical and mental well-being, has secured ¥100m ($920,000) in a seed round that included social media services provider GaiaX and DG Ventures, a subsidiary of internet company Digital Garage. The round was also backed by multiple unnamed companies and individuals, and the cash will go to product development and marketing.
Insurance firm Aflac has invested an undisclosed amount in Mnes, the Japan-based medical collaboration platform developer also known as Medical Network Systems. The funding was supplied through Aflac Ventures, part of the corporate’s collaborative innovation subsidiary, Aflac Innovation Partners.
Polyuse, a Japan-based developer of 3D printing technology for the construction industry, has raised ¥80m ($740,000) from investors including construction firm Yoshimura Construction and Strive, a corporate venturing vehicle for digital media group Gree. The corporates were joined by Coral Capital and Ikemori Venture Support.
M&A
Electronics fabrication equipment producer Nano Dimension has agreed to purchase Israel-based deep learning technology developer DeepCube for $40m in cash and $30m in stock, allowing chemicals and industrial group Koch Industries to exit. DeepCube had secured a total of $12m as of a $7m series A round in September 2020 led by AWZ Ventures and backed by Koch subsidiary Koch Disruptive Technologies and Nima Capital.
Additional reporting by Liwen-Edison Fu.
