Funding
Frubana, the Colombia-based creator of an online marketplace which links food growers and restaurants, received $65m in funding from investors including telecommunications and internet group SoftBank yesterday. The series B round was led by venture capital firm GGV Capital according to Forbes and included Lightspeed Venture Partners, Tiger Global Management and Monashees. All the investors bar Lightspeed had participated in a $25m series A round in April 2020 that increased Frubana’s overall funding to $37m.
US-based sales commission software producer Spiff secured $46m yesterday in a series B round featuring Salesforce Ventures, the strategic investment arm of enterprise software provider Salesforce. The round was led by Lightspeed Venture Partners and included Stripes, Norwest Venture Partners (NVP) and unnamed existing investors. Spiff raised $3m in seed funding from Peak Ventures, Kickstart Seed Fund, Peterson Partners and angel investor Jeremy Andrus in June 2019 and $6m from Peak Ventures, Kickstart Seed Fund, Peterson Partners, Pipeline Capital and members of its management team four months later. The latter group returned for a $10m series A round backed by NVP, Next World Ventures and Epic Ventures in June 2020.
Telecoms firm KDDI has paid about ¥5bn ($45.6m) for a 20% stake in Japan-based food delivery service Menu, The Bridge reported today. The investment was made through a partnership agreement which will involve Menu’s service, which was launched in April 2020, integrating with KDDI payment app Au Pay.
US-based automotive loan platform developer MotoRefi has raised $45m in series B funding from investors including financial advice provider Motley Fool and insurance provider Cuna Mutual, which took part through Motley Fool Ventures and CMFG Ventures. The round was led by investment bank Goldman Sachs’ Asset Management division and also featured IA Capital, Moderne Ventures, Accomplice and Link Ventures. MotoRefi had received $8.6m from Motley Fool Ventures, CMFG Ventures, Accomplice, Link Ventures, Gaingels and unnamed others in a February 2020 series A round that took its total funding to $12.3m.
US-based oncology drug developer Ajax Therapeutics closed a $40m financing round yesterday featuring scientific tool producer Schrödinger and healthcare providers Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center and NYU Langone Health. Biotech investment adviser EcoR1 Capital led the round, which included Boxer Capital and Inning One Ventures, the latter having joined Schrödinger in an $8m round used to launch the startup in June 2019.
Brazil-based identity verification software developer Idwall has received $38m in series C funding from investors including mobile chipmaker Qualcomm’s corporate VC unit, Qualcomm Ventures, TechCrunch reported yesterday. Endurance led the round, which was also backed by GGV Capital, Monashees, Canary, OneVC, Peninsula Ventures and Norte Ventures. It came after Qualcomm Ventures led a $10m round for the company in late 2019 that included media company Grupo Globo, OneVC, Canary and Monashees.
Insurance firm Dai-ichi Life, marketing group Hakuhodo DY and enterprise software provider Salesforce took part in a ¥4bn ($36.5m) series D round today for Unifa, the Japan-based operator of a health-tracking software platform for children in pre-school, the last two through Hakuhodo DY Ventures and Salesforce Ventures. The round included MPower Partners Fund, Minerva Growth Partners, Dream Incubator’s Dimension fund, Souhatsu no Tsubomi, Glin Impact Capital and an unnamed asset manager. The company had raised a total of $45m as of a $32.4m series C round in September 2019.
China-based apparel supply platform developer Feiliu Tech has secured more than RMB200m ($31.4m) from investors including digital media company ByteDance and internet and telecoms group SoftBank across series A1 and A2 rounds, DealStreetAsia reported on Monday, citing a company statement. ByteDance co-led the series A1 round with GGV Capital before Hillhouse Capital unit GL Ventures led the other round, investing with ByteDance, SoftBank subsidiary SBCVC, GGV Capital, Ince Capital and Wu Capital. Feiliu reportedly received an undisclosed amount of pre-series A funding from SBCVC in 2020.
Jai Kisan, an India-based financial services provider focused on the rural economy, has received $30m in debt and series A equity financing, the equity portion including Syngenta Ventures, part of agribusiness Syngenta, TechCrunch reported on Monday. The equity portion was led by Mirae Asset and also featured Blume Ventures, Arkam Ventures, Prophetic Ventures, the state-owned NabVentures and Better Capital while Blacksoil, Stride Ventures and Trifecta Capital supplied the debt financing. Blume Ventures, Prophetic Ventures, Better Capital, Astarc Ventures and various angel investors had supplied $1.5m in seed funding in March 2019 before the first four joined NabVentures in a $3.9m pre-series A round in June 2020.
Insurance firm China Life’s Healthcare Fund has taken part in a round of undisclosed size for China-based cardiovascular tool provider Jenscare Scientific, DealStreetAsia has reported. GL Ventures and Primavera Capital co-led the round, which included Agricultural Bank of China’s ABC International subsidiary, Pucheng Capital (on behalf of China International Capital Corporation), China Asset Management, Cormorant Asset Managemnt, GP Healthcare Capital, CD Capital, Forebright Capital, FutureX Capital, Proxima Ventures and PICC Capital.
Beef exporter Minerva Foods has co-led a R$120m ($22.8m) series B round for Brazil-based consumer goods delivery service Shopper with VC firm Quartz, Baguete has reported. FJ Labs, Floating Point, Fegik, Oikos and private investors Ariel Lambrecht and Marcio Schettini also contributed to the round. Canary led a $1.2m round for the company in June 2019 and returned for a $1.9m round in July 2020 that also featured individuals including Lambrecht.
Quicko, the Brazil-based creator of a transport planning app, has raised R$100m ($18.9m) in a series B round led by transport infrastructure operator Grupo CCR, LABS News has reported. Investment firm J2L Partners also took part in the round, having previously joined CCR in a $10m round for the company in September 2019.
E-commerce firm Rakuten led a ¥2bn ($18.2m) funding round today for AWL, a Japan-based intelligent camera technology provider spun out of Hokkaido University, through its Rakuten Capital unit. Electric utility Chugoku Electric Power, pharmacy chain operator Satudora Holdings and VC fund i-Lab4 also contributed to the round, which followed an undisclosed amount from cold forging technology manufacturer Katagiri in September 2020. AWL had already secured $7.4m in debt and equity financing from investors including corporates Kyodo Tsushin, CyberAgent, Toppan and Asukanet.
Online lending platform developer Creditas has provided R$95m ($17.9m) in funding for Brazil-based electric motorcycle producer Voltz, Reuters has reported. The capital will be allocated to the expansion of the company’s retail presence, the establishment of a network of charging stations and the completion of a manufacturing facility in the city of Manaus.
US-based cryptofinance management tool developer Set Labs has received $14m in series A funding from investors including Coinbase Ventures, the corporate VC vehicle for cryptocurrency exchange operator Coinbase. The round was co-led by 1kx and Hashed and also backed by Mechanism Capital, Defiance, Spartan, ParaFi, Craft, Threshold Ventures and unnamed individuals. It came after Craft Ventures led a $2m seed round in 2018 that also featured Vy Capital, DFJ and angel investors including Scott Belsky.
Japan-based business chat app developer L is B secured ¥1.23bn ($11.2m) today from Mitsubishi UFJ Capital and Mizuho Capital, on behalf of Japan-based financial services groups Mitsubishi UFJ and Mizuho Bank respectively, as well as consultancy Change, brokerage Daiwa’s Corporate Investment subsidiary and Innovation Engine in addition to debt financing from Japan Finance Corporation. It had raised $2.6m from research equipment maker As One and electric utility Kyushu Electric Power’s QTnet subsidiary in June 2019.
Chromologics, a Denmark-based spinout of Technical University of Denmark developing natural fungal colourants, has added €4m ($4.9m) from investors including Novo Seeds – a subsidiary of pharmaceutical firm Novo – to a seed round that now totals approximately $7.3m. Blue Horizon Ventures, Nordic Food Tech and angel investor Giampaolo Cagnin also contributed to the extension, which followed earlier funding from state-owned investment fund Vækstfonden.
Norway-based online book marketplace Bookis has completed a NOK59.4m ($7.1m) funding round featuring multimedia group Schibsted, Nordic 9 has reported. The round valued the company at about $18m and included hedge fund manager Lugard Road and private investor Alexander Hars. It had raised $710,000 from unnamed investors at a $3m valuation in January 2019 before Schibsted added $1.1m through its Schibsted Growth subsidiary 12 months later.
Australia-based business insurance provider Expense Check rebranded to Kanopi on Monday, disclosing a A$4m ($3.1m) round led by insurance group Hollard, Crowdfund Insider reported. It had previously received $750,000 in a 2016 round led by Industrie&Co, the technology consultancy acquired by consulting firm Accenture last week, which had invested through VC fund The Grid. Its existing backers include VC firm Folklore.
Marketing software provider Simpleview has supplied an undisclosed amount for Stroll, the US-headquartered creator of a location-based marketing software platform, PhocusWire has reported. Stroll’s lead product is an online show called Vibe Guide in which influencers promote travel destinations.
Sagri, the Japan-based developer of a satellite data-enhanced agricultural monitoring system, raised ¥155m ($1.4m) today in a round led by investment vehicle Real Tech Fund and backed by Minato Capital, Senshu Ikeda Capital and Hiroshima Venture Capital on behalf of financial services firms Minato Bank, Senshu Ikeda Bank and Hiroshima Bank respectively. The round was filled out by the local government-owned Hyogo Kobe Startup Fund, which is sponsored by marketing agency Opt, in addition to several individuals. Sagri had secured an undisclosed amount from VC firm GlocaLink and angel investor Hiroya Hanafusa in January 2019.
Egypt-based e-commerce software developer zVendo has completed a pre-series A round of undisclosed size featuring software services provider Mobica and investment vehicle Gratus Holding, Wamda reported on Monday. The round came three months after zVendo disclosed a six-figure seed round featuring EFG EV Fintech – a joint venture between financial services firm EFG Hermes and VC firm Egypt Ventures – and unnamed angel investors.
Cryptact, the Japan-based developer of an investment management platform for virtual currency, received ¥100m ($910,000) today from FFG Venture Business Partners, a subsidiary of financial services firm Fukuoka Financial Group. It had raised a total of $6.7m as of a $3.8m round in December 2020 featuring financial data provider Minkabu The Infonoid and DG Daiwa Ventures, which was formed by internet company Digital Garage and securities brokerage Daiwa, in addition to VC firm Jafco.
Marketing and human resources firm Direct Marketing Mix joined angel investor Shinsuke Azuma to provide ¥60m ($550,000) in a pre-series A funding for Japan-based health food delivery service Go Food today. The cash has been earmarked for the expansion of the company’s team, menu options and sales channels.
Telecoms firm KDDI’s Open Innovation Fund 3 invested an undisclosed amount in Indonesia-based smart city technology developer Qlue yesterday. Qlue secured an undisclosed amount from telecoms company Telkom Indonesia’s MDI Ventures unit and GDP Venture in early 2019, the latter having already provided an undisclosed amount in 2017. Construction services provider Juvisk and Prasetia Dwidharma had provided over $1m in series A funding for the company the previous year.
Fruor, the Japan-based operator of online career consulting service MeetCareer, secured ¥45m ($410,000) in funding today from investors including Venture United, the corporate venturing arm of internet company United. The corporate was joined in the round by VC firm W Ventures and unnamed individuals.
M&A
Biological product developer Zymergen has paid an undisclosed amount to acquire Lodo Therapeutics Corporation, a US-based molecular drug developer backed by a range of corporates. It raised $17m in a 2016 series A round featuring pharmaceutical firms AbbVie, Eli Lilly, WuXi AppTec Pfizer and Johnson & Johnson as well as computing technology producer IBM, the last three through Pfizer Ventures, Johnson & Johnson Innovation – JJDC and Watson Fund respectively. They were joined by Alexandria Venture Investments, Arch Venture Partners, Harris & Harris Group, Innovate NY Fund, Partnership Fund for New York City and Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
Yandex agreed on Monday to purchase fashion e-commerce platform KupiVIP in a deal of undisclosed size that will allow chipmaker Intel to exit, Reuters reported. The corporate’s investment arm, Intel Capital, led a $38m round for KupiVIP in 2012 that included Acton Capital Partners, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and existing investors Accel and Balderton Capital that took the company’s overall funding to $124m. Bessemer Venture Partners, Russia Partners and Mangrove Capital Partners were among its earlier backers.
Additional reporting by Liwen-Edison Fu.
