Funding
US-based microbiome therapy developer Vedanta Biosciences completed a $68m series D round yesterday that included a $25m investment from pharmaceutical firm Pfizer and additional cash from synthetic rubber producer JSR Corporation, healthcare services provider SymBiosis and Fosun Health Capital, a vehicle for conglomerate Fosun. Affiliates of Magnetar Capital led the round, which also featured Verition Fund Management, PureTech Health, Rock Springs Capital, Skyviews Life Science, Shumway Capital and Seventure Partners’ Health for Life Capital subsidiary. Vedanta had previously raised over $112m as of a $62m series C round in 2019 featuring JSR and pharmaceutical firm Bristol-Myers Squibb.
US-headquartered men’s grooming product provider Pangaea Holdings raised $68m yesterday from investors including Unilever Ventures, the corporate venturing arm of consumer product manufacturer Unilever, and internet technology provider Google’s Gradient Ventures fund. Asset management firm Eurazeo invested $53m to lead the round, which also featured GPO Fund and Base10 Partners. The company said it has now received $87m in total and identified Gradient Ventures and Base10 Partners as existing investors.
BlackBuck, the India-based trucking services provider backed by online marketplace Flipkart, has increased its valuation to $1bn in a $67m funding round co-led by Tribe Capital, International Finance Corporation’s IFC Emerging Asia Fund and Vostok Emerging Finance, the Economic Times reported today. They were joined by existing backers Wellington Management and Sands Capital, and the round took BlackBuck’s total equity funding to approximately $397m. It last raised money in a $150m series D round co-led by Goldman Sachs and Accel in mid-2019.
Loop Returns, the US-based operator of a returns service for e-commerce marketplace Shopify, received $65m in series B funding yesterday from investors including Shopify. Venture capital firm CRV led the round, which was also backed by Renegade Partners. Existing investors FirstMark Capital, Ridge Ventures, Peterson Ventures and Lerer Hippeau. The company had secured $10m in a November 2019 series A round led by FirstMark and backed by Lerer Hippeau and Ridge Ventures.
US-based vehicle inspection technology provider UVeye raised $60m from investors including used car retailer CarMax and insurance firms Menora Mivtachim and WR Berkley Corporation yesterday. They joined FIT Ventures, Meitav Dash and YD More Investments in the round, which valued the company at nearly $1bn according to Calcalist. UVeye had secured a total of over $40m as of a January 2021 investment by carmaker Hyundai that followed $35.5m of earlier funding from investors including WR Berkley and automotive manufacturers Toyota and Volvo Cars.
Pharmaceutical firm Novo co-led a $55m series A round yesterday for Hemab, a Denmark-based developer of therapeutics to treat bleeding and thrombosis disorders. The round was co-led with HealthCap and RA Capital Management, and Novo partner Jørgen Søberg Petersen is taking a board seat at the startup. The funding came in the wake of an undisclosed amount from Novo investment vehicle Novo Seeds in December 2020.
Investment bank Goldman Sachs’ Asset Management subsidiary led a $50m funding round for Phononic, a US-based solid-state cooling and heating technology developer backed by health system Rex Healthcare, yesterday, that included Temasek, Franklin Templeton, Venrock and Oak Investment Partners. The company had raised a total of about $155m as of its series D round, which it closed at $71m in 2016 with backing from Rex subsidiary Rex Healthcare Ventures, financial services firm UBS and Huaneng Invesco WLRoss, backed by energy utility Huaneng Power, in addition to GGV Capital, Lookout Capital, Eastwood Capital Corp, Venrock, Oak Investment Partners, Tsing Capital and Wellcome Trust.
US-headquartered automotive software developer Sonatus secured $35m yesterday in a series A round featuring SAIC Capital and UMC Capital, on behalf of carmaker SAIC and semiconductor foundry UMC respectively, in addition to automotive manufacturer Hyundai Motor Group’s Kia subsidiary, electronics producer LG Electronics, automotive manufacturer Wanxiang and semiconductor technology provider Marvell. The round was led by VC firm Translink Capital at an undisclosed valuation.
Prosus Ventures, the VC arm of e-commerce and media group Nasper’s internet spinoff Prosus, has co-led a $35m series A round for Aruna, the Indonesia-based developer of an online platform that links fisheries with customers, TechCrunch reported today. The round was co-led by VC firm East Ventures’ Growth Fund and included quantitative trading firm Susquehanna International Group, telecommunications firm Telkom’s MDI Ventures unit, AC Ventures and Vertex Ventures. It followed $5.5m from East Ventures, AC Ventures and conglomerate Sinar Mas’ SMDV subsidiary in August 2020.
Telecoms and internet group SoftBank’s Latin America Fund has led a R$175m ($33.5m) funding round for Brazil-based logistics tracking technology developer Cobli, Reuters reported yesterday. Mobile chipmaker Qualcomm’s investment arm, Qualcomm Ventures, also took part, as did existing backers including Valor Capital. Cobli had received $10m in an October 2019 round led by Fifth Wall Ventures that also featured Valor Capital and NXTP Ventures.
Telecoms firm BT invested an amount reported by TechCrunch to be $33m in Safe Security, a US-headquartered provider of cyber risk analysis software, yesterday. Formerly known as Lucideus and incubated at research university IIT Bombay in India, the company raised $7m in a late 2019 round led by MS&AD Ventures, a subsidiary of insurance group MS&AD, that also featured debt financing from WTI. It came in the wake of $5.8m from JC2 Ventures and various angel investors across 2017 and 2018.
B.well Connected Health, the US-based developer of an online healthcare assistance platform, raised $32m yesterday in a series B round that included pharmacy chain Walgreens Boots Alliance’s Well Ventures unit and healthcare providers ThedaCare and UnityPoint Health, the latter through its UnityPoint Health Ventures subsidiary. Investment fund HLM Venture Partners led the round, which was preceded by a $16m series A in March 2020 led by UnityPoint Health Ventures and backed by ThedaCare and Well Ventures, taking B.well’s total funding to $31.5m.
China-based pet nutrition brand Nourse has closed RMB200m ($30.8m) in series B-plus-plus funding from investors including VC fund Vertex Ventures China, DealStreetAsia reported yesterday. The company has now raised a total of approximately $139m across three series B rounds according to DealStreetAsia, which named Tencent Investment, a subsidiary of internet group Tencent, as a backer together with Hony Capital, Meridian Capital China, Tencent Investment, Cathay Capital and Highlight Capital.
US-headquartered cloud services and computing hardware provider Lambda secured $24.5m yesterday from investors including gaming accessories brand Razer, internet technology provider Google’s Gradient Ventures unit and Bloomberg Beta, the VC firm sponsored by media group Bloomberg. All three participated in the $15m series A equity portion of the round alongside 1517 and angel investor Georges Harik while Silicon Valley Bank provided a $9.5m debt facility. Lambda named Gradient Ventures, Bloomberg Beta, 1517 and Georges Harik as existing investors.
Sololearn, the Armenia-headquartered creator of an online coding education and community platform, received $24m in series B funding yesterday from investors including Prosus Ventures, the VC arm of e-commerce and media group Naspers’ Prosus spinoff. The round was led by VC firm Drive Capital and also featured Learn Capital, the latter having contributed to a $5.6m series A round led by Prosus Ventures predecessor Naspers Ventures in 2018 that boosted Sololearn’s overall funding to $6.9m.
Dwolla, the US-based operator of an online finance transfer platform, raised $21m yesterday in a funding round led by VC firm Foundry Group that also featured Park West Asset Management and existing backers Union Square Ventures, Detroit Venture Partners, Firebrand Ventures and Next Level Ventures. The company had secured $51m altogether, as of a $12m round in 2018, from derivatives exchange operator CME Group and investors also including High Alpha, Village Ventures, Andreessen Horowitz, Thrive Capital and BetterWorks.
EmCasa, the Brazil-based operator of a technology-enhanced real estate trading firm, secured $21m yesterday from Globo Ventures, Igah Ventures, Monashees, Maya Capital, Pear Ventures, Natural Bridges Ventures (NBV) and OneVC. The company had previously raised $3.5m from e-commerce firm Mercado Livre’s Meli Fund, Monashees, NBV, Caravela Capital and Pear Ventures in September 2020.
Digital media company Gree’s Strive VC vehicle has participated in a $14m funding round for Indonesia-headquartered e-commerce aggregator Hypefast at a valuation of $50.4m, DealStreetAsia reported yesterday, citing a regulatory filing. Monk’s Hill Ventures put up $8.1m to lead the round, which included Jungle Ventures, Amand Ventures and Evowood. The startup had already accumulated $2.5m across April and June 2020 rounds led by Jungle Ventures, according to DealStreetAsia.
Miles, the US-based operator of a transport earnings voucher system, raised $12.5m yesterday in a series A round featuring air carrier Japan Airlines’ JAL Innovation Fund and insurance group MS&AD’s Aioi Nissay Dowa subsidiary. Scrum Ventures led the round, which was also backed by TransLink Capital, TechNexus Venture Collaborative, Synapse Partners and various individuals. The company said it has now secured $20m in total having received $5.8m in 2019 from investors including carmakers SAIC and Porsche (through Porsche Digital), airline JetBlue’s Technology Ventures unit and Sony’s Innovation Fund.
Germany-headquartered video game developer Keen Games received $10m from investors including internet and gaming group Tencent on Tuesday. VC fund Hiro Capital led the round, and Keen will use the proceeds to develop the successor to Portal Knights, an action role-playing game which has sold 3.5 million copies.
Singapore-based cellular meat developer Shiok Meats raised roughly $9m yesterday from investors including on-demand food provider Woowa Brothers, food ingredient manufacturer CJ CheilJedang, packaging producer Toyo Seikan and seafood exporter Vinh Hoan. They were joined by IronGrey, Big Idea Ventures, Twynam Investments, Alexander Payne Living Trust, Beyond Impact Vegan Partners, Boom Capital Fund, Mindshift Capital and private investor Henry Soesanto. Shiok did not confirm the round’s size but said it has now secured $30m in total, and that figure stood at almost $21m as of a $12.6m series A round in October 2020.
Payment technology provider InComm Payments supplied an undisclosed amount of funding on Tuesday for Instant Financial, the Canada-based developer of a system enabling users to access their salaries early without paying fees. Real Ventures led a $1.2m round for the company in 2016 that included unnamed angel investors, and it added $3.1m in 2017 according to a securities filing. TTV Capital led an $11.4m round the following year also backed by existing investors Real Ventures, ITC Partners Fund and Kinetic Ventures. Instant Financial secured a further $11.9m in October 2019, according to another filing.
US-based lending and payment software provider Artis Technologies completed a $7m series A round yesterday that included mutual insurer Cuna Mutual Group’s CMFG Ventures unit. The round was led by Saluda Grade Ventures and also featured Fintech Venture Fund, Independent Community Bankers of America and undisclosed existing investors. Fintech Ventures Fund and its affiliates had supplied $1.5m in seed funding for Artis in August 2020, doubling its overall debt and equity financing to $3m.
IT services firm Nityo Infotech’s KFC Ventures subsidiary has invested $1m to lead a $3.2m pre-series A round for Drive Lah, the Singapore-based operator of a peer-to-peer car sharing service, DealStreetAsia reported today. HH Investments, Accelerating Asia and angel investor Robin Chase also contributed to the round, which increased Drive Lah’s overall funding to $4.1m according to DealStreetAsia.
4K, the US-headquartered owner of a marketplace which issues non-fungible tokens paired with luxury goods in storage, has received $3m in seed capital from investors including blockchain software producer ConsenSys and Ideo CoLab Ventures, a vehicle for design agency Ideo, Coindesk reported on Tuesday. Electric Capital, Crosscut Ventures and Collab+Currency also contributed to the round.
Telecoms firm Globe Telecom’s venture builder subsidiary, 917Ventures, has provided PHP2.5m ($50,000) each for three Philippines-based companies, DealStreetAaia reported yesterday. The recipients are IT training provider KodeGo; Fanlife, an online community for enthusiasts of Korean pop culture; and BentaTV, a startup incubated within 917Ventures that is developing streamlined sales software for casual online merchants.
M&A
Medical technology producer BD has paid an undisclosed amount to acquire Velano Vascular, a US-based developer of needle-free blood draw technology that counts health systems Intermountain Healthcare, Sutter Health, Griffin Hospital and Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia as investors, it announced on Tuesday. Velano had most recently closed a $25m round in late 2019 featuring Intermountain, Kapor Capital and undisclosed others, increasing its overall funding to over $50m.
An affiliate of VC firm Tracker Capital Management acquired a majority stake in Accion Systems, a US-based developer of in-space propulsion systems that counts aerospace manufacturer Boeing as an investor, yesterday by leading its $42m series C round at an $83.5m valuation. Boeing’s HorizonX Ventures unit co-led Accion’s $11m series B round with Shasta Ventures in February 2020, following $7.5m in series A funding from Shasta Ventures, Slow Ventures, RRE Ventures and Founder Collective in 2016 and $3m from HorizonX Ventures in 2018.
IT services firm Wipro and computing technology provider Dell exited US-based network cybersecurity software developer CloudKnox yesterday in an acquisition of undisclosed size by software producer Microsoft. Wipro subsidiary Wipro Ventures had invested an undisclosed sum in CloudKnox in June 2020, four months after a $12m round led by Sorenson Ventures and backed by Dell investment vehicle Dell Technologies Capital, ClearSky Security and Foundation Capital that pushed the company’s total funding to $22.8m.
Private equity firm Summa Equity has bought a majority stake in G-Con Manufacturing, a US-based provider of prefabricated cleanrooms for laboratory work, for an undisclosed sum. Pharmaceutical firm Pfizer supplied $5m for the company in 2014 through its Pfizer Venture Investments unit, and that deal was followed by $3m in equity funding in 2018 and $5m in May 2019, according to regulatory filings.
Germany-based customer chatbot developer E-bot7 was acquired by LivePerson, a provider of conversational artificial intelligence technology, for an undisclosed amount on Tuesday, allowing financial services firm Commerzbank and telecoms firm Telefónica to exit. The company raised a six-figure euro amount (€100,000 = $118,000) in a 2017 seed round led by Commerzbank’s Main Incubator and backed by Telefónica unit Wayra and unnamed angel investors, adding $6.1m from Main Incubator, RTP Global, 42Cap and an undisclosed individual two years later.
Additive manufacturing technology provider Essentium signed a letter of intent on Tuesday to buy US-based programmable tool developer Collider for an undisclosed sum, four years after it participated in Techstars Atlanta, the accelerator backed by automotive and media group Cox Enterprises. Collider’s investors also include VC firm Asimov Ventures and VC funds Trend Discovery and Chattanooga Rennaisance Fund.
