Funding
Ontop, the US-based operator of a cross-border human resources offering, has received $20m in series A funding from investors including telecommunications and internet group SoftBank’s SB Opportunity Fund, Refresh Miami reported yesterday. Hedge fund manager Tiger Global Management and venture capital firm Point72 Ventures co-led the round, which reportedly hiked Ontop’s total funding to $26m. Point72 Ventures, Funders Club, ClockTower Technology Ventures, H2O Capital, Magma Partners, Soma Capital, Supernode and unnamed angel investors had supplied $4.5m in a May 2021 seed round.
Media group Emtek bought a 2.4% stake in Nium, the Singapore-based operator of an online international payment platform, for approximately $19.6m last month through a secondary share purchase, DealStreetAsia reported today, citing a regulatory filing. The shares were sold by financial services provider SBI and VC firm Vertex Ventures and the size of the deal is based on the $1bn-plus valuation at which Nium raised $200m in July this year, in a series D round boosting its overall funding to almost $300m. Its earlier backers include corporates Visa, Kasikorn Bank (through Beacon Venture Capital), Rocket Internet, Telkom Indonesia (through MDI Ventures) and Bank BRI of Indonesia (through BRI Ventures).
Run.Edge, a Japan-based provider of sports video software, raised an undisclosed amount of pre-series B funding yesterday from domestic goods aftersales service Japan Living Warranty and Sony Innovation Fund, Mitsubishi UFJ Capital and Keio Innovation Initiative – on behalf of electronics product manufacturer Sony, financial services firm Mitsubishi UFJ and Keio University – to take its total funding to ¥1.5bn ($13.5m). It had secured $5.2m in a February 2020 round featuring corporates KDDI, Data Stadium, Link-U, Crops Corporation, Mediaseek, Obunsha and Quiqsoft.
Bravesoft, the Japan-based operator of hybrid event platform Eventos, secured ¥700m ($6.3m) today from Voyage Ventures, Nagoya TV Ventures and Kintetsu Venture Partners – on behalf of travel technology provider Voyage, broadcaster Nagoya TV and rail operator Kintetsu – as well as recruitment firm MyNavi, anime studio Orient Light and Magic’s OLM Ventures unit, securities firm Okasan Securities’ Okasan Capital Partners vehicle, Innovation Engine and an unnamed additional company. Bravesoft had previously raised $3.7m in a March 2020 round featuring corporate investors Benesse, Dip Corporation, Congres, ValueDesign, Iwai Corporation and Asahi.
Lawpath, the Australia-based owner of an online legal services platform, has received A$7.5m ($5.5m) in funding from investors including US-headquartered counterpart LegalZoom, TechCrunch reported yesterday. Adcock Private Equity also took part in the round, as did the Gonski family and private investors Justin Ryan, Tony Faure, Khai Ha and Gonzalo Troncoso. The company had raised a total of $4.3m as of a $3m round in late 2019 featuring LegalZoom, Adcock Private Equity, Pollenizer Investments, Fort Street Advisors, Machdoch Ventures and angel investor Nick Abrahams.
Japan-based drone producer VFR raised an undisclosed amount of funding late last month from autonomous robotics technology developer Autonomous Control Systems Laboratory’s ACSL fund 1, telecoms firm KDDI’s Open Innovation Fund, electronics provider Kaga, electronics component producer Rikei Corporation and VC fund Drone Fund, it disclosed today. The company was formed as a subsidiary of computer manufacturer Vaio Corporation in March 2020.
Cryptocurrency exchange CXR Engineering provided an undisclosed amount of funding for Japan-based financial data aggregator Minkabu The Infonoid today. NTT Data, a subsidiary of telecoms group NTT, had invested an undisclosed amount in Minkabu in 2018 in connection with a business and capital alliance.
Digital payment services provider Kvanto Payment Services has invested $4.75m in India-headquartered open banking software developer Mobileware Technologies, YourStory reported yesterday. The cash will be allocated to product development, sales and marketing, and DAM Capital Advisors was financial adviser on the deal.
Thunder, a US-based consulting partner focusing on the Salesforce customer relationship management platform and Copado – which provides dedicated software for Salesforce – disclosed yesterday it has raised an undisclosed amount from Salesforce subsidiary Salesforce Ventures, Clearsight Advisors and Winning Streak Ventures. Although the size of the round was not disclosed, a securities filing shows Thunder received $2m from 13 unnamed investors in August this year.
Aeterlink, a Japan-based wireless power supply technology developer spun out of Stanford University, received ¥200m ($1.8m) in series A funding today from investors including trading group Itochu, which participated through its Itochu Technology Ventures unit. Keio Innovation Initiative, a vehicle for Keio University, also contributed to the round.
Financial services firm Bank of Kyoto’s Kyogin Bright Future Support Fund joined VC fund Beenext’s All Star SaaS Fund to provide ¥180m ($1.6m) for Japan-based factory digitalisation software developer Monorevo today. The deal came in the wake of $180,000 from existing investor Kyogin Bright Future Support Fund in June 2020, boosting the company’s overall funding to about $300,000.
ForIt, the provider of a digital advertising platform called AFB and a subsidiary of online advertising technology producer Full Speed, invested an undisclosed amount in Media Equity, the Japan-based operator of a non-fungible token (NFT) issuing service. The cash was supplied through a business and capital agreement which has allowed ForIt to enter the NFT space.
PhyTunes, a US-based developer of wireless transmission technology, completed a $1.5m seed round yesterday that included telecoms firm Deutsche Telekom’s Hub:raum vehicle. The round was led by VC firm Quake Capital and also featured Draper University Ventures and individuals including John Cioffi, chairman of PhyTunes.
Wasp, the Croatia-headquartered creator of a low-code programming language for use in developing full-stack web applications, has raised $1.5m in a seed round co-led by HV Capital, the VC firm backed by publisher Holtzbrinck, TechCrunch reported yesterday. VC fund Lunar Ventures co-led the round, which included 468 Capital, Tokyo Black, Acequia Capital, Abstraction Capital and undisclosed angel investors.
Three-Is, the Japan-based operator of a cookie-free digital advertising platform dubbed Candy, secured an undisclosed amount of funding yesterday from investors including Mizuho Capital, Mitsubishi UFJ Capital and Miyako Capital, respective subsidiaries of financial services firms Mizuho Bank and Mitsubishi UFJ, and Kyoto University. It came after mail order retailer Dinos Cecile invested an undisclosed sum in Three-Is in January 2020, its earlier backers including recruitment firm Mynavi and online advertising technology provider Voyage Group’s VC unit, Voyage Ventures.
M&A
Clothing retailer Gap purchased US-headquartered retail optimisation software provider Context-Based 4 Casting (CB4) for an undisclosed amount yesterday, enabling diversified conglomerate Sonae to exit. The company’s overall funding stood at approximately $23m as of a $16m series B round in 2019 led by Octopus Ventures that included Sonae vehicle Sonae IM and existing backers Sequoia Capital and Pereg Ventures.
Digital payment processor Paytm has paid an undisclosed amount to fully acquire one of its portfolio companies, India-based loan collection service provider CreditMate, Inc42 reported on Sunday. CreditMate had raised $500,000 from India Quotient in 2016 before Paytm invested an undisclosed sum the following year.
Additional reporting by Liwen-Edison Fu.
