Funding
US-based data privacy software provider Skyflow secured $45m yesterday in a series B round featuring MS&AD Ventures, a subsidiary of insurance group MS&AD, and Mouro Capital, the venture capital firm funded by banking firm Santander. Growth equity firm Insight Partners led the round, which was also backed by Canvas Ventures, Foundation Capital and individuals including Gokul Rajaram. The company’s total funding stood at a minimum of $25m as of its $17.5m series A round, which was led by Canvas Ventures and backed by Foundation Capital in December 2020. MS&AD Ventures and Foundation Capital were both earlier investors.
Singapore-headquartered neurotherapeutics developer Cecerin announced $40m in series II and series IIA funding yesterday from investors including food and nutrition product manufacturer Nestlé, which it said supplied the entirety of the series II financing. The latter round was co-led by SK Securities, Hana Financial Investment (part of financial services group Hana Financial), Partners Investment, Arche Investment and K&T Investment and included Shinhan Investment, IBK Capital, KB Financial Group, M Capital and Medici Investment.
Carbon Capture, a US-based developer of carbon dioxide removal technology, completed a $35m series A round yesterday that included minerals miner Rio Tinto. The round was led by Prime Movers Lab and also featured Idealab Studio, Idealab X, Time Ventures and undisclosed others. The company has not revealed details of its earlier funding but said it has now raised $43m altogether.
Financial services firm Deutsche Bank, IT services provider Wipro and networking technology producer Cisco took part in a $30m funding round for US-based quality governance software developer SeaLights yesterday, the last two through subsidiaries Cisco Investments and Wipro Ventures. The round was led by Red Dot Capital Partners and included Translink Capital, Shasta Ventures and existing backers Blumberg Capital and TLV Partners. SeaLights had secured a total of $19.6m as of an $8.6m round in January 2020 co-led by Cisco and Wipro Ventures.
Enterprise technology producer Hewlett Packard Enterprise co-led a $26m series A round for US-based software modernisation technology developer vFunction yesterday with VC firm Zeev Ventures. They were joined by Engineering Capital, Primera Capital and Shasta Ventures, the three having taken part in vFunction’s $12.2m seed round in February this year alongside Zeev Ventures. The company said it had previously received an undisclosed amount of pre-seed financing from Engineering Capital.
Singapore-based hydrogen drone technology developer H3 Dynamics has completed a $26m series B round that included measuring equipment manufacturer Ateq and property developer Grosvenor Group, SUAS News reported on Monday. The round was led by Mirai Creation Fund, which is backed by carmaker Toyota, and also featured the Singaporean state-owned EDBI, angel network ACA, Capital Management Group, Audacy Ventures and Ascent Hydrogen Fund. H3 Dynamics has not disclosed details of past financing.
Concept Art House, a US-based publisher of video game art and non-fungible token content, received $25m in series A funding yesterday from investors including Hashkey, a blockchain affiliate of automotive component producer Wanxiang, as well as blockchain game producers Dapper Labs and Animoca Brands, football news provider OneFootball and networking research provider Protocol Labs. They were joined by Anthos, Appworks, Blockchain Coinvestors, Fabric VC, Liberty City Ventures, PKO Investments, Polymorphic Capital, Redbeard Ventures, Spartan Group and various angel investors.
Healthcare provider Trinity Health added $1m to US-based digital health technology developer Xealth’s series B round yesterday, increasing it to $25m. Health systems Advocate Aurora Health (through Advocate Aurora Enterprises), Banner Health, ChristianaCare, Cone Health, Memorial Hermann, Nebraska Medicine, Novant Health, Stanford Health Care, Atrium Health, Cleveland Clinic, Froedtert & MCW Health Network, MemorialCare Innovation Fund, Providence and UPMC supplied the first $24m last month and Xealth has now raised $53.6m to date.
Denmark-based cellular milk product developer Biomilq raised $21m today in a series A round led by pharmaceutical firm Novo. The corporate was joined in the round by Blue Horizon, Breakthrough Energy Ventures, Spero Ventures, Digitalis Ventures, Green Generation Fund and Gaingels. Biomilq had previously received $3.5m in a June 2020 round led by Breakthrough Energy Ventures that also featured Blue Horizon, Purple Orange Ventures and angel investor Shazi Visram.
Resistant AI, a Czech Republic-headquartered developer of software which automatically responds to security vulnerabilities in financial services products, secured $16.6m in series A funding yesterday from investors including internet and technology group Alphabet’s GV unit, VentureBeat reported. Index Ventures, Credo Ventures and Seedcamp also contributed to the round, having joined angel investors Daniel Dines and Michal Pechoucek to invest $2.75m in the company in April 2020.
Consumer electronics manufacturer Xiaomi has co-led a series A round for China-based expense management software developer Zhichubao sized at almost RMB100m ($15.6m), DealStreetAsia reported today. The round was co-led by VC firm Shunwei Capital and also featured Poly Capital, a subsidiary of state-owned conglomerate Poly Group, in addition to Vantron Capital and GSR United Capital. Zhichubao had previously raised a seven-figure dollar amount from GSR United Capital and Fangxin Capital in a 2020 series A round, according to DealStreetAsia.
Zoba, a US-headquartered fleet optimisation software developer spun out of Harvard University, completed a $12m series A round yesterday that was led by NTTVC, a corporate venturing subsidiary of telecommunications group NTT. VC firm CRV also participated in the round, having led a $3m seed round for Zoba in February 2019 that included Founder Collective and angel investor Mark Cuban. Fay Hazaveh Costa, a partner at NTTVC, is taking a seat on Zoba’s board of directors in connection with the latest round.
Lydia AI, the Canada-based health insurance software developer formerly known as Knowtions Research, completed an $8m series A-plus round yesterday that was led by Information Venture Partners and backed by fellow VC firm 500 Global. E-commerce firm Alibaba’s Entrepreneurs Fund took part in Lydia’s $5m series A round, which was led by Information Venture Partners in 2018, and Vectr Ventures is among its earlier investors.
Automotive component manufacturer Denso and private equity firm Option3 combined to provide $8m in series A funding for US-based automotive cybersecurity software developer Dellfer yesterday. Denso had previously invested in the company through a 2018 round sized at a minimum of $2.2m according to a securities filing.
Proportunity, a UK-based online lending platform operator backed by media group Axel Springer, has secured $7m in equity funding and $143m in debt financing from Kibo Ventures, VentureFriends, Anthemis, Entrepreneur First and Amro Partners, TechCrunch reported today. Anthemis and Axel Springer vehicle Axel Springer Digital Ventures had supplied $2.6m in seed funding for the company in late 2019 following $3.6m from estate agency Savills, Entrepreneur First, Global Founders Capital, Concrete VC, Trusted Insights, Le Studio VC and various individuals the previous year.
US-based sales automation software developer RevOps increased its seed round to $6.7m yesterday, adding $5m in a tranche co-led by internet technology provider Google’s Gradient Ventures fund, Caffeinated Capital and Coatue Management. The February 2020 first close was led by Gradient Ventures and backed by Caffeinated Capital, and RevOps said this week its early angel investors include Jeff Lawson.
Gradient Ventures also led a $6.3m seed round for US-based collaboration tool developer Mage yesterday that also featured Neo, Designer Fund and individuals including John Riccitiello, Scott Belsky, Lenny Rachitsky and James Beshara. The cash will be allocated to product development along with the recruitment of product design and engineering staff.
Eviry, the Japan-headquartered creator of a video-based business digitalisation offering, raised ¥700m ($6.1m) today from investors including Mizuho Capital, Seibu Shinkin Capital and Daiwa Corporate Investment, on behalf of financial services firms Mizuho Bank and Seibu Shinkin Bank and brokerage Daiwa Securities. They were joined by Regional Revitalisation Solution and the round followed $910,000 from digital advertising agency Digital Advertising Consortium and internet company CyberAgent (through CyberAgent Capital) in 2018 and $2.3m from NTT Docomo Ventures, the VC arm of mobile network operator NTT Docomo, in December 2019.
US-based chemical product marketplace BluePallet has secured $5m in a funding round led by Vinmar Ventures, the corporate venturing arm of plastics and chemicals distributor Vinmar International, TechCrunch reported yesterday. Angel investors Terry Hill, Mathew Brainerd and Bruce Schechinger also took part in the round, and were identified as investors when the startup emerged from stealth with $4m in seed capital in May this year. It has now raised $10m to date, according to TechCrunch.
Iwaya, a Japan-based developer of balloon-powered space travel technology, increased its overall funding to ¥530m ($4.6m) today with an undisclosed amount from investors including Sumitomo Mitsui Insurance Venture Capital, a subsidiary of insurance provider Sumitomo Mitsui. The round also featured financial services firm Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation’s SMBC Venture Capital unit, Yamaguchi Capital and existing backer Incubate Fund. Iwaya said it had raised its seed funding in 2020 without giving further details.
Decentology, a US-headquartered startup working on a decentralised marketplace for composable smart contracts, disclosed $4.3m in seed financing yesterday from investors including blockchain game publisher Dapper Labs and identity management technology developer Synaps. The company’s other backers include Borderless Capital, Good News Ventures, Berezka DAO, Animal Ventures and Kosmos Capital.
Financial services group Nomura Holdings invested an undisclosed amount in Crypto Garage, a blockchain services subsidiary of internet company Digital Garage, today. Crypto Garage will continue to operate as a Digital Garage subsidiary after the round but will explore collaboration options with Nomura and its Komainu subsidiary.
US-based cryptocurrency options platform developer PsyOptions has completed a $3.5m funding round led by quantitative trading firm Alameda Research, CoinDesk reported yesterday. Proprietary trading firm MGNR and crypto market maker Wintermute also contributed to the round, as did CMS Holdings, Ledger Prime and Airspeed18.
M&A
Insurance software producer HealthEdge Software agreed yesterday to buy Wellframe, a US-based developer of digital health management technology, providing an exit for Blue Venture Fund, the corporate venturing representative for 35 Blue Cross Blue Shield health insurers. Wellframe had raised just over $45m as of a $20m series C round in late 2019 led by Blue Venture Fund (then called BlueCross BlueShield Venture Partners) and backed by investment and financial services group Fidelity’s F-Prime Capital fund and Threshold Ventures. Its earlier investors include Formation 8, Waterline Ventures and Queensbridge Venture Partners.
Dermatology diagnostics product maker Castle Biosciences agreed the same day to purchase Cernostics, a US-based tissue diagnostics technology developer backed by genomics technology provider Illumina and healthcare providers UPMC and Geisinger Health System. Castle will pay $30m upfront with up to $50m to follow through milestone payments. Cernostics had raised a total of $13m as of a $2.5m series A1 round led by Illumina subsidiary Illumina Ventures in 2018 and its earlier investors include Novitas Capital, Pittsburgh Life Sciences Greenhouse and Ben Franklin Technology Partners of Northeastern PA.
Additional reporting by Liwen-Edison Fu.
