Funding
US-based digital mortgage platform developer Maxwell has secured $28.5m in equity funding and $24m in debt financing from investors including financial services firm Wells Fargo’s Strategic Capital unit. The round was led by Fin VC and also featured TTV Capital, Prudence and Rotor Capital. Maxwell had raised $2m from Math Venture Partners, Techstars Ventures, Zelkova Ventures and Sovereign’s Capital in 2016, $3m from insurer Assurant, Anthemis Group and Route66 Ventures in 2017 and $16.3m from Fin VC, TTV Capital, Anthemis, Route 66 Ventures, Cantos Ventures, Thirdstream Partners, Sovereign’s Capital, Rotor Capital, Prudence Holdings and The Mortgage Collaborative Emerging Technology Fund in a March 2021 series B round.
UnitedMasters, a US-headquartered music distributor backed by internet and technology group Alphabet, film studio 20th Century Studios and electronics producer Apple, completed a $50m series C round yesterday led by venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) at a $550m valuation. Alphabet led UnitedMasters’ $70m series A round in 2017, investing alongside 20th Century, a16z and Floodgate, before Apple led a $50m round in March this year that included Alphabet and a16z.
US-based payment infrastructure developer Extend received $40m in series B funding on Wednesday from investors including financial services firms Wells Fargo and Pacific Western Bank. The round was led by March Capital and also featured B Capital, Point72 Ventures, FinTech Collective and Reciprocal Ventures. The company had raised $3m in seed funding from Point72 Ventures, Plug and Play, Reciprocal Ventures and WorldQuant Ventures in 2018 and added $11m from City National Bank, Point72, FinTech Collective and Reciprocal Ventures the following year.
FemTec Health, the US-based operator of an online portal for women’s healthcare and beauty, launched yesterday with over $38m in funding from investors including cosmetics brand Shiseido, life sciences consulting firm Ithaka Life Sciences and Unilever Ventures, the corporate venturing arm of consumer goods producer Unilever. Its backers also include Longmont Capital, e.Ventures, Viking Global and Trinity Capital.
Israel-based silicon photonics technology provider DustPhonics raised $33m yesterday in a series B round featuring Intel Capital, the corporate VC arm of semiconductor technology producer Intel. Investment firm Greenfield Partners led the round, which included Avigdor Willenz, the private investor who joined Intel Capital and WRVI Capital in the company’s $25m series B round in 2019.
Japan-based electricity retail marketplace operator Minna Denryoku rebranded to Updater today having closed a ¥3.72bn ($32.7m) series C round. The round’s $9.4m third tranche included medical equipment producer Shinwa Tech, property developer Hulic, broadcaster TBS, automotive information provider Proto and financial services firms Sumitomo Mitsui Trust and Mizuho Bank – the last four through TBS Innovation Partners, Proto Ventures, SuMi Trust Innovation Fund and Mizuho Capital – as well as W Ventures and Japan Finance Corporation. The previous tranche had closed in May this year.
Butler Hospitality, a US-based cloud kitchen operator backed by conglomerate Kraft Group, secured $32m from Shamrock Holdings, Maywic Select Investments, Platform Ventures and Mousse Partners yesterday. The round followed a $15m series A round in July 2020 led by &vest at an $85m valuation. That transaction included Kraft and fellow existing investors Scopus Ventures and Loeb.nyc as well as Mousse Partners, bringing the company’s overall funding to $20.2m.
Telecommunications and internet group SoftBank made a $25m convertible equity investment in Israel-based equity crowdfunding platform OurCrowd on Wednesday through its Vision Fund 2. OurCrowd had raised $60m from financial services provider Orix in November 2020, following $72m in series C funding from investors including financial services firm UOB in 2016. It had previously secured $30.5m across its series A and B rounds.
Canada-headquartered grid automation technology developer BrainBox AI reached a $24m first close of its series A round yesterday, with power and automation equipment producer ABB leading the tranche. It was joined by Esplanade Ventures and Desjardins Capital, both having contributed to a $12m round for BrainBox in April 2020.
Israel-based fleet optimisation software provider Autofleet completed a $20m series B round yesterday featuring tyre manufacturer Goodyear and Fujitsu Ventures, the corporate VC arm of IT services firm Fujitsu. Investment firm Keyframe Capital led the round, which included Mizmaa Ventures, Maniv Mobility and Next Gear Ventures. Autofleet had disclosed $7.5m in seed and series A funding in April 2020 from Mizmaa Ventures, Maniv Mobility, Next Gear Ventures and Liil Ventures.
Canada-based retinal imaging technology developer Optina secured C$24.8m ($20m) yesterday in a series A round that included pharmaceutical firm Boehringer Ingelheim’s Venture Fund. DigitalDx Ventures led the round, which also featured Desjardins Capital, Hike Ventures, Advisors Fund, Medteq+ and the Canadian government’s Biomed Propulsion initiative. Optina had received $3.1m from Zoic Capital, Desjardins Capital, DigitalDx Ventures, Pallasite Ventures, Barney Pell and his AngelList Syndicate, Advisors.fund and Hike Ventures in 2018, adding an undisclosed amount from Medteq+ in mid-2019.
Growth equity firm Minerva Growth Partners led a ¥2.2bn ($19.3m) funding round for Japan-based business development services provider Infcurion on Wednesday that included GMO Venture Partners, a subsidiary of internet company GMO, as well as accounting software provider Money Forward and financial services firms SBI, Mizuho Bank and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, the last two through Mizuho Capital and SMBC Venture Capital. It had raised a total of $7.4m before adding over $22m in a March 2021 round backed by corporates Ceres, Dai Nippon Printing, Japan Post, Money Forward, TIS and Toppan.
US-based clean engine technology developer ClearFlame Engine Technologies raised $17m yesterday in a series A round that included heavy machinery manufacturer John Deere and commodities trader Mercuria. The round was led by investment firm Breakthrough Energy Ventures and also featured Clean Energy Ventures. It followed an undisclosed amount of seed capital from Ag Startup Engine in January 2019 and a $3m round led by Clean Energy Ventures in April 2020.
US-based blockchain data analytics provider Elementus has received $12m in series A funding from investors including quantitative trading firm Alameda Research, digital currency exchange BlockFi and blockchain technology provider Blockchain.com, CoinDesk reported yesterday. Velvet Sea Ventures led the round, which also featured Pomp Investments, Lightspeed Venture Patrners, Gemini Frontier Fund and Avon Ventures. The company had raised $610,000 from unnamed investors in 2018 and $3.5m from Morgan Creek Digital, Devonshire Investors, Stage 1 Ventures and Robot Ventures in September 2019.
Civil engineering firm Southland Holdings has led a series A round for Sera Systems, the US-based developer of a software platform for the home services industry, that was sized at approximately $11.8m, NXT Inno reported yesterday. The capital will go to product development and a recruitment drive intended to expand Sera’s team from 16 to about 75.
Xeal, the US-based creator of an electric vehicle charging system that uses distributed ledger technology, has raised $11m in a series A round featuring real estate manager Hunt Companies and property developers Align Real Estate and Lincoln Property Company, the latter through its LPC Ventures subsidiary, TechCrunch reported yesterday. ArcTern Ventures and Moderne Ventures co-led the round, which included Harrison Street and which followed a previously undisclosed $3m seed round co-led by angel investor Ramez Naam and Pasadena Angels.
Toolmaker Stanley Black & Decker took part in a $10m series A round for Viakoo, a US-based developer of remediation technology for internet-of-things devices, yesterday. VC firm Shasta Ventures led the round, which was also backed by PivotNorth Capital and Blue Fog Capital. Viakoo had raised $1.5m in January 2019 according to a regulatory filing, and it named Stanley Black & Decker, PivotNorth Capital and Blue Fog Capital as existing investors this week.
Asset manager ResponsAbility Investments has provided $10m in funding for Investree, an Indonesia-based online business lending platform, Crowdfund Insider reported yesterday. Investree raised $23.5m in series C funding in April 2020 from BRI Ventures and MUFG Innovation Partners – on behalf of financial services firms Bank BRI and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group – as well as financial services provider SBI and financial technology producer 9F Fintech Holdings Group. It had received an undisclosed amount of series B financing from Mandiri Capital (on behalf of Bank Mandiri), Persada Capital, Endeavor Catalyst and Kejora in 2018.
Financial services firm Mizuho Bank and Money Forward Venture Partners, a subsidiary of accounting software provider Money Forward subsidiary, added ¥300m to a funding round for Japan-based construction management software developer Photoruction on Wednesday that now totals ¥1.06bn ($9.2m). The August 2021 first close included internet company GMO, financial services firm Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, Keio University and Development Bank of Japan and it has now raised approximately $18.4m altogether.
Digital media company Gree’s Strive fund led a ¥1bn ($8.8m) funding round on Wednesday for M&A Cloud, the Japan-based operator of an online mergers and acquisition matching platform. Hakuhodo DY Ventures, Japan Post Capital and SMBC Venture Capital also took part, on behalf of marketing technology group Hakuhodo, postal services firm Japan Post and financial services provider Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, and the round included advertising agency North and South, Hayate Investment’s MS-Japan unit, Skyland Ventures and Incubate Fund. M&A Cloud said it has now raised approximately $10.9m in total, securities firm Sawada Holdings having invested an undisclosed amount in 2017.
Singapore-based e-commerce services provider Lingble increased its series B round to $8.5m last month, adding an undisclosed amount from toy and gadget retailer Hamee, it disclosed yesterday. Antique and jewel trader Valuence invested an undisclosed amount in the company prior to April this year, and it added $8.5m from Valuence, textile trader Yagi & Co, consulting firm Innovation, IT services firm SCSK, market research provider GII, luxury goods importer British Luxury Brand Group, Makuake and FindStar in July.
NeuraLight, the US-based creator of a digital drug development platform for neurological disorder therapeutics, has emerged from stealth with $5.5m in seed funding from investors including insurance group MS&AD, TechCrunch reported yesterday. Kli Capital, Tuesday Capital, Operator Partners, VSC Ventures and angel investors including Tamara Minick-Scokalo, Fidji Simo, Vivek Garipalli and Noam Solomon also participated.
Conglomerate Sojitz invested an undisclosed sum in AirX, the Japan-based owner of a service which matches helicopters with passengers, on Wednesday. Rail operator Kintetsu Group Holdings joined Monex Ventures to provide $1.2m for the company in an August 2019 series A round that followed a six-figure dollar amount from Anri and unnamed angel investors through a 2016 seed round.
Japan-based esports technology provider Tokyo eSports Gate raised ¥300m ($2.6m) on Wednesday from investors including cigarette manufacturer Japan Tobacco, construction firm Robot Home, real estate developer Property Agent, network infrastructure builder Media Create Communications and Gushcloud International Ventures, a vehicle for talent agency Gushcloud. The cash will be used for platform development.
Nursing care provider Tsukui Group joined mapping and localisation software producer Kudan and VC firm Monozukuri Ventures to invest an undisclosed amount in Japan-based avatar robot developer Ugo today. Formerly known as Mira Robotics, Ugo had raised a total of about $3.5m from building maintenance firm Taisei, Mitsubishi UFJ Capital, Yokohama Capital (subsidiaries of financial services firms Mitsubishi UFJ and Bank of Yokohama), science park operator KSP’s KSP6 fund and Monozukuri Ventures as of its April 2021 series A round.
Japan-based challenger bank Nudge secured ¥230m ($2m) on Wednesday in a pre-series A round co-led by Spiral Capital and Headline Asia that included electronics manufacturer Sony’s Innovation Fund, Genesia Ventures, Insignia Venture Partners and angel investor Takashi Okita. Nudge’s total funding stood at $9m as of an August 2021 round co-led by Spiral Capital and Headline Asia and backed by Genesia Ventures. Its earlier investors include Saison Ventures, the VC arm of payment services firm Credit Saison, as well as internet company Digital Garage’s DG Ventures unit, printing services provider Toppan, financial services firm Seven Bank, Genesia Ventures, D4V, Apricot Ventures and FinoLab.
Change the World, the Japan-based operator of a solar project investment platform, has also raised ¥200m ($1.8m), from medical services provider Medical Net, construction and nursing group GC Story, energy and wastewater treatment equipment maker Ryoeng, Team Energy and unnamed private investors today. The round included debt financing from an undisclosed financial institution.
Japan-based artwork management service Between the Arts received ¥189m ($1.7m) in pre-series A funding yesterday from art museum and auctioneer group Shinwa Wise Holdings, Gazelle Capital and multiple undisclosed angel investors. Online recruitment firm Visional’s BizReach Founder Fund invested $530,000 in the company in January this year to increase its overall funding to $920,000.
Indonesia-based aquaculture technology startup Delos has secured an undisclosed amount of funding from investors including Arise, the VC vehicle formed by telecoms firm Telkom Indonesia’s MDI Ventures unit and VC firm Finch Capital, DailySocial reported yesterday. Arise was joined in the round by iSeed Asia and private investors Hendra Kwik and Irvan Kolonas.
Additional reporting by Liwen-Edison Fu.
