Funding
Automotive manufacturers Mercedes-Benz and Stellantis provided an undisclosed amount of funding for US-based solid-state battery developer Factorial Energy yesterday through separate collaboration agreements. Mercedes-Benz said it is supplying a ‘high double-digit amount’ for the company while Stellantis did not reveal details of its investment.
US-based cell therapy developer Mana Therapeutics completed a $42m series A round yesterday, adding $7m from SK Securities, a securities brokerage subsidiary of conglomerate SK Group, and private equity firm J&W Partners. The company had publicly launched in January this year with $35m in series A funding from Cobro Ventures, Lightchain Capital, LifeSci Venture Partners and unnamed others, and announced the second tranche alongside a $7.5m venture debt facility provided by Silicon Valley Bank.
Solutions by Text, the US-headquartered creator of a text messaging software platform for use in the financial services industry, received $35m yesterday in a growth round that included Stifel Venture Bank, a subsidiary of investment banking firm Stifel. The round was led by growth equity firm Edison Partners.
HiiRoc, a UK-based developer of gas-to-hydrogen conversion technology, closed a £26m ($34.7m) funding round on Monday featuring carmaker Hyundai and its Kia subsidiary, energy utility Centrica, manufacturing group Melrose Industries, oil and gas provider Wintershall Dea, gas infrastructure provider VNG and HydrogenOne Capital. The company had previously raised an undisclosed amount from Wintershall Dea and VNG in March this year through subsidiaries Wintershall Dea Technology Ventures and VNG Innovation.
Internet group Prosus co-led a S$35m ($25.6m) funding round for Singapore-based wealth management app developer Endowus yesterday through its Prosus Ventures vehicle. The round was co-led by the state-owned EDBI and included Z Holdings, a joint venture between internet company Naver and telecommunications and internet group SoftBank, as well as telecoms firm Singapore Telecommunications’ Singtel Innov8 subsidiary, investment bank UBS and Lightspeed Venture Partners. Endowus had raised $22.3m as of a $5.2m round in June this year featuring UBS subsidiary UBS Next, Singtel Innov8 and Samsung Ventures, which invested on behalf of electronics producer Samsung.
Q-Ctrl, an Australia-based quantum software developer spun out of University of Sydney, received $25m yesterday in a series B round led by Airbus Ventures, the corporate venturing arm of aerospace manufacturer Airbus. The round included Main Sequence Ventures, Ridgeline Partners, Main Sequence Ventures, Horizons Ventures, Square Peg Capital, Sierra Ventures, DCVC, Sequoia Capital China and In-Q-Tel, the last of which had supplied funding as part of a strategic partnership agreement in April 2020. That followed a $15m round in 2019 featuring Main Sequence Ventures, Square Peg Capital, Sierra Ventures, Sequoia Capital and Horizons Ventures.
Finland-headquartered cloud video game developer Mainframe Industries raised €20.3m ($22.9m) on Monday in a series B round that included game publisher Riot Games. Venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz led the round, which also featured Maki.vc, Play Ventures, Sisu Game Ventures, Crowberry Capital and assorted private investors. The company secured $2.2m in an October 2019 seed round featuring Maki.vc, Play Ventures, Crowberry Capital and Sisu Game Ventures, and all four returned five months later for an $8.3m series A round alongside Riot Games and Andreessen Horowitz.
Actnano, a US-based developer of surface protection technology, completed a $21.8m series B round yesterday led by automotive manufacturer BMW through its BMW i Ventures unit. Automotive component supplier Hella, electronics manufacturer TDK, oil provider Hellas and chemical producers PTT and Henkel invested in the round through Hella Ventures, TDK Ventures, Ireon Ventures, GC Ventures America and Henkel Tech Ventures respectively, alongside Emerald Technology Ventures and Material Impact. The last five had combined to provide $12m in series A funding for Actnano in October 2020.
Semiconductor and data technology provider Intel led a $20m series B1 round for US-based radio frequency system developer 3D Glass Solutions yesterday through its Intel Capital unit. It was joined in the round by aerospace manufacturer Lockheed Martin’s investment arm, Lockheed Martin Ventures, as well as chemicals producer Nagase and CerraCap Ventures. The deal came after Nagase led a $12m round in mid-2019 backed by Lockheed Martin Ventures, electronic component provider Murata Manufacturing and Sun Mountain Capital.
China-based immunotherapy antibody developer ITabMed spun off from biologics producer Evive Biotech today with $20m in series A funding. The round was co-led by healthcare VC fund 3E Bioventures Capital and Yonjin Capital, a vehicle for investment holding company Yonjin Group, and also featured VC firm Binhai Venture Capital.
India-based online education course provider Adda247 secured $20m yesterday in a series B round featuring classified listings operator Info Edge, Business Standard reported yesterday, citing a company statement. The round was led by WestBridge Capital and also featured Asha Impact and JM Financial. It came after up to $1.6m in funding from digital technology provider Sterlite Technologies’ Sterlite Ventures unit in 2017 and a total of $3.9m from Info Edge in late 2019.
Healthcare providers Cigna, Texas Medical Center and Atlantic Health System provided $7.5m for US-based virtual obstetrics care provider Babyscripts yesterday to increase its series B round to $19m. The first two invested through Cigna Ventures and Texas Medical Center Venture Fund, and the tranche followed a $12m first close led by health system MemorialCare Health System’s MemorialCare Innovation Fund in September this year that included electronics manufacturer Philips and CU Healthcare Innovation Fund, an affiliate of University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus. Babyscripts’ overall funding now stands at $32.6m.
Colony Lab, a Seychelles-registered accelerator allowing users to fund early-stage crypto projects, has received $18.5m in seed funding from investors including Bixin Ventures, the VC arm of blockchain tool provider Bixin, and Hashkey, an affiliate of automotive component producer Wanxiang, CoinQuora reported yesterday. The round was led by The Avalanche Foundation, which oversees the Avalanche smart contracts platform, and also featured Shima Capital and GBV Capital.
GV, a corporate venturing subsidiary of internet and technology group Alphabet, led a $15m seed round yesterday for Groundswell, the US-headquartered creator of a software platform that enables employees to set up their own charity as a company benefit. Human Ventures, Moonshots Capital, Felicis Ventures and Core Innovation Capital also contributed to the round.
Canada-based mobility software developer Spare Labs completed an C$18m ($14.1m) series A round yesterday featuring air carrier Japan Airlines’ JAL Innovation Fund. The round was led by Inovia Capital and also backed by Kensington Capital, Link VC, Ramen VC, Ridge Ventures, TransLink Capital and Nicola Wealth. The company had already raised $4.5m in a 2019 seed round led by conglomerate Mitsubishi Corporation.
Manufacturing services provider Foxconn supplied $10m in funding for Taiwan-based automotive communications technology developer Autotalks last week through its Foxconn Interconnect Technology subsidiary. Semiconductor producer Nuvoton paid $20m for a 7.1% stake in the company in May 2019 following a $40m series D round featuring automotive component producer Delek, conglomerate Mitsui & Co’s Global Investment fund, media group Qurate’s Liberty Israel Venture Fund, electronics producer Samsung’s Catalyst Fund and Mirai Creation Investment Fund that closed in 2017.
Japan-based space industry services provider Space BD secured ¥1.04bn ($9.2m) today from investors including wedding hall operator Anniversaire, SMBC Venture Capital and Mizuho Capital, the last two being subsidiaries of financial services firms Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation and Mizuho Bank. They were joined by Incubate Fund and Temasek’s Pavilion Capital unit and the round follows a total of $5.2m in equity funding and $2m in debt financing, including $3.5m from Anniversaire, SMBC Venture Capital, Mizuho Capital and Incubate Fund in late 2019.
Petokoto, the Japan-based pet wellness care provider formerly known as Syrup, received ¥500m ($4.4m) in series A funding today from investors including furniture retailer Vega Corporation and ABC Dream Ventures, DG Ventures, Nissay Capital and Rakuten Capital, vehicles for broadcaster Asahi Broadcasting Corporation, internet company Digital Garage, insurance provider Nippon Life and e-commerce firm Rakuten respectively. They were joined by Headline, 15th Rock Ventures and individuals Jun Nishikawa and Osamu Suzuki while unnamed backers supplied debt financing. Petokoto’s most recent funding had come in March this year.
E-commerce firm Rakuten invested an undisclosed amount in Japan-based real estate crowdfunding service Syla today through corporate venturing vehicle Rakuten Capital. The deal will enable Syla users to gain and redeem Rakuten points for rewards.
Japan-based camper van sharing service Carstay has raised ¥110m ($970,000) in pre-series A funding from driver’s education provider Minami Holdings’ Minami Incubate unit, VC firm W Ventures and unnamed returning investors. The company had received $470,000 from CyberAgent Capital – on behalf of internet company CyberAgent – Lifetime Ventures and angel investors including Masato Hirai and Shintarō Tabata in August 2020, and its overall financing now stands at roughly $2.1m.
M&A
Digital currency exchange Coinbase agreed yesterday to purchase Unbound Security, an Israel-based cryptographic security technology developer backed by financial services group Citi, for an undisclosed amount. Formerly known as Dyadic Security, the company had secured $12m in series B funding from Citi subsidiary Citi Ventures, investment bank Goldman Sachs’ Principal Strategic Investments subsidiary and Innovation Endeavors in 2017 before closing the round at $20m in November 2020 with extra backing from Evolution Equity Partners and BlueRed Partners.
Additional reporting by Liwen-Edison Fu.
