AAA Weekly corporate venturing deal net: 24-28 August 2015

Weekly corporate venturing deal net: 24-28 August 2015

India-based digital technology platform Komli Media spun out predictive advertising technology provider RevX on Tuesday with $4m of funding supplied by its existing investors, including Norwest Venture Partners, the venture capital firm funded by bank Wells Fargo. The other participants were Nexus Venture Partners, Helion Venture Partners, Draper Fisher Jurvetson and Peepul Capital.

SkinVision, the Netherlands-based creator of a skin cancer detection app, has raised €3m ($3.5m) in “late series A/early series B” funding from pharmaceutical company LEO Pharma and investment firm Personal Health Solutions Capital, according to TechCrunch. The investment boosted SkinVision’s total funding to between $5.8m and $7m, and Personal Health Solutions Capital remains the company’s majority shareholder.

Kabuku, the Japan-based operator of 3D printing service brand Rinkak, has secured ¥400m ($3.3m) from VC firm Global Brain for a series B round that is not yet closed, The Bridge reported today. The round follows a ¥20m seed round in 2013 and a $1.7m series A backed by CyberAgent Ventures, internet company CyberAgent’s early-stage investment arm, and Fuji Startup Ventures, a subsidiary of media group Fuji TV, in June 2014.

Innosolids, the Netherlands-based developer of a cleaner method of colouring plastic, has received an undisclosed sum from corporate-backed VC fund Icos Capital and Dutch state-backed investment firm LIOF. Founded in 2011, Innosolids plans to use the cash to introduce its product to market and expand across the globe, also forming partnerships with Icos’s corporate backers, which include construction firm BAM and chemicals producer Corbion.

US-based connected health startup Mocacare secured $2m in funding on Wednesday from medical device supplier Atom Health Corporation, VC fund JDM Digital and packaged goods and medical device-focused company EMB International. The series A round boosted Mocacare’s total funding to more than $4m, following earlier backing from investors including Atom Health.

Consulting firm Boston Consulting Group paid an undisclosed sum yesterday for a minority stake in TSG Consulting, an Australia-based operations and supply chain analytics provider, as part of a strategic partnership agreement. TSG focuses on mining and natural resources-based data and will help Boston Consulting offer a wider range of services to its customers.

B Dash Ventures, the VC fund backed by a host of Japan-based corporates, has invested ¥200m ($1.7m) in Sotoasobi, a Japan-based outdoor leisure package provider, The Bridge reported on Monday. Originally founded in 2004, Sotoasobi plans to use the capital infusion to double its 10-strong curator team, enhance its website and develop a booking management tool for leisure package providers.

Farmnote, a Japan-based developer of sensor devices and cloud-based systems for dairy and livestock farmers, has raised ¥210m ($1.7m) from Kanematsu Agritech, a subsidiary of trading firm Kanematsu, as well as mobile game producer Gree, angel investors Daiji Hirata and Kotaro Chiba, and an additional, unnamed company, The Bridge reported yesterday. It will use the capital to hire data scientists and software engineers as it looks to further develop technology to monitor livestock and dairy production.

Germany-based online recruitment startup Mobilejob.com has received an undisclosed amount of series A capital from media group Mueller Medien that lifted its overall funding to more than €1m ($1.1m). Corporate-backed VC fund High-Tech Gruenderfonds previously committed an undisclosed amount of seed funding to Mobilejob in December 2014.

Hyper, the Germany-based operator of a curated platform for short-form videos, launched on Wednesday with $1.1m in seed funding from backers including Broadway Video Ventures, the investment arm of entertainment studio Broadway Video. Advancit Capital led the round, which also included Lowercase Capital, Freeland Ventures and Mesa Ventures.

E-commerce company Amazon revealed the last two startups which it has invested in from its $100m Alexa Fund are Musaic, the UK-based creator of a high-resolution wireless hi-fi system that can be operated in every room of a house, and US-based water efficiency technology developer Rachio. Amazon invested an undisclosed sum in both, and Rachio’s funding came off the back of $2.9m in equity and debt raised as of November 2014, according to regulatory filings.

Broadcasting group EW Scripps invested $500,000 in US-based consumer intelligence provider Cintric on Tuesday as part of a larger seed round. Cintric, which raised $620,000 in debt financing in July this year according to a regulatory filing, helps brands, publishers and retailers process behavioural data from potential customers and use that information to launch personalised marketing campaigns.

Finland-based event space booking platform Venuu has raised €425,000 ($480,000) in a seed round backed by SanomaVentures, which acts as educational media company Sanoma’s corporate venturing unit, Reaktor Polte, which does the same for production and design technology provider Reaktor, and various angel investors. The cash will support international growth for Venuu, particularly in neighbouring Sweden.

Online travel agency Ibibo Group has supplied an undisclosed amount of funding to Djubo, the India-based developer of a hotel services platform, the Economic Times reported today. Djubo, which was founded in February 2015, provides a range of services through the platform including booking confirmations, room queries and hold requests.

India-based online local services marketplace BookMeIn has secured Rs 25m ($370,000) in seed capital from real estate-focused corporation Ajmera Group of Companies, the Economic Times reported on Monday. BookMeIn helps local services market themselves and process transactions online, and plans to add between 15 and 20 categories in the next month including fitness and wellness.

Diversified trading company Equentia Natural Resources has invested $150,000 in SLS Cuisines India, the owner of fast food chain Roll Mafia, VCCircle reported on Wednesday. The company, which has 11 outlets across the cities of Pune and Patna, intends to open another 50 branches across Mumbai, Chandigarh, Baroda, Bangalore, Delhi and Gurgaon by March 2016.

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