Bertelsmann India Investments, a corporate venturing subsidiary of media firm Bertelsmann, has invested $5m in India-based, fashion discovery platform Roposo, enabling it to close a $15m series B round in which hedge fund Tiger Global Management has already invested $10m, Press Trust of India reported on Tuesday. Tiger Global led Roposo’s $5m series A round in March 2015, which also featured India Quotient and angel investor Binny Bansal, and which followed $1m of seed capital.
Canada-based web application security software provider Immunio raised $5m on Wednesday in a series A round led by venture capital fund White Star Capital that included Bloomberg Beta, the early-stage investment subsidiary of media group Bloomberg, BDC Capital, Hoxton Ventures and Real Ventures, all four of which are existing investors. Immunio emerged from stealth in April 2015 with $2.7m from Bloomberg Beta, Hoxton Ventures and Real Ventures, and has now raised $8.3m in total.
Xola, a US-based developer of booking and marketing software for tours and activities companies, secured $5m yesterday in a series A round led by Rakuten Travel, a subsidiary of e-commerce company Rakuten. The round, in which Rakuten Travel provided $2.5m, follows a $1.8m seed round in February 2014 backed by StartX, Bee Partners, WI Harper, TEEC Angel Fund and various angel investors.
Indonesia-based budget hotel room booking platform Nida Rooms has raised $4.2m in a pre-series A round featuring CyberAgent Ventures, the corporate venturing unit for internet company CyberAgent, and VC firm Convergence Ventures that valued it at $11m, Tech in Asia reported yesterday. Launched in December 2015, Nida had previously received $1.5m in seed capital from undisclosed investors.
Citi Ventures, the strategic investment subsidiary of financial services firm Citi, provided an undisclosed amount of funding for US-based business financing platform BlueVine on Wednesday. BlueVine had previously raised $64m in funding from investors including e-commerce firm Rakuten, Menlo Ventures, Lightspeed Venture Partners, 83North and Correlation Ventures.
SnappyData, a US-based startup building an in-memory data platform, secured $3.65m on Wednesday in a series A round co-led by IT technology provider Pivotal, from which SnappyData spun out; GE Digital, a subsidiary of industrial product maker General Electric; and investment firm GTD Capital. The cash will go to engineering and sales.
Canada-based native advertising technology developer Native Ads has raised C$4m ($3.2m) in funding from investors including adtech provider Beijing Genuine Network Media Technology. It plans to use the capital to enhance its self-serve native advertising platform, Titan, further developing the algorithm it uses and updating its back end analytics with a view to filtering in more traffic.
US-based on-demand temping marketplace HireAthena emerged from stealth on Tuesday with an undisclosed amount of funding from GV, the corporate venturing arm of internet technology conglomerate Alphabet, Sherpa Capital, E.Ventures, DCVC, Crunchfund and angel investors including Naval Ravikant, Max Levchin and Mark Pincus. HireAthena provides accounting, payroll and human resources services through a dedicated software platform that helps users run their offices with remote workers.
LaunchPad Recruits, a UK-based startup that develops software and apps that help businesses screen, assess and hire job candidates, raised £2m ($2.9m) in series A funding from backers including Edenred Capital Partners, the corporate venturing arm of employee benefits company Edenred Group, and VC firm Sussex Place Ventures and on Monday. It plans to use the funding to add machine learning to its human resource analytics technology.
Financial services firm DBS Bank paid an undisclosed sum on Tuesday for a minority stake in Kasisto, the US-based developer of a conversational platform that banks can use to serve their customers, as part of a deal whereby Kasisto’s KAI platform will power DBS’s Digibank virtual assistant. Kasisto had raised $2.25m in a 2014 seed round featuring bank BBVA, SRI International, New York Angels, Two Sigma Ventures, Partnership Fund for New York City, Wells Fargo Startup Accelerator, Harvard Business School Alumni Angels of New York and various angel investors.
US-based healthcare analytics technology startup BioBeats has secured $2.3m in a funding round led by investment firm White Cloud Capital that included AXA Strategic Ventures, the strategic investment arm of insurance group AXA, and VC firm IQ Capital, TechCrunch has reported. BioBeats, which makes healthcare recommendations based on biometric data generated wearable devices, previously raised $650,000 angel round in 2013 that included actor Will Smith and music manager Scooter Braun.
Pharmaceutical company Merz Pharma invested an undisclosed sum in Cytrellis Biosystems, a US-based company developing non-surgical treatments for sagging skin associated with aging, on Wednesday. Cytrellis received $7.1m in equity funding from investors including Arch Venture Partners in February 2015, and $450,000 in debt in 2012, according to regulatory filings.
Poncho, the US-based creator of a weather broadcasting service centred on a cartoon cat, closed a $2m seed round yesterday that included Broadway Video Ventures and Comcast Ventures, respective subsidiaries of entertainment producer Broadway Video and mass media group Comcast. Lerer Hippeau Ventures led the round, which also included Greycroft Partners, Venture51 Capital Partners, RRE Ventures, Betaworks, Ore Ventures, NextNews Ventures and various angel investors.
IT services provider Infosys invested an undisclosed sum in Trifacta, the US-based developer of a platform that prepares data for analysis, on Wednesday as part of a recently formed strategic partnership that will involve the company providing data wrangling technology for Infosys. Trifacta had previously raised more than $76m from Cathay Innovation, Ignition Partners, Greylock Partners and Accel Partners as of February 2015.
SpaceVR, a US-based startup developing an immersive space experience for virtual reality platforms, raised $1.25m yesterday in a seed round featuring a $1m investment by online gaming company Shanda Group and $250,000 from Skywood Capital. The capital will support the launch of Overview 1, a virtual reality camera satellite owned by SpaceVR, into space.
Electronics manufacturer Samsung provided an undisclosed amount of funding yesterday for Mast Mobile, a US-based creator of mobile-focused business communication technology, as part of a strategic partnership arrangement where its services will be made available on Samsung Galaxy Phones. Mast Mobile had already raised more than $12m from FirstMark Capital, DFJ, Eniac Ventures, Harrison Metal, HMM Investors, Camber Creek and Initialized Ventures.
SE.M.Labs, a Germany-based startup developing software that helps businesses to operate on a pay-per-use model, has received €780,000 ($880,000) in funding from corporate-backed VC fund High-Tech Gruenderfonds, Mittelständische Beteiligungsgesellschaft Schleswig-Holstein (MBG) and an undisclosed angel investor.
High-Tech Gruenderfonds and Innovationsstarter Fonds Hamburg have also provided an undisclosed six-figure euro amount to Bentekk, the Germany-based creator of a handheld measurement instrument for toxic industrial gases. Bentekk had previously received funding from Exist-Gruenderstipendium and InnoRampUp, and will use the new financing to strengthen its sales capabilities, distribute its product internationally and build a version that can operate in explosive gas atmospheres.
InVent, the corporate venturing arm of IT and media-focused conglomerate InTouch Holdings, has paid more than THB30m ($850,000) for a 10% stake in Thailand-based food and lifestyle review platform WongNai Media, the Bangkok Post reported on Wednesday. The series B funding follows an undisclosed amount of series A capital from Recruit Strategic Partners, the corporate venturing arm of human resources firm Recruit Holdings, in 2013 and another investment from Recruit the year after.
Chemicals producer DuPont has added an undisclosed amount to the $18m in series C funding raised by US-based drone safety and data platform developer PrecisionHawk last week. The round also includes Verizon Ventures, NTT Docomo Ventures, Intel Capital, Yamaha Motor, Innovate Indiana Fund, Millennium Technology Value Partners and a subsidiary of financial services firm USAA.