US-based sales productivity software provider Octiv secured $4.75m yesterday from investors including GE Ventures, General Electric’s corporate venturing unit, as well as Greycroft Partners, High Alpha Capital and Allos Partners. Founded in 2010 as Tinderbox, Octiv had previously raised $12.3m from investors including Allos, Greycroft, High Alpha, FundersClub, Hyde Park Venture Partners, according to press reports and regulatory filings.
Game developer and publisher NHN Entertainment invested €4m ($4.5m) in Critical Sports, a Finland-based game developer which has also built a mobile eSports platform, on Monday. As part of the deal, NHNE will also publish the company’s latest game, a mobile shoot-em-up called Critical Ops, in South Korea, China, Japan, India and Southeast Asia.
Media company Sky has invested €4m in France-based over-the-top video platform developer Molotov as part of a larger round the company is raising. Founded in 2014, Molotov raised $11.2m from private equity firm Idinvest Partners and various angel investors in June 2015, and introduced its first commercially available service in July this year.
Pharmaceutical firm Pfizer, diabetes research organisation JRDF and Orion Equity Partners agreed yesterday to provide $4m of series A funding for US-based AnTolRx that will support development of targeted nanoparticle tolerance therapeutics for immune disorders such as type one diabetes (T1D). Pfizer led the round has secured an option to license the startup’s T1D product candidate once certain milestones have been achieved.
L Catterton, the private equity arm of luxury goods producer LVMH, has invested an undisclosed sum in US-based fast food chain Velvet Taco. Founded in 2011, Velvet Taco has branches in Chicago, Fort Worth and Houston, and will use the money to expand to a third Texan city, Austin.
Digital marketing agency Localweb has paid €2.8m ($3.1m) for a 40% stake in Italy-based discount and promotion services platform CheBuoni.it, according to Startup Italia. The capital will support an expansion CheBuoni hopes will enable it to add another three million registered users over the next year.
Indonesia-based online media platform IDN Media has raised an undisclosed sum in a series A round led by investment firm North Base Media and backed by multimedia and entertainment company MNM Creative, Tech in Asia reported on Monday. The round also included venture builder GDP Venture and East Ventures, the venture capital firm that supplied IDN with an undisclosed amount of seed funding in September 2015.
Cermati, the Indonesia-based operator of an e-commerce platform for financial products, has secured $1.9m from e-commerce company Beenos Plaza and East Ventures, DealStreetAsia reported today. The startup, which launched its service in April 2015, raised an undisclosed sum from the same investors in July 2015.
Singapore-based dating app developer Lunch Actually has received an undisclosed amount of series A funding from social media company Mixi and internet venture and development firm Fatfish Internet Group, Tech in Asia reported on Monday. Lunch Actually has arranged around 70,000 dates and meetings across Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia and Hong Kong, and plans to use the series A capital to move into one additional market.
India-based women’s fashion e-commerce company eShakti has raised Rs 90m ($1.4m) from investment firm Infina Finance and Polaris Banyan Holding, VCCircle reported on Tuesday. The company had previously received $3m in funding from IDG Ventures India, a VC affiliate of media and event company International Data Group, in 2011 before IDG Ventures and IvyCap Ventures returned in 2014 to increase its total funding to $14.7m.
YJ Capital, the corporate venture capital arm of internet company Yahoo Japan, has led a funding round of undisclosed size for Malaysia-based restaurant listings and reviews platform Offpeak, Tech in Asia reported on Monday. VC firm Gobi Partners also participated in the round, having provided $800,000 in series A funding for Offpeak in June 2015.
Employment services provider Careernet Consulting and Ideation Initiative have invested Rs 45m ($670,000) in TopRankers, the India-based operator of an online exam and testing platform for businesses, LiveMint reported today. TopRankers will use the funding to expand within India and strengthen its technology.