US-based wearable health measurement technology startup Kenzen raised $5m on Monday from Flex, the supply chain services firm formerly known as Flextronics, as well as sport franchise the San Francisco 49ers, Digitalis Ventures, Hickory Ventures, Gaingels and Women’s Capital Connection. It will spend the funding on further development of its Echo Smart Patch as well as market positioning.
Russia-based digital health services provider DOC+ secured $5m on Tuesday in a series B round featuring internet company Yandex and venture capital fund Baring Vostok, the same two investors that provided it with $5.5m in July 2016. DOC+ will use the funding to strengthen its core offering of on-demand visits and telemedicine consultations from doctors, and to develop advanced digital health services that can be accessed through a mobile device.
Israel-based Cognata launched its simulation testing software for autonomous vehicles yesterday with $5m of funding from Airbus Ventures, the corporate venturing subsidiary of aerospace company Airbus, as well as venture capital fund Emerge and VC firm Maniv Mobility. The startup will invest the capital in further development and commercialisation of its simulation platform, which combines artificial intelligence, deep learning and computer vision.
Snapask, a China-based online tutoring services startup backed by media company Singapore Press Holdings, has raised $5m from Kejora Ventures and Welight Capital, DealStreetAsia reported on Tuesday. The company, which graduated from the SPH-backed SPH Plug & Play accelerator in 2015, has now raised $8m altogether, according to DealStreetAsia, with $1.8m of that coming in a 2015 pre-series A round led by private investor Arthur Kho.
Automotive producer Daimler has agreed to invest an undisclosed amount in Beijing Electric Vehicle, an electric vehicle subsidiary of carmaker BAIC Group. The funding will be provided as part of a larger strategic partnership that will involve investment in upgrading the manufacturing facilities for the companies’ existing joint venture, Beijing Benz Automotive.
Illumitex, a horticultural LED fixture producer backed by agribusiness Syngenta and lighting product manufacturer Gerard Lighting, has received $4m in funding from WP Global Partners and New Enterprise Associates (NEA). The company had previously raised $68.8m in equity financing from investors including NEA, Morgan Creek Capital, Mousse Partners and Apex Venture Partners, and $9.4m in debt.
Salesforce Ventures, the corporate venturing vehicle for enterprise software provider Salesforce, has provided an undisclosed amount of funding for Conga, the US-based creator of a range of applications for users of Saleforce’s customer relationship management platform, it announced yesterday. The deal follows a $70m investment by private equity and VC firm Insight Venture Partners in mid-2015, and will be used for product development as Conga aims to expand its software offering.
Music promotion group Live Nation Entertainment and VC firm ATX Seed Ventures have co-led a $3.6m round for US-based festival listing platform Everfest that included angel investor Bob Kagle, VentureBeat has reported. ATX and Kagle also contributed to the $1.5m raised by Everfest, which lists about 16,000 music, arts and food festivals altogether, as of April 2015, according to TechCrunch.
Messaging platform Kakao has invested in South Korea-based robotics hardware platform developer Luxrobo through its corporate venturing unit, Kakao Investment Corp, and its artificial intelligence division, Kakao Brain, ZD Net reported on Tuesday. Luxrobo’s modular operating system, Modi, enables users to build and program their own connected robots by adding separate parts together.
Owl’s Brew, the US-based creator of a tea-based cocktail mixer, has completed a series A round of undisclosed size that included ZX Ventures, the corporate venturing arm of alcohol producer Anheuser-Busch InBev, as well as investment firm Cambridge Companies SPG. The funding will support the launch of Owl’s Brew Radler, a product that it claims is the first ever mix of tea and beer.
Cluster, the Japan-based creator of a social virtual reality app, has received ¥200m ($1.8m) in series A funding from Avex Ventures, the strategic investment arm of entertainment conglomerate Avex Holdings Group, as well as marketing firm United, internet company DeNA, Skyland Ventures and undisclosed angel investors, The Bridge has reported. Skyland Ventures had joined East Ventures and unnamed angel investors to provide $450,000 for Cluster in April 2016.
Malaysia-based online student accommodation marketplace HostelHunting.com has received an undisclosed amount of funding from office IT equipment supplier Startia, Accord Ventures, Hoop Partners and KK Fund, DealStreetAsia has reported. KK Fund had led the startup’s $500,000 seed round in late 2015, investing alongside Incubate Fund and Cradle Fund.
Gen7 Investments, the strategic investment subsidiary of media company Forum Communications, led a $1.5m pre-series A round for US-based agriculture-focused app developer Myriad Mobile on Wednesday. The round also featured livestock production software provider MetaFarms, Falls Angel Fund, HA Dahl Family and Thoreson Steffes Trust Company, and followed $800,000 of seed funding.
US-based encryption key protection app developer Krypt.co has raised $1.2m in a seed round featuring Akamai Labs, a subsidiary of cloud services provider Akamai Technologies, TechCrunch reported on Monday. Rough Draft Ventures and General Catalyst co-led the round, which included Slow Ventures and SV Angel, and which will be used to expand the startup’s team as it seeks to further develop its technology.
Sporting league the National Football League has supplied an undisclosed amount of funding for Strivr Labs, a US-based startup developing virtual training software, the Wall Street Journal reported on Monday. Strivr had previously raised $5m in December 2016 from carmaker BMW’s i Ventures unit, VC fund Signia Venture Partners and investment firm Advancit Capital.
Office equipment producer Konica Minolta invested $1m in US-based security robotics technology developer Knightscope on Monday and agreed to add another $2m dependent on certain milestones. Knightscope had previously raised about $15m from investors including Konica Minolta as well as supply chain services firm Flex, mobile network NTT Docomo’s investment arm, NTT Docomo Ventures, SeedInvest and angel investor Kishore Ganji.
Tool and storage product manufacturer Stanley Black & Decker has agreed to invest an undisclosed amount in US-based nanocrystalline metal alloy developer Veloxint Corporation as part of a joint technology development agreement. Veloxint will use the funding to expand its development work, and its technology will be incorporated into Black & Decker’s products.
Stanley Black & Decker also provided an undisclosed amount of series A funding for US-based indoor location positioning technology provider Redpoint Positioning Corporation on Tuesday through its corporate venturing unit, Stanley Ventures. Larry Harper, vice-president of Stanley Ventures, will take a seat on Redpoint’s board of directors in conjunction with its investment.
Automotive manufacturer Toyota has invested ¥42.5m ($390,000) in Japan-based flying car technology startup Cartivator Resource Management, Quartz has reported. Cartivator aims to have a prototype of its SkyDrive flying vehicle ready for testing by 2019, and to use it to light the torch at the Tokyo Olympic Games the following year.