MDI Ventures, the corporate venturing arm of telecommunications group Telkom, has led a $10m round for Australia-based communications technology developer Whispir, E27 reported on Monday. Telstra Ventures and NSI Ventures, respective subsidiaries of telecoms firm Telstra and private equity firm Northstar, also took part in the round, which followed an $8.9m round in 2016 featuring Telstra Ventures, NSI Ventures, Rippledot Capital and various angel investors. Whispir has now raised just over $23m in total.
BP Ventures, the corporate venture capital subsidiary of oil and gas company BP, co-led a £5.5m ($7.7m) funding round for UK-based car subscription service Drover yesterday with VC firms Cherry Ventures and Partech Ventures. The round also featured unnamed existing investors and followed £2m in a pre-seed round co-led by Version One Ventures and Forward Partners.
SeamlessDocs, a US-based producer of digitalisation software for governments, closed a $7.5m funding round yesterday that included communications equipment producer Motorola Solutions. The round was led by SJF Ventures and backed by Entrepreneur Roundtable Accelerator, NY State Innovation Ventures and CapRock, and it increased the company’s overall funding to more than $18.5m since it was founded in 2011, it said.
NSLComm, an Israel-headquartered developer of satellite-based data transfer technology, has raised approximately $6.3m in a series B round featuring media group Liberty Media and Cockpit Innovation, a corporate venturing subsidiary of airline operator El Al, as well as Jerusalem Venture Partners (JVP), OurCrowd and Hawk GF. The company, then known as SkyFi, had previously received $3m from Liberty’s Israel Venture Fund and JVP in early 2016.
US-based nanofiltration system developer TeraPore Technologies has closed a $6m series A round that included Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, the legal firm that is also the company’s counsel. Anzu Partners led the round, which also featured RA Capital Management and Artiman Ventures, and which followed approximately $1.8m in funding in June 2016, according to a regulatory filing.
Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati also took part in a $5m seed round on Monday for Blast, the US-based creator of a gamification system that helps users earn and save money as they play. Core Innovation Capital, Great Oaks Venture Capital, Snowmass Private Equity and the Forbes and Roth families also contributed to the round, which will support Blast as it completes the beta testing phase of its product in preparation for a commercial launch expected to take place later this year.
HT Singapore, a subsidiary of India-headquartered media group HT Media, invested $5m in US-based social commerce platform operator Sagoon on Tuesday. Sagoon raised $1.4m from private investors in 2016 and has so far secured $3.4m in an ongoing share offering it refers to as a “mini-IPO,” as it gets ready to launch a smart social card that will enable users to earn financial rewards as they shop or give gifts.
OB1, the US-based owner of commission-free online trading platform OpenBazaar, raised $5m on Tuesday in a round led by Omers Ventures that also featured Bitcoin miner Bitmain. The round included Andreessen Horowitz, Union Square Ventures, BlueYard Capital, Digital Currency Group and angel investor William Mougayar, all of which took part as existing investors, and boosted the company’s overall funding to $9m.
Australia-based Mad Paws secured A$5m ($3.9m) on Wednesday in a series A round that included airline operator Qantas. Scale Up Media Fund, which is backed by media operators News Corp Australia, Nova Entertainment, Fox Sports Australia and Ten Network, also participated in the round, as did Microequities Venture Capital, Macdoch Ventures and angel investor Tim Fung. Mad Paws had previously raised $800,000 from Macdoch and various angel investors in 2015.
BioLumic, a New Zealand-headquartered developer of ultraviolet light-based crop enhancement technology, closed a NZ$5m ($3.6m) series A round on Wednesday that was co-led by Finistere Ventures and Radicle Growth with participation from financial services firm Rabobank’s Food & Agri Innovation Fund and unnamed existing investors. The cash will be used for research and development, as BioLumic looks to expand into other row crop and vegetable seed areas.
The Singapore branch of internet company GMO’s GMO Payment Gateway subsidiary has led a series A+ round of undisclosed size for Jewel Paymentech, the Singapore-based developer of a risk management software platform for financial services providers, E27 reported on Wednesday. The round included Tuas Capital Partners, the private equity and VC firm that led Jewel’s $1m series A round in January 2016, investing together with 8capita.
IT services firm Wipro has invested just over $2m in Avaamo, a US-based developer of conversational artificial intelligence technology, Business Standard reported yesterday, citing a stock exchange filing. Avaamo had previously raised $6.3m from WI Harper Group, Rembrandt Ventures Partners, Streamlined Ventures, Eleven Two Capital and Ovo Fund in 2014, and Wipro later invested $1m at an undisclosed time through its Wipro Ventures unit.
Softbank Capital NY, a corporate venturing subsidiary of telecoms group SoftBank, has led a $2m series A round for US-based car refuelling service Neighborhood Fuel, the Miami Herald reported on Monday. VC firm Lerer Hippeau also took part in the round, and the company will use the proceeds to continue an expansion that makes use of partnerships with businesses and housing complexes.
Staq, the US-based creator of a software platform that automates reporting and analytics data for the advertising industry, completed a $2m funding round on Tuesday backed by Comcast Ventures Seed Fund, a subsidiary of mass media group Comcast. Pereg Ventures, Genacast Ventures, Core Capital and Kinetic Ventures also participated in the round, which boosted Staq’s overall funding to $13.6m across four rounds.
Medici Ventures, the blockchain investment vehicle formed by e-commerce firm Overstock, provided an undisclosed amount of funding on Wednesday for Bitsy, a US-based stealth-stage startup that is using blockchain technology to form a bridge between established and cryptocurrencies. Bitsy is Medici’s 12th portfolio company and the deal follows a $3m investment in cryptocurrency exchange operator Bitt last week.
Exest, the Japan-based owner of an online platform that connects visitors to tourism services in its home country, raised ¥50m ($470,000) on Tuesday from investors including Mizuho Capital, SMBC Venture Capital and Mitsubishi UFJ Capital, respective subsidiaries of financial services firms Mizuho Bank, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation and Mitsubishi UFJ, according to The Bridge. The banks were joined by media company TV Shin-Hiroshima and angel investor Hidekazu Watanabe.