Ookami, the Japan-based owner of social sports news and entertainment app Player, has raised an undisclosed amount of series B funding from NTT Docomo Ventures, Mizuho Capital, Asahi Medialab Ventures and Asics Ventures, subsidiaries of mobile network operator NTT Docomo, financial services firm Mizuho Bank, media company Asahi Shimbu and apparel producer Asics, The Bridge has reported. The round, estimated by The Bridge to be “several million dollars,” followed funding from Asahi Shimbun, digital media company Gree’s Gree Ventures unit, Spiral Ventures Japan and unnamed angel investors.
City Home, a China-based holiday accommodation and property management services provider, has secured $5m in funding from Aibiying, short-term accommodation marketplace Airbnb’s Chinese arm, China Money Network reported today. The startup has now raised a total of $7.5m according to China Money Network, having previously received funding from internet group Tencent and private equity firm China Broadband Capital.
Ant Financial, the financial services affiliate of e-commerce firm Alibaba, has made an investment of undisclosed size in Peanut Subway, a China-based company that provides wifi internet services for underground transport services, China Money Network reported yesterday. Peanut’s earlier investors include cybersecurity software provider Qihoo 360 and Ping An Securities, a branch of insurance group Ping An, as well as Green Pine Capital Partners and Share Capital.
Alibaba has also provided an undisclosed amount of funding for KKday, a Taiwan-based platform that offers curated tourism experiences, investing through its Alibaba Entrepreneurs Fund, E27 reported today. KKday had previously received $22m in funding from travel agency HIS, Monk’s Hill Ventures, AppWorks, 91Capital, MindWorks Ventures, Cathay Venture and Substance Capital across three rounds.
SIG Asia Investments, a subsidiary of technology and trading firm Susquehanna International Group, has led a $4.5m funding round for AsiaCollect, a Singapore-based developer of digital debt recovery tools, The Business Times reported yesterday. The round also featured Dymon Asia Ventures, the subsidiary of alternative investment manager Dymon Asia Capital that had previously provided $1m of pre-series A funding for AsiaCollect in August 2017.
Telecommunications and internet group SoftBank is investing an undisclosed amount in Handy Japan, a subsidiary of smartphone rental service Tink Labs that has developed a mobile device for use in hotels, the Washington Post reported on Monday. The capital will support the strengthening of Handy’s internet-of-things technology as it looks to add features such as automated checkout and keyless room access.
MDI Ventures, the corporate venture capital subsidiary of telecommunications firm Telkom Indonesia, has led a $4m series C investment in Singapore-based e-commerce services platform Anchanto, DealStreetAsia reported on Wednesday. Anchanto had raised an undisclosed amount from Innosight Ventures, Cub Capital and angel investors Scott Anthony and Akshay Mehra in 2014, an undisclosed sum in a 2015 round featuring IT services firm Transcosmos, and series B+ funding from Transcosmos and cosmetics distributor Luxasia in May 2017.
Studio XID, the South Korea-based developer of prototyping tool ProtoPie, has raised $3.5m in series A funding from investors including Posco Venture Capital, the corporate VC subsidiary of steel producer Posco, DealStreetAsia reported yesterday. Korea Investment Partners led the round, which included fellow VC firm Kolon Investment, and the funding will be used for product development and business expansion.
Switzerland-based organic baby food brand Yamo has received an undisclosed amount of funding from Ringier Digital Ventures, the corporate venturing arm of media group Ringier, and VC firm Btov Partners. Yamo intends to use the funding to expand its range of baby food products and grow its business, which has a presence in Switzerland, Germany and Austria.
Game publisher Oasis Games has provided $3m of series A funding for Austria-based mobile game developer Iron Mountain, GamesIndustry.biz reported on Monday. The deal gave the corporate the worldwide publishing rights for Iron Mountain’s first game, an online multiplayer title slated for release in 2019, and represents the first investment by China-headquartered Oasis in a western studio, the corporate said.
Sigma Ratings, the US-based developer of what it claims is the first ever non-credit risk ratings agency, completed a $2.4m seed round featuring financial services firm Barclays on Monday. FinTech Collective led the round, which included TechStars and undisclosed angel investors, and which will precede the first set of ratings, focusing on emerging markets, to be published by Sigma later this month.
Australia-based car sharing service Car Next Door has raised A$2.5m ($1.8m) in funding from carmaker Hyundai, which invested A$2m, and petroleum supplier Caltex, which supplied the other A$500,000, The Australian reported on Monday. Caltex paid $1.8m for a 20% stake in Car Next Door in 2016 before joining Macquarie Group, Larix VC, Equitise and angel investor Steve Baxter for a $3.9m round in February 2018.
Flinks, a Canada-based developer of identity verification technology for the financial sector, has secured C$1.75m ($1.3m) in a seed round co-led by financial services firm National Bank and fintech-focused VC fund Luge Capital, Betakit reported on Wednesday. The round came after Flinks raised approximately $390,000 in pre-seed funding from undisclosed investors in July 2017, and the cash will support the development of a credit assessment tool for the startup’s platform.
Mobile game developer Nazara Technologies has paid an undisclosed amount for a 27.4% stake in India-based quiz game developer Crimzon Code, VCCircle reported on Tuesday. The deal will give Nazara the rights to publish the startup’s flagship game, TopQuiz, in various emerging markets and will enable the corporate to offer quiz games that provide cash prizes to winners.
BFM Capital, a corporate venturing vehicle for media company BFM Media, has led a series A round of undisclosed size for Malaysia-based online human resources platform Kakitangan, the Vulcan Post has reported. Malek Ali, principal at BFM Capital, will join Kakitangan’s board of directors in conjunction with the round, which follows a 2016 crowdfunding campaign that raised $360,000.
Ireland-based mobile marketing technology provider Pulsate has completed a $250,000 funding round featuring online payment services provider Paypal, retail services firm Dunnhumby, Delta Partners’ Bank of Ireland Seed and Emerging Sectors Fund, Enterprise Ireland and unnamed angel investors, Silicon Republic reported on Tuesday. The four had previously supplied $1.2m in funding for Pulsate in 2015 and an additional $1.5m the following year.
Lafayette General Foundation, which runs Lafayette General Hospital, has invested $250,000 in RDnote, the US-based creator of a digital assistance platform for patients suffering from chronic illnesses, through its Healthcare Innovation Fund, New Orleans City Business reported on Tuesday. Healthcare Innovation Fund had already provided $250,000 for the startup in February 2017, and the latest investment will be used to hire additional staff for its technical and clinical teams.