Supermarket operator Casino has paid an undisclosed amount for a 5% stake in France-based mobile payment technology developer Lyf Pay, Reuters reported on Monday. Lyf Pay was formed through the merger of Fivory and Wa, the mobile wallets created by financial services firm BNP Paribas and retail group Carrefour respectively, and BNP Paribas and cooperative bank Credit Mutuel Alliance Federale each own about 40% of the company respectively.
UnderStory, the US-based weather data and analytics provider backed by agribusiness Monsanto, raised $7.5m on Tuesday in a round led by venture capital fund 4490 Ventures that included investment firm Revolution’s Rise of the Rest Seed Fund and VC firm True Ventures. Monsanto unit Monsanto Growth Ventures co-led a $7.5m series A round for UnderStory with 4490 in early 2016, investing alongside True Ventures, RRE Ventures, SK Ventures and CSA Partners, following a $1.9m seed round in 2014.
China-based English language learning platform Jiliguala has secured an undisclosed amount of funding in a series B round featuring Bertelsmann Asia Investments, a corporate venturing vehicle for media group Bertelsmann, China Money Network reported today. Sequoia Capital China led the round, which came after a series A round of undisclosed size in April 2016 that included Gene Capital, Yonghua Capital and actress Lin Hsi-Lei, according to China Money Network.
MairDumont Ventures, Axel Springer Digital Ventures and Russmedia International, subsidiaries of travel publisher MairDumont and media companies Axel Springer and Russmedia, were among the investors in a €6.5m ($7.4m) series A round closed by Germany-based boat rental service Zizoo today. Revo Capital led the round, which also featured Coparion, Check24 Ventures, AWS Founders Fund and Push Ventures. Zizoo had raised $2.8m from investors including Russmedia and Axel Springer as of July 2016.
Israel-based networking security technology startup Alcide received $7m on Tuesday in a series A round that included Intel Capital, semiconductor and data technology producer Intel’s corporate venturing subsidiary. Technology holding company Elron Electronic Industries and VC firm CE Ventures also contributed to the round, which came after $5.2m in seed funding from Intel Capital and Elron in December 2017. The latest funding will support geographic growth and an expansion of Alcide’s sales and marketing team.
US-based location-tracking technology provider Jiobit completed a $6.5m funding round on Monday that included networking technology producer Netgear, Math Venture Partners, Techstars Ventures, Wakestream Ventures, Sandalphon Capital and private investor Lior Ron. Formerly known as Jio, the company received $1.2m in June 2016 from angel investors including Lior Ron in had before adding $3m from Math Venture Partners, Inflection Equity and Lior Ron in January 2017.
Media groups Ringier and Axel Springer have supplied an undisclosed amount of funding for Germany-based online real estate portal Lamudi and will share an advisory seat on its board of directors. Lamudi had previously raised more than $56m across three funding rounds, most recently securing $31.4m in an early 2016 series C round featuring Tengelmann Ventures, the corporate VC arm of retailer Tengelmann, VC firm Holtzbrinck Ventures and Asia Pacific Group, the vehicle formed by e-commerce holding company Rocket Internet and telecommunications firm Ooredoo.
India-based health management app developer HealthifyMe has secured $6m from Sistema Asia Fund and Samsung Next, respective subsidiaries of diversified conglomerate Sistema and electronics producer Samsung, as well as Chiratae Ventures, Inventus Capital, Innoven Capital and Blume Ventures, the Economic Times has reported. The cash will be added to the $12m in series B funding HealthifyMe had raised from Sistema Asia Fund, Samsung Next, diversified holding company Nava Bharat Ventures, Chiratae (then known as IDG Ventures India), Inventus, Blume, Dream Incubator and Atlas Asset Management.
US-based amyotrophic lateral sclerosis treatment developer QurAlis Corporation increased a seed round featuring Amgen Ventures and MP Healthcare Venture Management, respective vehicles for pharmaceutical firms Amgen and Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma Corporation, to $5.5m on Monday. MP and Amgen were joined by BioInnovation Capital and Viva Biotech for the second tranche of the round, which came after a first tranche backed by the two corporates as well as Alexandria Venture Investments, part of real estate investment trust Alexandria Real Estate Equities.
Binance Labs, the strategic investment arm of digital currency exchange Binance, invested $3m in US-based over-the-counter cryptocurrency trading startup Koi Trading yesterday. In addition to operating an OTC trading platform, Koi will also provide data science, quantitative research and compliance consulting services for clients.
Zippity, the US-based operator of an automotive maintenance services marketplace for the workplace, has received $2.7m in funding from investors including BP Ventures and A3Ventures, corporate venturing vehicles for petroleum supplier BP and roadside assistance provider AAA Northern California, Nevada and Utah. The corporates invested together with angel investment group LaunchPad Ventures, and the round followed $490,000 in convertible note financing in August 2017, according to a regulatory filing.
Ganaz, the US-based creator of an online platform that connects farms and orchard owners with seasonal workers, has completed a $2.1m funding round featuring Taylor Farms Ventures, the strategic investment arm of fruit and vegetable supplier Taylor Farms, GeekWire reported on Tuesday. The round was led by Founder’s Co-op and included The Helm, 122West, Grubstakes, GAN Ventures and undisclosed angel investors. It followed $250,000 from farming association Western Growers and accelerator fund Radicle Growth in June 2018.
Travel services provider Sanpu Travel Group has invested NT$45m ($1.4m) in MyTaiwanTour, the Taiwan-based operator of an online booking platform for local tours, E27 reported on Monday. The funding will support the strengthening of the company’s technology and content as well as its expansion to China and Japan.
UK-based natural language processing technology developer Wluper closed a €1.2m ($1.4m) seed round yesterday that included Aster, the investment partnership between chemicals producer Solvay and power and automation equipment manufacturers Alstom and Schneider Electric. The round also featured IQ Capital and SeedCamp, and Wluper raised the cash in the wake of an undisclosed amount of funding from InMotion Ventures, automotive manufacturer Jaguar Land Rover’s corporate venturing arm, in 2017.
Amazer, the South Korea-based operator of an online video platform for K-pop artists, has received $1.3m in a series A round backed by payment services provider ICB and BTC Investment, an affiliate of cryptocurrency exchange Bithumb, DealStreetAsia reported today. The funding came after $600,000 from home shopping service GS Shop and investment firm KTB Network according to DealStreetAsia, and will be used to grow the company’s business in Southeast Asia.
US-based family planning and fertility services startup Nubundle raised an undisclosed amount of funding earlier this month from NFP Ventures, the strategic investment vehicle formed by insurance brokerage NFP, it revealed on Tuesday. Nubundle has built a platform that provides expert advice to users looking to start families, in addition to links to fertility services and relevant insurance products.
Blockchain technology producer Bitfury Group has provided an undisclosed amount of funding for Switzerland-based blockchain and cryptocurrency investment firm Final Frontier, Bitcoin Magazine has reported. The deal, which involved Bitfury investing €700,000 ($800,000) according to Dutch news site Drimble, was made in connection with a partnership agreement through which the companies may seek to collaborate on products that will enable investors to access digital assets more easily.
Fourstarzz Media, the US-based creator of a platform where influencer marketing services can be accessed, has received $750,000 in pre-seed funding from investors including educational finance services provider Nelnet and Don’t Panic Labs, a software development services provider that participated as an existing investor, Silicon Prairie News reported on Tuesday. The round was led by Invest Nebraska and also featured M25 and Nebraska Angels.
Payment services firm Mastercard has invested an amount reported by Technical.ly to be $750,000 in US-based social payment technology developer Goodworld. The company had previously raised approximately $8.9m in financing from investors including Nyca Partners, Camp One Ventures, Fenway Summer Ventures and assorted angel investors, according to press reports and regulatory filings.
Rebate Bus, a US-based utility bill rebate technology developer that counts energy utility Ameren as an investor, has raised $500,000 from VC fund Winnebago Seed Fund. The company participated in Ameren Accelerator, the partnership between University of Missouri System, the University of Missouri-St. Louis-backed UMSL Accelerate and seed accelerator Capital Innovators, in July 2017.
