AAA Corporate venturing deal net: 28 January-1 February 2019

Corporate venturing deal net: 28 January-1 February 2019

CULedger, a US-based developer of distributed ledger technology for credit unions, has added $1.5m from financial services providers Achieva Credit Union, CU Service Network, Icul Services Corp, Credit Union Services, OneAZ Credit Union, CULedger – Heartland, Unify Financial Credit Union – second unit and FIS – second unit to increase its series A round to $10m on Tuesday. It raised the first $8.5m in August 2018, from 32 credit unions.

Shenzhen Dianmao Technology, a China-based coding education services provider backed by mobile internet company Cheetah Mobile, has received an undisclosed amount of funding from asset manager China Everbright’s Guangkong Zhongying Capital unit, China Money Network has reported, citing a WeChat post on Monday. The company had raised $17.5m in series B funding from Cheetah Mobile, Hillhouse Capital and Crystal Stream earlier this month according to a post on its website.

Fore Coffee, an Indonesia-based coffee retail brand making use of app-based ordering, has raised $8.5m in funding from investors including SMDV, the corporate venturing subsidiary of conglomerate Sinar Mas, E27 reported yesterday. East Ventures led the round, which also featured Pavilion Capital, Agaeti Venture Capital, Insignia Ventures Partners and undisclosed angel investors, and the cash has been earmarked for technology development.

US-based information management software provider Phynd Technologies closed its series B round on Tuesday having raised more than $8m from investors including MemorialCare Innovation Fund, Rex Ventures and Orlando Health Ventures, subsidiaries of care providers MemorialCare Health System, UNC Rex Healthcare and Orlando Health respectively. The round also featured Dallas Venture Partners and comes after $250,000 in funding in 2015 and $500,000 in 2016 according to securities filings. All the series B investors apart from MemorialCare were existing backers.

Novel TMT, the investment vehicle backed by telecommunications company Novel Group, has contributed to an $8m series A round on Wednesday for Returnly, the US-based developer of a post-purchase payment system to be used in product returns. Mundi Ventures and The Venture City co-led the round investing alongside CoVenture, which also supplied a credit facility. Returnly had already raised $3.25m in a 2016 seed round featuring Index Ventures, SV Angel, FJ Labs, Mundi Ventures and assorted angel investors.

Space Market, the Japan-based operator of a short-term rental platform for physical spaces, has secured ¥850m ($7.8m) in funding from investors including real estate developer Tokyo Tatemono, travel agency JTB and Opt Ventures, the corporate venturing vehicle for digital marketing firm Opt, TechCrunch Japan has reported. Financial services provider SBI and XTech Ventures also took part in the round, which followed a $3.9m round led by Opt Ventures in 2016 that featured SBI, human resources provider Recruit and financial services firms Orix and Mizuho Bank.

US-based human resources and benefits software developer GoCo received $7m yesterday in a series A round led by VC firm and existing investor ATX Seed Ventures and backed by small and medium-sized businesses services provider UpCurve. GoCo said the round took its total funding to $12.5m, and that its existing backers include Salesforce Ventures and GIS Strategic Ventures, subsidiaries of enterprise software provider Salesforce and insurer Guardian Life Insurance, as well as insurance provider Digital Insurance and Corp Strategics.

Semiconductor technology producer Intel and electronics manufacturer HTC have invested in Proprio Vision, an Israel-based startup developing an imaging system for surgical work, as part of a $7m funding round, Globes reported yesterday. The corporates participated alongside The Venture Reality Fund, Presence Capital, L2 Ventures and Acequia Capital, and the financing was disclosed as the company emerged from stealth.

ViriCiti, a Netherlands-based clean transport software provider that counts corporate joint venture Mainport Innovation Fund as an investor, raised €5m ($5.7m) in series A funding on Monday from Energy Impact Partners, a private equity firm with a string of energy utility partners. Mainport, which was formed by corporates KLM, Schiphol Group, Port of Amsterdam and NS Dutch Railways together with Delft University of Technology, had joined Breesaap Green Link to invest $770,000 in the company in 2016.

Zeelo, the UK-based operator of an on-demand coach travel service, has secured £4.25m ($5.6m) yesterday from investors including carmaker Jaguar Land Rover’s InMotion Ventures unit. The round was led by ETF Partners and also featured seed fund Dynamo and angel investors such as Michael Liebreich and Liam Griffin, and it came after $1.6m from InMotion Ventures, Michael Leibreich and Simon Woodroffe in late 2017.

Germany-based customer data management software developer CrossEngage received a seven-figure euro sum (€1m =$1.15m) on Tuesday in a series A round featuring Vorwerk Ventures, the investment arm of direct selling company Vorwerk, as well as Earlybird Venture Capital, Project A, IBB Beteiligungsgesellschaft’s Kreativwirtschaft fund, Cavalry Ventures, 42Cap and Columbia Lake Partners. It comes after Vorwerk Ventures took part in a $5.8m round for CrossEngage in late 2017.

BP Ventures, petroleum supplier BP’s corporate venturing unit, provided $5m of series A funding on Monday for Belmont Technology, a US-based developer of artificial intelligence technology for oil and gas exploration. The startup, which revealed through a regulatory filing in January that it had raised almost $3.3m for the round from four investors, will use the capital to enhance its core product, Sandy, commercialise the platform and increase the size of its workforce.

Carbon Relay, a US-based developer of artificial intelligence technology that can locate opportunities for energy efficiency, secured $5m in series A funding from investors including contract electronics manufacturer Foxconn on Tuesday. The corporate was joined by angel investors James I. Cash, Douglas Levin, Karim Lakhani and Paul Deninger, and the round came in the wake of $1m of seed financing according to Carbon Relay, which did not reveal further details.

Avinew, the US-based provider of a digital insurance offering tailored to include autonomous vehicles, received $5m on Wednesday in a seed round that included American Family Ventures, insurance firm American Family’s corporate venturing unit. VC firm Crosscut led the round, which also featured Draper Frontier and RPM Ventures, and which was raised as Avinew prepares to begin rolling out its insurance later this year.

US-based robotic home companion developer Pillo Health has raised a total of $9m in funding from investors including hardware tool producer Stanley Black & Decker, BostInno has reported, indicating $5m of new financing. The article came after Forbes had reported in February 2018 that Pillo had so far secured about $4m from backers that included Stanley Black & Decker subsidiary Stanley Ventures, Hikma Ventures, the corporate venturing vehicle for Hikma Pharmaceuticals, BioAdvance and Thompson Family Foundation.

Austria-based digital insurance startup Bsurance closed a €4m ($4.6m) series A round on Tuesday featuring Uniqa Ventures, insurance firm Uniqa’s strategic investment arm, and undisclosed new investors. Uniqa had already provided $610,000 in pre-seed funding for the company in February 2018, after it had graduated from accelerator WeXelerate the previous year.

Staked, a US-based startup that offers staking services to token investors, has secured $4.5m in a seed round featuring Coinbase Ventures, the corporate venturing vehicle for digital currency exchange Coinbase, CoinDesk reported yesterday. Pantera Capital led the round, which also featured Digital Currency Group, Winklevoss Capital, Global Brain, Fabric Ventures and Blocktree Capital.

Sousei, the Japan-based developer of a software platform that stores information about a user’s home, has received ¥450m ($4.1m) in funding from investors including insurance firm Aioi Nissay Dowa and Shinkin Capital, the VC arm of financial services firm Shinkin Bank, VentureTimes has reported. The round also featured Kyoto University Innovation and the funds will go to product development.

Step, the US-based creator of a digital banking product designed for teenagers, emerged from stealth yesterday with $3.8m in seed capital from investors including Sesame Ventures, the corporate venturing vehicle for children’s programming creator Sesame Workshop. The round included Crosslink Capital and Collaborative Fund, and it was raised in advance of a planned rollout of the service slated to begin in the next few months.

Blue Cross Blue Shield Venture Partners, the strategic investment arm of health insurance provider BlueCross BlueShield, led a series A round of undisclosed size for US-based addiction treatment provider Workit Health yesterday. Endeavor Catalyst also took part in the round along with existing investors Montage Ventures, Lux Capital, Wakestream Ventures, Invest Detroit and RRE Ventures, and it followed a $1.1m seed round in 2016 that also featured Detroit Ventures’ First Step Fund and Impact Engine.

RealBlocks, the US-based creator of a blockchain platform for real estate investing that graduated from financial services firm Barclays’ Accelerator in 2017, has completed a $3.1m seed round led by startup studio and incubator Science Inc. The round also featured Morgan Creek Digital, a branch of investment adviser Morgan Creek Capital Management, as well as VC firms Zelkova Ventures, Ulu Ventures and Cross Culture Ventures.

Offshore engineering firm Global Marine Group paid an undisclosed amount for a 13.8% stake in UK-based subsea survey technology provider Rovco on Tuesday and will partner the company on the development of subsea data acquisition products. Rovco had received a six-figure sterling amount from Sustainable Ventures in November 2017 (£1m = $1.3m at contemporary rates) and an undisclosed sum from Green Angel Syndicate in July 2018.

HG Ventures, the VC arm of diversified conglomerate The Heritage Group, provided $2.5m of seed capital for Renewal Mill, a US-based developer of sustainable food ingredients, on Monday. Kip Frey, HG Ventures’ managing director, is joining the company’s board of directors in conjunction with the investment, which will fund an increase in production and an expansion into new product areas.

Packback, a US-based online educational discussion platform that counts publishing services firm Ingram Content Group as an investor, received $2.5m on Tuesday in a round led by University Ventures and backed by Hyde Park Angels. The company has now raised $10.7m in funding to date, $1.5m of which came in a 2017 round that included Ingram’s ICG Ventures subsidiary and University Ventures, and $4.2m of which was provided by existing investors University Ventures, Wintrust Ventures, Wildcat Capital and Mark Cuban in January 2018.

Kapiva Ayurveda, an India-based supplier of Ayurvedic food, health and wellness products, has secured $2.5m in funding from investors including ready meal producer Gits Foods, YourStory has reported. Investment firm Fireside Ventures led the round, which included Mohandas Pai’s family office and angel investor Madhu Kela, and which came after roughly $660,000 from angel investors in 2017.

Anyline, an Austria-based text-recognition software developer backed by jewellery producer Swarovski Group, has received €2m ($2.3m) in funding from VC firms Senovo and Push Ventures. The company had secured $1.7m in a Swarovski-led round in February 2016 that also featured VC fund iSeed Ventures and angel investors Johann Hansmann, Bernhard Niesner and Lukas Püspök, before another private backer, Herman Hauser, added $560,000 six months later.

Recharge, a US-based hotel room rental platform backed by airline operator JetBlue, raised an undisclosed amount from property technology-focused VC firm Fifth Wall Ventures on Monday. Binary Capital had led a $2.3m seed round for the company in 2016 that included Floodgate, Eniac VC, Expansion VC, Rick Marini, Scott Banister and Harry Cheung, before JetBlue’s corporate venturing vehicle, JetBlue Technology Ventures, added an undisclosed sum the following year.

Chemicals producer Goldmann International has participated in a seven-digit euro (€1m = $1.15m) funding round for Germany-based flavourings technology provider 4Gene. The round also featured High-Tech Gründerfonds, VC Fonds BW and Mittelständische Beteiligungsgesellschaft Baden-Württemberg, and the proceeds will go to hiring and the expansion of the company’s laboratory and production capabilities.

Mycroft AI, the US-based developer of an open-source voice assistant, has secured just over $2.1m in convertible debt financing from investors including Jaguar Land Rover Tech Incubator, which is owned by automotive manufacturer Jaguar Land Rover, Silicon Prairie News has reported. The corporate was joined by Social Starts, Deep Space Ventures and TechNexus Venture Collaborative.

Innogy Innovation Hub, the corporate venturing and incubation subsidiary of energy utility Innogy, led a seed round of undisclosed size on Monday for SkenarioLabs, a Finland-based provider of data services for the real estate sector. The funding will fuel an expansion from the company’s current markets of Finland, the UK and Sweden to countries such as Germany, Poland and Switzerland.

Socialsuite, the Australia-based developer of a software platform designed to measure the social impact of business decisions and ventures, has received A$1.85m ($1.3m) in funding from investors including Salesforce Ventures, Startup Daily reported today. VC fund AddVenture Fund led the round, which came after the company secured $100,000 from Salesforce in March 2018 when it won the pitch competition at the 2018 Salesforce World Tour Sydney.

Cleaning supplies producer Daycon and VC and advisory firm Impala Ventures have participated in a seed round totalling more than $1m for Zan Compute, the US-based creator of an artificial intelligence software platform for facilities management, it said on Monday. The company had revealed the size of the round earlier this month together with the disclosure that washroom equipment supplier Bobrick had also invested in the round along with unnamed strategic participants.

600, a Japan-based supplier of vending machine fridges for office customers, has raised ¥100m ($920,000) in funding from investors including Asahi Media Lab Ventures and SMBC Venture Capital, respective subsidiaries of media company Asahi Shimbun and financial services firm Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, The Bridge reported on Monday. AG Capital and Apricot Ventures also contributed to the round, which will be used to beef up the startup’s logistics capabilities.

TheBank.vn, the Vietnam-based operator of an online comparison platform for financial services products, has completed its first funding round, raising an undisclosed sum from internet company CyberAgent’s VC fund, CyberAgent Ventures, and pallet manufacturer NPC’s corporate venturing vehicle, NCore Ventures, E27 reported on Tuesday. The funding will go to expanding the range of services supplied by the company and making its services more easy to access.

Industrial technology and appliance producer Robert Bosch has invested in a RS 63m ($880,000) funding round for SimYog Technologies, an India-based developer of deep learning automotive components, through its Robert Bosch Engineering and Business Solutions subsidiary, the Economic Times reported on Wednesday. VC firm Ideaspring Capital also contributed to the round, which the startup will use to expand its product range.

Kyna, the Vietnam-based owner of online education platform Kynaforkids.vn, has secured an undisclosed amount of funding from CyberAgent Capital, the recently rebranded corporate venturing subsidiary of internet company CyberAgent, and Seaf Women’s Opportunity Fund, E27 reported on Wednesday. The cash will support the growth plans of Kyna, which has more than 600,000 adult and child users.

Seed-stage investor Mars Investment Accelerator Fund supplied C$500,000 ($380,000) in funding for Canada-based energy auditing platform and digital marketplace operator EnergyX Solutions on Wednesday. The round followed the $990,000 in funding EnergyX raised in a September 2018 round led by Globalive Capital that also featured diversified holding group Armco Group of Companies, Verstra Ventures and Impact Investment Partners.

RegAsk, the Singapore-based creator of a software platform that utilises artificial intelligence technology to manage regulatory compliance for healthcare providers, has received an undisclosed sum in a round led by TKS 1, a VC fund formed by life sciences consulting agency Sprim and asset manager Tikehau Capital. The capital will support product development and the execution of RegAsk’s expansion plans.

By Robert Lavine

Robert Lavine is special features editor for Global Venturing.

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