Akselos, a Switzerland-based developer of software that predicts the maintenance requirements of oil and gas assets, has closed a $10m funding round led by Innogy Ventures, the strategic investment vehicle for energy utility Innogy. The round included petroleum supplier Shell’s corporate venturing unit, Shell Ventures, and follows a $2.2 seed round in September 2016 featuring Forticap and a grant from the Swiss Government. The company’s other existing investors include Castor Ventures.
Dugstore retailer Walgreens paid an undisclosed sum for a minority stake in US-based cosmetics discovery service Birchbox yesterday in connection with a partnership that will involve Birchbox’s offering being available in its stores. Viking Global Investors invested $15m for a majority stake in Birchbox in a May 2018 deal that wiped out all the latter’s earlier investors.
US-based crowdsourced cybersecurity platform developer Perch Security raised $9m in series A funding from business management software provider ConnectWise and cybersecurity technology producer Fishtech Group yesterday. The startup, which had previously received an undisclosed amount from Fishtech in July 2017, will use the series A proceeds to fund the expansion of its software development, marketing and customer success teams.
Human resources firm Mynavi has invested ¥1bn ($8.8m) in Japan-based, food focused marketing services provider Favy, The Bridge has reported. The funding was supplied in connection with a commercial partnership that will involve the companies collaborating on a human resources service concentrated on the restaurant sector, and Mynanvi is Favy’s first external investor, according to The Bridge.
Financial services provider SBI Group has supplied an undisclosed amount of series E funding for Jiufu Jinke Holdings Group, a China-based online banking services provider also known as 9f Group, Marbridge Consulting has reported. The company had previously raised approximately $578m from investors including SIG Asia, a subsidiary of technology and trading firm Susquehanna International Group, as well as Famous Group, Plentiful International and IDG Capital according to local media reports.
Rusnano Sistema Sicar, the joint venture formed by diversified conglomerate Sistema, investment platform Skolkovo Ventures and Russian state-backed commercialisation fund Rusnano, invested $8m in Russia-based video surveillance technology developer Ivideon on Monday. Ivideon had previously raised $4m from Impulse VC in 2014, and will use the latest funding to expand internationally and boost sales by targeting large corporate customers.
Gospel Technology, the UK-based developer of a blockchain-focused enterprise collaboration platform, has raised £5m ($6.6m) in a series A round featuring Salesforce Ventures, the corporate venturing arm of customer relationship management provider Salesforce. The corporate was joined by venture capital firm IA Ventures, and the round came after LocalGlove had provided almost $1.9m in seed capital for Gospel in June this year.
Salesforce Ventures has also invested in Kooltra, the Canada-based developer of a cloud software system that helps financial services providers automate their foreign exchange procedures, as part of a C$6.5m ($5m) funding round closed on Wednesday. The round also featured Hyde Park Venture Partners, Round 13 Capital and Real Ventures, the latter as an existing investor, and increased Kooltra’s total funding to C$8.8m.
Israel-based cryptocurrency wallet developer KZen Networks has raised $4m in seed funding from investors including technology holding company Elron Electronic Industries and Samsung Next, a corporate venturing subsidiary of consumer electronics manufacturer Samsung, VentureBeat reported on Tuesday. The round was led by Benson Oak Ventures and also featured FJ Labs, Collider VC, BlockNation and angel investors including Jonathan Smith, Pierre Kosciusko-Morizet and JeanDavid Blanc.
Conservis, a US-based agricultural data platform developer backed by food producer Heartland Farms, has secured $4m of a planned $20m round, according to a regulatory filing last month. The company had previously raised a total of more than $26m in debt and equity financing according to securities filings, including $12.6m in a series A round led by Cultivian Sandbox Ventures and backed by Heartland and Middleland Capital that closed in 2015.
OpenSignal, a US-based mobile analytics platform developer backed by semiconductor technology producer Qualcomm and media group O’Reilly has received an undisclosed amount of funding from growth equity firm Frog Capital. The company had previously raised a total of $13.3m from corporate venturing units Qualcomm Ventures and O’Reilly AlphaTech Ventures as well as Octopus Ventures and Passion Capital across three rounds.
Torchlite, a US-based provider of digital marketing assistance software, raised $3m in seed capital on Tuesday from Salesforce Ventures and existing backers including angel investor Scott McCorkle. The company has now secured a total of $5.5m, it said, and will use the cash to grow its marketing freelancer network.
Insurance firm The Travelers Companies invested $3m in US-based drone operating software provider Kittyhawk on Wednesday. Flying Object, the drone and robotics fund formed by investment firm Kluz Ventures, had provided approximately $1.5m for Kittyhawk between May 2016 and October 2017, before the company added $5m in a June 2018 round led by Bonfire Ventures that included aerospace manufacturer Boeing’s HorizonX Ventures unit, Kluz Ventures and Freestyle Capital.
Binance Labs, the VC arm of cryptocurrency exchange operator Binance, invested a “multi-million dollar” sum in Contentos, the US-based developer of a decentralised platform for digital content, on Monday. The deal came after Contentos disclosed an investment of undisclosed size by crypto investment platform Neo Global Capital last month.
Binance revealed on Wednesday that it is also supplying more than $2.5m in funding for TravelbyBit, an Australia-based startup that has developed technology allowing cryptocurrency payment systems to be installed at airports. The investment came two months after TravelbyBit received a $74,000 grant from the Australian state of Queensland’s Ignite Ideas fund.
MoQuality, a US-based developer of testing tools for app developers, raised $2.5m yesterday in a seed round led by VC firm Amity Ventures. Media and automotive services group Cox Enterprises and accelerator operator Techstars were cited in a statement by MoQuality as early investors, but it has not revealed details of earlier funding and did not confirm whether they had participated in the seed round.
Hacarus, a Japan-headquartered developer of artificial intelligence-based data modelling software, raised ¥100m from semiconductor and electronics manufacturer Paltek, game developer Kaga Electronics and VC firm Innovation Engine today to close its series A round at ¥270m ($2.4m). It received the other ¥170m from Capital Medica Ventures, the corporate VC arm of hospital manager Capital Medica, as well as orphan drug developer Ohara Pharmaceutical and VC fund manager Miyako Capital in July this year.
Electronics manufacturer Wistron Corporation has provided an undisclosed amount of funding for US-based exoskeleton technology developer SuitX as part of an ongoing series B round of undisclosed size. SuitX has not disclosed how much it had previously raised but stated it has received series A funding as well as grant awards and the $1m first prize in the United Arab Emirates government-backed AI and Robotics for Good Competition.
Tomorrow Ideas, the US-based developer of an online platform that allows users to create living wills, raised an undisclosed amount from NFP Ventures, the corporate venturing arm of insurance brokerage NFP, on Tuesday. The company had secured $8.5m across rounds in July 2017 and February 2018, from investors including Allianz Life, part of insurance firm Allianz, as well as Maveron, Center for Financial Services Innovation, Echelon Capital, Clocktower Technology Ventures, Plug And Play, Flying Fish Partners and Curious Capital.
US-based virtual reality experience provider Tyffon has received almost $2.2m in funding from game and amusement machine producer Sega Sammy Holdings, amusement centre operator Tokyu Recreation, Mizuho Capital, which invests on behalf of financial services firm Mizuho Bank, and Canal Ventures, Variety reported on Tuesday. Tyffon graduated from entertainment producer Walt Disney’s Disney Accelerator in 2014, before raising $1m from Incubate Fund in 2016 and another $1m from Incubate and mobile game developer Akatsuki in August 2017.
Legal cannabis provider MariMed has invested an undisclosed sum in Sprout, a US-based developer of customer relationship management software for cannabis dispensaries and retailers. The startup will put the funding toward an expansion into new countries and US states as well as the growth of its team.
SolShare, the Bangladesh-based owner of a peer-to-peer solar energy trading network, has secured approximately $1.7m in a series A round led by Innogy New Ventures, a corporate VC subsidiary of Innogy’s Innovation Hub. The round included another power supplier, EDF, as well as Singaporean IIX Growth Fund, and the proceeds will go to expanding SolShare’s technical team.
Toyota Tsusho, the trading subsidiary of automotive manufacturer Toyota, supplied an undisclosed amount of series A funding on Monday for MobilityX, the Singapore-headquartered creator of a subscription-based mobility platform that takes in public transport and last-mile rental services such as bicycle and scooter sharing platforms. The startup had previously received an undisclosed amount of seed capital from public transport operator SMRT.
Drawbridge Health, a US-based medical diagnostics spinout of industrial conglomerate General Electric, received an undisclosed amount of funding from Kyoto University’s investment arm, Innovation Capital (Kyoto-iCap), on Tuesday, our sister site Global University Venturing reported. Founded in 2015, Drawbridge is working on a blood-sampling device intended to cut waiting times and reduce the pain associated with traditional blood-drawing methods.
VinX, the Israel-based creator of a blockchain platform that enables wineries to fund their operations by selling wine futures to customers, secured an undisclosed amount of funding yesterday from Medici Ventures, the blockchain accelerator subsidiary of e-commerce company Overstock. The startup’s technology also means wines can be tracked through the supply chain to reduce fraud.
Financial services firm Scotiabank has invested an undisclosed sum in Zinobe, a Colombia-based developer of online credit assessment technology for online merchants, Dinero has reported. Zinobe’s offering includes a 30-day consumer loan platform called Lineru.
