Meniga, a UK-based digital banking technology producer backed by e-banking software provider Crealogix, has secured €7.5m ($8m) in funding from Industrifonden, Velocity Capital, Frumtak Ventures and Kjolfesta. The company, which has raised at least €19.8m since it was founded, received funding from Crealogix in 2013, and the latest capital influx will be used to grow the company’s sales team and enhance its research and development activities.
US-based connected printing technology developer Ink Labs completed a $6.7m seed round on Wednesday backed by student loans manager and educational services provider Nelnet. The round also featured VTF Capital, Base Ventures, G-Bar Ventures, IT-Farm and Invest Nebraska, a public-private partnership backed by the Nebraska Department of Economic Development, and will be used to scale operations as Ink looks to expand its partnerships with higher education institutions.
Qualcomm Ventures, the corporate venturing arm of mobile chipmaker Qualcomm, has participated in a Rs 370m ($5.5m) series B round for Ninjacart, the India-based operator of a field-to-plate service for farming produce, Times of India reported on Tuesday. The round, which included Accel, NRJN Trust, Mistletoe and M&S Partners, comes after Ninjacart raised $3m from Qualcomm Ventures, Accel, M&S Partners and ZopSmart, the owner of grocery e-commerce platform ZopNow, in March 2016.
US-based fleet management technology provider FleetUp closed a $5m series B round led by Humax, the holding company for in-vehicle technology supplier Humax Automotive, on Tuesday. FleetUp will invest the capital in product innovation and the growth of its customer acquisition, customer support and operations teams as it prepares to go to market.
UK-based recruitment software provider Beamery received $5m on Tuesday in a series A round led by venture capital firm Index Ventures that included Edenred Capital Partners, the strategic investment subsidiary of corporate services supplier Edenred, as well as VC firm LocalGlobe, and investment banking advisory firm GP Ventures. Edenred Capital Partners and human resources technology producer Grupa Pracuj had previously invested $2m in Beamery in June 2016.
Australia-based agricultural data technology startup The Yield has raised A$6.5m ($4.9m) in a series A round that includes appliance and industrial product manufacturer Bosch, professional services firm KPMG and online investment platform AgFunder. The round followed a A$2.5m investment by Bosch in April 2016 and increased the company’s funding to A$11.5m in the past two years, A$1m of which came in the form of an Accelerating Commercialisation Grant from the Australian Government in 2015.
Poland-based industrial internet-of-things technology developer Elmodis secured $4.9m in funding on Monday from Intel Capital, the corporate venturing arm of semiconductor technology provider Intel, as well as VC firm Set Ventures and Innovation Nest, the VC fund that backed Elmodis at seed stage. Elmodis will use the funding to grow its commercial and technical teams as it looks to expand production of its technology, which combines hardware with cloud-based software.
DHI Group, the operator of recruitment platform Dice, has led a $4.5m series A round for India-based online skills assessment and management platform HackerEarth Technologies that included e-commerce company Beenos, internet company Digital Garage, recruitment services firm BizReach, Beenext and Prime Venture Partners, Livemint reported on Wednesday. The round follows a $500,000 investment from Prime Venture Partners in 2014 and will support a shift from talent sourcing to innovation management.
Singapore-based budget accommodation provider Zen Rooms raised $4.1m on Wednesday in a series A round co-led by Redbadge Pacific, a subsidiary of investment firm Redbadge, and SBI Investment Korea, part of financial services provider SBI, that included e-commerce holding group Asia Pacific Internet Group (APACIG). Zen Rooms, formed by APACIG in late 2015, has now raised $8m altogether according to a statement.
Media group Nikkei and investment firm Inkef Capital have provided an undisclosed amount of funding for Netherlands-based media subscription app developer Blendle, NRC has reported. Blendle had previously received $3.8m in a 2014 round backed by Axel Springer Digital Ventures, the corporate venturing subsidiary of publisher Axel Springer, and media firm The New York Times Company.
E-commerce firm Rakuten has supplied $2.8m in series A funding for Singapore-based furnished apartment provider MetroResidences, Tech in Asia reported on Monday. MetroResidences, which had raised $700,000 in a January 2016 seed round led by 500 Startups and backed by assorted angel investors, intends to now open branches in Hong Kong and Rakuten’s home city of Tokyo.
Seak, the Japan-based creator of farming support services platform Leap, has raised ¥300m ($2.7m) in a series A round featuring storage services provider Warehouse Terrada, Gree Ventures, which invests as the corporate venturing subsidiary of social media company Gree, and Mitsubishi UFJ Capital, the VC arm of financial services firm Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, The Bridge has reported. Terrada and Mitsubishi UFJ had previously taken part in Seak’s seed round in September 2016.
Semiconductor and electronics manufacturer ST Microelectronics has invested €2.5m ($2.6m) in Ireland-based fabless semiconductor producer DecaWave through its corporate venturing unit, ST New Ventures, increasing DecaWave’s funding to €30m in the past two years, Irish daily The Independent has reported. DecaWave’s earlier backers include electronics producer LG, which invested an undisclosed amount in 2010, as well as Enterprise Ireland, Select Capital and HBAN.
Employment, education and volunteer services provider Seek has invested in Workana, a US-based freelance recruitment platform that specialises in Hispanic workers and which has extensive operations in Latin America, as part of a R$8m ($2.5m) round, Baguete has reported. Seek provided $2m for Workana in March 2016, after Workana had received $500,000 in a 2012 round led by Evenbase, the digital recruitment subsidiary of media group Daily Mail General Trust.
Full Harvest, the US-based creator of an online marketplace for fresh farm produce, completed a $2m seed round featuring BBG Ventures, the female-focused corporate VC unit formed by online media company AOL, on Wednesday. Wireframe Ventures. Early Impact Ventures, Impact Engine, Radicle and angel investors including Astia and Joanne Wilson also took part in the round, which will be used to improve Full Harvest’s technology and increase the size of its team.
Aviva Ventures, the strategic investment vehicle formed by insurance firm Aviva, has provided C$2.5 ($1.9m) for Canada-based online real estate marketplace Casalova. Founded in 2014, Casalova launched its platform the following year and now lists more than 120,000 properties across 140 cities. It will put the investment, the first by Aviva Ventures in Canada, to further develop its technology.
Singapore-based livestreaming startup BeLive has raised $1.5m in seed capital from investors including media company Mediacorp, Tech in Asia has reported. BeLive’s livestreaming platform, which launched last week, sets strict decency rules for its users, employs content producers to help top users polish their content and is attempting to secure corporate sponsors for its channels.
Darkstore, a US-based last-mile delivery service backed by advertising agency R/GA, received $1.4m in seed funding from VC firm PivotNorth Capital on Wednesday. Darkstore had raised $150,000 from angel investor Gary Fritz before R/GA’s corporate venturing subsidiary, R/GA Ventures, invested $120,000 in October 2016 due to the startup’s involvement in its R/GA + Westfield Labs Connected Commerce Accelerator.
Gree Ventures has led a $1.2m seed round for Saleswhale, the Singapore-based creator of an automated online sales assistance tool, DealStreetAsia reported on Monday. Monk’s Hill Ventures, Wavemaker Partners and angel investors including Albert Ni, Pieter Walraven, Juha Paananen, Royston Tay and Bowei Lee also took part in the round, which Saleswhale plans to follow with a series A round in 12 to 18 months time.
Financial services firm Siam Commercial Bank (SCB) has invested an undisclosed amount in China-based geolocation data technology developer Pulse ID through its Digital Ventures subsidiary along with VC and private equity firm Tuas Capital and angel investor Robby Hilkowitz, DealStreetAsia reported on Tuesday. SCB and Pulse ID have also formed a strategic partnership to jointly develop and test geo-profiling technology for use in security, fraud detection and customer engagement
Tenzo, a UK-based startup that has built a platform that enables restaurants to receive real-time customer feedback, has received £600,000 ($740,000) in seed financing from investors including restaurant chain Getti Restaurants, Fintech Finance reported on Monday. The round, which also featured Acequia Capital, Force Over Mass and angel investors Charlie Songhurst and Michael Orland, follows Tenzo’s participation in Techstars’ London accelerator in 2016.
Mexico-based mobile service provider Weex has received an undisclosed amount of funding from beverage producer Coca-Cola and VC fund AllVP, Lavca has reported. Weex, which was launched through the Coca-Cola Founders Platform in 2014, intends to put the cash toward expanding its user base as it aims to become Mexico’s largest mobile virtual network operator.