Venture capital firm Foundry Group has added $2.5m to a series A round for based digital payment technology provider Gig Wage that now totals $10m, Crunchbase News reported on Monday. Financial technology holding company Green Dot Corp had led a $7.5m first tranche in October 2020 that included Continental Investors and existing backers Techstars and Rise of the Rest Seed Fund to take Gig Wage’s overall funding to $9.5m.
Qualitas Health, the US-headquartered, algae-based nutritional product developer also known as Iwi, raised $10m from investors including real estate developer Minrav Holdings and food services provider Arancia Group on Monday at a $73m post-money valuation. The round was led by PeakBridge VC, Malta, and included unnamed private investors, while convertible notes owned by investors including Minrav, fluid separation technology producer Trucent and industrial manufacturer Sasa were converted to equity.
BukuKas, an Indonesia-based provider of business finance management software, has secured $10m in a series A round featuring Saison Capital, the investment arm of payment services firm Credit Saison, TechCrunch reported on Wednesday. VC firm Sequoia Capital India led the round, which included January Capital, Founderbank Capital, Cambium Grove, Endeavor Catalyst and angel investor Amrish Rau. BukuKas had raised $12m as of a $9m pre-series A round backed by Saison Capital in August 2020.
Motion control technology producer Nexteer Automotive and VC firm The Group Ventures have invested an undisclosed amount in Israel-based virtual sensing technology developer Tactile Mobility. The cash will be added to the $9m the company raised from investors including automotive manufacturer Porsche and Union Tech Ventures, a corporate VC subsidiary of vehicle distributor Union Group, in late 2019, and it said its total funding now stands at $20m.
Business management software supplier Miroku Jyoho invested ¥750m ($7.2m) in Japan-based blockchain network platform developer ToposWare on Tuesday. The deal came after ToposWare raised $1.85m from Digital Hollywood University, D Rockets and individuals including Ōki Matsumoto and Kenji Kasahara in May 2020.
Specialty chemicals producer 5N Plus paid an undisclosed amount on Tuesday for a minority stake in Microbion Corporation, a US-based developer of compounds intended to treat resistant infections. Microbion had previously raised $36.5m between 2005 and 2017 according to regulatory filings, its last funding being a $25m investment by Quark Venture’s Global Health Sciences Venture Fund.
Blacksmith Medicines, a US-based startup developing treatments for inflammatory diseases and cancer, was formally spun off by antibiotic drug developer Forge Therapeutics on Tuesday. It has also secured an undisclosed amount of seed funding from pharmaceutical companies Eli Lilly and Evotec, MP Healthcare Partners, MagnaSci Ventures and Alexandria Venture Investments, the VC arm of life sciences real estate investment trust Alexandria Real Estate Equities.
Japan-based online fitness class provider Lean Body received ¥520m ($5m) on Tuesday from investors including AG Capital and YJ Capital, on behalf of consumer finance provider Aiful Corporation and internet company Yahoo Japan respectively. The round also featured VC firm I-Nest Capital and the Japanese state-backed DBJ Capital in addition to debt financing from unnamed financial institutions. Lean Body’s earlier backers include Skyland Ventures in addition to YJ Capital.
Diversified trading group Sumitomo, carmaker Daihatsu and leasing services provider Sumitomo Mitsui Finance and Leasing invested an undisclosed amount in agricultural drone producer Nileworks yesterday. It had previously raised $7.1m from Sumitomo, chemical producers Kumiai Chemical Industry and Sumitomo Chemical, financial services firm Norinchukin Bank, Innovation Network Corporation of Japan (INCJ) and National Federation of Agricultural Co-operative Associations in 2017 and added $14.3m from Sumitomo, Kumiai, Sumitomo Chemical, INCJ, Mirai Creation Fund and Drone Fund in March 2019.
Oil and gas supplier Chevron announced yesterday it has provided series C funding for US-based carbon capture technology developer Blue Planet Systems Corporation, the cash likely making up part of the $4.4m it raised last week according to a securities filing. The investment was made through corporate venturing unit Chevron Technology Ventures and it comes after Blue Planet closed a $4.8m series B round in 2015, according to a separate filing.
Consumer electronics manufacturer Dexatek Technology has invested an undisclosed amount in Germany-based smart home product developer Eve Systems, according to an announcement by Drake Star Partners, which advised Eve on the transaction, on Wednesday. Dexatek also manufactures the company’s low-energy Bluetooth module, Eve Core.
Smart health technology producer Huami Corporation led a $4.2m funding round for US-based medical imaging technology developer Promaxo on Wednesday. Promaxo had raised $7.1m in equity funding as of a $5.7m series A round closed in 2018 that was led by medical device maker MicroPort Scientific and backed by RocSon Medtech Fund and Almond Tree Capital Fund. It received $8m in series B funding from unnamed investors in August 2019 and added an undisclosed amount of series B-1 financing from Kineticos Disruptor Fund and undisclosed existing backers in May 2020.
Financial services firm HSBC has provided an undisclosed amount of series B funding for China-based sustainability data and technology developer MioTech, following a similarly undisclosed sum from ratings agency Moody’s in November 2020. MioTech had raised a total of $23m from investors including Horizons Ventures and Zhenfundas of January 2020, before adding an undisclosed amount from media company TOM Group two months later.
Cybersecurity technology provider L7 Defense completed a $4m financing round yesterday led by industrial equipment manufacturer Trumpf through its corporate venturing subsidiary, Trumpf Venture. The round also featured cybersecurity software producer Quick Heal Technologies, which said it is supplying $2m for L7, and it comes after an earlier $300,000 investment from Quick Heal in late 2019. The company’s earlier backers include Incubit Ventures.
Latona, a Japan-based developer of internet-of-things technology, raised ¥380m ($3.7m) today in a series A round featuring Monex Ventures, the investment arm of foreign exchange operator Monex. The round included Mirai Creation Fund II, which is backed by carmaker Toyota, as well as Mitsubishi UFJ Capital, Shizuoka Capital and SMBC Venture Capital, subsidiaries of financial services firms Mitsubishi UFJ, Shizuoka Bank and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC), and debt financing from SMBC.
Singapore-based cybersecurity software provider MicroSec has closed a series A round led by insurance firm Massachusetts Mutual’s MassMutual Ventures unit that increased its overall funding to $3.2m, The Business Times reported on Tuesday. Existing backers Wavemaker Partners and Seeds Capital also contributed to the round, which will fund technical and product development in addition to sales and marketing activities.
Iznes, the France-based operator of a blockchain platform that facilitates subscriptions and redemptions of European funds, secured an undisclosed amount from insurance providers Generali and Apicil Group on Wednesday, the latter through its Insurtech Capital fund. The capital will support the growth of its business in France, Luxembourg and Ireland.
Japan-based social gifting platform developer GiftPad received ¥268m ($2.6m) on Wednesday from investors including Kansai Innovation Network Investment Limited Partnership, a fund backed by a range of corporate limited partners. It was joined by financial services firm Minato Bank’s Minato Capital unit, the Chugoku Bank-backed Chugin Infinity Fund and Nanto CVC, which is backed by financial services firm Nanto, as well as Setouchi Tourism Revitalisation Fund and Shikoku Alliance Capital, a vehicle for banks Awa Bank, Hyakujushi Bank, Iyo Bank and Shikoku Bank.
Moxe, the US-based creator of a health data exchange, announced on Monday it has raised an undisclosed amount from investors including 3M Ventures and UPMC Enterprises, which represented diversified manufacturer 3M and healthcare provider UPMC respectively. They joined Summit Action, Safeguard Scientifics and funds managed by affiliates of Apollo Global Management in the round. The company had previously secured $5.5m in a 2016 series A round led by Safeguard Scientifics.
Vesica Technologies, the US-based developer of a financial data access product called Shift, completed a $2.1m seed round on Tuesday featuring crypto trading technology provider Mercury Digital Assets and Miami International Holdings, the owner of the Miax securities exchange. The company’s platform presents a detailed look at a range of equities and options markets and offers customisable widgets to track specific data.
Japan-based family trust creation service Famitra received ¥220m ($2.1m) on Tuesday from SMBC Venture Capital and Mizuho Capital, the VC arms of financial services firms Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation and Mizuho Bank, as well as VC firm Coral Capital. The cash will go to product development and expanding Famitra’s partnership network, which includes bank, insurers, senior care providers and tax accountants.
UK-based risk assessment technology developer and ride hailing insurance provider Humn secured an undisclosed amount from Shell Ventures, the corporate venturing arm of oil and gas supplier Shell, and technology investment firm Marbruck Investments on Monday. The company identified Marbruck as an existing backer and said the funding will support the commercial roll-out of its products.
Capsule, the US-based creator of an online platform that enables businesses to answer customer queries via video, has completed a $2m pre-seed round that included Bloomberg Beta, the big data-focused VC firm sponsored by media group Bloomberg, TechCrunch reported yesterday. Deep tech VC fund Array Ventures led the round, which also featured undisclosed angel investors, and the cash will fund the recruitment of a product designer and the addition of more collaboration features to the platform.
Cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase supplied an undisclosed amount of seed capital for US-based Bitcoin mining software and services provider Titan yesterday through its corporate VC unit, Coinbase Ventures. The company’s technology enables Bitcoin mining companies to increase the efficiency of their operations at scale.
Blabla, the China-based creator of a mobile app that uses short-form videos to help users learn English, has raised just over $1.5m in seed funding from investors including Wayra X, a corporate venturing vehicle for telecoms firm Telefónica, TechCrunch reported yesterday. The round also featured Amino Capital, Starling Ventures and Y Combinator and came after Blabla took part in the Creative Destruction Lab accelerator in June 2020 and Y Combinator’s accelerator two months later.
India-based digital transaction infrastructure developer Biconomy completed a $1.5m seed round on Monday that included digital currency exchange Binance. The round was led by Eden Block and also featured Fenbushi Capital, DACM, Outlier Ventures, Zee Prime Capital, Woodstock Capital, MiH Ventures and angel investors including Meher Roy, James Simpson, Marwan Alzarouni, Charles Read, Elias Simos, Freddie Farmer and Etienne vantKruys.
Energy utility Chugoku Electric Power supplied an undisclosed amount of funding for Live Smart, a Japan-based provider of home internet-of-things technology, yesterday. Live Smart had secured a similarly undisclosed sum from Astmax Trading, part of finance and energy holdings group Astmax, last month, and raised $2.7m from property developer Mitsubishi Estate, electronics producer Kaga Electronics, Innovation Engine, insurance provider Mitsui Sumitomo and Mizuho Bank in a March 2019 round that took its total funding to $4.5m, the last two investing through Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Capital and Mizuho Capital respectively.
Consulting firm Booz Allen Hamilton has invested an undisclosed sum in US-headquartered digital forensics technology provider Tracepoint. The cash was supplied through a collaboration agreement that will involve the companies partnering on helping clients respond to complex cyberattacks.
Insurance holding company Porto Seguro committed R$5m ($990,000) to US-headquartered software provider Microsoft’s Brazil-based Women Entrepreneurship Ventures fund last month, Startupi reported. The R$50m fund was formed to invest in women-led startups in Brazil with an annual turnover of R$200,000.
EasyDmarc, a US-based provider of online domain protection software, secured an undisclosed amount on Tuesday from investors including online photo management platform PicsArt. The round represented the company’s first funding and included Business Angel Network of Armenia, Angel Investor Club of Armenia and unnamed others.
Recruitment group DIP invested an undisclosed amount in Japan-based real estate technology developer Iimon on Wednesday through corporate venturing unit DIP Labor Force Solution. The startup’s software helps real estate brokerages automate and streamline their operations.
Pricing Studio, the Japan-based owner of pricing assessment software product Pricing Sprint, raised ¥100m ($960,000) in pre-series A funding on Tuesday from investors including digital media company Gree’s Strive fund, and CyberAgent Capital, the corporate VC arm of internet company CyberAgent. VC firm East Ventures also took part in the round, which followed undisclosed amounts from East Ventures in June 2019 and from CyberAgent Capital and East Ventures in a September 2019 seed round.
Note, the Japan-based content publishing platform developer formerly known as Piece of Cake, received an undisclosed amount of funding from e-commerce technology producer Base on Tuesday. It had raised $2m from financial services firm Shinsei Bank’s Femto Fund in 2012 and $3.6m from media company Nikkei, Nippon Venture Capital and Niigata Venture Capital in 2018, as well as undisclosed amounts from influencer partnership platform Uuum in mid-2019 and publisher Bungeishunjū last month.
Kikitori, the Japan-based operator of a digitalisation software platform called Nimaru for use in the vegetable distribution space, secured ¥30m ($290,000) from Norinchukin Innovation Fund, a joint venture between financial services firm Norinchukin Bank and VC firm Global Brain, yesterday. VC firm Coral Capital had already provided $470,000 in seed capital for the company in May 2020.
Private investor David Schneider supplied an undisclosed amount for US-based data query software provider Starburst, roughly a week after it raised $100m in a series C round backed by Salesforce Ventures, the investment arm of enterprise software producer Salesforce. The series C round, which valued it at $1.2bn, was led by Andreessen Horowitz and also featured Coatue and Index Ventures.
US-headquartered big-box retailer Walmart launched an undisclosed financial technology startup on Monday with fintech investment firm Ribbit Capital. The company is majority owned by Walmart and will offer “modern, innovative and affordable financial solutions,” according to the announcement, which did not reveal details of its funding.
Additional reporting by Liwen-Edison Fu.
