Livly, the US-based creator of a property management services platform, launched on Tuesday with $10m from a seed round co-led by JLL Spark, a corporate venturing subsidiary of real estate services provider and consulting firm JLL. The round was co-led by Pritzker Group Venture Capital and Navitas Capital, and the startup said an additional syndicate that includes property developers The Related Group and Golub & Company, and real estate investment manager CA Ventures will be part of its rollout plans.
Train electronics producer Knorr-Bremse yesterday confirmed the details of its $10m investment in Rail Vision, an Israel-based spinoff from automotive vision system provider Foresight Autonomous Holdings, which was reported earlier this month. Knorr-Bremse will pay the money in two instalments that will give it a 21.3% stake in Rail Vision. It also has warrants to invest up to $3.6m more to maintain a fully diluted share worth about 20%, and has two non-voting observers on the company’s board of directors.
Silot, a Singapore-based provider of artificial intelligence technology for the banking industry, has closed an $8m series A round led by SBI Investment, the corporate venturing vehicle for financial services provider, that also featured diversified conglomerate Sumitomo and Krungsri Finnovate, the strategic investment arm of financial services firm Krungsri Bank, DealStreetAsia reported on Monday. The round included Arbor Ventures, which joined Eight Roads Ventures to supply $2.9m of seed capital for Silot in April 2018, after ZhenFund had invested $800,000 in July 2017.
Physera, the developer of an app that combines exercises for musculoskeletal injuries with remote access to physicians, completed an $8m series A round led by BlueCross BlueShield Venture Partners, the venture capital arm of the BlueCross BlueShield health insurance group, on Wednesday. The round followed $2.8m in seed funding from Innovation Endeavors, Lux Capital, Expa, Slow Ventures and ID Ventures in November 2017, and MobiHealthNews reported that its investors also include J-Angels and individuals including Halle Tecco.
Germany-based cloud infrastructure management software provider Gridscale secured €7m ($7.9m) on Wednesday in a series A round co-led by EnBW New Ventures, the corporate venturing unit for energy utility EnBW, and growth equity firm Endeit Capital. The round also featured existing investors EnjoyVenture and High-Tech Gründerfonds, the latter having provided an undisclosed amount of seed capital for Gridscale in 2016.
Cymulate, an Israel-based developer of breach-and-attack cybersecurity software, raised $7.5m on Wednesday in a series A round co-led by Dell Technologies Capital, computing technology producer Dell’s corporate venturing unit. Vertex Ventures co-led the round, which included Susquehanna Growth Equity (SGE), a subsidiary of quantitative trading firm Susquehanna International Group, and angel investor Eyal Gruner. The company had received an undisclosed amount of funding from Gruner before adding $3m in an SGE-led round in early 2017.
Capital Markets Gateway (CMG), a US-based developer of workflow and analytics software for capital markets businesses, completed a $7.5m series A round yesterday that included Shea Ventures, the corporate venturing arm of homebuilder JF Shea. The round was led by investment fund StageDotO and also featured Franklin Templeton and CMG’s co-founder and CEO, Greg Ingram. It increased CMG’s overall funding to $11m, the company said.
Internet group Tencent has led a series B round of undisclosed size for Yiqi Energy, the China-based operator of a battery exchange service for electric motorcycles. The round included Nio Capital, the strategic investment arm of electric vehicle producer Nio, as well New Cognitive Fund and Cathay Capital, and it followed an undisclosed amount of earlier funding from Sinovation Ventures, Plum Ventures and Ruchuan Capital across seed and series A rounds, according to China Money Network.
US-based low-glycemic sugar provider Nutrition Innovation has raised $5m in seed capital from trading services provider Enerfo Group and VC fund VisVires New Protein, AgFunder News reported yesterday. Nutrition Innovation will put the funding toward further testing of its healthier natural sugar with its commercial food and beverage partners.
Serial Box, the US-based operator of a digital publishing service that offers works in regular instalments, has secured $4.5m in a seed round led by entertainment provider Boat Rocker Media, TechCrunch has reported. The round included business intelligence and media company Uzabase, VC firm Forerunner Ventures and angel investor Todd Wagner, and the funding was first reported, without details of investors, by the New York Times.
Times Bridge, an investment vehicle for media group Bennett Coleman & Co, invested an undisclosed amount in Canada-based narrative entertainment platform developer Wattpad on Wednesday. Wattpad had previously raised $118m in funding from Tencent, telecommunications company Globe Telecom’s Kickstart Ventures unit, Raine, Business Development Bank of Canada, Union Square Ventures, W Media Ventures, Golden Venture Partners, Khosla Ventures, Omers Ventures, August Capital and Northleaf Capital Partners.
IT product supplier Tech Mahindra has provided $3.6m in funding for Ryff, the US-based owner of an advertising offering that places products in the background of video content, VentureBeat reported on Wednesday. The financing was secured at a $19m valuation and it will be used for product development, sales and marketing.
Cultivate(MD) Capital, the strategic investment arm of medical device maker Genesis Innovation Group, has led a $3.6m funding round for Embody, the Netherlands-based developer of a microfibre implant for use in achilles and rotator cuff repairs. Genesis Innovation CEO Rob Bell will join Embody’s board of directors in connection with the round, which followed $12.1m in funding from the US government’s Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency and a research and development contract.
E-commerce marketplace Tokopedia has invested an undisclosed amount in Ovo, an Indonesia-based digital wallet developer created by diversified conglomerate Lippo Group, Tech in Asia reported yesterday. Ovo, whose service is already incorporated into Tokopedia’s platform, has also paid an undisclosed sum to acquire Taralite, an Indonesia-based online lender that had received $6.3m in funding from financial services provider SBI in May 2017.
Japan-based online video advertising technology startup Babel has received ¥340m ($3m) in funding from investors including Deepcore, the deep learning technology subsidiary of telecommunications group SoftBank; internet company CyberAgent’s Fujita Fund; Mitsubishi UFJ Capital and Mizuho Capital, subsidiaries of banks Mitsubishi UFJ and Mizuho Bank, TechCrunch Japan reported on Monday. The round included Genesia Ventures, Canal Ventures, AG Capital and angel investor Hiroshi Tomishima. It followed a February 2018 seed round featuring East Ventures and Genesia Ventures and it boosted Babel’s total funding to $4.5m.
US-based genome sequencing technology startup Gencove raised $3m in funding from investors including Alexandria Venture Investments, the VC arm of life sciences real estate investment trust Alexandria Real Estate Equities, on Wednesday. Spero Ventures led the round, which also featured Burst Capital, Third Kind Venture Capital and Version One Ventures, the latter two having joined Refactor Capital, SV Angel and angel investors Kresimir Penavic and Balaji Srinivasan to supply $1m for Gencove in July 2017.
Communications and networking technology producer IPC has provided an undisclosed amount of funding for GreenKey Technologies, a US-based developer of natural language processing technology for the financial industry. GreenKey chief executive Bob Santella will take a seat on GreenKey’s board of directors, and the investment builds on a long-standing strategic partnership between the companies.
Cavallo Ventures, the strategic investment vehicle owned by agribusiness Wilbur-Ellis, has invested an undisclosed amount in Performance Livestock Analytics, a US-based provider of software for the livestock industry, it said on Monday. The company had raised $2.3m of an equity funding round with a projected $3.3m close in November 2018, according to a regulatory filing.
Financie, the Japan-based operator of a social network that allows users to trade their skills and dreams as a commodity, has received ¥300m ($2.7m) in funding from investors including Gumi Cryptos, the crypto-focused fund formed by mobile game producer Gumi, as well as D4V, the VC firm affiliated with design and consulting firm Ideo, The Bridge reported today. B Dash Ventures, the VC partnership formed by several Japanese corporations, also took part in the round, as did KSK Angel Fund.
Guuru, the India-based operator of a crowdsourced customer service offering, has raised CHF2.7m ($2.7m) in funding from investors including postal service Swiss Post, customer relationship management services group MS Direct and Wayra UK, a subsidiary of telecoms company Telefónica. VC firm Investiere led the round, which also featured Equitypitcher and undisclosed existing backers, and which came after an $800,000 round led by QDN Partners and backed by Investiere.ch and unnamed angel investors in January 2018.
Saudi Aramco Energy Ventures, the strategic investment vehicle for petrochemical producer Saudi Aramco, has supplied an undisclosed amount of series A funding for Earth Science Analytics, a Norway-based provider of artificial intelligence technology for the petroleum geoscience sector. The startup has not disclosed details of its earlier funding but has said it has received funding and support from oil and gas suppliers ConocoPhillips, DEA, Lundin Petroleum and Spirit Energy.
Sabic Ventures, the strategic investment subsidiary of chemicals producer Sabic, invested $2m in US-based thermoset resin developer Mallinda on Wednesday. Mallinda will use the funding to further development of its materials and support the launch of its lead product.
Earnd, the Australia-based creator of an app that allows users to access a portion of their income before payday, has received A$2.5m ($1.8m) in funding from investors including NAB Ventures, the VC arm of financial services firm NAB, Business Insider Australia reported on Monday. The round included angel investors John Banfield, Alvin Singh and Bosco Tan, and the funding will support hiring and the expansion of the company in Australia.
WithTravel, a Japan-based personalised travel app developer backed by corporate joint venture B Dash Ventures, has raised ¥200m ($1.8m) in series A funding from VC firm Global Brain, The Bridge reported yesterday. The investment came in January this year and followed $450,000 in seed capital from B Dash in June 2018.
StoryFit, a US-based provider of analytics software for the entertainment and publishing industries, secured $1.75m in funding from investors including Bertelsmann Digital Media Investments, a corporate venturing vehicle for media group Bertelsmann, on Wednesday. FF Venture Capital led the round, which also featured Ascend Venture Capital, Techstars, Capital Factory and angel investor Walt Winshall. The company’s predecessor, Authors, Inc, had received an undisclosed sum from print services provider LSC Communications in 2017.
India-based co-living space operator StayAbode has raised an undisclosed amount of pre-series A funding from media and advertising technology provider Voyage Group, mobile game producer Akatsuki and VC fund Incubate Fund, Inc 42 reported on Monday. The company raised an undisclosed sum from Akatsuki and angel investors Anupam Mittal and Vineet Sekhsaria in July 2018, after Incubate Fund and various individuals had supplied an undisclosed amount for it in August 2017.
Akatsuki’s corporate venturing subsidiary, Akatsuki Entertainment Technology Fund, has also co-led a $1m pre-series A round for India-based online wedding services marketplace The Wedding Brigade, VCCircle reported on Tuesday. The round was co-led by VC firm Blume Ventures and also featured food and commodities exporter Allana Group and various angel investors. Blume Ventures had invested $600,000 in the company in 2016 and co-led a $1m pre-series A round in January 2018 that included Czar Capital, Mountain Pine Capital, LetsVenture and Keiretsu Forum.
School services provider A3 Education supplied $1m in seed funding for Jump Holdings, the US-based developer of a visuals-based immersive mobile game, earlier this year, the company disclosed on Wednesday. The capital will support the launch of Jump’s flagship game, Inventure, which is intended to help young users engage with social issues.
Mindesk, the US-based developer of an interface for virtual and augmented reality software development, raised $900,000 on Monday from investors including HTC Vive, the VR subsidiary of consumer electronics manufacturer HTC. The round included Barcamper Ventures, A11 Venture and Invitalia Ventures, and it was disclosed in the wake of Mindesk’s graduation from HTC Vive’s Vive X accelerator.
SparesHub, an India-based online marketplace for automotive parts, has secured Rs 35m ($500,000) of funding from Indian Angel Network, with the funding led by IAN members Neeraj Garg, Harsh Gandhi and Ankur Agarwal, the Economic Times reported on Tuesday. It had previously received $310,000 from IT consulting services provider Esvee Technologies, Chennai Angels, Anthill Scale Ventures and unnamed angel investors in June 2017.
A1A, a Japan-based developer of procurement software for the manufacturing industry, has received ¥53m ($480,000) in funding from investors including Colopl Next, a corporate venturing subsidiary of game developer Colopl, and business intelligence software provider Pksha Technology, The Bridge reported on Tuesday. The round also featured VC firm Beenext and undisclosed angel investors, and was disclosed as the startup advanced its product into beta testing.
