Spain-based cyber threat detection software developer Blueliv raised €4m ($5m) on Wednesday in a series A round led by Vento, a fund formed by water treatment services provider Aqualogy/Suez Advanced Solutions. The round included telecommunications firm Telefónica and venture capital fund Kibo Ventures, both of which had contributed to a $3.2m round for Blueliv in 2014 alongside angel investor Roger Casals.
Axel Springer Digital Ventures, a corporate venturing subsidiary of media group Axel Springer, invested an undisclosed amount in US-based augmented reality technology developer Magic Leap on Monday. Magic Leap had raised about $1.9bn as of its $502m series D round in October 2017, and its other investors include media company Grupo Globo, e-commerce firm Alibaba, internet technology provider Google, mobile semiconductor maker Qualcomm and entertainment producers Warner Bros and Legendary Entertainment.
Industrial component manufacturer Bharat Forge has agreed to pay Rs 300m ($4.7m) for a 45% stake in Tork Motorcycles, an India-based developer of drivetrains for two-wheeled electric vehicles. Tork had raised an undisclosed amount from angel investors including Bhavish Agarwal, Ankit Bhati and Harpreet Grover in 2016, and Bharat Forge plans to leverage the investment to strengthen its expertise in mobility technology.
US-based shared game developer Phoenix Labs raised an undisclosed amount on Wednesday in a series B round that included MTGx, a subsidiary of digital entertainment provider Modern Times Group. The round also featured Sapphire Ventures, GGV Capital, Ridge Ventures, Signia Venture Partners and Next Frontier Capital, and the funding was raised as Phoenix prepares to release its first PC title, a role-playing game called Dauntless.
Indonesia-based e-commerce startup Warung Pintar has completed a $4m seed round featuring internet company Digital Garage and diversified conglomerates Triputra Group and Sinar Mas, the latter through its Sinar Mas Digital Ventures unit, E27 reported on Monday. VC firms East Ventures and Insignia Ventures Partners also participated in the round along with undisclosed angel investors, and the funding was received a month after the company was launched by East Ventures.
Volantio, a US-based provider of airline capacity management software, secured $4m on Monday in a series B round featuring airline operators International Airlines Group (IAG), JetBlue and Qantas, the latter two through their JetBlue Technology Ventures and Qantas Ventures units. The round was led by Ingleside Investors and it came eight months after Volantio was admitted into Avro, the accelerator run by Qantas, and four months after it joined IAG’s accelerator, Hangar 51.
Germany-based online education platform operator Sofatutor has raised €3m ($3.7m) in funding from textbook publisher Cornelsen, Frog Capital, Acton Capital and VC Fonds Kreativwirtschaft Berlin, Gruenderszene reported on Wednesday. Cornelsen led a $4.6m round for Sofatutor in 2014 that included Acton Capital Partners, JCMB Beteiligungs and IBB Beteiligungsgesellschaft, after the company had secured a low single-digit million amount from the latter three investors in 2012.
Food distributor LA Foods invested an undisclosed sum in US-based food supply technology developer ePallet on Wednesday. The startup has created an automated online platform that allows retailers to make pallet-sized orders from food producers at wholesale prices in order to save money and cut out the middleman.
New Zealand-based lock screen advertising platform Postr has completed a $2.5m funding round that included MDI Ventures, the corporate venturing subsidiary of telecoms firm Telkom Indonesia, DealStreetAsia reported on Tuesday. Entrepreneur Koh Boon Hwee led the round, which also featured K1W1 and the state-owned New Zealand Venture Investment Fund, the latter two having previously invested in a $2.1m round for Postr in January 2017 that included conglomerate Gunung Sewu Group and various angel investors.
Diversified conglomerate B.Grimm and a fund called European Venture Capital have co-led a ฿77m ($2.4m) series A round for Masii.com, the Thailand-based operator of a comparison platform for financial products, DealStreetAsia reported on Monday. Masii had previously received an undisclosed amount of seed funding from B.Grimm in February 2016 according to DealStreetAsia, and the series A proceeds will be used for hiring as the company looks to expand the range of services it offers.
Germany-based thermoelectric generator developer Otego raised an undisclosed seven-figure euro amount (€1m = $1.25) last month from investors including Vector Venture Capital, the corporate venturing division of networking software producer Vector Informatik. The round also featured LBBW Venture Capital, which invests as an investment subsidiary of financial services group Landesbank Baden-Württemberg, and public-private VC fund High-Tech Gründerfonds.
Patent licensing firm Acacia Research Corporation supplied $1m in funding on Wednesday for Bitzumi, the US-based developer of a cryptocurrency and blockchain transaction platform, as part of a deal that will involve it offering patent-related services to the company. Acacia has an option to buy up to $9m more of Bitzumi’s common stock for the same price.
Canada-based identity authentication software developer InBay Technologies has secured $1m in the second tranche of its pre-series A round, with business consulting firm Global Alliance leading the tranche. Private equity firm Ramphastos Investments had led a tranche for InBay sized at more than $1m in September 2017 that also featured Tongda One Partners.
Quit Genius, a UK-based digital aid launched by wellness behaviour product developer Digital Therapeutics to help those looking to give up smoking, has raised $900,000 from investors including Telefonica’s Wayra subsidiary and pharmaceutical company Merck & Co, co-founder and chief operating officer Maroof Ahmed told TechCrunch on Monday. The company’s backers also include Force Over Mass Capital and accelerator operator Y Combinator.
Credit scoring services provider Big Data Scoring has invested an amount likely to be $800,000 in Argentina-based online real estate portal Properati to take the company’s total funding to $5m. Properati had raised a total of $4.2m as of a $2m round in 2016 featuring Neveq II, NXTP Labs and Telor International, two years after the first two had invested $2m in the company.
Wydr, an India-based business-to-business e-commerce marketplace backed by insurance provider Axis, has received an undisclosed amount of funding from unnamed existing investors, TechCircle reported on Monday. The company had previously raised undisclosed sums across rounds in 2015 and January 2017, and its earlier backers include Stellaris Venture Partners, Bessemer Venture Partners, Jungle Ventures and angel investor Sandeep Aggarwal as well as Axis.
Insurance provider Uniqa has agreed to supply €500,000 ($610,000) in pre-seed funding for Bsurance, the Austria-based operator of a platform that enables service providers and product manufacturers to sell insurance to their customers. The funds will be provided over two tranches, and Uniqa is also working with Bsurance to create new products for its partners.
Human resources firm HRnetGroup agreed on Monday to invest S$500,000 ($380,000) in Glints Intern, the Singapore-based owner of an online job listings platform aimed at a young demographic. Glints received $475,000 from East Ventures, Infocomm Investments, Pix Vine Capital and angel investors including Darius Cheung in 2015, and all those investors took part in a $2m series A round in September 2016 co-led by Golden Equator Capital and Gobi Partners that included Wavemaker Partners and Fresco Capital.