AAA Corporate venturing deal net: 13-17 January 2020

Corporate venturing deal net: 13-17 January 2020

US-based ocular disorder treatment developer LumiThera reached the second close of its series C round on Monday having raised more than $10m from investors including optics technology producer and distribution partner Nikon Corporation. The round is being led by venture capital fund WaterStar Capital and follows a $5.5m series B featuring WaterStone Capital and RPR Venture in 2017. LumiThera has now raised a total of more than $19m in equity and convertible note financing according to press releases and securities filings and its existing backers include Keiretsu Forum.

Clew, the Israel-based developer of a software platform that assists in clinical healthcare decisions, completed a series B round reported by Calcalist to be $10m in size on Wednesday, the money coming from investors including care provider Rhön-Klinikum and healthcare insurance and risk manager Relyens. The round, which increased Clew’s overall funding to $20.5m, was led by Pitango Venture Capital and included Agate Medical Investments. It follows $10.5m from Rhön-Klinikum, Pitango and Agate in 2017.

Clobotics, a China-based computer vision technology developer backed by content delivery services provider Wangsu, has secured $10m in pre-series B-plus funding from Tiger Investment, 36Kr reported on Wednesday. The company had received at least $48m altogether, as of a $22m pre-series B round in August 2019, from Wangsu, CMC Capital, CDIB Capital, GGV Capital, Capital Development Investment Fund, Nantian Infotech VC and KTB Network.

Comtravo, the Germany-based developer of a business travel booking platform, has received €9m ($9.9m) in funding from software provider Microsoft’s M12 unit and angel investor Joop Drechsel, EU-Startups reported on Monday. The cash will be added to the $23.4m it raised from air ticket retailer AER Ticket, financial services firm Deutsche Bank, Endeit Capital, private investor Jan Valentin and existing backers Project A, Creandum and Btov in November 2019. It has now secured approximately $43m altogether.

Pando, an India-based developer of supply-chain management software, has raised $9m in funding from investors including industrial technology and appliance manufacturer Siemens’ Next47 unit, the Economic Times reported on Monday. Chiratae Ventures led the round, which also featured fellow VC firm Blume Ventures and angel investors Ramkumar Narayan, Alok Mittal and Saikiran Krishnamurthy. It followed a $2m seed round led by Nexus Venture Partners and backed by assorted angel investors in April 2018.

Sensome, the France-based developer of a biological tissue sensor, closed a $9m funding round on Monday featuring guidewire technology producer Asahi Intecc. The round was also backed by BNP Paribas Développement, an investment vehicle for financial services firm BNP Paribas, as well as Idinvest Partners, Kurma Partners and Paris-Saclay Seed Fund, all of which took part in the company’s $5.4m seed round in June 2018, the latter three as existing investors.

Dixintong Technology Group, a subsidiary of smartphone retail chain D.Phone, has invested an undisclosed amount in Monsoon Blockchain, the US-based developer of a blockchain-powered cloud services marketplace, CoinDesk reported on Monday. The cash was supplied at a nine-figure valuation and the startup could potentially use the tie-up to expand its technology from enterprise customers to ordinary consumers.

Akseleran, the Indonesia-based operator of a peer-to-peer lending platform for businesses, has disclosed it completed an $8.6m funding round in late 2019 featuring Central Capital Ventura, the VC firm backed by financial services firm Bank Central Asia, Tech in Asia reported on Wednesday. Beenext led the round, which included Ahabe Group, Access Ventures and Agaeti Venture Capital, with the proceeds to go to technology development and hiring.

Korea Credit Data, the South Korea-based owner of business income management platform CashNote, has raised an undisclosed amount in a funding round led by investment firm Quad Asset Management that included payment services firm Shinhan Card’s Shinhan Investment unit and Yukyung PSG Asset Management to increase its total funding to more than $17m. Internet company Kakao invested $3.5m in the company in 2017 before it boosted its total funding to $8.4m in May 2019 with capital from existing backer Shinhan Card and Quad Asset Management.

Power supplier National Grid’s corporate venturing unit, National Grid Partners, contributed to an $8.2m series A debt and equity round for US-based distributed energy marketplace developer Leap yesterday. Silicon Valley Bank supplied the debt financing and Union Square Ventures led the equity portion, which included Congruent Ventures, Powerhouse Ventures, Elemental Excelerator and FJ Labs. Leap said the round took its total funding to $11m and identified the latter four, like National Grid Partners, as existing investors.

India-based shuttle bus services provider Shuttl has received Rs 570m ($8m) in funding from SIG Global India Fund, possibly a vehicle for technology and trading firm Susquehanna International Group, Entrackr reported on Monday, citing a regulatory filing. It had previously raised nearly $84m, including $36m in an ongoing series C round featuring automotive manufacturer Toyota’s trading subsidiary, Toyota Tsusho, and the Toyota-backed Mirai Creation Fund II that reportedly values it at approximately $213m.

Moff, a Japan-based provider of wearable physical rehabilitation technology for elderly users, increased its latest funding round to ¥760m ($6.9m) on Tuesday, adding funding from Future Creation Fund, which is backed by carmaker Toyota, banking firm Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation and asset management firm Sparx Group, to earlier financing from insurance firm Sompo Holdings. It had previously raised $2.7m from Mitsubishi Research Institute, Tsuneishi Capital Partners and Energy and Environment Investment.

HRBrain, the Japan-based creator of a cloud employee evaluation software platform, secured about ¥600m ($5.4m) in funding today from asset management firm Sparx Group. It will be added on to the $3.7m in series B financing it raised from diversified conglomerate Mitani Sangyo, internet company CyberAgent’s Fujita Fund, leasing services firm JA Mitsui Leasing and financial services firm Mizuho Bank’s Mizuho Capital subsidiary in October 2019. The company’s total funding stands at $14.7m and its earlier backers include Genesia Ventures and Beenext.

Hanwha Asset Management, the asset management arm of diversified conglomerate Hanwha, provided $5m for Singapore-based capital markets platform operator iStox on Monday. Investment bank Kiatnakin Phatra Financial Group had provided an undisclosed amount of series A funding for the company in September 2019 through subsidiary Phatra Capital, before it raised $5m from Tokai Tokyo Global Investments, a vehicle for financial services firm Tokai Tokyo Financial Holdings in November.

Mosa Meat, a Netherlands-based developer of meat grown directly from cells, has raised an undisclosed amount from animal nutrition and aquafeed product manufacturer Nutreco and VC fund Lowercarbon Capital. It had secured $8.7m in a 2018 series A round co-led by Meat processor Bell Food Group and M Ventures, the investment arm of pharmaceutical firm Merck & Co, that included Glass Wall Syndicate, following an undisclosed amount of financing from investors including Sergey Brin.

Financial services firms Alior Bank, BNP Paribas and PKO Bank Polski have jointly invested zł17m ($4.4m) in Poland-based digital signature technology developer Autenti, each committing the same amount, ITwiz reported yesterday. The company had previously received $1.7m in funding from VC firms Black Pearls VC and Innovation Nest in 2017, and Alior’s contribution came through its RBL VC fund.

Mecuris, the Germany-based developer of technology that digitises the production of orthopaedic aids, has closed a €3.6m ($4m) funding round that included healthcare provider Sana Kliniken. The round was also backed by Mulcan, Vesalius Biocapital, Bayern Kapital and High-Tech Gründerfonds (HTGF), the latter two having contributed to a seed round of undisclosed size for Mecuris in 2016. The company secured €3.6m in a January 2019 round featuring Mulcan, Vesalius, Bayern Kapital and HTGF that could be the same round as revealed in its latest announcement.

US-based online media startup Dot.LA has completed a $4m seed round featuring Comcast Ventures and Hawke Media Ventures, on behalf of mass media group Comcast and consultancy Hawke Media, as well as law firm Perkins Coie, recruiter Safire Partners, messaging platform Snap, game developer Jam City, digital media company Geekwire and baseball franchise Los Angeles Dodgers. They were joined by 3L Capital, Act One Ventures, Anthos Capital, Cavu Venture Partners, Crosscut Ventures, Greycroft, K5 Ventures, March Capital, Maveron, M13, Mucker, NFX, Pelion Venture Partners, Thrive Capital, Torch Capital, Troy Capital, Upfront Ventures, Watertower Ventures, Waverley Capital and various angel investors.

Insurance firm State Farm made a ‘significant’ investment of undisclosed size in US-based geospatial property data supplier Cape Analytics on Wednesday through its State Farm Ventures unit. Cape Analytics had previously raised $31m including $17m in a mid-2018 round featuring insurers and reinsurers XL Catlin (now Axa XL), Hartford, CSAA Insurance Group, Cincinnati Insurance Company and State Auto Labs in addition to Nephila, Formation 8, Data Collective, Khosla Ventures, Montage Ventures, Lux Capital and Promus Ventures.

Oil and gas supplier BP has provided $3.6m for China-based energy management software producer R&B Technology through its strategic investment subsidiary, BP Ventures. The cash was invested as part of a larger round of undisclosed size led by BP Ventures, which participated alongside CLP Innovation Ventures, an investment vehicle for energy utility CLP Holdings, as well as VC firm Jafco Asia.

Financial services firm HSBC invested an undisclosed amount in Kenna Security, the US-based creator of a risk management software platform, on Wednesday. Kenna had raised $98m in funding as of a $48m series D round featuring financial services firm Citi’s strategic investment arm, Citi Ventures, as well as Sorenson Capital, Bessemer Venture Partners, US Venture Partners, Costanoa Ventures, Hyde Park Angels and OurCrowd in October 2019.

U-Nest, the US-based creator of a mobile savings app focused on higher education, increased its seed round to $3.5m on Wednesday with $1.5m from financial services firm Northwestern Mutual’s VC unit, Northwestern Mutual Future Ventures, as well as Group 11, Unlock Ventures and unnamed VC firms and angel investors. It had secured $2m from Unlock Ventures, Artemis Fund, Draper Dragon, Vested Ventures, Band of Angels and undisclosed individuals in October 2019.

Payment services firm Visa supplied an undisclosed amount of funding for US-based data security platform developer Very Good Security (VGS) on Wednesday. VGS had raised $1.4m in seed capital before adding $8.5m in an August 2018 series A round featuring Nyca Ventures, Vertex Ventures, Slow Ventures and Max Levchin, co-founder of payment processor PayPal. It received $35m in an October 2019 series B led by investment bank Goldman Sachs that included all its existing investors.

VC firm East Ventures has led a $3m pre-series A round for Indonesia-based coding bootcamp Hacktiv8 that included conglomerate Sinar Mas’ corporate venturing unit, SMDV, DealStreetAsia reported. Sovereign’s Capital, Skystar Capital, Convergence Ventures, RMKB Ventures, Prasetia Dwidharma and Everhaus also took part in the round, the proceeds of which will fund the opening of more schools by the company.

Numocity Technologies, the India-based developer of a mobility management platform, has secured an undisclosed amount of funding from investors including power and automation equipment producer ABB’s corporate venturing unit, ABB Technology Ventures, the Economic Times reported on Tuesday. Ideaspring Capital and Rebright Partners also contributed to the round, according to a release by the company.

Wysh, an India-headquartered celebrity engagement startup with the same business model as US-based Cameo, has received $2m in series A funding from investors including mobile game publisher Akatsuki’s AET Fund, TechCircle reported on Monday. VC firm Kalaari Capital led the round, which also featured Gemba Capital, Indian Institute of Management Kozhikode’s IIMK Alumni Fund, Whiteboard Capital, Touchstone Equities and AngelList. The latter three were already investors in Wysh’s parent company, Emojifi.

Roambee, a US-based developer of internet-of-things technology for the logistics industry, has raised an undisclosed amount of series B1 funding from Telkomsel Mitra Innovation and MDI Ventures, subsidiaries of telecoms companies Telkomsel and Telkom Indonesia, Investor Daily reported on Tuesday. The company had received a total of $9.5m as of a $2m investment by MDI Ventures in June 2018. Its other backers include telecoms firm Deutsche Telekom’s Strategic Investments unit.

Human resources firm Dip Corporation and startup studio XTech Ventures supplied ¥190m ($1.7m) in series B funding on Wednesday for Cognitee, the Japan-based developer of sales analysis tool UpSighter. It has now raised about $5.4m in total, its previous funding provided by Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation’s SMBC Venture Capital unit, electronic equipment maker Alps Electric, consulting firm BeBit’s UCD Ventures vehicle and MF-GB Investment, a joint venture between property developer Mitsui Fudosan and Global Brain, as well as Glocalink and Active and Company.

Oil and gas supplier Shell invested an undisclosed amount in Germany-based on-demand freight transport service InstaFreight on Tuesday through corporate venturing vehicle Shell Ventures. InstaFreight received $9.5m in series A funding from an undisclosed investment firm in 2017 and will use the latest funding to improve its technology and expand its services to more customers across Europe.

MiL, the Japan-based operator of a subscription service for baby food, secured ¥180m ($1.6m) on Wednesday in a series A round featuring online supermarket Oisix Ra Daichi’s Future Food Fund and private investors Yuto Nagatomo and Takashi ‘Bazooka’ Okada. It received an undisclosed amount from MTG Ventures, brand development firm MTG’s corporate venturing unit, and various individuals in January 2019 before adding $1.1m from MTG Ventures and assorted angel investors in September.

Full Kaiten, a Japan-based developer of software that helps retailers reduce surplus stock, received ¥170m ($1.5m) on Wednesday from Daiwa Corporate Investment, Kyogin Lease & Capital and Mizuho Capital – subsidiaries of brokerage Daiwa and banks Kyoto Bank and Mizuho Bank – the latter of which also provided debt financing. Daiwa Corporate Investment supplied seed capital for the company in 2017 and joined Mizuho Capital, Kyogin Lease & Capital, advertising technology provider United and Venture United in a $1.1m round in June 2018.

Chengdu LianAn Technology, the China-based blockchain verification technology developer also known as Beosin, has collected a total of RMB10m ($1.4m) across multiple rounds led by computing technology provider Lenovo’s corporate VC unit, Lenovo Venture Capital and Fosun Hi-Tech, part of diversified conglomerate Fosun, it revealed yesterday. Co-Stone Venture Capital, Pangu Venture Capital and other existing backers also invested, having backed a November 2018 round of undisclosed size for the company.

US-based smart musical instrument developer Artiphon disclosed yesterday that it recently raised an undisclosed amount from record label Warner Music Group’s Boost Fund and VC services firm TechNexus which invested in partnership with audio equipment producer Shure. The company has collected $1.7m in crowdfunding for its first two products and is making the second one, a portable synthesiser, available for public orders.

Pulley equipment producer Henan Lanxing Power Equipment invested £1m ($1.3m) in UK-based hydrogen refuelling technology developer Logan Energy on Wednesday in a deal managed by investment fund Kelvin Capital. The funding was provided through a joint venture agreement that will involve the companies collaborating on hydrogen technology development in Henan Lanxing’s home country of China.

Ocyan, the UK-based developer of a cloud-managed blockchain services platform, secured an undisclosed amount of pre-seed funding on Monday from investors including Wayra, the open innovation arm of telecoms firm Telefónica. The round was led by angel network QVentures and follows Ocyan’s participation in Wayra’s 2019’s AI & Blockchain Accelerator. The startup’s technology will also be the infrastructure layer for Telefónica’s TrustOS blockchain product.

WaterStart Capital supplied €1m ($1.1m) for Immersive Factory, a France-based company that provides immersive virtual reality exercises to improve workplace practices, on Tuesday. The deal follows Immersive Factory’s participation in accelerators Shell LiveWire and Vive X, which are operated by shell and VR system producer HTV Vive respectively.

NewRevo, the Japan-based creator of inventory management software platform Logikura, received ¥120m ($1.1m) on Wednesday from industrial manufacturer Orient Corporation and Monex Ventures, the VC arm of exchange operator Monex, as well as Genesia Ventures and SG Incubate. It had raised undisclosed amounts from F Ventures in 2016 and internet company Digital Garage’s DG Incubation unit in August 2017, and $450,000 from Genesia Ventures in December the same year.

Mail order retailer Dinos Cecile invested an undisclosed amount in Three-Is, the Japan-based operator of advertising network Candy, today through a strategic partnership deal. Daiwa Corporate Investment had provided more than $900,000 in funding for the company in September 2018 before recruitment firm Mynavi and Voyage Ventures, online advertising technology producer Voyage Group’s investment arm, added an undisclosed amount a year later.

Japan-based English language learning app developer Polyglots raised ¥100m ($910,000) on Wednesday from staffing services provider Celm’s corporate VC fund, Dip Corporation, HR-Tech Fund and PE&HR and SocialEntrepreneur3 Investment Limited Partnership. The round took Polyglots’ total funding to $2.2m, its earlier funding coming from data assets platform Pipedo HD, IT services firm Hitomedia’s Hitotoki incubator, PE&HR, Kyushu University’s QB Capital unit, East Ventures and various private investors.

Japan-based pesticide developer Agrodesign Studio also secured ¥100m ($910,000), yesterday, in a round featuring Real Tech Fund, a vehicle formed by biofuel supplier Euglena, research firm Leave a Nest and investment firm SMBC Nikko. The round included Incubate Fund and came after up to $27,000 of pre-seed funding from University of Tokyo Innovation Platform’s UTokyo IPC Incubation Support Program in September 2018.

CyberAgent Capital, an investment vehicle for CyberAgent, has contributed to a pre-series A round of undisclosed size for Moladin, the Indonesia-based operator of a motorcycle-focused e-commerce platform, e27 reported yesterday. The round also featured East Ventures, which had joined diversified conglomerate Berjaya Group and Ethos Partners in Moladin’s $1.2m seed round in July 2018.

Water utility Global Omnium invested €500,000 to lead a €600,000 ($690,000) round for Spain-based machine learning technology developer Solver Machine Learning on Wednesday through corporate venturing vehicle GoHub. The round included investment group Zriser Group and came after Solver ML had signed a collaboration agreement with Global Omnium.

Digital currency exchange operator Binance has provided ₩500m ($430,000) in funding for South Korea-based stablecoin operator BxB, CoinDesk Korea reported on Tuesday. The deal was struck in connection with a partnership agreement that will involve BxB establishing a support centre for Korean Binance users.

By Robert Lavine

Robert Lavine is special features editor for Global Venturing.

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