Telecommunications and internet group SoftBank has agreed to invest an undisclosed amount in Mexico-based second-hand automotive e-commerce platform Kavak, Reuters reported on Monday. Mountain Nazca led a $3m funding round for Kavak in 2016 and the company’s existing investors also include venture capital firm Kaszek Ventures. SoftBank took part in a $100m round for another Mexican company, Clip, in May this year and Reuters stated it may also invest in Mexico-based financial services platform Konfio.
UK-based sensor technology developer Hummingbird Technologies has completed a $10m series B round on Tuesday that included BASF Ventures and Telus Ventures, subsidiaries of chemical producer BASF and telecoms firm Telus respectively, AgFunder News reported. The round included Saudi Agricultural and Livestock Investment Company, which led the $8.9m first tranche in May 2019 at a $38m valuation, as well as Downing Ventures. It had raised $4.1m from farm manager Velcourt, European Space Agency, Newable Private Investing and angel investor James Dyson in March 2018.
Iconloop, a South Korea-based blockchain technology spinoff from financial technology and wealth management services provider Dayli Group, has received more than ₩10bn ($8.4m) in a funding round led by the state-backed Korea Technology Finance Corporation that included VC firm TS Investment. They were joined by five undisclosed backers, and the investment represents the first funding to be raised by Iconloop since it was formed in 2016.
Food distributor Carrefour Group has acquired a 49% stake Brazil-based financial services app developer Ewally for an undisclosed amount. The deal includes a provision allowing Carrefour to increase its share to a controlling stake within the next three years, and the corporate will leverage the investment to strengthen its payment and financial services offering.
Minit, a Slovakia-based developer of business process management software, secured €7m ($7.7m) on Wednesday in a series A round featuring enterprise software provider Salesforce’s corporate venturing unit, Salesforce Ventures. The round was led by Target Global and included fellow venture capital firm Earlybird’s Digital East Fund as well as VC fund OTB Ventures. The latter two had provided $3.7m in series A funding for the company in December 2018.
Digital media company ByteDance has paid an undisclosed sum for a 22.5% stake in HexMeet, the China-headquartered developer of a cloud-based video conferencing platform, 36Kr reported on Tuesday. Co-founder Xiang Yan told 36Kr ByteDance’s endorsement would prove important for securing private and governmental customers.
Go-Ventures, the corporate venturing arm of on-demand provider Gojek, has led a $7.5m series A round for India-based social commerce platform Mall91 that included Beenext, Kalaari Capital and AngelList India, LiveMint reported on Monday. It will spend the proceeds on international growth, recruitment, product development and the strengthening of its supply chain capabilities.
TruTag Technologies, a micro-barcode technology developer backed by conglomerate Sumitomo, has received $7.5m in a series C round co-led by Pangaea Ventures and Happiness Capital. The company had completed a $16.8m round in 2014 featuring pharmaceutical research firm WuXi AppTec before adding an undisclosed amount from Sumitomo unit Presidio Ventures in late 2017. Its existing backers include investment syndicate VPG Asia.
Australia-based online luggage brand July has secured A$10.5m ($7.1m) in a funding round led by bag retailer Strandbags, Australian Financial Review reported on Tuesday. Strandbags provided A$5m in equity financing and A$3m in debt, and the rest was supplied by an undisclosed family office that could be Monolith Capital, which had led a $700,000 round for July in June this year.
Drinks packaging producer McLaren and packaging services provider Swanline Group have invested £5.5m ($6.9m) in CorrBoard Bioenergy, the UK-based developer of a corrugated sheet factory that will be powered by waste, Insider Media reported on Monday. The facility will source some of that waste from Swanline and McLaren’s customers, and its construction will be supported by the round.
Switzerland-based regulatory compliance services startup Apiax closed a $6.6m series A round yesterday featuring financial services firm Zürcher Kantonalbank. The round was co-led by E.ventures and XAnge and it also included DIVentures, Swiss ICT Investor Club, Tugboat Ventures and angel investor Peter Kurer, all four of which had joined Zürcher Kantonalbank in Apiax’s $1.5m seed round in September 2017.
Travel services provider Yanolja has supplied an undisclosed amount of funding for Singapore-based short-term accommodation platform Zen Rooms alongside VC firm Access Ventures, e27 reported on Wednesday. Yanolja has also acquired shares from Asia Internet Holdings, which was formed by e-commerce holding group Rocket Internet and telecoms firm Ooredoo, which has exited through the deal. Zen had reportedly already raised about $200m as of June 2019, from backers including Yanolja and travel booking platform Booking Holdings.
Citi Ventures, financial services firm Citi’s strategic investment arm, co-led a €5m ($5.5m) series A round for Belgium-based cashflow forecasting software provider Cashforce on Monday with VC firm Inkef Ventures. The round included Pamica and Volta Ventures, the two having previously supplied $1.1m for the company in 2016 before co-leading a $2.5m round in February 2018. Cashforce was also part of the 2015 batch of Barclays Accelerator, which is run by financial services firm Barclays and accelerator operator Techstars.
Indonesia-based on-car advertising startup Stickearn completed a $5.5m series A round on Tuesday that was co-led by SMDV, the corporate venturing vehicle for conglomerate Sinar Mas, and VC firm East Ventures. The round also featured ride hailing service Grab, digital payment services provider Ovo and VC firm Agaeti Ventures, and it followed $1m in seed funding from East Ventures in November 2017.
Whisbi, the Spain-based developer of a conversational sales platform, raised €5m ($5.5m) last month from investors including Bertelsmann Digital Media Investments (BDMI), a corporate venturing vehicle for media group Bertelsmann. The round was led by growth equity firm Cipio Partners, included VC firm Active Venture Partners and increased Whisbi’s overall funding to approximately $16.5m. It had raised $2.5m of that as of 2012 when it received an undisclosed amount from BDMI.
The Void, a US-based company developing immersive virtual reality entertainment centres, received an undisclosed amount from property developer Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield and media investment holding company Lupa Systems on Wednesday. Lupa had previously invested $20m in The Void in July this year, following undisclosed amounts from investors including corporates Qualcomm, Verizon, United Talent Agency, Pickled Entertainment, Walt Disney and Madison Wells Media.
Japan-based tourist accommodation provider Matsuri Technologies secured ¥580m ($5.3m) in funding on Monday from consulting firm Asahi Planning and Globis Capital Partners, the investment arm of education provider Globis. The funding will go to hiring, subleasing contracts for another 1,000 rooms, and the opening of its own dedicated properties.
Financial services firm Singapura Finance has agreed to supply $5m in funding for MatchMove Pay, the Singapore-based developer of an enterprise payment platform, in return for a 1.6% stake, Business Times reported on Wednesday. The deal followed a $30m round in 2015 led by payment services provider Credit Saison and backed by GMO Venture Partners – part of internet company GMO – as well as an undisclosed sum from NTT Docomo Ventures, a vehicle for mobile network operator NTT Docomo, in April 2019.
Telecoms firm Telefónica invested an amount indicated by a securities filing to be $4m in US-based mobile-network management software producer Altiostar yesterday through subsidiary Telefónica Innovation Ventures. Altiostar closed a $114m series C round in May this year featuring e-commerce firm Rakuten, Qualcomm Ventures and Tech Mahindra, subsidiaries of mobile semiconductor technology producer Qualcomm and diversified conglomerate Mahindra and Mahindra, that increased its overall funding to $313m.
Packaged food producer provided an undisclosed amount of funding for US-headquartered plant-based food and beverage brand Forager Project on Wednesday through strategic investment arm Danone Manifesto Ventures. The company intends to put the cash into marketing, strengthening its sustainable ingredient sourcing and food production, expanding distribution and introducing new products to its range.
Proportunity, a UK-based company that offers equity financing for first-time property buyers, has received £2m ($2.6m) in seed capital from media group Axel Springer’s corporate VC arm, Axel Springer Digital Ventures, and fintech investment firm Anthemis, TechCrunch reported yesterday. TechCrunch reported in July 2018 that the startup had raised $3.6m in equity funding from estate agency Savills, Global Founders Capital, Concrete VC, Entrepreneur First, Trusted Insights, Le Studio VC and assorted angel investors.
Programmable logic device producer Xilinx invested an undisclosed sum in Canada-based video processing software developer Aupera Technologies yesterday. Aupera has not disclosed details of its previous funding but said Xilinx was one among several of its investors, and it is utilising the corporate’s adaptable chip technology in its own product.
US-based assistive robot developer Labrador Systems completed a $2m pre-seed round on Tuesday that included Alexa Fund and iRobot Ventures, corporate VC units for e-commerce and home technology firm Amazon and automated vacuum cleaner provider iRobot. The round was led by hardware accelerator Hax, in partnership with smart home technology provider Centrica Hive, and also featured ID Ventures America, the investment vehicle that was formerly corporate venturing investor Acer Technology Ventures America.
Indonesia-based online insurance services aggregator Fuse has secured a “couple million dollars” in a series A round featuring EV Growth, the VC joint venture formed by internet company Yahoo Japan, conglomerate Sinar Mas and VC firm East Ventures, Tech in Asia reported on Tuesday. Fuse intends to put the funding into an expansion drive across eight Indonesian cities as it seeks to expand its partner base from 15,000 to 100,000 next year.
India-based smart water meter developer WeGot has raised $2m in a seed round led by point-of-sale technology provider GoFrugal, Inc42 reported on Wednesday. Apartment manager Brigade Enterprises and angel investors Shyam Shekar, Vibhu Natarajan, Rajagopal S, Joydeep Ponugoti and Promod Kumar also participated in the round, which will fund company growth and the introduction of new cleantech products.
Financial transfer software provider Ripple has led a funding round of undisclosed size for Mexico-based digital currency exchange operator Bitso, The Block reported on Monday. Crypto exchange Coinbase, VC firm Jump Capital, crypto and blockchain investment firm Digital Currency Group (DCG) and blockchain investment fund Pantera Capital also took part in the round, which followed $2.5m from investors including foreign exchange operator Monex Group, DCG, Variv Capital, Xochi Ventures, FundersClub, Bitcoin Capital and Blockchain Tech in 2016.
China-based workspace-booking app developer Booqed has received almost $1.7m in seed funding from investors including real estate manager Colliers International, TechCrunch reported on Wednesday. The round also featured Lazard Korea, an affiliate of consulting firm Lazard, and accelerator operator Techstars. The company had previously participated in Proptech Accelerator, the Canada-based accelerator operated by Colliers and Techstars, in 2018.
Ukraine-based online advertising tool developer RetargetApp has raised $1.5m from investors including social media advertising firm Aitarget, AIN has reported. TMT Investments led the round with a $650,000 investment while TA Ventures also participated, along with undisclosed angel investors. RetargetApp’s software automates and optimises online ads.
EQuest Education Group, the private education provider formerly known as Institution of American Education, invested an undisclosed sum in Vietnam-based digital education services provider 789.vn on Wednesday, Vietnam Economic Times reported. The company’s software can help automate parts of the teaching process including grading and lesson preparation.
Japan-based intensive monitor developer T-ICU has completed a ¥153m ($1.4m) funding round featuring Minato Capital, logistics service provider Minato’s corporate venturing unit. The unit took part in the $1.3m first tranche with Beyond Next Ventures, Seiho Investment Works, Future Venture Capital, Milestone Turnaround Management and Tomoyuki Nakanishi in July 2019, and the extra cash came from Beyond Next and SMBC Venture Capital, the VC arm of financial services firm Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation.
Financial services firm BBVA led a funding round of undisclosed size on Tuesday for PrivacyCloud, a Spain-based creator of online data management tools for consumers. The round also featured La Sexta Opción, an investment entity managed by law firm ILP Abogados and Fundación Villacellino, and represented the startup’s first external funding.
IT services provider Mynavi and home and office furniture distributor Forit contributed to a ¥130m ($1.2m) funding round for Japan-based video-editing software provider MIL on Tuesday. SMBC Venture Capital also took part in the round, which will be used to enhance the startup’s core software and strengthen its internal business capabilities.
US-based property rental data provider Rentgrata raised $1m in financing on Wednesday from investors including student loan services provider Nelnet. M25 led the round, which also featured Syndicate Fund, Right Side Capital Management and angel investors including Georgianna W. Oliver and Eric Broughton. Rentgrata had previously received $30,000 in financing in July 2017 and $10,000 a year later, according to securities filings.
Fitt, the US-based operator of an online service that directs users to local healthy-living events and experiences, closed a round of undisclosed size on Tuesday that included spa and salon management software provider Mindbody. The round was led by Mountain State Capital and also featured Riverfront Ventures and TNC Ventures, the latter participating as an existing investor, according to Fitt.
USP, a China-based textile industry software provider that counts Bertelsmann as an investor, received more than RMB7m ($990,000) in series A funding from VC firm ZhenFund, DealStreetAsia reported on Monday. The media company had led a $1m pre-series A round for USP in August this year through its Bertelsmann Asia Investments subsidiary, according to DealStreetAsia.
Philippines-based back office services developer MyBoss has raised an undisclosed amount from software services provider Monstar Lab. The startup plans to utilise Monstar Lab’s robotic process automation technology for its product offering and intends to open a startup studio called Monstar Hub Philippines with its assistance.
UK-based quantum photonics technology developer Nu Quantum closed a £650,000 ($840,000) pre-seed round yesterday that included Martlet, an investment vehicle for aerospace manufacturer Marshall of Cambridge. The round was led by Amadeus Capital Partners and also featured IQ Capital, Ahren Capital and Cambridge Enterprise, and the cash was raised as Nu Quantum prepares to begin testing its technology with an unnamed telecoms group.
Japan-based plant and landscaping services provider Japan Plant Planning received an undisclosed amount of funding on Wednesday from bookshop and DVD rental store owner Tsutaya and industrial manufacturing group Nissho Group Holdings. The startup was formed in 2018 as a joint venture between Nissho and horticulture services provider Sora Botanical Garden.
Xpring, Ripple’s open innovation arm, has provided more than $750,000 in funding for Switzerland-based mobile cryptocurrency wallet developer BRD through a strategic partnership deal. BRD has now raised $55.8m altogether, including $15m from financial services firm SBI’s SBI Crypto Investment unit in January 2019 and $7m in August 2017 from online information platform OKWave and Saison Ventures, payment services provider Credit Saison’s VC arm, as well as DAS Capital, East Ventures, Globe Advisors, Liberty City Ventures and Maffin.
Invoice finance services provider Populous World has invested an undisclosed sum in UK-based business crowdfunding platform Crowd for Angels. Businesses can use the platform to raise equity, debt or convertible note financing in addition to cash backed by digital securities, and the companies will explore prospective cross-selling opportunities post-investment.
Marketing services firm Bees Group has provided HK$1m ($130,000) in funding for China-based boutique public relations agency Start PR, Jumpstart Media has reported. The cash will be used to promote Start PR’s on-demand services, for which it charges no firm consultation fees, instead determining a fee based on key performance indicators.
Payment services provider MatchMove Pay (see above) supplied an undisclosed amount of funding for Singapore-based crowdfunding platform operator MoolahSense last month. VC firm East Ventures had led a seed round of undisclosed size for MoolahSense in 2015 that also featured Pix Vine Capital.
