US-based healthcare plan manager AllyAlign Health completed a $10m funding round led by McKesson Ventures, the strategic investment arm of pharmaceutical distributor McKesson, on Tuesday. The round, which included Ziegler Link•Age Fund, the partnership between senior services provider Link•Age and investment bank Ziegler, as well as Health Enterprise Partners (HEP) and Heritage Group, followed an undisclosed amount from HEP and Heritage Group in 2014, and AllyAlign said it has now raised $41m in total.
Zhongshunyi Financial, an online finance platform whose founders include internet company NetEase, logistics service SF Express and investment manager Citic Trust, has led a $10m pre-series A round for China-based video services marketplace Fenlai, China Money Network reported on Monday. Private equity firms Heng Ying Investment and QF Capital also participated in the round, and all three of Zhongshunyi’s backers will provide strategic assistance to Fenlai post-investment.
Radar technology producer NXP Semiconductors invested an undisclosed amount in China-based automotive radar technology developer Hawkeye Technology on Wednesday in connection with a strategic partnership. The deal will involve them partnering on reference designs for the Chinese car market that will utilise engineering talent at Southeast University, in China’s Jiangsu Province.
Sky Disc, a Japan-based developer of artificial intelligence technology for industrial workplaces, has raised ¥860m ($7.7m) in funding from investors including oil and gas supplier Suzuyo Shoji, heating and air conditioning provider Nakajima Kogyo, waste collector Eco Energy and IT services firm AJS, VentureTimes reported today. The round also featured SBI Investment, Resona Capital and Mizuho Capital, subsidiaries of financial services group SBI, Resona Group and Mizuho Bank, and DG Daiwa Ventures, a partnership between internet company Digital Garage and brokerage Daiwa Securities.
Medbelle, the UK-based operator of a medical services platform, has secured $7m in a series A round led by Signals Venture Capital, the corporate venturing arm of insurance firm Signal Iduna, TechCrunch reported on Monday. The round included IBB Beteiligungsgesellschaft, a VC vehicle for development bank Investitionsbank Berlin, and Mutschler Ventures, a branch of real estate investor Mutschler Gruppe, as well as Talis Capital and Cavalry Ventures.
US-based data platform developer Software received $7m yesterday in a financing round co-led by industrial technology and appliance producer Siemens’ Next47 unit with VC firm 8VC. The company provides open source plug-ins for use with integrated development environment and text editor applications.
In-car electronics producer Huizhou Desai Xiwei Automotive Electronics provided an undisclosed amount of funding on Tuesday for Nullmax, a China-based developer of artificial intelligence and computer vision technology for use in autonomous driving. Fibre-optic cable supplier Tianjin Futong Xinmao Science and Technology had invested $10m in Nullmax in 2016 according to China Money Network, and the latest funding will support an increase in production and the expansion of Nullmax’s team.
Fosun RZ Capital, the corporate venturing arm of diversified conglomerate Fosun, led a $6.75m series A round for Germany-based hotel room booking platform developer Splitty on Monday. The round also featured Cockpit Innovation, air carrier El Al’s corporate venturing unit, as well as Techstars Ventures, 2bAngels and 11-11 Ventures, and it comes after $2.4m from online services provider AOL, BIP Capital, Techstars Ventures and Techstars Accelerator in late 2017.
MUFG Innovation Partners, the fintech investment arm of financial services firm Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, joined VC firm Sozo Ventures to invest $6m in Chainalysis, a US-based developer of investigation and compliance technology for cryptocurrency regulation, on Tuesday. The cash will be added to the $30m Chainalysis raised in the first tranche of its series B round, which was led by Accel and backed by Benchmark in February this year. Benchmark had already led the company’s $16m series A round in April 2018.
United Arab Emirates-based office catering service Lunch:On increased a series A round featuring utility services provider Abu Nayyan Holding from $3m to $5.5m, Wamda disclosed on Monday. The extra $2.5m was provided by Wamda Capital, Global Ventures, B&Y Ventures, Derayah Capital, Mindshift Capital, Shorooq Investments and Vision VC, after Abu Nayyan had joined Wamda Capital, EATventure and Arzan VC in the February 2019 first tranche.
Financial services firm East West Bank provided $5m of series A funding for US-based cross-border financing platform Citcon on Tuesday that took the latter’s total funding to $15m. ZhenFund, Heda Capital, Cyber Wisdom, Lightbridge Ventures and Teec Angel Fund are among Citcon’s existing investors, and Catherine Zhou, head of consumer banking and digital banking for East West Bank, will join the company’s board of directors in connection with the round.
Shuttl, an India-based bus ticket aggregation platform backed by media group Bennet, Coleman & Co (BCC), has raised $5m from venture capital firm New Atlantic, TechCircle reported yesterday citing two people privy to the development. The company received $7.2m from BCC subsidiary Times Internet, Sequoia Capital, SCI Investments and Lightspeed India Partners last month, and has secured a total of more than $46m in funding from investors that also include Alexa Fund and Dentsu, subsidiaries of e-commerce firm Amazon and marketing agency Dentsu.
Pharmaceutical company Cipla has agreed to pay R65m ($4.6m) for a 30% stake in South Africa-based disease management app developer Brandmed, VCCircle reported on Tuesday, citing a stock exchange filing. The deal was conducted by Cipla subsidiary Cipla Medpro South Africa and the deal includes provisions for milestone payments related to profits over the next three years.
Territory, a US-based meal delivery service operator backed by financial media and services provider The Motley Fool, has received $4m in funding from investment firm Upfront Ventures, TechCrunch reported on Monday. Upfront Ventures had led a $5m seed round for the company in 2016 that also featured Motley Fool and various angel investors, before the company raised $6.7m in a mid-2017 series A round led by NRV and backed by Upfront Ventures and Lewis & Clark Ventures the following year.
ZenGo, the Israel-based developer of a keyless mobile crypto wallet, has secured $4m in funding from investors including consumer electronics manufacturer Samsung, The Block reported yesterday. Technology holding company Elron Electronic Industries and growth equity firm Benson Oak Ventures also participated in the round, which was raised as the company prepares to move its product from beta testing to a full commercial launch.
Wilov, a France-based provider of on-demand auto insurance, has raised €3.2m ($3.6m) from investors including InnovAllianz, a corporate venturing fund operated by insurance provider Allianz France, and cooperative bank Crédit Mutuel Arkéa. The funding will support research and development, the expansion of Wilov’s team and the formation of new strategic partnerships with other businesses in the mobility industry.
Skoove, the Germany-based developer of a piano tuition app, has closed a €3m ($3.4m) funding round that included Ringier Digital Ventures and MGO Digital Ventures, respective subsidiaries of media companies Ringier and Oberfranken, Gründerszene reported on Tuesday. High-Tech Gründerfonds (HTGF), IBB Beteiligungsgesellschaft, Capacura and Egora Holding also took part in the round, which followed an undisclosed amount of seed capital from HTGF in 2016 and $1.3m from HTGF, IBB and Egora Holding in March 2017.
US-based online children’s clothing retailer Kids on 45th has secured $3.3m in funding from investors including Sesame Ventures, the corporate venturing vehicle for children’s programming provider Sesame Workshop, Forbes reported yesterday. YesVC, Maveron, SoGal Ventures, Collaborative Fund, Liquid 2 Ventures and Brand Foundry Ventures also took part in the round, which was disclosed in the wake of the company’s launch of a buy-back scheme for clothes bought using the service.
Singapore-based predictive analytics software provider Aida Technologies has closed a series A round of undisclosed size that included payment services firm Mastercard and diversified trading group Kuok, which invested through its corporate venturing unit, Kuok Ventures. The corporates were joined in the round by the Singaporean government-owned SGInnovate, and Kuok Ventures was also Aida’s founding seed investor, though it has not revealed details of that financing.
Think Lands, a Japan-based developer of hollow microneedles for use in drug injection, has received approximately ¥340m ($3m) in funding from investors including marketing and design agency Dof and contract manufacturer CMIC CMO, VentureTimes reported on Monday. AIS Capital and Realtech Fund, which is backed by corporates Euglena, Leave a Nest and SMBC, also took part in the round, as existing investors.
Myeg Capital, a corporate venturing subsidiary of IT services provider Myeg, has invested $2.2m in China-based augmented reality technology and services provider HiScene as part of a round of undisclosed size, Digital News Asia has reported. The other participants included image-focused social media company Meitu, Suzhou GGV Yuanxing Equity Investment Partnership, and Ondine Capital, and the round followed a series A round sized at approximately $14.8m in 2017 that included Meitu.
Energy company Bangchak provided an undisclosed amount of funding for US-based electric vehicle battery technology developer Enevate on Tuesday through its Bangchak Initiative and Innovation Center subsidiary. Enevate had previously raised more than $59m as of November 2018, from investors including corporates LG Chem, Samsung and Lenovo, Presidio Ventures, a subsidiary of diversified conglomerate Sumitomo, and Alliance Ventures, the investment vehicle for carmakers Renault, Nissan and Mitsubishi.
Merchandising services provider Planet Superheroes has received $2m in funding from investors including AET Fund, the corporate venturing fund set up by mobile game developer Akatsuki, the Economic Times has reported. Investment firm DSG Consumer Partners led the round, and the company plans to use the funds to support the strengthening of its supply chain and the expansion of its partnership deals, following agreements in place with the likes of Marvel, Warner Bros, Cartoon Network, Fox Studios and Disney.
Japan-based advanced battery system developer Connexx Systems has secured an undisclosed amount of funding from investors including K4, a corporate venturing vehicle for energy utility Kansai Electric Power, VentureTimes reported on Monday. Kansai will provide its energy sector expertise to Connexx in connection with the deal, while the companies also plan to work jointly to develop new products and services.
24Kick, a China-based provider of a fighting-themed fitness classes, has raised RMB10m ($1.5m) in pre-series A funding from investors including Legend Star, the early-stage investment arm of conglomerate Legend Holdings, 36Kr reported on Wednesday. Legend Star had previously joined VC firm Plum Ventures and investment firm Ruchuan Capital to invest the same amount in 24Kick in August 2018.
Sumitomo has led a series A round of undisclosed size for Indonesia-based payment app developer Cashlez, DealStreetAsia reported on Tuesday. Mandiri Capital, the strategic investment subsidiary of financial services firm Bank Mandiri, also participated in the round, having led a $2m seed round for Cashlez in 2017 according to DealStreetAsia, which reports that Cashlez had already received an undisclosed amount from Gan Capital.
Centbee, a South Africa-based Bitcoin wallet developer backed by blockchain researcher and advisory firm nChain, has secured £1m ($1.3m) in series A funding from individual investor Calvin Ayre, ITWeb reported yesterday. The company had received an undisclosed amount from nChain through its nChain Reaction subsidiary by January 2018.
End-to-end cannabis services provider International Cannabis Corp has invested $1.2m in Biotii Technologies Corp, a US-based developer of genetically engineered microorganisms that replicate medicinal properties found in natural cannabis. Biotii is also working on synthetic cannabinoids, designer enzymes and synthesised enzyme pathways.
Salesforce Ventures, the corporate venturing arm of customer relationship management software provider Salesforce, has provided an undisclosed amount of seed funding for Japan-based event marketing service EventHub, TechCrunch Japan reported on Monday. The startup’s platform allows users to scan each other’s profiles, communicate with each other, and request and set up meetings.
Gaia, the Japan-based owner of trader-linked investment platform Maneko, has raised ¥100m ($890,000) in funding from energy management technology provider Remixpoint, angel investment group Now, an undisclosed, publicly-listed firm and various individual investors, TechCrunch Japan reported on Monday. Maneko is a platform that enables users to link to individual traders and mimic their investments, and the funding will support geographic expansion and the addition of more financial products.
Online ticketing platform BookMyShow has invested an undisclosed amount in India-based cashless payment technology provider AtomX the Economic Times reported on Tuesday. Anil Makhija, BookMyShow’s head of operations and service delivery, will join AtomX’s board of directors in conjunction with the deal, which will also enable the corporate to accept payment through near field communication-equipped cards, wristbands or keychains.
Power and marine technology provider Wartsila agreed on Monday to supply €500,000 ($570,000) in seed capital for Soletair Power, a Finland-based company developing carbon capture-based air purification technology. The system is designed to capture carbon dioxide and convert it to fuel, and Wartsila invested in connection with a strategic partnership.
Financial services group SBI has provided an undisclosed amount of funding for FXCoin, a Japan-based supplier of cryptocurrency market information for prospective investors, Cointelegraph reported on Monday. The companies will also collaborate with each other following the deal, as FXCoin looks to launch its own crypto exchange in its home country.
Review, the Japan-based operator of enterprise geographic data platform Macci, received an undisclosed amount of funding from online recruitment service CareerIndex on Tuesday. Macci is a platform that sources data on the ground of cities, providing information that is not available from other online sources, and it will put the capital toward product development, the strengthening of the platform’s usability and the growth of the data available from the service.
Unilever Foundry, a subsidiary of consumer goods manufacturer Unilever, has invested an undisclosed amount in Malaysia-based on-demand logistics service TheLorry, e27 reported on Tuesday. TheLorry has not revealed whether the funding was part of the $5.9m series B round it announced last week, which included Axiata Digital Innovation Fund and SPH Ventures, respective subsidiaries of telecoms company Axiata and media group Singapore Press Holdings, as well as FirstFloor Capital, PNB-Inspire Ethical Fund and Cradle Seed Ventures.
