Jamalon, the United Arab Emirates-based operator of an online book supplier and publishing service, has raised $10m in series B funding from investors including logistics service Aramex, entrepreneurship organisation Wamda revealed on Tuesday. The funding represents the round’s first tranche and was led by Wamda’s investment arm, Wamda Capital, and backed by Anova Investments, 500 Falcons and Endeavor Catalyst. Jamalon had received an undisclosed sum from Oasis500 Ventures in 2011, before Aramex paid an undisclosed amount for a 9.7% stake in 2015.
Healofy, the India-based operator of a social network for parents, has secured $10m in a series A round led by online parenting community Babytree, Entrackr reported on Wednesday. Omidyar Network and Bace Capital also participated in the round, the former having invested $1m in Healofy in March 2018. The company had been admitted to social media company Facebook’s FbStart scheme in 2016, securing $40,000 in services and credits through the initiative.
GV, the subsidiary of internet technology group Alphabet formerly known as Google Ventures, has led a $10m funding round for Buoyant, the US-based developer of a service mesh for software producers, investing alongside Benchmark and A.Capital. The round came after Buoyant closed a $10.5m series A round in July 2017 that was led by Benchmark and backed by existing investors A.Capital, DCVC, Fuel Capital, SV Angel and Webb Investment Network, at the time increasing the company’s overall funding to $14m.
Sitara, the affordable housing finance arm of the India-based Self-Employed Women’s Association (SEWA), has received Rs 670m ($9.8m) in series B funding from investors including housing finance supplier HDFC Holdings and its insurance provider vehicle, HDFC Life, Business Standard reported on Wednesday. Cooperative society Oikocredit, Omidyar Network India and Women’s World Banking also took part in the round, which followd $2.15m from HDFC, Acumen, AHI Capital Gateway, Hudco, Lok Capital and National Housing Bank in 2015.
US-based enterprise augmented reality technology developer Scope AR completed a $9.7m series A round featuring packaging and facilities management services provider North American Corporation on Wednesday. Romulus Capital led the round, which included SignalFire, Susa Ventures, Haystack, New Stack Ventures and AngelList, increasing the company’s overall funding to $15.8m, it said, including $2m of seed capital from Susa Ventures, Presence Capital Fund and New Stack in 2016.
AnyMind Group, a Singapore-based developer of artificial intelligence technology for the marketing industry, raised $8m from advertising services provider VGI Global Media and leasing services firm Tokyo Century on Wednesday. The capital boosted its series B round to $21.4m, following a first tranche featuring messaging platform developer Line, Mirai Creation Fund, Jafco Asia and Dream Incubator in October 2018. AnyMind, formerly known as AdAsia, has now raised $36.4m in total, its past backers including Gunosy and angel investor Hisanori Watanabe.
UK-based robotic arm developer Automata has received $7.4m in series A funding from investors including power and automation technology provider ABB, VentureBeat reported on Tuesday. Venture capital fund Hummingbird Ventures led the round, which also featured Firstminute Capital, Hardware Club, LocalGlobe and Entrepreneur First, and which followed an undisclosed amount of seed capital previously supplied by investors including ABB, according to CNBC.
DogHero, the Brazil-based operator of an online marketplace for pet care services, has secured $7m in a round led by petsitting service Rover that included VC firm Ignia Partners, GeekWire reported on Tuesday. The company received an undisclosed amount of seed funding from Kaszek Ventures in 2015, before Monashees led a $3.1m round the following year. It has now raised about $13m since being founded in 2014, according to GeekWire.
Solvay Ventures, the strategic investment arm of chemicals producer Solvay, has provided an undisclosed amount of seed capital for France-based an artificial intelligence startup Noble.AI, increasing its total funding to $8.6m, TechCrunch has reported. Prime Movers Lab had led an earlier seed round, also of undisclosed size, for Noble in October 2018, and its existing investors include Streamlined Ventures, WI Harper, WTI and Ovo Fund.
India-based fantasy sports operator HalaPlay Technologies has raised Rs 400m ($5.8m) in funding from mobile game producer Nazara and casino operator Delta Corp, VCCircle reported on Monday, estimating the company’s post-money valuation to be between $15m and $20m. Nazara had previously joined VC firm Kae Capital to invest an undisclosed amount in HalaPlay in late 2017.
Germany-based car sharing service Miles Mobility has received €5m ($5.7m) in a series A round co-led by logistics services provider Flash, Tech.eu reported yesterday. The round was co-led by incubator Team Europe and Lukasz Gadowski, co-founder of food delivery service Delivery Hero, and included Inventure Partners, WestTech Ventures, Weller Venture Capital and unnamed angel investors.
Information and communication technology product and services provider Wistron has led a $5m series A round for MoBagel, the US-based developer of an automated machine learning platform, Berkeley SkyDeck News revealed on Tuesday. The company has not disclosed details of its earlier funding but lists CyberAgent Ventures and Singtel Innov8, respective subsidiaries of internet company CyberAgent and telecommunications company Singapore Telecommunications, in the investors page of its website along with 500 Startups and FundersClub.
Investment firm Energy Impact Partners has added an undisclosed amount to a series C round for US-based cybersecurity software developer Attivo Networks that already includes Singtel Innov8 as well as Bain Capital and ForgePoint Capital. Attivo had raised a total of $47.5m altogether after securing approximately $1.8m from Singtel Innov8 in February 2018, its earlier funding coming from semiconductor supplier Macnica, Bain Capital Ventures, Trident Capital Cybersecurity and Omidyar Technology Ventures.
Canada-based construction management platform developer Bridgit has secured C$6.2m ($4.6m) in funding from investors including Salesforce Ventures, the corporate venturing arm of enterprise software producer Salesforce, the Globe and Mail has reported. Business Development Bank of Canada’s Women in Technology Venture Fund led the round, which also featured Sands Capital Ventures and Vanedge Capital, and it followed $1.7m from Vanedge and Hyde Park Venture Partners in 2016, and $2m from StandUp Ventures and MaRS Investment Accelerator Fund in 2017.
India-based agricultural services platform developer DeHaat has received Rs 290m ($4.2m) in seed funding from agricultural media, data and investment company AgFunder and VC firm Omnivore. The company, which was founded in 2012, plans to use the funding to expand its user base of farmers to 250,000 by early 2020 and launch farm credit and crop insurance services.
US-based identity authentication software developer Alcatraz AI has raised $4m in funding from JCI Ventures, the corporate venturing subsidiary of automotive and building safety equipment maker Johnson Controls, as well as VC firm Hardware Club and private investor Ray Stata. The company said the round took its total funding to $5.8m, and that its existing investors also include VC firm Ruvento Ventures and VC fund Hemi Ventures.
Singapore-based hotel management technology and services provider Zuzu Hospitality Solutions has completed a S$5m ($3.7m) series A round featuring Line Ventures, the corporate venturing subsidiary of messaging app developer Line, DealStreetAsia reported on Tuesday. Wavemaker Partners led the round, which also featured Golden Gate Ventures, Convergence Ventures, Alpha JWC Ventures and Access Ventures, the first four having invested $2m in Zuzu in November 2017 to take its total funding to $3m.
Greece-based holistic travel services provider Welcome Pickups has received €3.3m ($3.7m) in a series A round that included internet company Jabbar Internet Group, TechCrunch reported on Wednesday. VentureFriends, Market One Capital, Howzat, Openfund and individual investors Alejandro Artacho and John Tsioris also participated in the round, which came after almost $2m from VentureFriends, Openfund and angel investor Melih Odemis in October 2017.
GetAgent, the UK-based operator of an online comparison platform for estate agents, has completed a £2.2m ($2.9m) funding round featuring broadcaster Channel 4’s Commercial Growth Fund, The Negotiator has reported. Marchmont Ventures and angel investor Christian Woolfenden also took part in the round, which followed funding from Seedcamp and Ascension Ventures in 2015 and a similarly undisclosed amount from 500 Startups in 2018.
Stratbahn, a Japan-based startup working on a blockchain-equipped art authentication product, has secured ¥310m ($2.8m) in funding from investors including marketing firm Dentsu, TechCrunch Japan reported on Tuesday. University of Tokyo Edge Capital, SX Capital and angel investor Ryutaroh Katayama also participated in the round, which will fund technology development and the creation of new partnerships.
Samsung Venture Investment, a corporate venturing subsidiary of consumer electronics manufacturer Samsung, co-led a $2.2m funding round for motion intelligence technology developer DeepMotion on Wednesday with VC firm Scrum Ventures. The funding will support the further development of its core product and an expansion into areas such as social media, messaging, gaming, robotics and virtual and augmented reality.
US-based interactive storytelling app developer Dorian raised $2m on Tuesday in a seed round featuring digital entertainment producer Modern Times Group and mobile game developer Century Game. The round was led by VC firm March Capital Partners and included London Venture Partners, Neoteny 4 and angel investors Jens Hilgers, Kevin Lin, Holly Liu and Jonathan Zweig.
EDJX, the US-based developer of an edge computing platform and peer-to-peer marketplace, has emerged from stealth with $2m in funding from investors including data services provider 6Fusion. The round also featured four undisclosed private investors, and EDJX’s product, which involves the storage of data by tens of thousands of micro data centres across the world, is available for early access.
Tigerhall, the Singapore-based creator of a knowledge-sharing app, has received $1.8m in seed capital from investors including immersive learning services provider WDHB, e27 reported on Monday. Asset management firm Paladigm Capital and an undisclosed banking executive also participated in the round, which will be used to enhance the company’s focus on the higher education space.
Pocket Therapist, the Japan-based creator of an app that helps patients deal with chronic back pain, has secured ¥200m ($1.8m) in series A funding from investors including medical data services provider M3 and consumer goods supplier MTG Corporation’s corporate venturing unit, MTG Ventures, TechCrunch Japan reported on Wednesday. The company had previously received an undisclosed amount of funding from CyberAgent Ventures in 2016 and additional capital from Nippon Venture Capital and JR East in May 2018.
Boston Materials, the US-based developer of an advanced carbon fibre composite, raised $1.75m on Tuesday in a seed round that included petrochemical producer Sabic. The round was led by Clean Energy Venture Fund (CEVF) and also featured Clean Energy Venture Group, the investment group that spun out CEVF. The proceeds will support the expansion of the startup’s manufacturing capacity and headcount.
Telecoms and internet group SoftBank has provided $1.2m in funding for Colombia-based hotel reservation portal Ayenda Rooms, El Economista has reported. Ayenda will use the investment to increase the number of hotel rooms in its network by 300% and expand from the four cities in which it currently operates to the cities of Cali and Cartagena as well.
Kuraseru, the Japan-headquartered operator of a software-based service that matches patients leaving hospitals with post-care facilities, has received ¥130m ($1.2m) in funding from investors including SMBC Venture Capital, the VC arm of financial services firm Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, TechCrunch Japan reported yesterday. DBJ Capital, 500 Startups Japan and unnamed angel investors also contributed to the round, which followed about $460,000 in seed capital from investors including 500 Startups Japan in June 2018.
Move This World, the US-based developer of a platform that helps students and educators emotionally engage, has completed a $1.1m series A round featuring media asset manager New Media Investment Group and investment firm Schwartzberg Co, EdSurge has reported. The company, a graduate of telecoms firm AT&T’s Aspire Accelerator, had previously raised $1m in seed funding from unnamed investors in April 2018.
Nielsen Innovate Fund (NIF), the incubator and investment fund formed by media data provider Nielsen, has joined the government-owned Israel Innovation Authority to invest $1m in Yellzz, the Israel-based owner of a service that connects businesses to service providers, Calcalist reported on Wednesday. The startup joined NIF’s incubator scheme in August 2018, and it will put the cash toward technology development, extending its international partnerships and increasing the size of its sales team.
Farmcrowdy, the Nigeria-based developer of an online finance platform for farmers, has raised $1m in a second seed round that included media and automotive services group Cox Enterprises, accelerator operator Techstars and local investor Ajayi Solutions, Disrupt Africa reported yesterday. Cox Enterprises, Techstars Ventures, Social Capital, Right-Side Capital, Hallett Capital and assorted angel investors had provided $1m of seed capital for the company in late 2017.
Whispr, the Denmark-based creator of a voice guidance application for workplace use, has secured $750,000 in a pre-seed round featuring Bose Ventures, the corporate venturing arm of headphones producer Bose. The round was led by seed fund Seedcamp and included PreSeed Ventures and Futuristic VC. The proceeds will go to business development and an increase in headcount.
Healthcare provider Inova Health System invested $500,000 in US-based obstetrics management software developer Babyscripts on Tuesday in connection with a strategic partnership agreement. The company had previously raised $13.6m including $6m in a January 2019 round led by electronics and healthcare equipment manufacturer Philips and backed by StartUp Health and NueCura Partners, and $5.7m in a mid-2017 round featuring pharmaceutical company Chemo Group and care provider Aurora Health Care.
Tunagate, the Japan-based operator of a social media platform that connects users according to their favoured activities, has raised an undisclosed amount from industrial manufacturer and real estate group Asaka Shinkan and Nagoya TV Ventures, a corporate VC subsidiary of broadcaster Nagoya Broadcasting Network, TechCrunch Japan reported today. Startup services provider Vale Tudo and Social Entrepreneurs Association’s recently formed Sea Social Venture Fund also participated in the round.
CyberAgent subsidiary CyberAgent Capital has provided ¥10m ($90,000) in pre-seed funding for ROFL, the Japan-based developer of a livestreaming platform, The Bridge reported today. The startup decided to raise the funding to help gain credibility with prospective streamers as it looks to expand its business-to-business offering and increase the amount of sponsored programming it carries.
