Media group Emtek has led an eight-digit round for Indonesia-based online payment platform operator Kudo that included media company Singapore Press Holdings, East Ventures, 500 Startups, IMJ Investment Partners and Skystar Capital, according to DealStreetAsia. Kudo had previously raised an undisclosed amount across two rounds from Emtek subsidiary KMK Online, Gree Ventures, the corporate venturing branch of online media company Gree, 500 Startups, IMJ Investment Partners and East Ventures.
US-based medical device developer Securus Medical Group has raised $10m in a series C round led by medical device producer Boston Scientific that also featured RiverVest Venture Partners, 3X5 Special Opportunity Fund, University of Michigan’s MINTS initiative and Global Cardiovascular Innovation Center. Securus had previously received approximately $7.25m in equity funding from 3X5 Special Opportunity Fund, RiverVest, JumpStart and University of Michigan across rounds in 2011 and 2013.
Canada-based smart clothing producer OMSignal secured $10m on Monday from apparel producer Mas Holdings, Relay Ventures, Bessemer Venture Partners (BVP), Techstars Ventures, Real Ventures, Mistral Ventures, Primera Capital, Investissement Québec and Export Development Canada. The round took OMSignal’s overall funding to $21m and follows a $10m series A round backed by supply chain services provider Flextronics, BVP, Real Ventures, Mistral, Golden Venture Partners, Primera and angel investor David Cohen in 2014.
Mavrx, a US-based agricultural imaging startup that uses drones to gather visual data to help improve crop yields, raised $10m yesterday in a round led by Eclipse Ventures that included Bloomberg Beta, media firm Bloomberg’s early-stage investment unit, and Visionnaire Ventures. It plans to use the money to expand operations.
Gfycat, the US-based operator of an online platform for short-form video, disclosed $10m in seed capital from backers including brandtech company You and Mr. Jones yesterday. Alsop Louie Partners led the round, investing together with Pear Ventures, Stanford StartX Fund and angel investors including Jeong Kim.
US-based biocarbon and renewable fuel producer Cool Planet raised $9m yesterday from backers including North Bridge Venture Partners and private investor Agustín Coppel for the second close of its latest funding round, after closing the $9m first tranche in January this year. It has now raised about $140m in total and its investors include internet conglomerate Alphabet, energy producer Exelon and oil and gas companies BP and Concord Energy.
Axine Water Technologies, a US-based provider of industrial wastewater treatment products, has closed an $8m series B round led by conglomerate Asahi Kasei Corporation that included Chrysalix Energy Venture Capital, BDC Energy Venture Capital and Roda Group. The round follows $2.1m in seed capital from Chrysalix EVC and BDC Venture Capital in 2012 and $5.6m in a 2014 series A round in which the two seed investors were joined by Roda Group.
France-based medical diagnostic device developer H4D has secured €6.7m ($7.5m) in a second round of funding, which was co-led by insurance firm CNP Assurances, French-state owned bank BPIfrance and Innovation Capital. Family office Atoga, an existing investor in H4D, also participated in the round, which will be used to accelerate the company’s commercial development.
Luma, the US-based developer of an advanced wifi router, has raised $7m in funding from GV, the corporate venturing unit formerly known as Google Ventures, and venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz. The company has now raised $22m in total, its past funding coming from e-commerce company Amazon’s Alexa Fund, Accel Partners, Felicis Ventures, Base Ventures, BIP Capital, Relay Ventures, Webb Investment Network, 500 Startups and angel investor David Dorman.
Uncharted Play, a US-based creator of motion-based, power generating toys, closed a $7m series A round backed by BBG Ventures, a corporate venturing subsidiary of mass media company AOL, on Tuesday. The round was led by NIC Fund, an African-based syndicate that invests in renewable energy, and included Kapor Capital, Magic Johnson Enterprises and Lingo Ventures. The startup’s first two products are a football that generates power when it is kicked and a skipping rope that also acts as a light.
US-based Troops emerged from stealth yesterday, launching its Salesforce-compatible data configuration platform and bots, and disclosing $7m of series A funding from investors including Slack Fund, the corporate venturing vehicle for workplace communication platform Slack. Felicis Ventures led the round, which included Aspect Ventures, Susa Ventures, First Round Capital, NextView Ventures, Chicago Ventures, Great Oaks Venture Capital, Founder Collective and Vast Ventures, and which followed a $2.6m seed round in May this year.
Internet group Tencent has supplied an undisclosed amount of funding for China-based enterprise cloud services provider AWCloud, China Money Network reported on Wednesday. Founded in 2010, AWCloud received an undisclosed amount of funding from Intel Capital, the corporate venturing subsidiary of semiconductor technology producer Intel, in June 2015, and plans to jointly develop products with Tencent in future.
Technology conglomerate Kuang-Chi has invested $4.3m to lead a $6m series C round for Israel-based video analytics technology developer Agent Vi, Globes has reported. The round also featured Motorola Solutions Venture Capital, the corporate venturing arm of communications equipment maker Motorola Solutions, and follows a reported $18m provided by VC firm 21 Ventures and angel investors Peter Gyenes and Russell R. MacDonnell between 2003 and 2008.
Canada-based meal kit delivery service Chef’s Plate secured $6m on Tuesday in a round led by investment firm Acton Capital Partners that included Emil Capital, an investment subsidiary of retail group Tengelmann, and growth equity provider BrandProject. Chef’s Plate had previously received $2m in funding from Emil Capital and BrandProject in October 2015.
Dicom Grid, a US-based medical image management software developer backed by medical research company Mayo Clinic, has changed its name to Ambra Health and raised $6m in a round led by VC firm Canaan Partners. The round took Ambra’s overall funding to $39m, the company said, $6m of which came from a 2014 round featuring Mayo Clinic, Canaan Partners and fellow venture firm CHL Medical Partners.
Netherlands-based industrial cybersecurity software provider SecurityMatters has raised “substantial funding” from a consortium led by investment firm Emerald Technology Ventures that included industrial appliance maker Robert Bosch, telecom and IT company KPN and electrical engineering firm Phoenix Contact, it announced on Wednesday. The corporates invested through their respective corporate venturing subsidiaries: Robert Bosch Venture Capital, KPN Ventures and Phoenix Contact Innovation Ventures, the latter making its third deal.
E-commerce firm Amazon led a $5.6m series A round for US-based connected intercom developer Nucleus on Wednesday through its Alexa Fund, investing alongside manufacturing services provider Foxconn, BoxGroup, Greylock Partners, Founders Fund’s FF Angel subsidiary, Liquid 2 Ventures and SV Angel. Nucleus has now raised $9.2m in total, closing $3.4m from Foxconn, FF Angel, Anthiem Ventures, Josh Kopelman and Jerry Kestenbaum in October 2015.
Financial services firm JPMorgan Chase provided an undisclosed amount of funding on Tuesday for InvestCloud, a US-based developer of cloud technology for the securities industry, as part of a strategic partnership agreement. InvestCloud had previously raised approximately $54m from FTV Capital, Altos Ventures, Polaris Capital Management and Kern Whelan Capital, the private equity firm that sold its stake to FTV in October 2015.
Switzerland-based video surveillance software provider Morphean has received CHF5m ($5.1m) from Swisscom Ventures, telecommunications group Swisscom’s corporate venturing unit, security equipment provider Swiss Securitas Group and existing investors iCortex, AM-Tec and Venture Capital Fribourg. Morphean has not revealed details of iCortex and VC Fribourg’s investments but AM-Tec provided an undisclosed amount in September 2015.
ACV Auctions, the US-based operator of a mobile app that enables used car dealers to bid on and buy vehicles online, raised $5m on Monday in a round featuring SoftBank Capital NY, an investment subsidiary of telecom and internet group SoftBank. Tribeca Venture Partners led the round, which was also backed by Armory Square Ventures and Rand Capital, and which comes after ACV won the $1m prize in the 2015 edition of the 43North startup competition.
KWh Analytics, a US-based developer of risk management tools for solar project financing, has secured $5m in a series A round led by Anthemis Group that included Engie New Ventures, energy utility Engie’s strategic investment unit, according to Greentech Media. The company, which was founded in 2012, had previously received $1m from the US Department of Energy through an Orange Button grant.
LiveLike, the US-based developer of a virtual reality platform for sports broadcasting, has raised $5m in a round led by Evolution Media Partners, the VC fund formed by talent agency Creative Artists Agency and investment firm TPG, Forbes reported on Wednesday. The round also featured Dentsu Ventures, a subsidiary of marketing firm Dentsu, as well as Elysian Park Ventures, Courtside Ventures, Techstars Ventures and former NBA commissioner David Stern.
Applied Ventures, the corporate venturing vehicle for materials engineering equipment provider Applied Materials, has supplied an undisclosed amount of funding for Norway-based structural titanium component producer Norsk Titanium. The funding comes after Norsk Titanium raised $15m in equity funding, including $10m from Insight Equity Holdings and additional cash from Piper Jaffray, and $10m in debt from Harbert European Growth Capital Fund in June 2016, and an additional $4m from State of New York and SUNY Polytechnic University the following month.
Ascend Capital, the strategic investment subsidiary of Thailand-headquartered e-commerce company Ascend Group, has invested a total of $11m in payment services platform Omise, on-demand delivery-focused startup incubator Sendit and an undisclosed third entity, The Nation reported on Wednesday. The unit intends to continue supporting those three companies over the course of 2016 but has no plans to invest in additional companies.
US-based recruitment assessment developer Imbellus has received $4m in funding from business consultancy GLG, Upfront Ventures, Thrive Capital and Sound Ventures, TechCrunch reported on Wednesday. Founded in autumn 2015, Imbellus is working with an unnamed Fortune 500 company to create a screening process that will enable them to hire more effectively.
Solar Analytics, the Australia-based creator of a data platform that tracks solar system performance, has raised A$4.4m ($3.3m) from energy utility AGL Energy and angel investors David Griffin and John Clifford, Startup Daily reported on Monday. AGL had previously provided an undisclosed amount of seed funding for Solar Analytics, which will now look to expand in the US, having recently opened an office in Oakland.
Good Culture, a US-based supplier of additive-free cottage cheese, secured $3m in funding on Monday from 301, the corporate venturing arm of food producer General Mills, VC firm Cavu Venture Partners and the Eisner family. 301 and Cavu had previously provided Good Culture with $2.1m in March this year.
Channel Mum, the UK-based developer of an online video channel focused on parenting, received £2m ($2.6m) in funding from private equity firm NVM Private Equity on Monday. The round followed an undisclosed amount of seed funding from media company ITV and will be used to grow the startup’s video blogger network as it aims to expand its viewer base, particularly among millennial users.
Finland-based microfabrication equipment producer Primoceler has secured an undisclosed amount of funding from Privanet, the operator of an online marketplace for unlisted securities. The funding will enable Primoceler to increase its production volume as it looks to expand from serving the medical and aerospace industries to the micro-optics and microfluidics markets.
Turkey-based online marketing platform developer Insider has raised $2.2m in a series A round featuring Oncu GYSO, a subsidiary of diversified conglomerate Dogan Holding, TechCrunch reported on Tuesday. The round, which was led by 212 and backed by fellow VC firm Wamda Capital and Galata Business Angels, increased Insider’s overall funding to $3.3m since 2012.
Xor-Labs Toronto, a Canada-based organ transplantation and treatment device developer spun off from Toronto General Hospital at University Health Network, closed C$2.85m ($2.2m) in financing from medical device maker Xenios, investment partnership Regenesis Limited Partnership and commercialisation fund Mars Innovation on Wednesday. Xenios had previously invested C$2.6m in Xor in May 2015.
Verizon Ventures, the corporate venturing arm of telecom group Verizon, invested $2m in US-based cross-channel advertising technology developer AdStage on Monday, taking its total funding to $10.8m. Verizon Ventures led AdStage’s $6.3m series A round in 2014, which included internet company Digital Garage, back-end systems software provider Guidewire, marketing automation software producer Eloqua, Newbury Ventures and Freestyle Capital.
Marketing services provider User Friendly Media has led a $2m seed round for TenantCloud, the US-based creator of a cloud-based rental accounting and management platform for landlords, participating together with angel investors including Martin Garcia, Bruce Howard and Jack Richards. The funding will support product development and marketing.
Dating app provider Tinder, a subsidiary of online dating company Match Group, has taken part in a $1.4m seed round for Vina, the US-based developer of a social networking app for women called Hey! VINA, TechCrunch reported yesterday. VC firms Greylock Partners, New Enterprise Associates and Wildcat Venture Partners also participated in the round.
Corvinus, a VC branch of Hungarian Development Bank, has agreed to invest $1.2m in VirtDB, a Hungary-based data virtualisation and management software spinout of business consultancy and data services provider Starschema. VirtDB will use the funding to accelerate business and product development.
Pharmarack Technologies, the India-based developer of an inventory management system for pharmacies and pharmaceutical distributors, has raised Rs 50m ($750,000) in pre-series A funding from investors including Currae Healthtech Fund, a subsidiary of conglomerate Patni Group, VCCircle reported yesterday. The round also included Unicorn India Ventures, the VC fund that had previously provided $280,000 in seed funding for Pharmarack along with an undisclosed family office.
Conglomerate Anglian Omega Network has invested $350,000 in Agnificent Platform Technologies, the India-based operator of sports-focused social network Khel Now, Live Mint reported on Wednesday. The funding will be used to further develop Khel Now, and to attract additional users and partners.