China-based cryptocurrency data platform Bitkan has raised $10m in a series B round led by Zhongyunhui Capital, with participation from bitcoin mining company Bitmain and IDG Capital, Coindesk reported on Wednesday. The fresh funding will allow Bitkan to expand its offering by launching a service dubbed K Site to share user-generated content. The company will also open offices in Hong Kong, Tokyo and Singapore. Bitmain previously supplied $1.6m in series A funding in 2016.
Brainomix, a UK-based imaging diagnostics software spinout from University of Oxford, has secured £7m ($9.8m) from backers including Boehringer Ingelheim Venture Fund, a corporate venturing vehicle of pharmaceutical developer Boehringer Ingelheim, as well as Oxford University Innovation (OUI) Fund, owned by the university’s tech transfer office, OUI, and Chimera Partners. The round was led by Parkwalk Advisors. [read more about this deal on our sister site, Global University Venturing]
Qualcomm Ventures, the corporate venturing arm of mobole chipmaker Qualcomm, has returned to back an $8m series B round for MoveInSync, an India-based transportation company, according to the Economic Times. Nexus Venture Partners led the round, while Inventus Capital Partners and Saama Capital also took part. The funding will go towards further development of MoveInSync’s end-to-end transport offerings, bolstering the customerbase and expanding internationally. The company previously raised $4m in a series A round in 2014 from Qualcomm Ventures, Inventus and Saama.
Careship, a Germany-based operator of an online marketplace for senior care services, has raised €6m ($7.4m) in a round led by Creandum, with commitments from media group Axel Springer’s accelerator Plug and Play, of which Careship is a graduate, Spark Capital, Ananda Ventures and Atlantic Labs, TechCrunch reported yesterday. Spark Capital previously led a $4m funding round in January 2017.
OuiTeam, a France-based company that has developed a tool to manage human resources for large teams, has raised €5m ($6.1m) in a series A round backed by SAP.io, the investment fund of software developer SAP, and Balderton Capital, according to Les Echos. The company previously obtained $1.1m in seed funding in 2015 from undisclosed investors.
Gradient Ventures, the artificial intelligence-focused fund of internet company Google, has led a $6m investment in Scotty Labs, a US-based software developer working on technology to remotely control cars, according to Bloomberg. As part of the deal, a Google engineer will join Scotty Labs for a year to help develop the technology.
Docomo Digital, a subsidiary of mobile firm NTT Docomo, has backed a £4m ($5.6m) funding round for Arkera, a UK-based personal investment platform that uses artificial intelligence technology. The round was co-led by trading house XTX Markets and Alan Howard, and also featured Henry Ritchotte and other unnamed backers. The cash will go towards international expansion efforts and further development of Arkera’s platform.
Finland-based digital health company Kaiku Health has raised €4.4m ($5.4m) in a funding round led by Debiopharm Innovation Fund, the investment vehicle of biopharmaceutical firm Debiopharm, and Finnish state-owned investment firm Tesi, with participation from Prodeko Ventures, Reakter Ventures, Metsola Ventures and Athensmed. Kaiku will use the money for international expansion and further development of its pipeline. Reaktor Ventures, Metsola Ventures and T&T Nordcap previously supplied $940,000 in seed funding in 2016.
Wondery, the US-based operator of a podcast network, has raised $5m in series A funding from investors including Fox Networks Group, the cable and television production arm of media group Fox, and Bertelsmann Digital Media Investments, a subsidiary of media company Bertelsmann. The round was co-led by venture capital firms Greycroft, Lerer Hippeau and Advancit Capital, and also featured Bam Ventures, Water Tower Ventures and angel investors including Stanley Shuman and Michael Kassan.
Shine, a US-based provider of daily motivational text messages, has received $5m in series A funding led by Comcast Ventures, the corporate VC arm of mass media company Comcast. The round also featured news publisher New York Times as well as Betaworks, Eniac Ventures, Female Founders Fund, Felix Capital and BBG Ventures.
Movus, an Australia-based developer of an industrial internet of things sensor and machine monitoring technology, called FitMachine, has attracted $4.8m in a series A round that featured Telstra Ventures, the corporate venturing arm of telecoms firm Telstra, Skip Capital and Blackbird Ventures, which led the round. The investment will allow Movus to expand internationally as it further develops FitMachine, expands its R&D lab and hires more staff.
Igloohome, a Singapore-based smart lock technology developer backed by telecoms firm Singtel’s corporate venturing subsidiary Singtel Innov8, has raised $4m in a series A round led by Insignia Ventures Partners, according to the Business Times. The round also featured Phillip Private Equity, X Capital Ventures, Wavemaker Partners and angel investors. Wavemaker and Singtel Innov8 backed a $1.25m seed round in 2016 alongside Dreamit and Mesh Ventures.
CRRC-Times Fund, a VC affiliate of train manufacturer CRRC, has co-led a $3.2m series A round for Tech Valley, a China-based big data integration service provider for the aviation industry, with Green Pine Colorful Dream, a subsidiary of VC firm Green Pine Capital Partners. The funding will support the establishment of a big data centre for intelligent data traffic related to the rail industry.
Indonesia-based digital signature technology developer PrivyID has secured $3m in series A funding from investors including MDI Ventures and Mandiri Capital, corporate VC arms of telecommunications company Telkom Indonesia and financial services firm Mandiri respectively, DealStreetAsia has reported. Diversified conglomerate Gunung Sewu and investment banking firm Mahanusa Capital have also invested in the round, which PrivyID aims to close at $5m.
TrustX, a US-based co-operative programmatic advertising marketplace, has obtained $2.2m in funding from media groups CBS Interactice, ESPN, Meredith, Fox News and NBCUniversal in order to further grow its offering. TrustX operates as a non-profit platform, focusing on financial and trading transparency.
Beta Hatch, a US-based company working on animal feed that uses insects as protein, has closed a $2.1m seed round backed by Cavallo Ventures, the investment arm of agribusiness Wilbur-Ellis, Element 8 Fund, Keiretsu Capital, NQV8 and Frontier Angels. Beta Hatch will put the cash towards the consctruction of a pre-commercial facility and continued development of its technology and manufacturing process.
Consulting firm Dream Incubator has invested approximately $1m to lead a Rs 120m ($1.8m) funding round for Metarain Software Solutions, the India-based operator of online pharmacy Myra, VCCircle has reported. Times Internet, the online services subsidiary of media company Times Group, and VC firm Matrix Partners also took part in the round, having co-led a series A round of undisclosed size for the company in April 2017, and the latest funding valued Metarain at about $27m, a person familiar with the development told VCCircle.
Visor, a Mexico-based online lending platform for small and medium-sized businesses, has raised an amount reported by Deniro en Imagen to be Mex$30m ($1.7m) in a round featuring payment services firm American Express’ strategic investment arm, American Express Ventures. The round was led by VC firm Ignia and backed by AllVP, and the proceeds will be used to expand the company’s platform.
India-based offline-to-online fashion e-commerce platform Fynd has obtained an undisclosed amount in series C funding led by internet company Google, with participation from existing shareholders Kae Capital, IIFL, Singularity Ventures, GrowX, Tracxn Labs, Venture Catalyst, family office Patni and Axis Capital as well as assorted angel investors. The company previously raised $3.4m in a series B round in June 2017 led by IIFL, after Venture Catalysts and Rocketship helped close a $1m series A round in May 2017.
Contguard, a US-based supply-chain shipment monitoring and business intelligence services provider, raised an undisclosed sum from Citi Ventures, the corporate venturing arm of financial services firm Citi, and Canaan Partners Israel on Wednesday. Contguard will use the capital to further scale its technology. Canaan Partners Israel previously supplied an undisclosed sum to Contguard in 2016.
Vista Equity Partners, Ridge Ventures and Silverton Partners yesterday provided an undisclosed amount to YouEarnedIt, a US-based employee engagement software developer that previously secured $6.5m in a series A round backed by marketing firm WPP and financial media company Motley Fool in February 2017. The series A round was co-led by IDG Ventures USA and Silverton Partners, with participation from Social Starts and Capital Factory. Spun out of digital advertising agency Rockfish Interactive, YouEarnedIt had also secured $1.5m in a seed round backed by WPP and Capital Factory in 2014.
– Additional reporting by news editor Robert Lavine and reporter Callum Cyrus