Japan-based, corporate-backed satellite antenna developer Institute for Q-shu Pioneers of Space (iQPS) secured ¥865m ($8.3m) yesterday in a round that included unnamed existing investors and debt financing from Japan Finance Corporation, taking its total funding to approximately $31.7m. It had raised $20.7m in series A funding in 2017 from Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Venture Capital, Dogan Beta, FFG Venture Business Partners, Mitsubishi UFJ Capital, Oita Venture Capital and SMBC Venture Capital – on behalf of insurance group Mitsui Sumitomo, consulting firm Dogan, financial services firms Fukuoka Financial Group, Mitsubishi UFJ, Oita Bank and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation – as well as Real Tech Fund, Mirai Creation Fund II and Innovation Network Corporation of Japan.
Quinn Company, a US-based producer of sustainable snack foods, has received an undisclosed amount of series D funding from confectionary provider The Hershey Company and unnamed existing investors. Regulatory filings indicate Quinn had raised $950,000 in 2012, $150,000 in debt financing in 2014, $1.5m in 2016 and $905,000 in debt in March 2018.
Professional services firm Accenture and Workday Ventures, the corporate venturing arm of enterprise software provider Workday, contributed to an $8m series A round for SkyHive, the Canada-based developer of an online professional reskilling platform, on Monday. The round included AllegisCyber Capital and Partnership Fund for New York City, and SkyHive said it would support company growth.
Medici Ventures, the blockchain-focused investment arm of e-commerce company Overstock.com, has paid $8m for a controlling stake in Barbados-based digital finance technology provider Bitt. Venture capital firm Avatar Capital invested $1.5m in Bitt in 2015 and Medici Ventures provided $4m the following year before adding $3m in early 2018 at a $34.9m valuation.
Digital media company ByteDance has led a funding round of undisclosed size for iReadyIT, a China-based provider of internet-of-things technology for the water industry, China Money Network reported yesterday. The round included Baidu Ventures, a corporate venturing subsidiary of internet group Baidu, and it came after undisclosed amounts from Baidu Ventures and VC firm Fortune Venture Capital across two earlier rounds, according to China Money Network.
Math Global Foundation, the Singapore-based developer of multi-chain cryptocurrency wallet MathWallet, raised $7.8m on Tuesday in a series A round featuring digital currency trading firm Alameda Research and blockchain investment firms including Multicoin Capital. The company has not revealed details of earlier financing but named Fenbushi Capital and Fundamental Labs as existing investors.
Agora, the US-based creator of a cloud software platform that helps contractors get access to supplies more efficiently, has secured $7m in series A funding from investors including real estate developer Tishman Speyer and construction firm Suffolk Construction, Forbes has reported. Venture capital firm 8VC led the round, which also featured Abstract Ventures, BoxGroup and angel investor Kevin Hartz.
Germany-based mobility services platform Chargery completed a €5m ($5.9m) funding round yesterday that included insurance firm Helvetia’s corporate venturing vehicle, Helvetia Venture Fund. The round was led by Lead Ventures, a VC firm backed by oil and gas supplier MOL Group and financial services firm Eximbank, and it followed an undisclosed amount of seed capital from Helvetia Venture Fund and VinciVC, a subsidiary of conglomerate Inci Holding, in June 2019 and a similarly undisclosed sum from the same two investors seven months later.
Media company HT Media has provided Rs 415m ($5.5m) in series E funding for India-based digital payment technology provider MobiKwik through investment vehicle Hindustan Media Ventures, Entrackr reported on Wednesday. The company had raised a total of about $190m in financing as of March this year, from investors including networking technology provider Cisco, internet company GMO, payment services firm American Express, financial services firm Bajaj Finance, semiconductor maker MediaTek, payment technology producer Net1 and broadcaster New Delhi Television.
E-commerce marketplace Flipkart has invested an undisclosed sum in India-based online fashion brand Universal Sportsbiz as part of a series F round that includes VC firm Accel, VCCircle reported yesterday. The deal follows reports in September this year that Flipkart was set to supply $5m for the company, and Accel participated in the round as an existing backer.
Reynen Court, a US-based startup specialising in software that helps law firms adopt advanced technologies, has received $4.5m in financing from investors including law firms Clifford Chance and Latham & Watkins. The round was led by VC firm Ventech and backed by Prins H, an investment vehicle for Reynen Court founder and chief executive Andrew D. Klein. The startup closed a $10m series A round in December 2018 that was co-led by $2m investments from Clifford Chance and Latham & Watkins and backed by fellow legal firms Paul Weiss Covington; Cravath, Swaine & Moore; Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer; Gibson Dunn; Linklaters; Orrick; Ropes & Gray; Skadden Arps; and White & Case.
Talentbook, the Japan-based content management technology provider formerly known as PR Table, increased its series C round to ¥450m ($4.3m) on Monday and its total funding to approximately $9.6m. Digital media company Gree’s Strive subsidiary joined Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Venture Capital, part of insurer Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Group, as well as business intelligence provider Uzabase’s UB Ventures unit, financial services firm Mizuho Bank’s Mizuho Capital vehicle and Monex Ventures and Japan Post Capital, investing on behalf of financial exchange operator Monex and postal service Japan Post. The round’s first close came in June this year.
Japan-based artificial intelligence technology provider Ghelia raised an undisclosed amount yesterday from Norinchukin Bank and SMBC Venture Capital, Mitsubishi UFJ Capital and Shinsei Corporate Investment, vehicles for fellow financial services firms Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, Mitsubishi UFJ and Shinsei Bank. It had secured undisclosed sums from tutoring service Try Group and financial services firm Mizuho Bank in August 2019, from design software provider Zuken the following month and from Globis Capital Partners, a vehicle for education services provider Globis, in April this year.
Wonder Future Corporation, a Japan-based developer of component mounting technology for LED signage, closed a ¥350m ($3.3m) series A round on Monday that included featuring printing ink producer Sakata Inx and Real Tech Fund, an investment partnership formed by biofuel supplier Euglena, research firm Leave a Nest and investment firm SMBC Nikko. The company’s technology was pioneered within Japanese public research organisation New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization.
Citi Ventures, the strategic investment arm of financial services firm Citi, provided an undisclosed amount for Arcus, the US-based creator of a financial technology adoption platform, taking its total funding to $16m. Arcus raised $7.9m from Ignia Partners, Kapor Capital, GP Ventures and Tycoon Capital in 2017 following an undisclosed amount from Fenox Venture Capital in 2013. Formerly known as Regalii, its earlier backers include Andreessen Horowitz, Initialized Capital, Winklevoss Capital and Y Combinator.
Crypto trading firm Alameda Research supplied $3m in series A financing for 3Commas, the Estonia-headquartered developer of a cryptocurrency trading platform designed to be simple to use, on Tuesday. The company’s platform functions as a unified interface that enables users to access 23 of the world’s most popular crypto exchanges and also enables users to store their assets.
Japan-based quantum computer software developer A Star Quantum received ¥300m ($2.9m) in series A funding on Monday from investors including NEC Capital Solutions, a subsidiary of IT services provider NEC Corporation, which took part through its CSV Venture Fund, as well as marketing group Dentsu and Mitsubishi UFJ Capital, the VC arm of financial services firm Mitsubishi UFJ. They were joined by Abies Ventures, NBC Angel Fund II and both Plug and Play Japan and Plug and Play Tech Center, with Dentsu investing through a strategic partnership.
Media company Schibsted has invested an amount reported by Nordic 9 to be SEK25m ($2.9m) in Sweden-based podcasting platform developer PodMe through corporate ventuing fund Schibsted Growth. The company had previously closed a $2m round in March this year featuring Schibsted and VC fund Gorilla Capital, having already completed a $1.3m round that included Schibsted in May 2019.
Ratings agency Moody’s has supplied an undisclosed amount for MioTech, a China-based provider of alternative environmental, social and governance data, it revealed on Wednesday. Horizons Ventures led a $7m series A round for the company in 2017 that included existing investor Zhenfund and which followed a $1m seed round. It added $15m in a January 2020 series A-plus round led by Horizons Ventures at a reported $100m post-money valuation.
Massive Bio, a US-based clinical trial enrolment service backed by safety technology producer UL and clinical trials software producer CBDS Health, raised $2.6m on Tuesday in a funding round led by VC firm Revo Capital that included Cavendish Impact Foundation (CIF), through donor-advised funding platform ImpactAssets. The company said the round took its total funding to $6.6m – $2.5m of which was secured in May 2019 according to a securities filing – and its existing investors include UL’s corporate venturing unit, UL Ventures, as well as CBDS, 500 Startups and CastleRock.
Mandiri Capital, the VC arm of financial services firm Bank Mandiri, has co-led a series A round of undisclosed size for Indonesia-based omni-channel e-commerce software developer iSeller, e27 reported on Wednesday. The round was co-led by VC firm Openspace Ventures, and Mandiri invested through a strategic partnership that will involve it setting up a digital business ecosystem with iSeller.
Degas, a Japan-headquartered developer of technology intended to improve the agricultural supply chain in sub-Saharan Africa, has closed the ¥240m ($2.3m) first tranche of its seed round, raising cash from investors including mobile game publisher Akatsuki’s Heart Driven Fund. The first close also featured Primal Capital and unnamed companies and individuals, and Degas aims to raise up to ¥200m in additional funding for the round.
Engate, the Japan-based operator of an online platform where fans can send gifts and messages of support to athletes and sports teams, secured an undisclosed amount on Monday from entertainment group Sega Sammy, sports business management agency MPandC, Saison Ventures and SBI Investment, subsidiaries of payment services firm Credit Saison and financial services firm SBI respectively. The Sega Sammy investment came in the wake of it launching the Sega Sammy Sports Support Project last month.
Eichiii, the Japan-based operator of an artificial intelligence-equipped concierge service, received an undisclosed amount on Wednesday from investors including management consulting firm Peers that took its total funding to ¥200m ($1.9m). The round also featured financial services firm Mizuho Bank, the government-backed Japan Finance Corporation and unnamed angel investors.
Protomer Technologies, a US-based protein therapeutics developer backed by pharmaceutical firm Eli Lilly, closed an undisclosed amount of funding from venture philanthropy vehicle JDRF T1D Fund yesterday. The startup revealed at the same time that Eli Lilly had already led an investment of undisclosed size but did not say when the deal took place.
Spare auto parts retailer Mekonomen Group provided an undisclosed amount of funding for Sweden-based workforce carpooling app developer Ezeride on Tuesday. The app utilises artificial intelligence to arrange rides and targets companies with commuting employees who want to reduce their carbon footprint.
Agricultural cooperative Fenaco has invested CHF500,000 ($550,000) in Yasai, a Switzerland-based spinout from ETH Zurich that has developed a turnkey system enabling anyone to set up their own vertical farm. The cash was provided through subsidiary Fenaco National Products in connection with a partnership that will involve the two setting up their own pilot farming project.
To 1 Labo, the Japan-based owner of Imstream, a consumer marketing tool focused on social media platform Instagram, raised an undisclosed amount from social advertising network Agile Media Network yesterday. Agile Media made the investment through a strategic partnership that will involve the companies working together on e-commerce support activities.
US-based payout and compliance software provider Interchecks Technologies received an undisclosed amount of funding from payment services provider EML on Tuesday. Australia-headquartered EML supplied the cash through its Finlab FinTech incubator in connection with a strategic partnership intended to help it expand in the US.
Diversified conglomerate UMG Group Myanmar has supplied an undisclosed amount of seed funding for SociaBuzz, the Indonesia-based operator of an online marketplace that connects social media influencers to brands and marketers, e27 reported on Tuesday. The capital was invested through UMG Idealab and the deal came five years after SociaBuzz joined accelerator Ideabox.
Trading group Jalux has provided an undisclosed amount for Future Food Fund, an investment vehicle for Japan-based packaged food producer Oisix Ra Daichi. The fund was launched in October 2019 and its corporate limited partners also include fruit acid provider Fuso Chemical, which committed capital last month, as well as Mos Burger, Tokyo Direct, Toyota subsidiary Toyota Tsusho, Kansai Electric Power’s K4 Ventures unit, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation’s SMBC Venture Capital vehicle and Daiwa Securities’ Daiwa Food & Agriculture fund.
Japan-headquartered biopharmaceutical company Sosei Heptares spun off a neuroscience drug it has developed for use in substance abuse treatment into a new company called Tempero Bio on Monday with assistance from biotech investment firm Aditum Bio. The latter was formed in 2019 by Joe Jimenez and Mark Fishman, both of whom had previously worked at pharmaceutical firm Novartis.
Additional reporting by Liwen-Edison Fu.
