KaHa, the Singapore-based wearable internet-of-things product developer also known as CoveIoT, has received $4.5m in a round that included a $500,000 investment by Titan, a jewellery retail subsidiary of conglomerate Tata Group, Tech in Asia reported on Tuesday. The round also featured Spring Seeds Capital, the venture capital arm of state-owned agency Spring Singapore, and the startup’s existing investors include Jungle Ventures and YourNest.
Limejump, the UK-based operator of an aggregation platform for distributed batteries, doubled the size of a series A round featuring energy utility Statkraft on Wednesday that had reached a $3.9m first close in July this year. The new funding came from VC firm Set Ventures, after Statkraft’s strategic investment arm, Statkraft Ventures, led the first tranche with participation from Passion Capital and Angel CoFund, following $2.2m of seed funding secured by Limejump in 2015.
Real estate information provider Lifull has invested ¥400m ($3.6m) in Kamarq, a Japan-based developer of connected furniture products, The Bridge reported yesterday. Kamarq had previously raised $3.2m from Saison Ventures, the corporate venturing subsidiary of payment services provider Credit Saison, as well as ISGS Investment Works and Energy & Environment Investment in April 2016.
Crowd Realty, the Japan-based operator of a crowdfunded real estate investment platform, raised ¥350m ($3.1m) on Monday, in a round featuring financial services provider SBI’s FinTech Fund as well as Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ, Mitsubishi UFJ Capital and Kabu.com Securities, all of which are affiliates of Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (MUFG). Investment firm Global Brain had supplied an undisclosed amount of seed capital for the startup in 2015, before SBI FinTech Fund added an undisclosed sum in December 2016.
Sendy, a Kenya-based last-mile logistics service provider backed by telecommunications company Safaricom, has closed a $3m funding round, raising the funding from undisclosed investors, Disrupt Africa has reported. Safaricom provided an undisclosed amount for Sendy in November 2015 through its $1m Spark Fund.
Xenodata Lab, a Japan-based startup applying natural language processing to financial data analytics, has received ¥250m ($2.2m) in funding from financial services firms Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ (BTMU), Tokai Tokyo Financial Holdings, Mizuho Bank and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation – the latter two through Mizuho Capital and SMBC Venture Capital – credit data provider Teikoku Databank, securities firms Okasan Securities and Kabu.com Securities, and DBJ Capital, The Bridge reported on Wednesday. BTMU, Teikoku, Kabu and Mitsubishi UFJ Capital had previously invested ¥60m in the company.
US-based sustainable fashion e-commerce startup Aday has raised $2m in funding from H&M Co:Lab, the strategic investment vehicle for fashion retailer H&M, as well as VC funds ADG and SoGal Ventures, TechCrunch reported on Tuesday. Nanna Andersen, an investment manager at H&M Co:Lab, will join Aday’s board of directors in conjunction with the round, which follows $1.1m of funding from Cowboy Ventures, Venrex, Truestart and assorted angel investors from the fashion industry.
Zirra, an Israel-based startup that uses artificial intelligence technology to gauge the valuation of startups, has received $2m in funding from Seedinvest’s crowdfunding platform and undisclosed private investors, Globes reported on Wednesday. The round brought Zirra’s total funding to $4.5m, $1.6m of which was raised in an October 2016 round featuring Nautilus, the AOL subsidiary now part of Oath, the online media group overseen by telecoms firm Verizon, as well as Singulariteam Investment Fund and various angel investors.
Mobile financial services provider Paytm invested an undisclosed amount on Tuesday in CreditMate, an India-based startup that provides personal loans for two-wheeled bikes. The funding, which follows a $500,000 seed investment by early-stage investment firm India Quotient in October 2016, was provided as part of an agreement whereby Paytm will create a loan management system using CreditMate’s credit and asset valuation technology.
Giztix, the Thailand-based creator of an online logistics marketplace, has completed a $1.65m funding round backed by investors including AddVentures, the corporate VC arm of cement and building material supplier SCG, DealStreetAsia reported yesterday. Wavemaker and 500 Tuktuks also participated in the round, the latter having invested in the company’s February 2015 seed round together with KK Fund.
Henkel Adhesive Technologies, a subsidiary of chemical and consumer goods group Henkel, has provided an undisclosed amount of funding for US-based industrial coating technology developer DropWise Technologies. Henkel had previously supplied an undisclosed amount in seed capital for DropWise in July 2015 in connection with a joint development agreement, and the company raised $2.8m of equity funding in May this year according to a securities filing.
GoCater, a France-based online catering marketplace spun out of private chef booking platform La Belle Assiette, has raised $710,000 from investors including insurance firm Groupe des Assurances du Crédit Mutuel (ACM), TechCrunch has reported. ACM was joined by VC firm Cabiedes & Partners and angel investors Nicolas Brusson, Thibaud Elziere, Guillaume Cuvelier and Laurent Plantier.