China-based gene therapy developer Exegenesis Bio received more than $10m in funding in August this year, raising the money from investors including Legend Star, a corporate venturing vehicle for conglomerate Legend Holdings, 36Kr reported on Monday. K2VC and Kaitai Capital also participated in the round, which will fund work on the company’s drug pipeline.
Gradient Ventures, internet technology provider Google’s artificial intelligence-focused investment vehicle, led a $10m funding round for online home insurance marketplace Young Alfred today. Existing investors Pear Ventures, Entrepreneurs Roundtable Accelerator and Newfund Capital also contributed to the round, which came after $1.35m in equity funding and $365,000 in debt financing according to regulatory filings. It will use the cash to enhance marketing and expand its engineering, sales and business development teams.
Japan-based travel optimisation software developer Optimind secured ¥1.01bn ($9.3m) in a funding round led by automotive manufacturer Toyota yesterday. The round included MTG Ventures and KDDI Open Innovation Fund III, which invest on behalf of digital entertainment provider Modern Times Group and telecommunications company KDDI respectively, as well as an unnamed fourth backer. It will put the cash toward product development, marketing and increasing its staff numbers.
Winnie, the US-based operator of a marketplace for childcare and early education, has received $9m in a series A round led by Rethink Impact and backed by Unusual Ventures, Ludlow Ventures, Reach Capital, Impact America Fund, Kairos, Afore Capital, Day One Ventures and angel investor April Underwood, Crunchbase News reported on Tuesday. It had raised $6.25m as of a $4m round in June 2018 that included BBG Ventures, the female-focused VC firm spun off by telecoms firm Verizon.
Australia-based business lending marketplace Valiant Finance has raised A$12.5m ($8.6m) in funding from investors including Salesforce Ventures and ANZ Ventures, investment vehicles for enterprise software producer Salesforce and banking firm ANZ, Australian Financial Review reported on Monday. Reinventure Group, the VC firm sponsored by financial services firm Westpac, also took part, as did Carthona Capital. It followed $3.5m from Reinventure, Carthona Capital, Full Circle Venture Capital, H2 Ventures, Black Sheep Capital and various angel investors across rounds in 2016 and September 2018.
Internet company Sina has paid an undisclosed amount for a 4.55% stake in China-based mutual insurance provider and medical crowdfunding platform developer Bihu Huzhu, 36Kr has reported, citing an article in Caijingtuya. The company had previously raised $15.4m from VC firms Will Hunting Capital and 9C Capital in June 2018.
410 Medical, the US-based developer of a fluid delivery system for critical care patients, completed an $8m series A round on Tuesday that included healthcare provider OSF Healthcare. The round was led by VC firm Hatteras Venture Partners and backed by Sovereign’s Capital, while Stan Lynall, vice-president of venture investments for OSF Healthcare’s OSF Ventures unit, will join 410’s board of directors. It has now raised $19.7m in total, $3.1m coming from investors including care provider WakeMed Health & Hospitals in August 2018.
Bowery Valuation, a US-based real estate appraisal services provider backed by property developer Cushman & Wakefield, secured $8m in funding from Nine Four Ventures, Lightstone and Greenspring Associates yesterday. It has now raised a total of $27m, $5m of which was supplied by Cushman & Wakefield in March 2018. It added $12m from Camber Creek, Builders, Formation 8, Fika Ventures, Navitas Capital and Corigin Ventures in January this year and its earlier investors include LeFrak and Expansion Ventures.
Yummy, an Indonesia-based food services affiliate of lifestyle brand owner Ismaya Group, has received $7.75m in a series A round co-led by SMDV, the corporate venturing arm of conglomerate Sinar Mas, and VC firm Intudo Ventures, Kr-Asia has reported. The round also featured Selera Kapital, which invests on behalf of frozen yoghurt brand Sour Sally Group, as well as East Ventures, AgaetiVentures, Sovereign’s Capital, and Selera Kapital by Sour Sally Group.
Healthcare investment firm City Hill Ventures has provided an undisclosed amount of funding for US-based genetic medicine developer Maze Therapeutics on Wednesday. The investment came in the wake of a $191m round backed by GV, a VC vehicle for internet and technology group Alphabet, as well as Alexandria Venture Investments Third Rock Ventures, Arch Venture Partners, Foresite Capital and Casdin Capital in February this year. Jonathan Lim, founder and managing partner of City Hill, has taken a board seat in connection with the deal.
Planted Foods, a Switzerland-headquartered developer of plant-based meats, raised CHF7m ($7.1m) in seed capital from investors including vegetarian restaurant operator Hiltl on Wednesday. ETH Foundation also contributed to the round, through its ETH spinoff fund, as did Blue Horizon Corporation, Good Seed Ventures, Mica Ventures, Joyance Partners, Ze.Pharm Trust and private backers including the Stephan Schmidheiny Family, Josef Bieri, Philippe Gaydoul and investors from the Swiss Startup Capital Investors Club.
China-based hot pot food supplier Guoquan Shihui secured RMB50m ($7.1m) yesterday in a series A-plus round led by frozen food producer Sanquan Food that came in the wake of a $6.4m in series A financing from investors including investment firm Buhuo Ventures in August this year. The startup plans to put the funding into expanding its market presence and enhancing its supply chain capabilities.
Bloomberg Beta, the corporate venturing vehicle for media group Bloomberg, participated in a $7m financing round on Wednesday for Raydiant, the US-based developer of a multi-screen display platform. 8VC led the round, which included Atomic, Lerer Hippeau, SV Angel and Transmedia Capital, and the proceeds will go to increasing headcount, product development and the development of new features for the platform.
Santander InnoVentures, financial services firm Santander’s VC arm, has led what it called an expansion round for US-based property lending platform developer Roostify, investing alongside existing backers including banking firm JPMorgan Chase and investment manager Colchis Capital, it revealed on Tuesday. Roostify had raised a total of at least $30m as of its last round, a $25m series B in February 2018 featuring the three latest investors as well as financial services firm USAA, Point72 Ventures and Cota Capital.
China-based pet product supplier Vetreska has secured $6m in a series A-plus round led by SIG Asia, a corporate venturing vehicle for technology and quantitative trading firm Susquehanna International Group, 36Kr reported on Wednesday. The company had previously raised $2.9m in a September 2018 series A round led by VC group IDG Capital and backed by Hejun Capital, according to China Money Network.
AliveCor, a US-based electrocardiogram developer backed by medical device producer Omron Healthcare, medical research firm Mayo Clinic and mobile chipmaker Qualcomm, has raised $5.8m in funding from undisclosed investors according to a securities filing on Monday. It followed a $30m series D round in early 2017 that took AliveCor’s total funding to $43.5m, and its earlier investors included Burrill & Company, Khosla Ventures and Oklahoma Life Sciences Fund.
US-based digital banking startup Cogni has received $5.4m in a seed round featuring financial services firm Barclays and Hanwha Investment and Securities, a subsidiary of diversified conglomerate Hanwha, Crowdfund Insider reported on Wednesday, citing a note from the company. The corporates participated alongside investors including CXO Fund, Hard Yaka and Scott Minerd, co-founder of investment and advisory firm Guggenheim Partners. It had previously raised $1.7m in November 2018, at which point Barclays held a 2% stake.
Path, a US-based company that provides access to treatment options for substance addiction, has secured $5.35m in funding from investors including benefits and human resources services firm Sequoia Benefits, TechCrunch reported on Wednesday. VC firm Upfront Ventures led the round, which was also backed by investment firm Radian Street Capital and individuals including Amy Shannon, Barbara Wachsman and Howard Cherny.
Laminate Medical Technologies, an Israel-based vascular support technology developer backed by medical device maker Asahi Kasei and pharmaceutical company Haisco, raised an undisclosed amount yesterday from investment firm Valiance Asset Management’s Life Sciences Global Investment Fund. It followed a $12m round in January 2019 featuring both corporates, Tal Capital and assorted private investors that doubled Laminate’s total funding to $24m. Haisco had also backed its $8m series B round in February 2017.
Medinas, the US-based medical equipment e-commerce marketplace that counts workspace provider We Company as an investor, completed a $5m seed round on Tuesday that was led by NFX and backed by Precursor Ventures, Sound Ventures, FJ Labs and angel investor Bryan Frist. The company had secured $1m in a March 2018 round co-led by Sound Ventures and General Catalyst’s Rough Draft Ventures that also featured Precursor Ventures, Trammell Ventures and assorted angels, before getting $1m through We Co’s WeWork Creator Global Finals in January 2019.
Oil and gas supplier BP supplied $5m in funding today for Finite Carbon, a US-based provider of forest-focused carbon offsetting services. Finite Carbon raised a reported $2m from VC firm TL Ventures in 2009 and the latest funding comes after more than $600m in compliance forest offsets provided by the company.
BP has also led a series A round of undisclosed size for Grid Edge, the UK-based creator of an artificial intelligence-infused building energy optimisation system, through strategic investment subsidiary BP Ventures. The round also featured family office Goldacre and came in the wake of approximately $260,000 from Ignite, an investment vehicle run by energy utility Centrica, in 2017.
Huobi Japan, a foreign offshoot of Singapore-based crypto exchange operator Huobi, has received ¥500m ($4.6m) in funding from insurance and tax leasing services provider Financial Products Group (FPG), Cointelegraph reported today. The spinoff was launched in January this year and FPG could potentially combine its financial instrument knowledge with the company’s blockchain technology.
Israel-based speech-recognition technology developer Hi Auto has closed a $4.5m seed round co-led by automotive distributor Delek Motors and Zohar Zisapel, the acting chairman of Hi Auto, Globes reported on Wednesday. Industrial vehicle distributor Goldbell Group also took part in the round, along with Allied Holdings, which holds a controlling stake in vehicle importer Champion Motors, as well as Plug & Play. The startup plans to demonstrate its automotive-focused technology in January 2020.
Energy technology producer Generac Holdings led a $4.3m series B round for Sofdesk, the Canada-based creator of a sales acceleration platform for roofing and solar installation businesses, yesterday, investing alongside Desjardins Capital, EnerTech and BDC Capital. The latter two had previously supplied $2.3m in series A funding for Sofdesk in February 2017 and the latest funding will go to enhancing the company’s artificial intelligence technology capabilities.
Legalmation, a US-based developer of artificial intelligence and machine learning tools for the legal profession, is raising an undisclosed amount in a private placement that includes REV Venture Partners, the corporate venturing arm of data analytics provider RELX, it announced on Tuesday. Relativity, Bridge Investments and existing investor Key Venture Partners also participated in the round.
WiredScore, the US-based creator of a digital certification system for commercial real estate, has secured $4m from investors including property developer British Land and real estate investment firm Patrizia. Bessemer Venture Partners, Fifth Wall Ventures, SterlingVC and angel investor Joshua Kushner acquired a majority stake in the company in October 2017, and the former three joined corporates U+I, Town Centre Securities, Legal & General and Savitt Partners as well as KingSett Capital and Momeni Digital Ventures in a $9m series A round a year later.
Abodo, a US-based online apartment-hunting platform operator backed by insurer American Family, received an amount likely to be almost $4m from VC fund Novel Growth Partners in partnership with VC firm Flyover Capital that took its total funding to $12m. It had raised just over $8m as of a $4.8m series A round in 2016 led by 4490 Ventures that included American Family’s investment arm, American Family Ventures, and Flyover Capital.
Investment banking firm Goldman Sachs led a series A round of undisclosed size on Wednesday for DiligenceVault, the US-based creator of a digital diligence platform for investment firms and asset managers. The company has not disclosed details of any earlier financing.
Space BD, the Japan-based operator of a services-trading platform focused on space exploration, picked up ¥380m ($3.5m) in financing on Monday including $2.4m in equity funding from construction firm Aoki Group’s Anniversaire Holdings subsidiary, Incubate Fund and SMBC Venture Capital and Mizuho Capital, vehicles for banks Mizuho Bank and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, which jointly supplied another $1.1m in debt financing. Space BD said it has now raised about $5.2m in equity financing and $2m in debt in total.
Israel-based AI-equipped virtual agent developer Voca.ai secured an amount reported by Calcalist to be $3.5m on Wednesday, from investors including American Express Ventures, the strategic investment arm of payment services firm American Express. The corporate was joined by Lool ventures and Flint Capital, also the participants in a $2.6m round for the company in October 2018.
Security equipment producer Prosegur has co-led a €3m ($3.3m) round for Spain-based location positioning technology developer Situm Technologies through corporate venturing vehicle Prosegur Tech Ventures, Expansión has reported. The round was co-led by Swanlaab Venture Factory and included existing investors Amadeus Capital Partners, Unirisco and Xesgalicia.
Aroma Bit, the Japan-based creator of an odour sensor, is raising up to ¥350m ($3.2m) through a share allocation to tobacco producer Japan Tobacco and VC firm East Ventures, it revealed on Monday. Consumer electronics producer Sony invested $2.2m in the company in March this year through its Sony Innovation Fund, and the latest funding will support further development of the sensor, which Aroma Bit intends to make smaller while adding extra functionality.
Ireland-based atrial fibrillation device startup Atrian Medical has completed a £2.3m ($3m) seed round co-led by medical research firm and care provider Mayo Clinic’s corporate VC unit, Mayo Clinic Ventures, Silicon Republic reported on Monday. Western Development Commission co-led the round, which also featured Atlantic Bridge University Fund, Enterprise Ireland and Xenium Capital. The cash will support recruitment and clinical testing.
Crypto-financial services provider Bitcoin Suisse provided $3m of funding for US-based crypto-trading software provider CoinRoutes on Tuesday in return for what it called a sizeable stake. Bitcoin Suisse has been using CoinRoute’s product for more than a year and its chairman, Niklas Nikolajsen, is joining the company’s board of directors in connection with the investment.
Data management software provider Splunk invested an undisclosed sum in Zonehaven, the US-based creator of a data analytics platform that concentrates on wildfire evacuation, on Tuesday through $50m social impact fund Splunk Ventures. The startup will channel the funding into increasing headcount and expanding research and development as it seeks to improve its product.
UK-based deposit-raising collective StepLadder raised £1.5m ($1.9m) in seed capital today from investors including financial services firm BBVA, which invested as part of the company’s participation in its BBVA & Anthemis Venture Studio partnership with investment firm Anthemis. The round also featured Seedcamp and unnamed angel investors and the startup revealed it is looking to expand to other European countries in future.
Sibex, a Switzerland-based provider of arbitrage opportunities for traders, has secured CHF1.8m ($1.8m) in a seed round that included financial infrastructure operator Six Group, Fortune reported on Wednesday. The round also featured VC firms Accomplice and Fenbushi Capital, and the company said it raised the cash while its technology was still at an early stage.
Chemicals producer Evonik supplied an undisclosed amount of funding for Israel-based 3D printing software developer Castor Technologies yesterday. Castor had raised $400,000 from tool producer Stanley Black & Decker, TAU Ventures, Techstars and angel investor Jeremy Coller as of September 2018, according to the Jerusalem Post, and Evonik will offer the startup access to its knowledge of printing materials.
Corekara, the Japan-based creator of artificial intelligence-equipped chatbot AdSist, received ¥180m ($1.7m) in debt and equity financing on Monday from Mizuho Bank, which made the equity investment through Mizuho Capital. It will put the proceeds towards further development of AdSist, which automates advertising on behalf of online retailers.
US-based knowledge management software producer Satisfi Labs raised an undisclosed amount from Google’s Assistant Investment Program yesterday. The company took part in Techstars Retail Accelerator, which counts retailer Target as a backer, in July 2018 before securing $6m from music management agency Red Light Management, sporting league operator Major League Baseball, Broadway.ai and Stadia Ventures in March this year.
US-based meeting management software provider Bizly secured $1.5m on Tuesday from investors including JetBlue Technology Ventures, the corporate VC arm of airline operator JetBlue, as well as Hone Capital and private investor Eric Yuan. The company raised $400,000 in debt financing in 2016 and added $2.1m in May 2018 according to securities filings. Its earlier backers include investment manager LeFrak, FJ Labs, MetaProp, Jina Ventures, Hemisphere Ventures, Expansion Venture Capital and Brooklyn Bridge Ventures.
Cybersecurity services and software provider iTrust has invested an undisclosed sum in Ireland-based endpoint security startup 4Securitas in connection with a strategic partnership agreement. The deal will involve an element of technology transfer as well as money, and the companies intend to collaborate on a product that will utilise ITrust’s SOC technology.
Alp, a Japan-based provider of business software management services, raised ¥150m ($1.4m) in seed capital in March this year from investors including Pksha Sparx Algorithm Fund, a joint venture between AI algorithm developer Pksha Technology and asset manager Sparx Group, it said on Monday. The round also featured Anri, DNX Ventures and angel investors Kotaro Chiba and Takanori Katagiri, and Alp disclosed details of the round alongside its launch of cloud-based efficiency software platform Scalebase.
Japan-based beauty supplement developer Tricot has also secured ¥150m ($1.4m), from skincare product manufacturer Pola Orbis Holdings and XTech Ventures on Wednesday. The company released a customisable supplement called Fujimi Beauty Supplement in April this year and has raised money towards it on crowdfunding platform Campfire.
Cement producer Cemex supplied an undisclosed amount of funding on Tuesday for X3 Builders, a US-based end-to-end contracting services provider. X3, a graduate from Y Combinator’s accelerator, uses its proprietary software to manage the process ranging from architectural design and the sourcing of building materials to the actual construction process.
Italy-based estate agent services startup Agencasa.it has raised an undisclosed amount from Rocket Internet Capital Partners, an investment vehicle for e-commerce holding company Rocket Internet, BeBeez reported on Monday. It plans to hire another 50 people by the end of 2019 as it expands from the cities of Milan and Naples to Rome, Turin and Florence.
Honey supplier IndoCan Honey has provided $1m in funding for Credence Whole Foods, the India-based owner of whole foods and dairy brand NutriMoo, YourStory reported on Monday. NutriMoo, which focuses on fresh, hormone and preservative-free foods, will use the investment to expand its reach to all India’s major cities.
Diversified conglomerate Fosun co-led a $1m funding round for India-based shuttle service provider Loca Rides on Wednesday through its Fosun RZ Capital subsidiary. The round was co-led by VC firm Stellaris Venture Partners and the proceeds will be used to increase the size of Loca’s fleet in the city of Bengaluru in addition to an expansion into more cities.
Scallog, a France-based developer of robotics technology for the logistics sector, has received an undisclosed amount from retailer Colruyt Group, Voxlog reported on Tuesday. The round came after $1.9m in funding from the company’s founders and robotics investment firm International Technology Solutions in 2015, and Scallog plans to put the proceeds toward doubling headcount and ramping up research and development work.
