Templum, the US-based creator of a trading platform for digital assets, completed a $10m funding round on Monday featuring financial services firms SBI Holdings and Raptor Group. The company had previously raised $2.7m in an October 2017 round that was led by Raptor Group and backed by Galaxy Investment Partners, Blockchain Capital and Firstminute Capital.
Marble, a US-based company developing intelligent courier robots, has secured $10m in a series A round that included internet group Tencent, VentureBeat reported on Tuesday. Lemnos Labs, CrunchFund and Maven Ventures also contributed to the round, which increased Marble’s total funding to $5m according to VentureBeat, and the proceeds will go to technology development as the startup prepares to expand from its home city of San Francisco to other US markets.
US-based database software provider ScyllaDB completed a $10m series C round on Wednesday that was led by TLV Partners and backed by Qualcomm Ventures, mobile chipmaker Qualcomm’s corporate venturing unit, as well as data storage system producer Western Digital, Bessemer Venture Partners and Magma Venture Partners. ScyllaDB has now raised $35m in total, its earlier funding coming from Qualcomm Ventures, Western Digital, Bessemer, Magma and Samsung Ventures, a subsidiary of electronics producer Samsung.
Kyruus, a US-based healthcare scheduling software developer backed by pharmaceuticals supplier McKesson and care providers Mercy Health and Providence Health and Services, has received $10m in funding from undisclosed investors. Kyruus had raised $56m in funding before adding $4m from investors including Mercy Health in February 2017, and its existing backers include Venrock, Highland Capital, New Leaf Venture Partners, F-Prime Capital Partners, Leerink Transformation Partners, Fidelity Biosciences and Lux Capital.
Enilvex Therapeutics, an Israel-based developer of treatments for autoimmune and inflammatory conditions, has signed a memorandum of understanding to raise $10m at a $100m valuation, with $1.2m coming from Hadasit Bio-Holdings, which was formed to invest in technologies discovered at Hadassah University Hospital, Globes reported on Monday. KIP, the investment fund that led an $8m round for Enlivex in September 2017, is investing $2m in this round, and the two will help Enlivex find additional participants.
Traackr, the US-based creator of a software platform that enables brands to manage marketing strategies using social media influencers, secured $9m yesterday in a series B round featuring brand technology provider You & Mr Jones. The round was led by growth equity firm Workhorse Capital, and followed $1m in seed capital from Launch Capital, Tollman Capital Partners and assorted angel investors in 2011, a further $1.5m from private investors in 2012 and $2.4m in debt and equity financing since, according to securities filings.
Ant Financial, the financial services affiliate of e-commerce firm Alibaba, has paid an undisclosed amount for a stake in bKash, an app-based subsidiary of financial services firm BRAC Bank, sized at up to 20%, BDnews24 reported yesterday. The corporate will buy a 10% share from investors Money in Motion, the World Bank’s International Finance Corporation (IFC) and Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation through a secondary purchase, and has the option to subscribe to new shares to double its stake.
Kenya-based enterprise software provider Africa’s Talking has received $8.6m in a round led by IFC that included Orange Digital Ventures, a unit owned by telecommunications firm Orange, and VC firm Social Capital, TechCrunch reported on Wednesday. Africa’s Talking, a graduate of US-based accelerator Hub Ventures in 2012, raised $6m in funding from IFC in September 2017 but it is unclear whether that formed part of the latest round.
Arvato Financial Solutions, a business services subsidiary of media group Bertelsmann, has led an $8m series A round for biometric security technology developer SecuredTouch, Globes reported on Monday. RDC, the joint venture formed by weapons producer Rafael Advanced Defense Systems and technology holding company Elron Electronic Industries, also took part in the round, having led a $3.5m round for the company in February 2017 that included Eshbol Ventures, Wellborn Ventures and Swarth Group.
Egypt-based on-demand public transportation provider Swvl has secured $8m in funding from investors including Raed Ventures, the venture capital arm of conglomerate Almajdouie, Forbes Middle East reported on Monday. Beco Capital, DiGame, Silicon Badia, Arzan VC, Oman Technology Fund and private investor Esther Dyson also took part in the round, which consisted of primary and secondary investment, and which followed a $500,000 investment by ride hailing platform Careem in July 2017.
Tencent and private equity firm B&C Holdings have provided $8m in convertible note financing for Citrine Informatics, the US-based creator of a data and artificial intelligence platform for materials. Citrine had previously closed a $7.6m series A round featuring Innovation Endeavors, Data Collective, Prelude Ventures, AME Cloud Ventures and XSeed Capital in June 2017.
Outsourced customer service provider Simplr has raised $8m in series A funding from investors including insurance provider from Asurion, which participated alongside its private equity backers, which include Madison Dearborn Partners, Providence Equity Partners, Berkshire Partners, Canadian Pension Plan Investment Board and Welsh, Carson, Anderson & Stowe. The startup was incubated within Asurion prior to its launch.
Marco Polo Technology, the China-based owner of business-to-business travel product marketplace PKFare, secured tens of millions of renminbi (RMB10m = $1.6m) on Tuesday in a series A round featuring Caissa Tourism Group, a travel services subsidiary of airline operator HNA, as well as Chuang Capital and the Chinese government’s Civil Aviation Investment Fund. PKFare has also agreed to develop a financial product for the travel industry in partnership with financial services firm Beijing Zhongguancun Bank.
Johnson & Johnson Innovation – JJDC, the corporate venturing arm of medical group Johnson & Johnson, has led a $7.8m series A round for Joint Purification Systems, a US-based developer of a drug and device-based treatment system for musculoskeletal infection. Medical real estate services provider Capital Growth Medvest also took part in the round, through its MedVest Fund II fund, and the capital will be used to advance the company’s lead product into clinical studies.
Pixelligent Technologies, a US-based company that uses nanomaterials to produce materials for use in OLED and high-definition displays, has received $7.6m in funding from investors including advanced materials manufacturer Tokyo Ohka Kogyo and OLED production technology provider Kateeva. The round also featured Abell Foundation and TCP Venture Capital.
Cheetah Medical, the US-based blood-flow monitoring system developer backed by industrial equipment and appliance producer Robert Bosch, has raised $7m in equity funding from undisclosed investors, according to a securities filing. The company had previously received approximately $66m from backers including Bosch, Ascension Ventures, which invests on behalf of care provider Ascension, MVM Life Science Partners, Springfield Investment Management, Fletcher Spaght Ventures, HighCape Partners.
Public-private investment partnership Innovation Network Corporation of Japan (INCJ) has agreed to provide up to ¥750m ($6.9m) in growth capital for PeptiStar, a Japan-based contract pharmaceutical manufacturer formed by biopharmaceutical company PeptiDream, pharmaceutical firm Shionogi and chemicals producer Sekisui Chemical in September 2017. The three corporates subsequently added an undisclosed amount of funding last month, according to a press release announcing INCJ’s investment.
ProGlove, a Germany-based developer of wearable devices for use in the industrial sector, has secured €5.5m ($6.7m) in funding from investors including Intel Capital, the corporate VC unit owned by semiconductor technology producer Intel, Gründerszene reported on Monday. Gettylab, DIVC and Bayern Kapital also participated in the round, which followed a $2.2m series A round in 2016 that was led by Intel Capital and backed by Bayern Kapital and GettyLab.
Toll road manager Transurban led a $5.5m series A round for Bluedot Innovation, a US-based company developing software that allows businesses to engage with customers based on their location, on Monday with a $4m investment. The round included angel investors Jeff Katz and David Jacques, and increased Bluedot’s total funding to $13m. It will use the funding to double its headcount as it looks to expand its strategic partnerships.
PopXO, the India-based operator of an online media platform aimed at a young female demographic, has received $5.5m in a round co-led by consumer electronics producer Oppo and Neoplux Technology Fund, part of conglomerate Doosan, that included media company Summit Media and Gree Ventures, a subsidiary of digital media company Gree, as well as IDG Ventures India and Kalaari Capital, VCCircle reported yesterday.
SoftBank Ventures Korea, a corporate venturing subsidiary of telecoms and internet group SoftBank, has supplied ₩4.5bn as part of a ₩5.7bn ($5.3m) round for South Korea-based second hand goods trading platform Daangn Market, ZDNet reported on Tuesday. Kakao Ventures, the corporate VC arm of internet company Kakao, and VC fund Strong Ventures also participated in the round.
ClauseMatch, a UK-based document editing platform developer that is also a graduate of financial services firm Barclays’ accelerator, has raised $5m in a series A round led by Index Ventures that included SpeedInvest, Talis Capital and angel investors Tom Glocer and Cristobal Conde, UKTN reported on Monday. The company had previously received $1.6m in a June 2017 seed round led by Speedinvest and backed by Glocer, Conde and SparkLabs Global Ventures.
Germany-based point-of-sale technology developer Tillhub has secured almost €4m ($4.8m) from payment processor Elavon, media company Müller Medien and angel investors including Felix Jahn and Dietrich Gottwald, Gründerszene reported on Wednesday. The startup had previously raised €2m in funding from Richmond View Ventures and Magoulas Ventures, according to Gründerszene.
SalesHero, a US-based developer of artificial intelligence technology for use in the sales process, has received $4.5m on Tuesday in a seed round featuring internet group Baidu, which invested through its Baidu Ventures subsidiary. The corporate was joined by Signals Venture Capital, an affiliate of financial services provider Signal Iduna, as well as CometLabs and Cherry Ventures.
Enuma, the US-based educational game developer formerly known as LocoMotive Labs, completed a $4m financing round on Wednesday that was co-led by YellowDog, HG Initiative and C Program and backed by NX Venture Partners and DSC Investment. SoftBank Ventures Korea and education provider Tal Education co-led the company’s $4m series A round for in 2015, investing alongside K9 Ventures, Kapor Capital, NewSchools Venture Fund, VC firm D3Jubilee and angel investors Joe Gleberman and Jerry Colonna.
Beverage producer Coca-Cola has invested an undisclosed sum in in Beijing LePur, a China-based producer of healthy foods such as yoghurts and cereal, China Daily reported today. The capital was provided through a strategic partnership that will involve the companies collaborating on product development, digital innovation and brand creation.
Financial services firm Swedbank invested €3m ($3.7m) in UK-based digital banking technology provider Meniga on Monday, in the wake of the formation of a partnership agreement that will involve it helping to launch Meniga’s products in Sweden and the Baltic countries. The company had previously raised about €20m in funding from investors including financial technology producer Crealogix, Industrifonden, Velocity Capital, Frumtak Ventures and Kjolfesta.
Sumitomo Mitsui Card Company (SMCC), the payment services subsidiary of financial services firm Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group, has provided an undisclosed amount of series B funding for Malaysia-based card reader developer Soft Space, E27 reported on Monday. E-commerce services provider TransCosmos had supplied an undisclosed amount of series A funding for SoftSpace in May 2017, four months after the latter signed a memorandum of understanding with SMCC as it prepared to enter Japan.
Chemicals producer Evonik has supplied an undisclosed amount of funding for MySkin, the US-based creator of a handheld device that measures the properties of skin in order to determine the best route to care, it announced yesterday. Evonik made the investment through its Evonik Venture Capital unit, and although the size was not disclosed, MySkin had raised $3.3m in funding from two investors as of late last month, according to a regulatory filing.
Maverick, the US-based creator of a social network for young women, emerged from stealth today with $2.7m in seed capital from investors including BBG Ventures, the female-focused VC fund owned by online media group Oath. VC fund Heroic Ventures led the round, which also featured Jeff Weiner, chief executive of social media company LinkedIn.
SoftBank has invested an undisclosed amount in Bteyi, a China-based provider of analytics for cryptocurrency trading, through its SoftBank China subsidiary, 36kr reported yesterday. The funding will be used to enhance the company’s product, which aims to analyse risk by monitoring manipulation of pricing in individual cryptocurrencies.
Hasura, an India-based provider of tools that simplify the development and execution of software applications, received $1.6m in seed funding on Wednesday from investors including Gree Ventures. The round was led by VC firm Nexus Venture Partners and the funding will be used for product development.
Thailand-based recruitment service provider GetLinks has raised an undisclosed amount of funding from human resources firm Seek Group, Alibaba’s Hong Kong Entrepreneurs Fund, conglomerate SCG’s AddVentures unit, K-Ventures, Peterson Group and Axis Capital Partners, DealStreetAsia reported yesterday. GetLinks had previously received $500,000 in seed capital from CyberAgent Ventures, a corporate venturing subsidiary of internet company CyberAgent, and VC firm 500 Startups in early 2016.
Vehicle distribution and leasing services provider Goldbell Group and VC fund Blume Ventures have supplied Rs 100m ($1.5m) in pre-series A funding for Pitstop, an India-based provider of after-sales automotive services, the Economic Times reported on Monday. The company had raised $1m from Goldbell, Blume and angel investors Anurag Srivastava, Shailesh Rao, Amiya Pathak, Rajesh Yohanan and Rahul Garg as of September 2017, though that funding likely formed part of this round.
Travel services provider Talma Travel and Tours has invested $1.5m in Israel-based online flight discovery and booking platform Alice, Globes reported on Tuesday. Alice has now raised $2.5m altogether according to Globes, which stated that Talma was the main investor in the startup’s last round, in November 2016. The platform covers more than 350 destinations worldwide.
US-based metal 3D printing technology developer Morf3D raised an undisclosed amount on Monday in a series A round co-led by aerospace manufacturer Boeing through its corporate venturing unit, Horizon X. Boeing will also help Morf3D, which makes titanium and aluminium parts for its helicopters and satellites, to beef up its manufacturing processes and engineering through a strategic partnership.
SalesOptimize, an Ireland-based company that uses big data technology to link online merchants with vendors, has received €1.1m ($1.3m) in funding from Elkstone Partners and Enterprise Ireland and undisclosed angel investors, BizPlus reported on Monday. The round doubled the company’s overall funding, its previous financing coming from Wayra, a subsidiary of telecoms firm Telefónica, which invested €60,000, as well as assorted angel investors, according to BizPlus.
DSM Venturing, the corporate venturing subsidiary of health, nutrition and materials technology manufacturer DSM, led a series A round of undisclosed size for US-based 3D printable polyurethanes and foam developer Chromatic 3D Materials on Wednesday. Chromatic raised $275,000 in debt financing across rounds in October 2016 and November 2017 according to securities filings, and DSM invested as part of a collaboration agreement.
Health and wellness services provider Vidal Healthcare has led a $1.1m pre-series A round for InformDS Technologies, the India-based developer of health record digitisation technology platform Doxper, BusinessWorld reported on Monday. The round included undisclosed existing investors and followed a $750,000 seed round led by Vidal Healthcare and backed by GrowX Ventures, Capier Investments and Globevestor in August 2017.
Google.org, the philanthropic arm of internet technology provider Google, provided $1m in funding for Canada-based urban innovation hub Mars Discovery District yesterday. The investment will fund the creation of Employment Pathway Platform, an initiative that will help workers develop new skills as they look to expand their career options.
Online community services provider GaiaX and angel investor Nguyen Duy have supplied an undisclosed amount of funding for Triip, a Vietnam-based service that connects travellers to local citizens who can act as travel guides, E27 has reported. Triip had previously raised $500,000 in an early 2016 seed round led by VC firm Gobi Partners and secured the latest funding as it prepares for an initial coin offering.
Online classified listings service Info Edge has invested Rs 30m ($450,000) in Bizcrum Infotech, the India-based owner of ShoeKonnect, an online business-to-business e-commerce marketplace for footwear, the Economic Times reported on Monday. The funding will be used to grow ShoeKonnect’s business and enhance its technology.
Kingo, a US-based off-grid energy provider backed by energy utilities Engie and EPM, received an undisclosed amount of funding from actor Leonardo DiCaprio yesterday. The company had previously raised $19m from investors including FMO, Proparco, Honduras Renewable Energy Finance Facility, Inter-American Development Bank, E 10, PeopleFund, Global Partnerships and ERM Foundation.
Advisory services firm SRKay Consulting Group yesterday made an investment of undisclosed size in Scikey, a Finland-based talent assessment software developer co-founded by its chief business officer, Shriram Viswanatha. Scikey had already received an undisclosed amount of funding from SRKay, having joined its accelerator ecosystem in 2016.