Canada-based greenhouse gas emissions monitor GHGSat received $10m in series A2 financing from investors including oil and gas services firm Schlumberger on Tuesday. OGCI Climate Investments led the round, which also featured Space Angels and Business Development Bank of Canada, and which doubled the company’s overall funding to more than $20m, its earlier backers including Canada’s federal government and the government of the province of Alberta.
Covr Financial Technologies, the US-based operator of an online life insurance platform, secured $10m on Wednesday in a series A round backed by Allianz Life Ventures, a strategic investment vehicle for insurance group Allianz. The round included Nyca Partners, Commerce Ventures, Countour Venture Partners and Connectivity Capital Partners as well as existing friends and family investors, all of which contributed to a $5m round for Covr in June 2017. The company said it has now raised more than $20m altogether.
Ant Financial, the financial services affiliate of e-commerce firm Alibaba, has led a series A3 round of undisclosed size for Chuiyi Network Technology, the China-based owner of men’s fashion rental service Champzee, 36Kr reported on Tuesday. China Broadband Capital’s Chenshan Fund also took part in the round, which followed almost $10m in series A1 funding in December 2017 and a second tranche led by Sky9 Capital. The company has raised a total of almost $30m across the tranches, a team member said.
PAI Health, a US-based wearable fitness tracker and heart monitor developer backed by sporting apparel producer Adidas, announced a $9m funding round yesterday without revealing the identity of the investors. Adidas subsidiary Hydra Ventures led a $15m series B round for the company, then known as Mio Global, in late 2016 that included undisclosed private investors.
Japan-based mobile commerce platform developer Payke raised almost ¥1bn ($8.8m) last week in a round featuring SBI Investment and SMBC Venture Capital, subsidiaries of financial services firms SBI Group and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation. The round as led by Eight Roads Ventures Japan and included Okinawa Development Finance Corporation and Intage Open Innovation Fund, the fund jointly managed by SBI and market research provider Intage Holdings. The round, Payke’s third, took its overall funding to about $11m.
Gongjin Technology, the China-based developer of bookkeeping software platform Huisuanzhang, has closed a series C round of undisclosed size that included electronics manufacturer Xiaomi, iYiou reported on Tuesday. Gaocheng Capital led the round, which followed $22m from IDG Capital, China Soft Capital, Jiaxing Lingchuang Fund and Chuanrong Capital in March 2017 and $62.6m in series B funding from Xiaomi, online lender CreditEase, IDG Capital, 51Xinyongka Industrial Fund and THG Ventures that closed in January 2018.
Reliance Industrial Investments and Holdings, a subsidiary of diversified conglomerate Reliance Industries, has paid $8m to increase its stake in US-based industrial internet-of-things technology developer Netradyne to 37.4%, India Infoline reported on Tuesday, citing a stock exchange disclosure. Netradyne had previously received $16m in series A funding from Reliance in 2016.
Fashion retailer Forever21 has made its first VC investment, co-leading an $8m series A round for US-based personal styling and fashion subscription service DailyLook, Los Angeles Times reported yesterday. VC firm Upfront Ventures co-led the round, which followed $2.5m from Novel TMT Ventures, the corporate venturing arm of telecoms firm Novel Group, as well as GRP Partners, RRE Ventures, SV Angel and angel investors Matt Coffin, Thomas Mclnerney and Rachel Zoe in 2013.
China-based corporate services provider Yunxuetang Network Technology has closed a series C round of undisclosed size featuring SIG China, a subsidiary of technology and trading firm Susquehanna International Group, PE Daily reported on Tuesday. Yunfeng Capital led the round, which came after Yunxuetang raised $11m from unnamed investors in 2014, and $22m in an SIG-led series B round in April 2017 that included private investor Li Qi.
US-based alternative investment platform Rally Rd raised $7m yesterday in an oversubscribed round that included media holding company WndrCo. The round was led by Upfront Ventures and included investment and advisory firm Anthemis Group, Social Leverage and angel investors Nasir ‘Nas’ Jones, Eli Broverman and Jeff Cruttenden. It came after a $2.6m round led by Columbus Nova and backed by Social Leverage and individual investors Arun Sundararajan and Scott Galloway in January 2018.
Plant Prefab, a US-based sustainable prefabricated home provider spun off from prefab home supplier LivingHomes, secured $6.7m on Tuesday in a series A round featuring e-commerce and home device group Amazon’s Alexa Fund and VC firm Obvious Ventures. The latter had previously led a $3m round for Plant Prefab in June 2016, and the latest funding will support the hiring of sales and marketing staff and senior executives as well as the further development of the startup’s Plant Building System.
Amazon Alexa Fund disclosed investments of undisclosed size in three other startups yesterday. The recipients in question are US-based interactive teaching software developer Bamboo Learning; Aiva, the US-headquartered creator of a voice-activated healthcare assistant (see below); and Endel, the Germany-based creator of a system that creates background ambiances that can adapt to different inputs.
HqO, the US-based creator of a service that helps landlords make their homes more welcoming for tenants, received $6.6m in seed capital yesterday from investors including property developers DivcoWest and JLL, the latter through corporate venturing vehicle JLL Spark. The corporates were joined by Accomplice, Navitas Capital, Pritzker Group Venture Capital and angel investors Goodwin Gaw, David Hirsch and Jeremy Neuer.
China-based gaming robot developer GJS has closed a series B round of undisclosed size that was led by Guangkong Zhongying Capital, a joint venture between advertising firm Focus Media and investment group China Everbright. The company had previously raised series A funding from internet group Tencent in October 2017 as well as capital from Unity Ventures, Hofan Venture Capital and Volcanics, but did not give details concerning the size of their investments.
Tepco Ventures, the strategic investment arm of energy utility Tokyo Electric Power Company, led a ¥730m ($6.5m) series A round on Tuesday for Trende, a Japan-based renewable electricity retailer spun off from the corporate. The round included oil and gas supplier Shell’s Japanese subsidiary, Showa Shell Sekiyu, as well as public services provider Dubai Electricity and Water Authority.
Energy technology provider Holtec International paid an undisclosed sum for a “significant equity stake” in US-based grid-scale energy storage developer Eos Energy Storage on Monday. Eos had previously raised a total of about $65m from power producers NRG Energy and OCI Solar Power, property developer Fisher Brothers and investment firm AltEnergy, and Holtec made the investment in connection with the formation of a manufacturing partnership.
WeekenGo, a Germany-based online travel services platform focusing on weekend breaks, has raised €5.25m ($6.2m) in series A funding from travel booking platform Travelzoo and Vilauma, Handelsblatt reported on Monday. The startup is present in Germany, the US, UK, the Netherlands, Austria and Switzerland, and the app has been downloaded more than 400,000 times since it was launched in 2017.
US-based agile marketing software provider BrandTotal completed a $6m funding round on Tuesday featuring media company Keshet Dick Clark Productions and NHN Investment, the owner of internet company Naver. The round was led by venture capital firm Flint Capital and included One Way Ventures, FJ Labs and Glilot Capital Partners. The company had previously raised $2m in a July 2017 seed round led by Glilot and backed by KDC Media Fund, a vehicle formed by Keshet Dick Clark Productions.
Travelsify, a Luxembourg-based provider of data technology for travel services suppliers, secured €5m ($5.8m) yesterday in a funding round led by hotel chain AccorHotels and backed by undisclosed existing investors. The startup said the round increased its overall funding to €8m, €2m of which came from Luxembourg-based business angels and Luxembourg’s Ministry of the Economy in March 2017.
Scotrenewables Tidal Power, a UK-based tidal energy technology developer backed by corporates ABB, Fred.Olsen, Total, renewable energy producer DP Energy, heavy industrial product manufacturer Harland & Wolff, Scotmarine, Bonheur and Ganger Rolf, received an undisclosed “multi-million pound” (£1m = $1.3m) amount from the McGrath family, private investor Matthias Haag and the Scottish Government’s Energy Investment Fund on Wednesday. It had previously raised about $35m in funding.
Naspers Ventures, the corporate VC subsidiary of media and e-commerce group Naspers, led a $5.6m funding round yesterday for SoloLearn, the US-based operator of a peer-to-peer education platform for programmers. The round also featured Learn Capital, the VC firm that led SoloLearn’s $1.2m seed round in October 2016, which in turn followed a $100,000 investment by fellow VC firm Granatus Ventures in 2014.
US-based industrial control valve developer Clarke Valve closed a $5.5m tranche of series B funding on Tuesday that included Saudi Aramco Energy Ventures (SAEV) and Chevron Technology Ventures (CTV), respective subsidiaries of oil and gas suppliers Saudi Aramco and Chevron. The tranche was led by OGCI Climate Investments and followed a $10m first close in February 2018 that was co-led by SAEV and CTV, which in turn came after $3.1m in series A funding from backers including New World Angels between 2015 and 2017.
SlamCore, a UK-based developer of spatial artificial intelligence algorithms that will be utilised in drones and robotics technology, received $5m today from Toyota AI Ventures, carmaker Toyota’s corporate venturing unit, and Toyota-backed VC fund Mirai Creation Fund, both as existing investors. The round was led by Amadeus Capital Partners and also featured MMC Ventures and Octopus Ventures. The company had secured an undisclosed sum from backers including Amadeus, Sparx Group and Imperial Innovations in May 2017.
Canopy, a Singapore-based personal investment data aggregation platform backed by financial services firm Credit Suisse, has raised $4.8m from investors including Dymon Asia Ventures and Seeds Capital, Finews Asia reported on Tuesday. The company had received $5.35m in funding from rounds in 2015 and 2016 before securing $3.4m from Credit Suisse and investment firm LionRock Capital in December 2017.
Diversified conglomerate Mitsubishi Corporation invested an undisclosed sum in Israel-based wheelchair technology developer Softwheel yesterday, and the capital has been added to the $25m in series C funding it raised from automotive components maker Musashi Seimitsu, financial services firm Rothschild Bank and unnamed existing backers last month. Softwheel had raised $15m from investors including Rad Biomed before adding an undisclosed amount from bearing producer NSK in November 2017.
VC firm Korea Investment Partners has added an undisclosed amount to the $28m in series C funding raised by Singapore-based financial product comparison platform C88 in July this year. The round, which includes credit scoring service Experian, telecoms firm Telstra’s corporate venturing unit, Telstra Ventures, ResponsAbility Investments, DEG, InterVest, FengHe Fund Management, Pelago Capital, Fuchsia Venture Capital, Monk’s Hill Ventures, Kickstart Ventures and Kejora Ventures, increased C88’s funding to $45m altogether.
Alexandria Venture Investments, the VC arm of life sciences real estate investment trust Alexandria Real Estate Equities, co-led a $3.3m seed round on Monday for MouSensor, a spinout from City University of New York aiming to digitise a sense of smell. VC fund Imec.xpand co-led the round, which included New York Ventures, the investment arm for New York State’s Empire State Development agency, and angel investor Elma Hawkins.
Neo Global Capital, the venture capital affiliate of cryptocurrency developer Neo Foundation, has supplied an undisclosed amount of funding for Muzika, the South Korea-based creator of a blockchain-powered music sharing platform. Muzika, which has 2 million users, has also received undisclosed amounts of funding from the South Korean government’s Tech Incubator Program for Startups as well as T3 Ventures, the blockchain-focused Everest Ventures Group and cryptocurrency fund 256 Ventures.
Mode, a US-based business data management software provider backed by internet service provider Nifty, secured $3m on Monday in a series A round led by VC firm True Ventures. The company raised $780,000 from Metamorphic Ventures, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers and unnamed angel investors in 2015, before adding $1.3m from investors including Nifty the following year.
Germany-based edge processing technology developer Teraki raised $3m in seed and grant funding yesterday, from investors including Hubraum, the technology incubator owned by telecoms firm Deutsche Telekom. The round included Paladin Capital Group and GPS Ventures, and Teraki will use the proceeds to further develop its technology and speed up commercialisation.
US-based smart mobility software developer Excelfore received an undisclosed amount of funding on Tuesday from Hella Ventures and Molex Ventures, respective subsidiaries of lighting and automotive technology producer Hella and electronic component manufacturer Molex Electronic Technologies. Molex had previously invested in Excelfore in January 2017 as part of a series A round that stood at $10.6m as of August 2016 according to a regulatory filing.
Nettle Infrastructure Investments, an investment vehicle for telecoms firm Bharti Airtel, has provided Rs 200m ($2.8m) in funding for Editorji Technologies, the India-based owner of an app that publishes 15-second news summation videos, VCCircle reported on Tuesday, citing regulatory filings. Editorji had previously received approximately $1.5m in funding from newspaper owner HT Media in May this year.
Food ingredients developer Griffith Foods led a $2.5m seed round on Tuesday for ReGrained, the US-based developer of an ingredients platform that can help users discover ways to convert food by-products and waste into superfoods. Blu1877, the VC and innovation hub formed by packaged food producer Barilla Group, also invested in the round, as did private equity group Telluric Foods, and the proceeds will be used to enhance ReGrained’s technology and commercialise its business.
Switzerland-based identity authentication technology developer Futurae Technologies has completed a Sfr2m ($2m) financing round led by Axa Venture Partners, a corporate venturing subsidiary of insurance firm Axa, Fintechnews reported on Tuesday. Fintech-focused VC firm DIventures co-led the round, which included financial services firm Zürcher Kantonalbank and Stefan Muehlemann, the founder and chief executive of debt financing platform operator Loanboox.
Internet technology provider Google’s Assistant Investment Program supplied an undisclosed amount of funding on Monday for Aiva Health, the US-based developer of a voice-powered virtual healthcare assistant. Aiva’s existing investors include Cedars-Sinai Accelerator Powered by Techstars, the accelerator backed by care provider Cedars-Sinai, as well as Act One Ventures, Mucker Capital and Techstars. The funding, which was boosted by Alexa Fund (see above) will be used for product development.
Rever, a US-based motorcycle data provider that counts automotive manufacturer BMW among its investors, has raised more than $1m from an undisclosed Google investor and the rural growth fund set up by the state of Colorado’s Office of Economic Growth and International Trade, BusinessDen has reported. The company received $850,000 from investors including BMW’s corporate venturing unit, BMW i Ventures, in July 2016 according to a securities filing, and had secured an additional $1.9m as of May this year, according to another filing.
Auctus Biologics, a US-based startup developing therapies based on a newly discovered antibody mimetic scaffold, has completed a $1.5m seed round that included research organisation Ichor Therapeutics. Auctus, described as a portfolio company of Ichor, is initially focusing on modulating gut micro-flora and targeting other factors in the gut thought to be associated with age-associated diseases.
Energy Locals, an Australia-based startup that supplies renewable energy to households, has secured A$2m ($1.45m) in funding from investors including biomass power producer Cape Byron, the Sydney Morning Herald reported on Tuesday. Cape Byron made the investment as part of a deal that will involve it operating as a distribution partner for Energy Locals, and the funding will support its expansion into the states of Victoria and South Australia.
India-based startup studio operator Technology 9 Labs (T9L) has received an undisclosed amount of funding from recruitment firm MyNavi Corporation and VC firm Spiral Ventures, the Economic Times reported on Tuesday. T9L has worked with 19 startups since it was founded in 2014 and aims to partner with a further 200 across India, Southeast Asia, Latin America and Africa over the next five years.
Financial services firm Icici Bank has agreed to pay Rs 100m ($1.3m) for an 8.9% stake in India-based financial remittance service Avenues Payment India, Hindu Business Line has reported, citing a regulatory filing. Founded in 2012, Avenues is active in the business-to-business and business-to-consumer segments, and operates in India, the UK and Australia.
Hyas, a Canada-based attribution intelligence platform that counts software provider Microsoft as an investor, secured an undisclosed amount of funding from VC firm Susa Ventures on Monday. The company raised $6.2m last month in a series A round led by Microsoft unit M12 and backed by Startup Capital Ventures, 205 Capital, Wesley Clover, Tim Eades and Tom Noonan.
Go Ventures, the corporate venturing fund set up by on-demand ride provider Go-Jek, has invested an undisclosed amount in Indonesia-based digital media company Narasi TV, DealStreetAsia reported on Tuesday. Founded in 2017, Narasi concentrates on news, cultural and current affairs content.
Salesforce Ventures, the corporate venturing arm of customer relationship management software producer Salesforce, made a $250,000 investment yesterday in CarServ, the US-based creator of a software platform that helps automotive repair services interact with customers more effectively. CarServ secured the funding through its victory in Dreampitch, the startup contest held by Salesforce and Deutsche Telekom’s T-Mobile for Business division.
