US-based dairy products manufacturer Good Culture has closed an $8m funding round led by Cavu Venture Partners with participation from 301, the corporate venturing subsidiary of food producer General Mills, and Almanac Insights. The money will allow Good Culture to expand its distribution network and drive product development. Good Culture previously raised $3m from 301, Cavu Venture Partners and the Eisner family in September 2016, after 301 and Cavu had already contributed to a $2.1m round in March the same year.
Gradient Ventures, the artificial intelligence (AI)-focused investment vehicle of technology and internet conglomerate Alphabet., led a $7m series A round today for Elsa, a US-based developer of a mobile app that relies on artificial intelligence to teach users English. Existing backers Monk’s Hill Ventures and SOSV also participated in the round, which brought Elsa’s total funding to $12m. The series A capital will allow Elsa to explore new markets, including Japan, Indonesia and India.
By Miles, the UK-based operator of a real-time, pay-as-you-drive automotive insurance platform, has raised £5m ($6.6m) in a series A round led by Octopus Ventures. The round also featured existing shareholders InMotion Ventures, the strategic investment arm of carmaker Jaguar Land Rover, as well as Insurtech Gateway and JamJar Investments. The same three investors had previously supplied $1.3m in seed funding in July 2018.
HomeLane, an India-based home furnishing e-commerce platform backed by media group Bennett, Coleman and Co’s corporate venturing arm Brand Capital, has raised $4.6m in series D1 funding from JSW Ventures, the investment unit of conglomerate JSW, Accel Partners and Sequoia India. HomeLane previously raised $68m in funding, including $3.5m in a round backed by Brand Capital in June 2018. Its shareholders also include Baring PE, Aarin Capital, GrowthStory and RB Investments.
Bundl Technologies, the parent company of online food delivery company Swiggy, has put Rs 320m ($4.4m) into India-based ready-to-cook company Fingerlix, according to Paper.vc. The cash injection forms part of Fingerlix’s series C round, which has also been backed Accel Partners and Zephyr Peacock, and has a target size of $8.9m. Founded in 2016, Fingerlix will use the capital to cope with increasing demand particularly from millennials living in cities. The company previously raised $11.3m from investors including Maverix Platforms, Zephyr Peacock India and Accel Partners.
US-based human resources platform Sapling has obtained $4m in a seed round led by Alphabet’s Gradient Ventures. The round also featured Tuesday Capital. Founded in 2016, Sapling relies on AI technology to facilitate human resources workflows in medium-sized companies.
Media company Modern Times Group has led a $2.8m series A round for Germany-based mobile gaming studio Sviper. The round also attracted existing investor Global Founders Capital and will help Sviper grow its operations and expand its business reach. Founded in 2016, Sviper’s offering includes a competitive puzzle game. The company has now raised $4.3m in total funding.
Telus Ventures, the corporate venture capital division of telecommunications firm Telus, has led a $2.4m seed round for Canada-based privacy compliance platform MedStack. The round also included ScaleUp Ventures, Panache Ventures, Ontario Centres of Excellence and assorted angel investors. Founded in 2015, MedStack’s cloud-based automation technology helps developers integrate privacy and security compliance into their apps.
Mel Science, a UK-based chemistry education company backed by diversified conglomerate Sistema, has received $2m in funding from TMT Investments as part of a larger funding round, though the target size was not revealed. Mel Science will use the cash to add additional subjects to its platform and increase sales activities in existing and new markets. Mel Science previously obtained $2.2m in funding from Sistema’s corporate venturing unit Sistema Venture Capital, in 2017 and $2.5m from the same investor a year earlier.
US-based blockchain analytics provider Coin Metrics has raised $1.9m in seed funding from financial services group Fidelity Investments, Highland Capital Partners and Dragonfly Capital, Coindesk reported on Wednesday. The round was led by Castle Island Ventures. Coin Metrics operates a platform that tracks cryptocurrency exchange activity and prices, and offers analyses of blockchain data that accounts for complex transactions.
EnTouch Controls, a US-based energy management platform developer backed by energy supplier NRG Energy and corporate joint investment venture Aster Capital, has collected $1m out of a targeted $3m round, according to a regulatory document. The company has now disclosed approximately $22.2m in funding from backers also including Egis Capital Partners, Traverse Venture Partners, Calvert Investments, Trailblazer Capital, Comerica Bank and SJF Ventures.
US-based pre-school learning app developer Bulbul has received $500,000 in funding from software producer Anblick Solutions, Xseed Partners, Operator VC and Infoblob. Founded in 2015, Bulbul produces mobile apps for children aged two to seven that teach them subjects and allow parents to track their child’s progress. The money will go towards the launch of a new preschool app and bolster Bulbul’s marketing activities.
Philippines-based ticketing provider Ticket2Me has secured $350,000 in seed funding led by diversified conglomerate Citystate, according to DealStreetAsia. Ticket2Me operates an event ticketing platform that relies on blockchain technology and has been used to sell more than 29,000 across 1,300 events to date. The funding will drive expansion efforts in the Manila and Cebu metropolitan areas and allow the company to enter Malaysia and Hong Kong, having already opened an office in Singapore.
US-based high-performance computing data storage technology developer Panasas has received an undisclosed sum from insurance provider Kewa Financial’s investment arm and investment fund Dowroc Partners. The capital will allow Panasas to drive technology and produce development, support an expansion into new markets and enable potential partnerships.
Malaysia-based end-to-end logistics services provider TresGo has collected an undisclosed amount from an unnamed local freight forwarder and government-backed agency Cradle Fund. The company, which has not disclosed any previous funding, will use the capital to further develop its cloud-based platform and boost its warehouse capacity to fulfil more than 12,000 orders per day.
IT firm Inspira Enterprise India has injected an undisclosed amount into India-based internet of things technology developer iRam Technologies. The company focuses on technologies enabling smart cities, such as smart parking systems and smart lighting. The money will go towards product development, research and development activities and recruitment. Vishal Jain, a director of Inspira, will join iRam’s board of directors.
Eunimart Multichannel, an India-based artificial intelligence-drive cross-border e-commerce platform, has obtained an undisclosed amount of bridge funding from digital services company TMT Connekt, according to VCCircle. Eunimart is working on products such as a customer relationship management tool and cataloguing services for marketplaces. The company previously obtained an undisclosed sum in a pre-series A round backed by logistics firm Agility.
One Night, a US-based same-day hotel booking app developer, has obtained an undisclosed amount of series A funding led by venture capital firm Swan and Legend. One Night was founded and incubated by hotel chain Standard International, and will use the series A capital to spin out of the corporate. One Night’s app enables users to book a room in one of more than 200 curated, independent hotels.
Singapore-based patient empowerment platform DocDoc has received a strategic investment of undisclosed size from Cyberport Macro Fund, the investment vehicle of innovation cluster Cyberport, and will open an office in the park as a result. Founded in 2012, DocDoc enables patients to find the best physicians through an AI-powered discovery platform. The funding will enable the company to expand in Hong Kong and grow its network across the region. Investment company Adam previously led a $5.5m series B round in March 2018, following an $8.6m series A in 2015 led by private investor Raymond Choong Yee How with participation from Sparklabs Global Ventures.
SpaceMarket, a Japan-based marketplace for venue rental, has received an equity investment from NTT Docomo Ventures, the corporate venturing arm of mobile phone network operator NTT Docomo, as part of a partnership agreement to webcast events such as concerts and sports games. The investment was made in late December 2018 but was only revealed this week. SpaceMarket previously received $930,000 from CyberAgent Ventures, internet company CyberAgent’s strategic investment arm, and Mizuho Capital, the VC affiliate of Mizuho Bank, in 2014.
South Korea-based fintech developer Terra has attracted an undisclosed amount from Kakao Ventures, the early-stage corporate venture capital fund of internet company Kakao. Terra is developing a price-stable cryptocurrency and will use Kakao’s investment to drive product development as it gears up for a launch in the second quarter of this year.
