Internet Capital Advisors, the India-based operator of machine learning-equipped online lending platform Stashfin, has received $5m in pre-series A funding from Snow Leopard Ventures, the corporate venturing subsidiary of conglomerate Kirloskar Group, as well as Alto Partners, GrowX Ventures and assorted angel investors, VCCircle reported on Wednesday. Stashfin was launched in September 2016 and operates in four Indian cities.
India-based in-video discovery technology developer Tagos Design Innovations has raised $5m in series A funding from investors including media and entertainment company Zee Entertainment Enterprises, Inc42 reported today. Zee, which paid $2.5m for a 12.5% stake in Tagos earlier this month, invested alongside an undisclosed corporation and an unnamed venture capital fund.
Office supplies provider Office Depot has invested an amount reported by PE Hub to be $4.8m in US-based physical asset management software startup Centriq Technology as part of an exclusive licensing deal. The round included VC firm Ringleader Ventures, according to PE Hub, and Office Depot plans to partner Centriq to develop a business-focused version of the latter’s platform.
Payment services firm Visa agreed on Tuesday to make an investment of undisclosed size in online payment technology provider Klarna as the forerunner to the establishment of a formal strategic partnership. Founded in 2005, Klarna had previously raised funding from investors including Sequoia Capital, Creandum, Atomico, General Atlantic, DST, Wellington Management and Wellcome Trust.
InFarm, a Germany-based startup working on vertical indoor farming technology, has closed a €4m ($4.5m) funding round that included design consultancy Ideo and data analysis company Demand Analytics, TechCrunch reported on Monday. Cherry Ventures led the round, which also featured Quadia, LocalGlobe, Atlantic Food Labs and undisclosed angel investors.
Online payment services provider PayPal has supplied an undisclosed amount of funding for LendUp, the US-based owner of a platform that provides loans to customers who are unable to secure finance elsewhere, TechCrunch reported on Wednesday. LendUp had previously received almost $260m in debt and equity financing from backers including GV, the corporate venturing unit formerly known as Google Ventures, Y Combinator, Thomvest Ventures, QED Investors, Data Collective, Susa Ventures, Radicle Impact, Bronze Investments, Kapor Capital, SV Angel, Eagle Cliff and entrepreneur Yuri Milner.
State-owned investment fund Sustainable Development Technology Canada has invested C$5.5m ($4.2m) in Ranovus, a Canada-based interconnect technology developer investigating more energy efficient methods of storing data in the cloud. Ranovus had previously raised $35m across two rounds from T-Venture, a subsidiary of telecommunications group Deutsche Telekom, as well as Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement Systems, BDC Venture Capital, Azure Capital Partners and Export Development Canada.
Geoquant, the Israel-based developer of a real-time political risk management platform, has received $4m of seed funding from XL Innovate, the strategic investment arm of insurance company Xl Catlin, and VC fund Aleph VC, Globes has reported. It will use the funding to develop and expand its product, and to increase its customer base. Martha Notaras, a venture capitalist at XL Innovate, will join Geoquant’s board together with Michael Eisenberg of Aleph VC.
Lockheed Martin Ventures, the corporate venturing vehicle for aerospace company Lockheed Martin, invested an undisclosed amount in US-based nanosatellite and microsatellite vehicle and services provider Terran Orbital yesterday. The deal, which included cash and in-kind investments, will precede an expansion of the existing relationship between the companies, which have partnered on missions for US government agencies the Department of Defense and NASA in the past.
UK-based smart battery developer Moixa has secured £2.5m ($3.25m) in funding, £1.5m of which was equity funding, with energy utility Tokyo Electric Power Company and First Imagine! Ventures each contributing £500,000, Manchester Evening News reported on Wednesday. Local government organisation Greater Manchester Combined Authority provided the other £1m through a financing facility in connection with Moixa opening a regional sales and delivery centre in the area.
Casino and hotel operator Casino Pride Group has paid an undisclosed amount for a 30% stake in Baadshah Gaming, the India-based operator of an online platform that offers poker, fantasy sports and gambling games such as rummy, VCCircle reported on Wednesday. The investment was made as part of an agreement whereby the startup’s Baadshah Gaming Live service will be available at Casino Pride.
Solar inverter producer Tabuchi Electric invested $3m in US-based ground-mount solar project developer Nuance Energy on Monday as part of an agreement whereby the companies will seek out ways to synergise Tabuchi’s products with Nuance’s Osprey PowerPlatform technology. Tabuchi is also looking to access ways to expand its solar power generation and storage systems from the residential to the commercial market.
Bizcast, the Japan-based creator of a platform called BitStar that matches online video personalities with marketing opportunities, has received ¥300m ($2.7m) in series B funding from VC firm Global Brain, The Bridge reported on Monday. Game producer Colopl had provided an undisclosed seven-figure dollar amount for the company in a 2015 series A round, after VC firm East Ventures supplied it with seed capital the year before.
Flip, the US-based operator of an online platform that enables users to break housing leases or organise long term sublets, has raised $2.2m from Union Square Ventures, Techstars New York City and Collaborative Fund, TechCrunch reported on Tuesday. The startup had previously received $1.2m in seed capital in June 2016 from BBG Ventures, a CVC unit formed by online media group AOL, as well as Techstars Ventures, V1 Ventures, MetaProp NYC and angel investors Joanne Wilson and Scott Belsky.
Niki.ai, the India-based creator of an artificial intelligence-equipped personal assistant, has secured $2m in a series A round featuring SAP.IO, the corporate venturing arm of enterprise software provider SAP, VC firm Unilazer Ventures and private investors Haresh Chawla and Arihant Patni, the Economic Times reported on Wednesday. The round followed more than Rs 80m ($1.2m at current exchange rates) from investors including India Value Fund Advisors and Unilazer Ventures across multiple rounds.
Athletic apparel producer Lululemon has supplied an undisclosed amount of funding for Canada-based cycling apparel brand 7mesh Industries, Fortune has reported. The investment will lead to 7mesh working with Lululemon’s research and development division, Whitespace, to create new products.
Employee benefits software provider Zeta has paid an undisclosed amount between Rs 50m and Rs 100m ($770,000 to $1.55m) for a 9% stake in India-based cloud services provider ZingHR, VCCircle reported yesterday, citing a company spokesperson. Other investors in ZingHR, a graduate of software provider Microsoft’s Accelerator initiative, include conglomerate Triton, Accel and Mumbai Angels, according to VCCircle.
Collab+Sesame, the VC fund formed by children’s television producer Sesame Workshop and VC firm Collaborative Fund, led a $1.4m seed round for US-based kids online education provider Outschool on Monday. Y Combinator, SV Angel, FundersClub, Spectrum28, Learn Capital and angel investor Caterina Fake also participated in the round, which will be used to expand the Outschool platform.
Nissay Capital, the corporate venturing arm of insurance provider Nippon Life, has provided ¥150m ($1.3m) in series A funding for HoloEyes, a Japan-based startup working on virtual reality technology for use in the medical industry, The Bridge reported on Wednesday. The investment came after HoloEyes received $90,000 from Tokyo VR Startups, the accelerator in which it participated as part of its second batch.
Thailand-based mobile payment startup Digio has closed a series A round of undisclosed size that included InVent, the strategic investment arm of telecommunications company InTouch, Tech in Asia reported yesterday. Digio intends to use the funding and InTouch’s network to increase its headcount and expand into other Southeast Asian countries.
OMG Digital, a Ghana-based digital media startup that produces Africa-focused content, secured $1.1m on Monday in a seed round featuring Comcast Ventures, the corporate venturing arm of mass media group Comcast, which invested through its Catalyst Fund. The round’s other participants were Kima Ventures, Soma Capital, Social Capital, M&Y Growth Partners and Macro Ventures, as well as several angel investors, and the cash will fund the launch of new offices in the capital cities of Ghana, Nigeria and Kenya.
InMotion Ventures, the corporate VC arm of automotive manufacturer Jaguar Land Rover, has provided an undisclosed amount of seed funding to four startups, it said on Tuesday. The startups are pay-per-mile car insurance provider By Miles; Wluper, the creator of an intelligent journey planner; bespoke coach service provider Zeelo and Dovu, the developer of a transport-focused application programming interface marketplace.
Market research firm IRI and Unilever Ventures, the corporate venturing subsidiary of consumer goods producer Unilever, launched a US-based artificial intelligence and machine learning technology startup called MachineVantage on Tuesday. MachineVantage will use advanced technology to extract marketing innovations from customer data.
Financial services firm BBVA has partnered nanotechnology, biometric and document verification technology provider Das-Nano to form a biometrics technology startup called Veridas. The companies did not reveal whether they have provided funding for Veridas, which will seek to develop more secure client identification and authentication systems that are also easier to use.