Digi.me, the UK-based developer of a personal data storage platform, closed its series A round at $7m on Tuesday after adding $1m from impact investment firm Omidyar Network. Reinsurance firm Swiss Re led the first tranche of the round, which closed in July 2016, and Digi.me is working with health, finance, fast-moving consumer goods and telecommunications companies on projects, and plans to establish a living lab before the end of 2016.
US-based credit information services provider SavvyMoney has closed its series D round after raising an undisclosed amount of funding from information solutions firm TransUnion, which led the round, TB Capital and Tugboat Ventures. SavvyMoney has not disclosed information regarding its previously funding, but it secured the new funding alongside the formation of a partnership that will involve TransUnion helping it to grow its distribution capabilities within the financial services sector.
Inverse, the US-based operator of a digital media property catering to millennial male ‘nerd culture’, closed a $6m series A round on Monday led by Crosslink Capital that included Bertelsmann Digital Media Investments (BDMI), the corporate venturing arm of media firm Bertelsmann, as well as Social Starts, Bialla Venture Partners and Vast Ventures. The round took Inverse’s total funding to almost $8m and follows seed funding from BDMI, Greycroft Partners, Crosslink Capital, Social Capital and Rothenberg Ventures in August 2015.
India-based customer experience management software developer CloudCherry has raised $6m in series A funding from networking equipment producer Cisco’s corporate venturing unit Cisco Investments, IDG Ventures India, a venture capital affiliate of media company International Data Group, and Vertex Ventures, the Economic Times has reported. IDG Ventures India and Chennai Angels had provided $1m in seed capital to CloudCherry in June 2015.
Dilafor, a Sweden-based company developing drugs to treat obstetric indications, secured SEK51m ($5.9m) in funding on Tuesday from diabetes treatment developer Pila, Lee’s Healthcare Industry Fund, a subsidiary of biopharmaceutical research company Lee’s Pharmaceutical, Rosetta Capital and KDev Investments, an investment fund jointly owned by Rosetta and life sciences investment firm Karolinska Development. Founded in 2003, Dilafor’s other shareholders include care provider Praktikertjänst and the state-backed Foundation for Baltic and European Studies.
Israel-based threat detection software startup SecBi raised $5m in a series A round featuring Orange Digital Ventures, the corporate venturing vehicle for telecom group Orange, on Tuesday. The round included Connecticut Innovations, angel investor Amichai Shulman and existing backer Jerusalem Venture Partners, and will support the launch of SecBi’s first product and the expansion of its sales and marketing in North America and Europe.
Construction firm JE Dunn led a $5m series A round for US-based smart building maintenance software developer Site 1001 on Monday. The round, which also featured Flyover Capital, Tifec and Ward Ventures, will enable Site 1001 to expand its engineering team and strengthen its sales and marketing capabilities.
US-based cloud gaming portal developer LiquidSky closed a $4m seed round on Tuesday led by consumer electronics manufacturer Samsung’s Global Innovation Center and backed by strategic advisors Scott McNealy and Bill Raduchel. Raduchel is also chairman of LiquidSky, which is currently operating its desktop-as-a-service platform in closed beta.
Sports management company Procam International has paid an undisclosed amount for a 26% stake in India-based online event registration and ticketing services platform developer Eventjini, VCCircle reported on Monday. Procam has organised several marathons in India and plans to use Eventjini’s technology to facilitate communication for runners who can register and access information.
Denmark-based tissue regeneration device developer Reapplix closed €2.7m ($3m) in funding on Tuesday from Novo Seeds, a subsidiary of pharmaceutical firm Novo, as well as Seed Capital Denmark and state-owned investment fund Vækstfonden. The capital is intended to carry Reapplix forward to 2018 when it will raise additional cash to support the commercial launch of its lead product, LeucoPatch.
France-based medical device developer Bioxis Pharmaceuticals has raised €2.5m ($2.8m) from medical aesthetic technology provider Juvamed and two undisclosed family offices. Juvamed invested as part of a commercialisation agreement for two dermal filler technologies being developed by Bioxis, which was founded in 2010 as Cytosial Biomedic.
Operational intelligence software provider Splunk has invested undisclosed amounts in US-based cybersecurity startup Acalvio Technologies and natural language analysis technology developer Insight Engines, it revealed on Tuesday. Acalvio emerged from stealth in June 2016 with $17m from investors including Accel Ventures, Ignition Partners and Eileses Capital, while Insight Engines’ backers include GV, a subsidiary of internet and technology group Alphabet, and Data Collective, though it has not revealed details of their investments.
United Arab Emirates-based financial services comparison platform Compareit4me.com has received $2.4m in bridge funding from STC Ventures, the corporate venturing arm of telecom company Saudi Telecom, as well as Wamda Capital and the state-owned Dubai Silicon Oasis Authority, Gulf Business has reported. The same three investors provided $3m for Compareit4me in September 2015.
Media group Hubert Burda has paid a seven-figure dollar amount for a 25% stake in Thailand-based shopping search engine operator Priceza, through its Burda Principal Investments (BPI) subsidiary. BPI was the sole investor in Priceza’s series B round, according to DealStreetAsia, which also reported that the round included the exit of CyberAgent Ventures, a subsidiary of internet company CyberAgent, after the unit invested a rumoured $1m in Priceza in 2013.
ThisWay Global, the UK-based creator of machine learning technology for the recruitment sector, has raised £1.6m ($2.1m) in a seed round led by Imperial Innovations that included human resources technology provider Grupa Pracuj and Jetstream Ventures, Tech City News reported on Tuesday. The funding will support international growth and further development of ThisWay’s platform.
E-commerce company Flipkart has provided Rs 106m ($1.6m) of funding for WeHive Technologies, the India-based operator of parenting-focused social network TinyStep, VCCircle reported on Tuesday. Flipkart invested $500,000 in TinyStep in January 2016, shortly after it was launched, and the latest investment increased its stake in the startup, now valued at $5m, to 47.2%.
Insurance firm Allianz has invested an undisclosed amount in Italy-based robo-advisor developer MoneyFarm, Business Insider reported on Monday. MoneyFarm raised €16m ($17.7m) from Cabot Square Capital and United Ventures in November 2015, after securing €2.65m from Principia SGR in 2012.
Media company New York Times and angel investors Yannick Bolloré and Mariska Hargitay have invested $500,000 in TheSkimm, the US-based publisher of an online newsletter for young women, Recode reported on Monday. The capital will be added to the $8m of funding TheSkimm raised from 21st Century Fox, RRE Ventures, Greycroft Partners and Homebrew in June 2016 at a $55m valuation, taking its overall funding to $15.4m.
Food and beverage holding company Rhombus Food has invested an undisclosed sum in VMO Rocks, the Malaysia-based operator of an online listings platform for event venues and related services, Tech in Asia reported on Monday. VMO has taken almost $170,000 in bookings in the past 15 months and has about 650 venues and service providers listed.
Guazi, a China-based consumer-to-consumer used car marketplace minority-owned by markerplace 58.com, secured an undisclosed amount of capital on Wednesday from Matrix Partners China and Blue Run Ventures. 58.com holds a 34% in the company following the deal. Guazi closed a $250m series A round earlier this month reportedly backed by Sequoia Capital, GX Capital, Hike Capital, Welight Capital and StarAngelFund.
Accelerator Y Combinator and Metamorphic Ventures have co-led an $1.8m funding round for Deepgram, a US-based artificial intelligence technology developer.
Germany-based blockchain database provider BigchainDB attracted €3m in series A capital on Wednesday from a consortium featuring renewable energy company Innogy, Digital Currency Group, Earlybird Venture Capital and Anthemis Group. BigchainDB’s technology allows developers to create blockchain proof-of-concepts, platforms and applications.
Microsoft Ventures, the corporate venturing division of software company Microsoft, led a $9m series A round for Israel-based software development platform Aqua Security. TLV Partners and Shlomo Kramer also provided cash, having previously supplied $4.5m in seed capital. Aqua Security’s technology enables developers to create applications in secure environments called virtual containers.
Internet company Tencent has taken part in a $3m funding round for Skymind, a US-based company working on an open-source deep-learning library for coding language Java, TechCrunch reported on Wednesday. SV Angel, GreatPoint Ventures, Mandra Capital and accelerator Y Combinator also participated.
KLab Venture Partners, the investment vehicle of social gaming firm KLab, led a funding round of undisclosed size for Japan-based price comparison site Pricebook on Thursday. The round also included price comparison website Aucfan. The money will support an expansion into different product areas and a geographic expansion beyond Jakarta. Global Brain Corporation, IMJ Investment Partners and Hiro Mashita previously invested an undisclosed sum in March 2015, following $150,000 in seed capital from Incubate Fund in 2013.
US-based biotechnology company Aura Biosciences raised $8m in funding yesterday. Chiesi Ventures, the investment unit of pharmaceutical firm Chiesi Group, Advent Partners, Ysios Capital, Alexandria Venture Investments and individual investors provided the latest cash injection. The company had previously attracted $22m in a series B round featuring Chiesi Ventures and scientific measuring instruments manufacturer Li-Cor Biosciences in March 2015.
Simpplr, a US-based employee productivity platform, attracted $6m yesterday in a series A round led by Norwest Venture Partners. Salesforce Ventures, the corporate venturing arm of cloud computing company Salesforce, supported the round that will enable Simpplr to accelerate product development.
Holtzbrinck Ventures, the VC firm spun out of media company Georg von Holtzbrinck, backed an $8.25m funding round yesterday for UK-based social shopping platform Depop. Balderton Capital, Creandum, Red Circle Investments and Lumar also took part. The funds will help Depop push ahead with its expansion into the rest of Europe and the US.
US-based data storage provider Caringo, backed by telecoms firm Vodafone, has obtained $8.8m in funding from New Science Venture and Advantage Capital Partners, increasing its total funding raised to date to $33m. Vodafone’s investment arm Vodafone Ventures contributed to a funding round of undisclosed size in 2008 alongside Austin Ventures.
Fair Ventures, the investment vehicle of financial holding firm Fairfax Financial Holdings, provided $1.9m in seed funding to Canada-based Dozr, which operates a marketplace for builders to rent equipment, TechCrunch wrote on Thursday.
E-commerce group Alibaba’s Hong Kong-focused vehicle Entrepreneurs Fund has put an undisclosed amount of cash into three startups, Tech in Asia reported today. The companies in question are online fashion store Grana, ready-made meal delivery service Nosh and recipe website DayDayCook.
Telstra Ventures, the corporate venturing subsidiary of telecoms firm Telstra, has injected an undisclosed amount in Indonesia-based C88 Financial Technologies’ series B round, Tech in Asia wrote today. Monk’s Hill Ventures, Kejora Ventures, Captii Ventures, Altitude Partners, Jasrag Investments and assorted angel investors also participated. C88 operates a range of financial services-orientated websites in Indonesia and in the Philippines.
– Additional reporting by Robert Lavine