Automotive manufacturer Volkswagen Group has invested an undisclosed amount in Germany-based e-mobility network communications technology developer Hubject. The startup’s founding investors are carmakers Daimler and BMW, industrial product and appliance makers Siemens and Bosch, and energy providers EnBW and RWE, the latter through its Innogy subsidiary.
Bennett Coleman & Co, the media company also known as Times Group, has invested $4.9m in US-based media content generation platform 1World Online through its corporate venturing unit, Brand Capital. 1World had previously raised about $4m from investors including Defta Partners, Altair Capital, GV Launch Gurus, Keiretsu Forum, Berkeley Angel Network, Steltec Capital and Nest HK.
XL Innovate, the strategic investment arm of insurance firm XL Catlin, has provided $4m in series A funding for Switzerland-based property and casualty ‘microinsurance’ provider Stonestep. XL Innovate director Sarah Street will join Stonestep’s board of directors in conjunction with the investment, which will enable Stonestep to expand in Asia.
Johnson & Johnson Innovation – JJDC, a subsidiary of healthcare group Johnson & Johnson, has invested an undisclosed amount in S-Biomedic, a startup that has created a way to modulate the skin microbiome for use in dermatology and cosmetics. S-Biomedic is one of four members of JLinx, a Belgium-based community for startups Johnson & Johnson established in 2016.
France-based collaborative energy supplier EkWakteur received €2m ($2.15m) in funding yesterday from Bouygues Telecom Initiatives, the corporate venturing subsidiary of telecom company Bouygues Telecom; BNP Paribas Développement, a branch of financial services firm BNP Paribas; and VC firm Aster. The startup had raised more than €240,000 on renewable energy crowdfunding platform Lumo through October 2016.
Neurable, a US-based developer of technology that facilitates interaction between the human brain and computers, has secured $2m in a seed round backed by conglomerate Kraft Group. VC firm Accomplice’s Boston Syndicate led the round, which included Point Judith Capital, Loup Ventures, NXT Ventures and undisclosed angel investors.
Textbook and educational services provider Kirihara Shoten has invested $1.3m in EnglishCentral, the US-based developer of an online English language conversation platform. EnglishCentral had previously raised $4.5m from investors including NTT Investment Partners and Google Ventures, respective subsidiaries of telecom network NTT and internet technology provider Alphabet, and VC firm Atlas Venture.
Mychango, the South Korea-based developer of a logistics platform, has received ₩1.5bn ($1.25m) in series A funding from investment holding company SV Investment Partners, according to VentureSquare. The investment came after cybersecurity software provider Fasoo provided $250,000 of funding for Mychango in June 2016.
SEB Ventures, the VC subsidiary of financial services firm SEB, has invested SEK10m ($1.1m) in Leasify, the Sweden-based creator of software that makes the management and buying of products for leasing and hiring more efficient. The funding was provided alongside a $550,000 investment by NFT Ventures, which supplied SEK3m for Leasify in April 2015, and angel investor Daniel Andersson.
VC firm NB Ventures has invested $1m in India-based health and fitness app developer HealthifyMe as part of a series A round featuring IDG Ventures India, a VC affiliate of US-based IT media firm International Data Group, YourStory reported last week. IDG Ventures participated in the $6m first close of the round in May 2016 alongside Inventus Capital and Blume Ventures, after handset manufacturer Micromax and various angel investors had provided an undisclosed amount of funding in mid-2015.
Johnson & Johnson Innovation has provided an undisclosed amount of funding for India-based connected baby monitor developer Ray IoT, Tech in Asia reported on Wednesday. The corporate supplied the capital together with Hax, the hardware accelerator Ray IoT joined in October 2016.
Axiata Digital Innovation Fund, a corporate venturing subsidiary of telecom group Axiata, has supplied approximately $560,000 in funding for VAV Apps, a Malaysia-based developer of technology that uses inaudible sound waves to send digital content to mobile devices, DealStreetAsia reported yesterday. VAV had previously received about $220,000 in grants from Cradle Fund and Malaysian government agency Unit Peneraju Agenda Bumiputera.