US-based Pepper IoT launched its internet-of-things (IoT) operating system yesterday alongside its announcement of an $8.5m series B round featuring communications security provider Comporium Communications, Leawood Ventures, KCRise Fund, Royal Street Ventures and OpenAir Equity Partners. Pepper now plans to introduce additional consumer IoT products over the upcoming months.
France-based cryptocurrency and blockchain security technology startup Ledger secured $7m yesterday in a series A round backed by Maif Avenir, the corporate venturing vehicle for insurance provider Maif, as well as Xange, Wicklow Capital, GDTRE, Libertus Capital, Digital Currency Group, Whittemore Collection, Kima Ventures, BHB Network and angel investor Nicolas Pinto. Ledger had raised $1.5m in a February 2015 seed round led by Xange that included Alain Tingaud Innovations and various angel investors.
Electronics manufacturer Panasonic has led a $6.5m series A round for Drivemode, the developer of a platform for safe smartphone use in cars. The round included insurance holding company Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Venture Capital, Innovative Venture Fund Investment, which forms part of IT equipment producer NEC Corporation’s leasing subsidiary, NEC Capital Solutions, and venture capital firm Miyako Capital, and follows approximately $2.7m of funding from investors including VC firm Incubate Fund.
SB Drive, a Japan-based autonomous car technology developer, has received ¥680m ($6.1m) in funding from internet company Yahoo Japan and telecommunications and internet group SoftBank. Yahoo Japan provided ¥490m, taking its share of the company to 48.6% while SoftBank supplied ¥190m, taking its total investment in SB Drive to ¥510m and retaining a 51.1% stake. SoftBank launched SB Drive in April 2016 with automated driving technology producer Advanced Smart Mobility, which still holds a 0.3% stake.
United Internet acquired a 29.9% stake in Germany-based cloud marketing technology provider RankingCoach on Tuesday for an amount reported by The Whir to be €5m ($5.4m). The investment, which will support global expansion and an increase in the range of RankingCoach’s services, was made alongside the formation of a commercial agreement whereby United Internet subsidiary 1&1 Internet will make use of the startup’s software.
Cosmetics manufacturer L’Occitane has provided Rs 350m ($5.4m) of bridge financing for India-based online beauty product seller and services provider MyGlamm, Times of India has reported. MyGlamm received $6m in an April 2016 round led by L’Occitane that included Brand Capital, an investment subsidiary of media company Times Group, as well as alternative asset management firm Tano Capital, and now plans to raise between $30m and $40m, CEO Darpan Sanghvi said.
SpyBiotech, a UK-based biochemical superglue spinout of Oxford University, launched today with £4m ($5m) of seed funding from investors including GV, a corporate venturing subsidiary of internet technology group Alphabet. Oxford Sciences Innovation, which invests as the commercialisation capital vehicle for the university, led the round.
Aviva Ventures, the corporate venturing arm of insurance provider Aviva, invested an undisclosed amount in UK-based diagnostics device developer Owlstone Medical on Monday. Owlstone Medical, a spinout of chemical detection equipment producer Owlstone, said in a statement the investment increased its overall funding to $23.5m, and it follows $7m provided at the time of its 2016 launch and $11.6m in funding from undisclosed existing investors in January this year.
Hundredrooms, the Spain-based operator of a holiday accommodation marketplace focused on Spanish speaking countries, raised €4m ($4.3m) on Monday in a round that included media companies Mediaset and Atresmedia. VC firm Seaya Ventures led the round, which also featured financial services firm Bankinter, Inveready and Media Digital Ventures, and which boosted the company’s total funding to €11m since 2014.
Chute, the US-based developer of an online platform for user-generated enterprise content, closed a series B round featuring Salesforce Ventures, the strategic investment subsidiary of enterprise software provider Salesforce.com, as well as Foundry Group and US Venture Partners (USVP) on Wednesday. Although Chute did not disclose the size of the round, a securities filing indicates it had raised $4m for the round as of January 2017, and the capital follows $12.7m from backers including Foundry Group, USVP and Freestyle Capital in earlier rounds.
Power and automation equipment manufacturer Yaskawa Electric Corporation has invested an undisclosed sum in Finland-based kinetic energy technology developer Teraloop. The deal comes after Teraloop began raising funds for a series A round in July 2016, in which it had targeted €3m ($3.3m), and will be used to build a prototype of Teraloop’s technology with a goal of bringing it to market within two years.
Snapcart, the Indonesia-based creator of a cashback app for supermarkets, has secured $3m in a pre-series A round featuring SPH Media Fund and Sinar Mas Digital Ventures, respective subsidiaries of media company Singapore Press Holdings and conglomerate Sinar Mas, E27 reported on Monday. Wavemakers Partners and Ardent Capital also contributed to the round, which will go towards enhancing the Optical Character Recognition technology Snapcart uses to scan receipts.
US-based skincare brand True Botanicals has received $3m in a seed round led by Unilever Ventures, the strategic investment subsidiary of consumer goods manufacturer Unilever, Business of Fashion reported yesterday. Mats Lederhausen, managing partner of investment firm Be-Cause, also participated in the round, which True Botanicals will use to further develop technology such as an online quiz that helps match products to consumers.
Customer engagement software producer Capillary Technologies has invested an undisclosed amount in Exclusife, an India-based developer of customer relationship management software for the retail industry, the Economic Times reported on Tuesday. The funding will support Exclsife’s expansion from 22 Indian cities, where it serves a total of about 4,500 small and medium-sized businesses, to 33.
US-based social video publisher Keli Network has received $2m in funding from Broadway Video Ventures, the corporate venturing arm of entertainment producer Broadway Video, as well as Partech Ventures, OneRagTime and unnamed angel investors. Keli Network intends to use the funding to scale exposure of the 1,000 videos it releases on social media platforms each month.
GE Digital, a subsidiary of industrial and power product manufacturer General Electric, has provided $2m for US-based startup accelerator operator Alchemist Accelerator to support an initiative for industrial internet-of-things technology developers, TechCrunch reported on Wednesday. GE Digital vice-president Khozema Shipchandler said the company plans to contribute to follow-on rounds closed by participants and could hypothetically also acquire selected startups.
BlueCross BlueShield Venture Partners, the corporate venturing representative of health insurer Blue Cross Blue Shield Association, supplied an undisclosed amount of series B funding to US-based health screening services provider Higi on Wednesday. Higi had previously raised more than $40m from unnamed investors in a January 2016 round.
Berliner Volksbank Ventures, the fintech investment arm of financial services firm Berliner Volksbank, has invested an undisclosed amount in Germany-based online banking software developer Figo, according to Deutsche Startups. The investment took Figo’s overall funding to €11m ($12m) and follows a $7.2m series B round in November 2016 led by DB1 Ventures, the corporate venturing arm of stock exchange operator Deutsche Börse Group.
Vidsy, the UK-based operator of an online network that matches businesses with creative marketers, has raised £1.3m ($1.6m) in funding from investors including media company Guardian Media Group (GMG), The Drum reported on Wednesday. GMG was joined in the round by Delin Capital, Coral Reef, Force Over Mass and Ascension Ventures.
Brand Capital has supplied Rs 20m ($310,000) in funding for India-based personal assistant app developer DoneThing, the Economic Times reported on Monday. The financing, which follows $230,000 from investment firm Swastika Capital, will be used to grow the amount of services DoneThing provides as well as the number of cities in which it operates.
Jhakaas Technologies, the India-based creator of an online network that lists local offline businesses, has received Rs 10m ($155,000) from management consultancy Stelcore Management Services and angel investors Malini Patel, CP Sanadhya and Anjani Prasad, VCCircle reported yesterday. The capital will support the enhancement of the startup’s technology and an increase in awareness of it among small businesses.