US-based data storage technology developer Noobaa has raised an undisclosed amount of funding from investors including content delivery network Akamai, equity crowdfunding platform OurCrowd and VC firm Jerusalem Venture Partners. The money will go towards the product launch of Noobaa’s enterprise offering and support continued expansion efforts in the US.
Aviva Ventures, the corporate venturing arm of insurance provider Aviva, and reinsurance firm Munich Re have co-led a £5m ($6.4m) series A round for UK-based insurance technology developer Neos, according to Tech City News. Neos relies on smart home devices to protect houses from theft, water damage and fire – providing real-time updates to homeowners through a smartphone app and offering 24/7 assistance. In October 2016, Neos obtained £1m in a seed round backed by Eos Venture Partners and assorted angel investors.
US-based children’s publisher Epic has raised $8m in a series C round that included Rakuten Ventures, the investment division of internet company Rakuten, Reach Capital, which led the round, as well as Translink Capital, Menlo Ventures, WI Harper, Brighteye Ventures and Innovation Endeavors. The cash will go towards accelerated growth, drive recruitment and support further development of Epic’s subscription-based platform that gives children unlimited access to e-books and videos. The company previously obtained $8m in 2015, according to a regulatory filing, though details about other rounds could not be confirmed.
US-based virtual reality games developer Playsnak has obtained $1.2m in seed funding from games publisher Gumi, bringing the startup’s seed round to a $2.5m final close. K Cube Ventures had previously provided an initial $1.3m tranche last year. The money will be used to develop Playsnak’s pipeline.
Telecoms firm Swisscom, through its corporate venturing unit Swisscom Ventures, has participated in a Sfr8.5 ($8.75m) series C round for Switzerland-based anti-fraud software developer NetGuardians, according to StartupTicker. Freemont Management also support the round, which will enable NetGuardians to bolster international expansion efforts and develop its financial crime prevention platform further. NetGuardians previously obtained Sfr5m in a series B round in 2014 from business consultancy Orbium, SBT Venture Capital, the venture capital unit of Russian part state-owned Sberbank, and VC firm Polytech Ventures. Polytech previously supplied an undisclosed amount in series A funding.
Contract research organisation Genae has made an investment of undisclosed size in its Japan-based peer Meditrix, which focuses on the medical devices sector. Genae may acquire Meditrix, though details were not revealed.
Telecoms group SoftBank made a “significant” equity investment on Wednesday in Osisoft, a US-based operational intelligence company that collects and analyses data on manufacturing equipment and processes to help businesses streamline their systems. As part of the agreement, SoftBank and Osisoft will collaborate on the development of new products and services in the industrial internet of things sector. SoftBank will also help strengthen Osisoft’s market presence in additional markets.
US-based database technology producer MarkLogic collected a strategic investment from IT services provider NTT Data on Wednesday. The agreement will also have the two companies expand their existing partnership to focus on joint customers in Europe, North and South America and Japan. NTT Data and MarkLogic have been partners since 2012.
UK-based consumer insights app developer OnePulse has closed a $2.07m seed round co-led by public relations conglomerate Next Fifteen Communications and Foundation Capital, FinSMEs reported on Wednesday. The investment follows a previous $1.07m round co-led by Beacon Capital and consultancy BBH Zag. OnePulse’s app enables companies to survey groups of highly targeted users with up to three questions. The cash will support a US expansion this coming summer.
US-based software-defined network and services provider Zenlayer closed a $10m series A round on Wednesday that featured NSFocus, a distributed denial of service mitigation provider, and F&G Ventures, which led the round, as well as other unnamed backers. Zenlayer will now accelerate the development of its platform and aim to boost its customer base of currently more than 60 data centres around the world.
Legend Star, an investment vehicle of conglomerate Legend Holdings, has co-led an angel round worth tens of millions of renminbi (RMB10m = $1.5m) in China-based autonomous driving technology developer Qingzhi Technology, China Money Network reported yesterday. The round was co-led by Northern Light Venture Capital and Longjitaihe Group’s Harmony Fund. Qingzhi focuses on commercial vehicles and launched its first product earlier this year, an advanced emergency braking system.
Managed data centre services provider ServerCentral has injected an undisclosed amount into Turing Group, a US-based company focused on cloud-based management services around Amazon Web Services, FinSMEs reported yesterday. The investment forms part of a strategic partnership agreement that will give ServerCentral access to Turing’s offering.