US-based nanochemistry technology developer Light Polymers completed a $5m series B round on Wednesday that was co-led by TEL Venture Capital, the corporate venturing vehicle for energy utility Tokyo Electron, and Tsingda International Venture Capital. The round came four months after Light Polymers raised $24.3m in series A funding led by a consortium of undisclosed private investors.
VW Credit, a financial services subsidiary of automotive manufacturer Volkswagen, agreed yesterday to invest an undisclosed amount in US-based car purchase financing platform AutoGravity. The deal comes five months after another carmaker, Daimler, provided an undisclosed amount of funding in the double-digit million euro range for AutoGravity, and Volkswagen has already utilised AutoGravity’s technology for its own vehicle financing app, Volkswagen Credit.
Denmark-based obesity therapeutics developer Antag Therapeutics has received €2.7m ($3.1m) in funding from Novo Seeds, the early-stage investment arm of pharmaceutical firm Novo, according to Labiotech.eu. Antag is working on peptide-based treatments for metabolic diseases related to diet, using research conducted at the University of Copenhagen.
GV, the corporate venturing subsidiary of internet technology conglomerate Alphabet formerly known as Google Ventures, yesterday invested an undisclosed amount in Decibel Therapeutics, a US-based developer of drugs to combat hearing loss. Decibel had previously raised $52m in a 2015 series A round led by venture capital firm Third Rock Ventures that included SR One, the corporate VC vehicle for pharmaceutical company GlaxoSmithKline.
India-based energy analytics provider Ecolibrium Energy has secured $2.6m in funding from JLL Technology Ventures, a corporate venturing subsidiary of real estate services provider Jones Lang LaSalle, as well as VC fund Infuse Ventures and an unnamed angel investor, the Economic Times reported on Tuesday. Infuse invested $600,000 in Ecolibrium in 2013, alongside a $1m investment by International Finance Corporation, the private investment arm of multilateral institution the World Bank.
Fast Forward, a US-based accelerator focusing on non-profit startups, has raised $2.2m in philanthropic funding from investors including Google.org, a subsidiary of Alphabet, TechCrunch has reported. The round included mass media conglomerate Comcast NBCUniversal, telecommunications firm AT&T, enterprise software providers Zendesk, Twilio and Hewlett Packard Enterprise, BlackRock, Omidyar Network and the Nasiri and Rita Allen Foundations.
Sky invested $2m in US-based connected device technology startup Circle Media Labs on Monday, in a deal the corporate said was executed in order to expand its view of technology development in the sector. Circle Media Labs appears to still be operating in stealth, but according to Broadband TV News, the company is developing an app that will enable an entire household’s connected devices to be managed from a single place, enabling parents to control what media their children can access.
Dandelion Energy, the US-based developer of a geothermal energy system for home use, launched out of Alphabet’s innovation unit, X, yesterday with $2m of seed funding. Collaborative Fund led the round, investing together with ZhenFund and Borealis Ventures, and the funds will support sales and operations as Dandelion looks to form partnerships with local heating and cooling installers in the Northeastern US.
Reliance Corporate Advisory Services, a financial services subsidiary of conglomerate Reliance Industries, has invested Rs 70m ($1.1m) in India-based digital lending platform Billionloans Financial Services, The Hindu reported on Monday. The startup intends to offer microloans for individuals covering education, affordable housing and personal finance, and business loans to small and medium-sized enterprises.
Media group Bennett, Coleman and Co has provided $1m in funding for India-based online home services platform Timesaverz Dotcom, VCCircle reported yesterday. Timesaverz had previously raised an undisclosed amount of seed funding from angel investors Neville Taraporewalla and Rajesh Sawhney in 2014 before VC firm Unilazer Ventures provided $2.3m in series A funding the following year.
Breed Reply, the seed-stage investment vehicle for internet-of-things technology producer Reply, supplied an undisclosed amount of funding on Monday for UK-based predictive analysis technology developer We Predict. The startup’s technology is mostly used by vehicle manufactures and sellers to calculate warranty rates, but it also helps the National Health Service make decisions.
Zeelo, a UK-based developer of software that uses artificial intelligence to predict demand for coach travel, has raised $450,000 in pre-seed funding from investors including InMotion Ventures, the corporate venturing arm of carmaker Jaguar Land Rover, Tech City News has reported. The company, which was founded in 2014, secured the funding in advance of it entering InMotion’s accelerator.