US-based transport passenger data provider Swiftly received $10m in series A funding today from investors including Via ID, Total Energy Ventures, RATP Dev and Samsung Next, respective subsidiaries of automotive servicing company Mobivia, petroleum supplier Total, transport operator Groupe RATP and consumer electronics producer Samsung. The round included corporate joint venture Aster Capital, Wind Capital, 1776, Plug and Play Group, Elemental Excelerator and Stanford StartX-Fund. It followed $2.5m from RATP, Samsung Next, Wind Capital and carmaker Ford in May 2017.
ThreatConnect, a US-based cybersecurity software provider backed by enterprise software producer SAP, raised an undisclosed sum on Monday in a round led by Providence Strategic Growth, an affiliate of private equity firm Providence Equity Partners. It had received $16m in a 2015 series B round led by SAP subsidiary SAP National Security Services that also featured venture capital firm Grotech Ventures, which had already led a $4m series A round for the company the previous year.
US-based online pet pharmacy Mixlab has closed an $8.5m seed round that included petcare product and food provider Mars Petcare, founder and CEO Fred Dijols has told AlleyWatch. The round was led by VC firm Global Founders Capital and backed by Monogram Capital, Brand Foundry, Lakehouse Ventures, Joyance Partners and TQ Ventures. Mixlab will use the funding to strengthen its relationships with veterinarians and add new features to its offering.
Liveoak Technologies, a US-based developer of software that facilitates virtual transactions with customers, completed an $8m funding round on Tuesday featuring State Farm Ventures and Northwestern Mutual Future Ventures, subsidiaries of insurers State Farm and Northwestern Mutual. The round was led by S3 Ventures and included Seven Peaks Ventures, Wild Basin Investments and Broadhaven Capital Partners. It had previously raised $5.3m, $2.5m of which came from investors including Northwestern Mutual Future Ventures in 2017.
WorkRamp, a US-based developer of human resources management software, has secured $8m in a series A round featuring Slack Fund, communications technology provider Slack’s corporate venturing fund, VentureBeat reported yesterday. VC fund Bow Capital led the round, which included Initialized Capital and Susa Ventures, and which followed $1.8m in seed capital in 2016 from Initialized Capital, Susa Ventures, Haystack, Liquid 2 Ventures, Wei Fund, various angel investors and Y Combinator, which provided $120,000.
India-based short-term budget accommodation provider FabHotels has received Rs 540m ($7.8m) in funding from investors including mobile semiconductor producer Qualcomm, investment banking firm Goldman Sachs and VC firm Accel, Business Standard reported on Monday. It had previously secured more than $35m across three rounds, including a $25m series B in mid-2017 featuring Goldman Sachs’ Investment Partners unit and Accel, and an $8m series A backed by Qualcomm unit Qualcomm Ventures, Accel and Aarin Capital in 2016.
Aerospace manufacturer Boeing led a funding round of undisclosed size on Tuesday for Robotic Skies, the US-based operator of an online marketplace for aerial drone repairs, through its Boeing HorizonX Ventures unit. The corporate was joined by Thayer Ventures, KickStart Seed Fund and Sun Mountain Capital, the latter of which had supplied Robotic Skies with an undisclosed amount of seed capital in August 2017. Boeing and Robotic Skies had previously begun collaborating in October 2018.
Modifi, a Germany-based supplier of trade finance for small and medium-sized businesses, has secured €5.5m ($6.2m) yesterday in a funding round co-led by Maersk Growth, the corporate venturing arm of container shipping firm AP Moller – Maersk. The round was co-led by Global Founders Capital and it included Picus Capital and undisclosed existing investors. Modifi had previously raised €3m but has not disclosed details of that investment.
US-based gene therapy developer Strand Therapeutics closed a $6m seed round on Tuesday featuring Alexandria Venture Investments, the VC arm of real estate investment trust Alexandria Real Estate Equities. The round was led by VC firm Playground Global and included Anri and undisclosed private investors. Strand plans to now grow headcount, strengthen its synthetic biology platform and expand its drug candidate pipeline.
Digital payment technology provider PayPal invested an undisclosed amount in Sweden-based open banking technology developer Tink on Tuesday that will support its growth in Europe. Tink was valued at $270m as of its last round in February 2019, at which time it had raised a total of more than $94m, from investors including financial services firms Nordea, SEB and ABN Amro, Insight Partners, Sunstone, Creades, Nordnet, Christian Clausen and Nikolay Storonsk.
ARC Devices, the US-based owner of medical monitoring device developer Vital, has raised $5m from electronics components supplier Avnet that will support the commercial launch of Vital’s initial products. Vital’s first product will be a smart handheld system that tracks multiple vital signs, and it is looking to also develop non-invasive glucose and electrocardiogram monitors in the future.
Samsung led a £3m ($3.8m) funding round yesterday for Oxford Semantic Technologies, a UK-based startup working on software that will convert information into machine-readable knowledge. The corporate invested through its Samsung Ventures unit, alongside University of Oxford and Oxford Sciences Innovation, the investment firm that focuses on Oxford spinouts.
Infermedica, the Poland-headquartered developer of an artificial intelligence-equipped system that helps patients decide on treatments based on their symptoms, has received approximately $3.7m in funding from investors including media company Müller Medien, MobiHealthNews reported on Wednesday. The round was led by Karma Ventures and also featured Dreamit Ventures and Inovo Venture Partners, and was disclosed as Infermedica expanded into the US market.
US-based artificial intelligence technology and services provider Hypergiant Industries secured an undisclosed amount on Wednesday from investors including Sumitomo Corporation of Americas, a subsidiary of diversified conglomerate Sumitomo. VC firm Perot Jain, private equity firm Align Capital and angel investors Tom Meredith and Steve Adler also participated in the round.
AppArray, the Japan-based provider of English conversation app Speak Buddy and English language tutoring platform Sparta Buddy, raised ¥300m ($2.8m) on Tuesday from recruitment platform operator Dip and accelerator and VC fund Reality Accelerator. The funding will be used to add new content and functionality to Speak Buddy, and to increase the number of coaches on Sparta Buddy.
Bugbank, a China-based developer of cybersecurity software for the finance and e-commerce spaces, has received an eight-digit renminbi amount (RMB10m = $1.45m) from investors including SVCBC, telecommunications firm SoftBank’s China-focused corporate venturing unit, CNW News reported on Monday. VC investment manager NewMargin Ventures led the round, which also featured Puhua Capital.
Salesforce Ventures and Canal Ventures, corporate VC subsidiaries of customer relationship management software provider Salesforce and IT services firm Nihon Unisys, participated in a ¥280m ($2.6m) round for Sprocket, the Japan-based developer of an online customer service platform, on Tuesday. The round also featured XTech Ventures, and it came after approximately $1m in funding in 2015, and $1.4m in series A capital from D4V, the VC firm affiliated with design studio Ideo, and Accord Ventures in January 2017.
Payment system provider ACI Worldwide has provided an undisclosed amount of funding for digital payment technology producer Mindgate Solutions, the Economic Times reported on Monday. The investment was made in connection with a partnership agreement that will involve the companies collaborating on a product that combines Mindgate’s digital overlay services with ACI’s Universal Payments software.
Japan-based financial education service Bookee has secured approximately ¥250m ($2.3m) on Monday, in a round featuring Mitsubishi UFJ Innovation Partners, SMBC Venture Capital and Mizuho Capital, subsidiaries of financial services firms Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation and Mizuho Bank respectively. The round also featured SV-Fintech, a vehicle formed by advertising technology provider Voyage Group and VC fund SV Frontier, and was filled out by VC firm ISGS Investment Works.
Konsentus, a UK-based developer of software that helps businesses in the financial sector to comply with open banking regulations, completed a pre-series A round of undisclosed size on Monday that was led by payment services firm Mastercard. The startup began providing its product to Mastercard in January this year, helping it carry out identity and regulatory checks as part of its open banking offering.
Photography and imaging technology producer Fujifilm invested ¥200m ($1.8m) in Japan-based regenerative medicine developer Junten Bio on Tuesday. Fujifilm subsidiary Japan Tissue Engineering will collaborate on product development with Junten Bio, which is looking to develop drugs that will prevent the body from rejecting donor organs without suppressing the immune system.
Supahands, a Malaysia-based machine learning dataset provider backed by telecoms company Axiata, has received an undisclosed amount in a series A round co-led by Patamar Capital and Cradle Seed Ventures, a division of Cradle Fund, Tech in Asia reported on Monday. The company had previously raised a seven-figure amount from Axiata Digital Innovation Fund, the vehicle formed by Axiata and Malaysia Venture Capital Management, and 500 Startups in 2015.
Goldex Technologies, the UK-based creator of an app that tracks the price of gold accurately, has raised £1.2m ($1.5m) in funding from investors including Acies Ventures, a VC subsidiary of Acies Consulting. The round included unnamed VCs, angel investors and prominent members of the financial services, metals and mining industries, and it comes in the wake of $1.25m in pre-series A funding from payment card provider Prepaid Financial Services and angel investors Gaël de Boissard, Richard Balarkas and Craig James in December 2018.
Maumee Ventures, the strategic investment arm of agribusiness The Andersons, co-led a funding round for US-based sustainable fertiliser developer Phospholutions yesterday that is sized at “up to” $1.5m. The round was co-led by Penn State University-affiliated fund 1855 Capital and the proceeds will support the launch of a soil-enhancement product known as RhizoSorb.
Educational seminar promoter Leave a Nest has invested an undisclosed amount in Japan-based materials and resources location startup MI-6. The transaction came a week after MI-6 raised an undisclosed sum from VC firm Beenext and assorted angel investors, and Leave a Nest plans to collaborate with the company on a technology product.
US-based motion-capture equipment developer Cipher Skin secured more than $1.2m in seed funding from investors including LSVBR Partners, subsidiary of construction management firm Lemoine Company, in a seed round that closed in April this year, it disclosed on Wednesday. Investment firm South Oak Capital Partners and undisclosed angel investors also contributed to the round.
Pharmaceutical company Libbs Farmacêutica has provided $1m of funding for Brazil-based regenerative therapy developer PluriCell, Istoe Dinheiro has reported. It made the investment as part of a collaboration agreement that will involve them partnering on the development of a medicine for cardiovascular disease that will utilise cardiac cells generated from stem cells.
Immersal, a Finland-based augmented reality software provider backed by mobile game publisher Gumi and educational technology provider Polkuni, has raised €900,000 ($1m) from Sisu Game Ventures and Kasvumoottori Growth Engine. It comes after $110,000 in funding from Presence Capital and Reaktor in 2016, and $600,000 from Polkuni, Gumi subsidiary Gumi Ventures and angel investors Bruce J. Oreck, Inka Mero, Torsti Tenhunen and Pasi Joronen in December 2017.
Communitio, the Japan-based creator of a software platform that can assign value signifiers like coins and tokens to hitherto unquantifiable elements such as personal behaviour, received ¥100m ($920,000) from digital media company Ceres and technology consultancy and incubator owner X Tech Ventures yesterday. The funding was raised three months after the startup was founded.
BitMex, the corporate venturing vehicle for cryptocurrency trading platform developer BitMex, has invested an undisclosed sum in Philippines-based cryptocurrency exchange Philippines Digital Asset Exchange (PDAX), FinTechnews reported on Monday. The startup has secured regulatory approval for crypto trading and plans to add tokenised trading options for commodities, debt securities and real estate equities to its platform.
Media holding company WndrCo joined undisclosed angel investors on Wednesday to provide more than $500,000 of pre-seed funding for Nami ML, a US-based startup that is developing a mobile app monetisation system. Nami’s technology utilises machine learning to track user patterns that indicate they are susceptible to certain types of marketing, meaning superfluous advertising can be sidelined.
Internet technology provider Google has paid $500,000 for a 5% stake in US-based augmented reality startup Hello TeamSolar, VentureBeat reported on Wednesday. The corporate provided the funding in connection with a partnership agreement that will involve them working together on an AR platform that will allow multiple players to play the same large-scale game in real time.
Japan-based fire inspection technology provider Sumaten received an undisclosed amount of funding from rescue services firm Japan Best Rescue System (JBR) on Wednesday. Sumaten has created a web-based tool that allows inspections to be carried out remotely, and will leverage JBR’s network of building management customers to grow its business.
MS Amlin, a subsidiary of insurance group MS&AD, has supplied an undisclosed amount of funding for UK-based Envelop Risk, a managing general agent for speciality reinsurance. The investment came after MS Amlin began underwriting Envelop’s policies in October 2018, and James Few, global managing director of reinsurance for MS Amlin, will join Envelop’s board of directors in connection with the deal.
Cashless payment technology provider Nippon Platform provided ¥30m ($280,000) of funding on Tuesday for Creation City Lab, the Japan-based operator of consumer promotion app Temite. The investment was made through a strategic partnership that will involve the companies integrating Nippon’s systems with Temite’s product.
Opt Ventures, digital marketing agency Opt’s corporate venturing arm, invested an undisclosed sum in Japan-based corporate advisory service Circulation on Wednesday in connection with a strategic partnership agreement. Opt’s customers will now be able to utilise Circulation’s organisational enhancement services.
Taxi firm ComfortDelGro has supplied undisclosed sums to three transport technology startups through corporate venturing subsidiary ComfortDelGro Ventures, Deal StreetAsia reported on Tuesday. The recipients were Singapore-based mobility management service Swat, Sinagpore-based container trucking services marketplace Haulio and Foretellix, an Israel-based developer of safety and compliance technology for autonomous vehicles.
