Conglomerate Mitsui is set to acquire a stake of undisclosed size in India-based renewable energy grid operator OMC Power for approximately ¥1bn ($9m), according to Mint. Founded in 2011 as Omnigrid Micropower Company, OMC supplies electricity to mobile telecoms towers and operates solar power plants in rural areas, where it has set up small-scale distribution grids. The company has not disclosed prior funding rounds.
US-based naturally fermented beverages brewery Revive Kombucha has collected $7.5m in a series B round led by specialty coffee company Peet’s Coffee. The round included Seth Rodsky and Larry Kahn as well as existing backers Ilya Nykin, Bentley Hall, Wes Crain, Peter Henig, Arif Fazal, Joe Brunetti and Blair Kellison, the same angel investors who previously injected $2.1m in series A funding in May 2016. The money will be used to drive recruitment and expand the company’s national distribution. Eric Lauterbach, president of consumer at Peet’s Coffee, has joined the board of directors.
Singapore-based mobile commerce platform Mobikon has raised $7m in a series B round co-led by Sistema Asia Fund, an investment vehicle of conglomerate Sistema, C31 Ventures and Qualgro, according to Inc42. The round featured Spring Singapore and Jungle Ventures. The money will support ongoing expansion efforts in India, Southeast Asia and the Middle East as well as allow the company to enter Australia and the UK by January next year. Life.Sreda and Qualgro previously provided an undisclosed amount in October 2015, following Jungle Ventures, Life.Sreda, Qualgro, Spring Singapore and Lion Rock supplying $2.3m in series A funding in July 2015. Jungle Ventures had already led a $1.7m funding round in 2012 with participation from angel investors.
Health system UC Health has invested an undisclosed sum in Smart Choice MRI, a US-based operator of magnetic resonance imaging scanners that offers cost-effective scans, according to Journal Sentinel. The size of the investment was reportedly close to $7m and will allow the company to expand into Colorado. Health system Edward-Elmhurst Health previously provided $7m and its peer ThedaCare has supplied $4m.
Netherlands-based shipping tool provider SendCloud has obtained €5m ($6m) in a funding round that featured De Brabantse Ontwikkelings Maatschappij (Bom), the economic development agency for the Dutch province of Brabant, HenQ and Tiin Capital, according to RTL Z. SendCloud operates a shipping tool for e-commerce platforms. The money will support further expansion across Europe, adding to its current presence in the The Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, France and Austria. SendCloud previously raised €2m from Bom and Tiin in February 2016 and an undisclosed sum from Sanoma Ventures, the corporate venturing subsidiary of media group Sanoma, in January 2015.
Media company Müller Medien and media + more ventures, a joint venture of media companies VRM, Badisches Pressehaus and Druck & Medien Heilbronn, have contributed to a €5m series A round for WhatsBroadcast, a Germany-based messenger service aimed at enterprise users. The round was supported by German public-private partnership High-Tech Gründerfonds, Wessel Management and undisclosed investors. WhatsBroadcast’s platform enables businesses to communicate with users through messaging services such as Facebook Messenger.
South Korea-based clothing rental service Weekly Shirts has closed a $5m seed round led by K Cube Ventures, the investment arm of diversified internet company Daum Kakao, E27 reported on Wednesday. D.Camp and Yoomin Foundation also put money towards the round. Weekly Shirts operates a subscription service that replaces a customer’s shirts for a monthly fee of $49. The service is currently available in Seoul and Gyeonggi-do.
Adwerx, a US-based advertising network for real estate agents that was spun out from musician management platform ReverbNation in 2014, has raised $4.3m in a funding round led by Grotech Ventures with support from Bull City Venture Partners and Alerion Ventures, TechCrunch reported yesterday. The company, which also caters to the insurance and mortgage sectors as industries related to real estate and allows clients to target users by post code, is now considering expanding into additional verticals such as automotive, dental practices, home services, law offices, restaurants, salons and spas.
Mitsui has purchased a stake of undisclosed size in Sky-Futures, a US-based provider of drone inspection services for the oil and gas industry, in return for a $4m investment. The commitment was made as part of a strategic partnership apply Sky-Futures’ technology across Mitsui’s network in the energy, marine and infrastructure sectors. Sky-Futures previously received $5.7m in a series B round that included helicopter services company Bristow in February 2016, with MMC Ventures also participating. MMC had earlier provided $3.9m in series A capital in in 2015.
US-based e-sports coaching service Gamer Sensei closed a $4m series A round on Wednesday that featured e-sports and gaming company Axiomatic. The round was led by Accomplice and Advancit Capital, while Origin Ventures, CRCM Ventures, Kiwi Ventures, Abstract Ventures and Subversive Capital as well as Boston Seed Capital, Sigma Prime, Corigin Ventures, GC Tracker and Tim & Todd McSweeney also contributed cash. Gamer Sensei provides one-on-one lessons from pro-gamers to help players hone their skills. Accomplice and Boston Seed Capital led a $2.5m seed round in July 2016 with participation from Sigma Prime, FJ Labs, Corigin Ventures and Timothy & Todd McSweeney.
Indonesia-based chatbot developer Kata.ai has received $3.5m in a series A round led by the Taiwanese Trans-Pacific Technology Fund, according to Tech in Asia. MDI Ventures, the corporate venturing arm of telecoms firm Telkom, also participated in the round, as did Access Ventures, Convergence Ventures, VPG Asia, Red Sails Investment and angel investor Eddy Chan. Kata.ai uses artificial intelligence and natural language processing to create bots that can offer customer support in Indonesian. The company will now expand internationally and add the ability to create bots in other languages, such as Mandarin Chinese. The company pivoted a year ago, having previously been known as YesBoss and offering a virtual assistant platform. MDI had already backed YesBoss.
Switzerland-based nanosatellite developer Astrocast has received $3m in a seed round led by Airbus Ventures, the corporate venturing arm of aeronautics company Airbus, according to SpaceNews. The money will support the development of the company’s first two satellites, which will eventually form part of a network of 64 satellites to provide internet of things services. The company expects its network can be created for less than $50m in total.
Financial services firm Kasikorn Bank and conglomerate SBI Group have taken part in a $1.15m funding round for Thailand-based business accounting platform FlowAccount, TechCrunch reported on Wednesday. 500 Startups and Golden Gate Ventures also injected cash. The deal marks the first time that Kasikorn has made a direct investment through its Beacon Venture Capital unit, launched this past June with $29m in capital. FlowAccount stated it will focus on the domestic market for now.
Health insurance company Vidal Healthcare has co-led a $750,000 seed round for Doxper, an India-based developer of a digital pen and coded paper system for doctors to take notes, the Economic Times has reported. The round was co-led by GrowX Ventures, while Capier Investments and Globevestor also contributed.
Bambu, a Singapore-based developer of robo-adviser technology for businesses, has raised an undisclosed amount in a round led by Franklin Templeton Investments, with participation from Wavemaker Partners and Robby Hilkowitz, according to Tech in Asia. The money will support R&D activities and help accelerate global sales. Mobile technology provider TigerSpike and assorted angel investors were among the investors in a $400,000 seed round in August last year.
Specialty chemicals manufacturer Croda International has made an investment of undisclosed size in Cutitronics, a Scotland-based personal skincare spinout from University of Strathclyde, as part of a strategic partnership agreement, according to Insider.co.uk. Founded in 2014, Cutitronics’s technology, called Cutitron, measures skin health and stimulates the skin to allow products to penetrate deeper layers and maximise efficiency. The spinout has enjoyed the support of the High Growth Ventures unit at government-owned economic development agency Scottish Enterprise.
Snaptrude, an India-based 3D modelling platform for real estate projects, is set to secure an undisclosed sum from real estate developer Brigade Enterprise and other undisclosed developers, according to VCCircle. Snaptrude’s technology makes it possible to quickly convert hand-drawn sketches and floor plans into 3D models. The company secured the investment upon graduating from the Brigade Real Estate Accelerator Program.