Germany-based taxi and limousine-booking app developer Talixo has raised a “high” seven-figure euro amount (€1m = $1.18) from rail operator Deutsche Bahn, which took part through its Deutsche Bahn Digital Ventures unit, mechanical engineering firm Amman Group and an undisclosed Swiss institutional investor. Amman participated as an existing investor, and Talixo had previously received €550,000 in venture capital according to T3N.
Lighting product manufacturer Osram has paid an undisclosed amount for a 25.1% stake in Canada-based lidar (light detection and ranging) technology developer LeddarTech. The investment followed C$16m ($12.7m at current exchange rates) in funding from BDC Venture Capital, Go Capital Fund, iSource, Accès Capital Québec and Desjardins-Innovatech between 2010 and 2014.
US-based automated sporting analytics video technology developer Keemotion received $3.6m in series A funding on Wednesday from investors including R/GA Ventures, a corporate venturing subsidiary of advertising group Interpublic, as well as Elysian Park Ventures, Go4it Investments, Pincus Capital Management and various angel investors. The company also named sports consultancy Machete Group, Evolution Media Capital and Blue Equity among its investors, but did not mention whether they were part of the series A round.
On-demand ride platform Didi Chuxing provided an undisclosed amount of funding on Tuesday for Taxify, an Estonia-based ride hailing service that serves a 2.5 million-strong user base across 18 countries in Europe and Africa, as part of a strategic partnership agreement. Taxify had previously raised a total of €2m ($2.4m at current rates) from online advertising platform Adcash, Rubylight, TMT Investments and assorted angel investors as of August 2016, according to GoalEurope.
VC firm Innogest has invested $3m in Spain-based online recruitment platform CornerJob, Startup Italia reported on Tuesday. The capital will be added to the $19m in series C funding CornerJob raised in May this year from investors including media companies Groupe TF1, TV Azteca, Mediaset Italia and Mediaset España, and media-for-equity funds 5M Ventures and Media Digital Ventures as well as Augesco Ventures and Randstad Innovation Fund, respective vehicles for human resources firm Randstad and media company Les Echos – Le Parisien.
Shell Technology Ventures, the corporate VC arm of oil and gas company Shell, invested an undisclosed amount in Singapore-based solar energy provider Sunseap Group on Tuesday as part of a collaboration agreement that will involve them partnering to develop solar projects in the Asia Pacific region. Sunseap raised $4.8m in May 2017 from investors including property maintenance services firm IsoTeam, after securing S$27m ($19.9m at current rates) in equity funding from investors including conglomerate Chow Tai Fook Enterprises in 2015.
C360 Technologies, a US-based developer of 360-degree, virtual and augmented reality video technology, raised $3.5m on Wednesday from investors including aerospace company Boeing, which invested through its corporate venturing unit, HorizonX Ventures. The oversubscribed round was led by investment firm BlueTree Capital and also featured MI-12 and Pasadena Angels.
Unilever Ventures, the strategic investment arm of consumer goods manufacturer Unilever, provided an undisclosed amount of funding for Germany-based domestic services provider Helpling on Wednesday. Helpling had previously raised about $75m from investors including Asia Pacific Internet Group, the joint venture for e-commerce holding group Rocket Internet and telecommunications firm Ooredoo, as well as Mangrove Capital, Phenomen Ventures, Point Nine, Lakestar and Kite Ventures across three rounds.
Medical marijuana producer Aphria co-led a C$4m ($3.2m) series B round for Tokyo Smoke, the Canada-based operator of a marijuana-focused lifestyle brand, yesterday with marijuana-focused VC fund Green Acre Capital Fund. The round also featured angel investors including Brett Wilson and Charles Broderick, the former having contributed to Tokyo Smoke’s C$3m series A round in January together with fellow angel investor Chuck Rifici, and investment firm Globalive Capital.
JetBlue Technology Ventures, the strategic investment subsidiary of aviation company JetBlue, invested an undisclosed amount in US-based bus and coach ticket booking platform Betterez on Tuesday. Amadeus Ventures, the corporate venturing arm of travel software provider Amadeus IT Group, led a seed round for Betterez in March this year indicated by a securities filing to be $1.2m in size, participating alongside angel investor Donald Carty, after the company had previously raised $350,000 in debt financing, according to a regulatory filing.
Millennial Esports Corp, an eSports venue operator and game-streaming data provider, has agreed to invest €2.5m ($2.9m) in France-based online eSports media platform Alt Tab Productions across two tranches, in a deal that will ultimately give it a 38.5% stake in the company. Millennial intends to access Alt Tab’s studio as well as its intellectual property and strategic network through the investment.
Henkel Ventures, the corporate venturing subsidiary of consumer and industrial product maker Henkel, has invested an undisclosed amount in UK-based on-demand laundry and dry cleaning service Zipjet. Henkel is an existing investor in Zipjet, whose earlier backers include e-commerce holding company Rocket Internet and VC firm BTOV.
Polarsteps, a Netherlands-based travel-tracking app developer backed by media company Telegraaf Media Groep (TMG), raised €900,000 ($1.1m) in seed funding on Wednesday from a range of angel investors. TMG and Silver Point Ventures invested €500,000 in Polarsteps in March 2016, and the company will use the new funding to hire engineers as it looks to further develop its platform.
Graphics processing unit manufacturer Nvidia has paid an undisclosed amount for a 3% stake in China-based autonomous truck technology developer TuSimple as part of a series B round, the South China Morning Post reported today. The investment came two months after TuSimple was chosen for Nvidia’s artificial intelligence-focused Inception Program.
Hapz, a Singapore-based online platform looking to bring the surge pricing concept to event ticketing, has secured “just over” $500,000 in a seed round that included media company Singapore Press Holdings’ SPH Media Fund subsidiary, Tech in Asia reported on Monday. Cocoon Capital, Quest Ventures, TinkBig Venture and an undisclosed angel investor also participated in the round, which will support hiring and the sealing of partnerships with companies in Southeast Asia.
Peregrine Courier Services, the India-based operator of on-demand delivery app Speedbox, has received $300,000 in seed capital from logistics service provider Cismat Cargo Services, VCCircle reported on Wednesday. Speedbox has launched in eight Indian cities as well as some Malaysian centres since it was founded in 2015, and the cash will be used to expand into new locations.