TVision Insights, a Japan-based company that leverages the audience posture-generated big data to determine viewing experience quality, has raised ¥1bn ($9.4m) of equity and debt financing from investors including Mizuho Capital, Kiraboshi Capital and Sansei Capital, respective venture capital arms of financial services firms Mizuho Bank and Tokyo Kiraboshi Financial Group, as well as insurer Taiju Life. The equity portion of the round was filled out by VC firms Spiral Capital and Nippon Venture Capital, while the state-owned Development Bank of Japan’s DBJ Capital unit, banking firms Resona Bank and Mizuho Bank supplied debt. The funding will be used to expand the data coverage and the number of households participating in the data acquisition, develop business intelligence tool and increase headcount.
US-based biomagnetics technology developer Genetesis today confirmed the size of its series B round to be $9.2m, following reports last month that TDK Ventures, the corporate venturing vehicle for electronics manufacturer TDK, had invested an undisclosed amount. Apart from TDK Ventures, Genetesis said the round also included an unnamed healthcare company, as well as CincyTech, Ohio Innovation Fund and private investor Mark Cuban. Genetesis secured $1.2m in a 2016 seed round led by CincyTech that included law firm Wilson Sonsini, Radical Investments, Loud Capital, Danmar Capital, angel investors and members of the company’s management team, and $7.5m in series A funding from CincyTech, Radical Investments, Ohio Innovation Fund and Raptor Group in 2018.
Limbix, a US-based digital therapeutics developer for adolescent mental health disorders, has obtained $9m in a series A round led by GSR Ventures, with participation from existing shareholders cancer drug developer Bixink Therapeutics, Sequoia Capital, Storm Ventures and NextGen Venture Partners. The money will fund the research and development of Limbix’s first product, a digital therapeutic for depression. Details about the company’s earlier financing could not be confirmed.
Classplus, an India-based education management app developer, has collected $9m in a series A round featuring Strive, a fund set up digital media company Gree. RTP Global led the round, while Blume Ventures, Sequoia Capital India’s Surge and Spiral Ventures also contributed. Classplus has partnered more than 3,500 coaching centres that use the platform to remotely communicate with students. The company previously obtained $1.6m in a pre-series A round co-led by Gree Ventures and Times Internet, a subsidiary of media group Bennett Coleman & Co, in May 2019. The round featured Spiral Ventures and Rising Stars Fund.
US-based workforce management platform VNDLY has collected $8.5m in a series B1 round led by Madrona Venture Group, following a $35m series B round backed by enterprise software producer ServiceNow in December 2019. Insight Partners led that round, which also included Battery Ventures, Hyde Park Venture Partners, Epic Ventures, Bowery Capital and Cintrifuse Syndicate Fund. VNDLY has now raised $57.5m in total funding. Steve Singh of Madrona Venture Group will join the board of directors.
Cover, the Japan-based operator of virtual YouTube influencer agency Hololive, has secured ¥700m ($6.6m) from media company Hakuhodo DY Holdings’ Hakuhodo DY Future Design Fund and financial services firm Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation’s SMBC Venture Capital unit. Incubator operator Dream Incubator’s Dimension Fund, venture capital firm I-Nest Capital, entrepreneurial support community Chiba Dojo’s Chiba Dojo Fund, undisclosed angel investors and returning backers filled out the round, which included debt supplied by Mizuho Bank, and took the company’s total funding to $9.4m.
UK-based accounting and business current account automation platform Countingup has raised £4m ($5.3m) in bridge funding led by ING Ventures, the investment arm of financial services provider ING, according to TechCrunch. The round also featured Triple Point, CVentures and Big Start Ventures. Countingup is aimed at micro businesses and offers a business account with automated bookkeeping built-in. The company is working on additional features, including tax calculations and filings, and automated receipt scanning. Countingup raised $750,000 in a 2017 funding round led by Frontline Ventures, with participation from several angel investors, followed by a $3m round in 2018 led by Forward Partners, with commitments from Frontline and JamJar Investments.
LifePod Solutions, a US-based supplier of proactive voice and connected services devices for patients living with chronic conditions, received $5m in a seed-2 round led by healthcare provider Commonwealth Care Alliance (CCA)’s Winter Street Ventures unit. The strategic investment will enable the corporate to distribute approximately 10,000 of LifePod’s voice units to patients across Massachusetts as part of a wider effort to deal with the pandemic. Jon Gordon, senior vice-president of innovation for CCA and managing director of Winter Street Ventures, will become chief executive of LifePod. The company does not appear to have revealed historic funding details.
TZero, a blockchain technology spinoff from US-based e-commerce company Overstock, has added $5m to its coffers thanks to an investment from private equity firm GoldenSand Capital, formerly known as GSR Capital, according to FinSMEs. The same firm previously invested $270m in TZero as part of a deal that also included a stake purchase of publicly-listed Overstock in 2018.
US-based identity governance and administration platform Clear Skye has closed a $4.95m series A round backed by ServiceNow Ventures, the corporate venturing arm of workflow software producer ServiceNow, and Inner Loop Capital as well as lead investor Toba Capital. Newly appointed chief executive John Milburn and Rajan Aggarwal, a partner at Toba Capital, will join the board of directors. ServiceNow Ventures was identified as a returning investor, however, details about its prior commitment could not be ascertained.
Daily.co, a US-based video conferencing technology service that can be easily integrated into third-party applications, has raised $4.6m in a funding round backed by Slack Fund, the investment arm of communications platform Slack, according to TechCrunch. The round was led by Freestyle and also included Moxxie, SV Angel, Haystack, TenOneTen Ventures, Root Ventures and assorted angel investors. Originally known as Pluot, the company previously picked up $2.5m in a 2016 round backed by TenOneTen, Root, Haystack, Metamorphic Ventures and private investor Gokul Rajaram.
Invisible AI, a US-based developer of a camera that uses computer vision to ensure assembly workers are performing tasks correctly and within safety guidelines, has picked up $3.6m in a seed round led by 8VC, with participation from consumer robots producer iRobot, K9 Ventures, Sierra Ventures and Slow Ventures, according to TechCrunch.
Japan-based cosmetics direct-to-customer (D2C) brand Dinette has raised ¥300m ($2.7m) from digital media company Ceres, cosmetics producer Pola Orbis Holdings, retailer Marui Group’s D2C-focused investment and consulting arm, D2C & Co, brand developer MTG’s MTG Ventures unit and cosmetics and drugs manufacturer Saticine Medical. The company previously raised $1.2m from Ceres, Pola Orbis, Strive, the subsidiary of digital media company Gree, VC firm Apricot Ventures and private investor Ayatarō Nakagawa in July 2019. Apricot Ventures and assorted angel investors had already injected $270,000 in funding in February 2019, adding to an undisclosed amount from venture capital fund PE&HR in 2017.
Rooter Sports Technologies, the India-based operator of a social media service for sports fans, has received $1.7m in pre-series A funding from investors including digital payment firm Paytm, LeAD Sports, Rockstud Capital, RB Investments’ Founder Bank Capital, Anthill Ventures, Venture Catalysts and assorted angel investors. As part of the transaction, Paytm’s First Games unit and Rooter Sports have formed a partnership to integrate their ecosystems. Rooter previously obtained $640,000 in pre-series A capital from Venture Catalysts and assorted private investors in 2018 and an undisclosed amount of angel funding from media services provider Kwan Entertainment and several angel investors in 2016.
ToposWare, a Japan-based blockchain-powered cybersecurity platform company spun out of Digital Hollywood University (DHU), has completed a ¥197m ($1.85m) seed round featuring DHU’s parent company Digital Hollywood and its incubator affiliate D Rockets, as well as angel investors including Ōki Matsumoto and Kenji Kasahara.
Manabi Aid, a Japan-based operator of an online learning video service, has raised ¥90m ($840,000) from educational publisher Obunsha’s corporate venturing arm, Obunsha Ventures, and VC fund K&P Partners in a bid to expand the video distribution business for schools affected by the novel coronavirus.
Japan-based blockchain-based personal identification technology developer LasTrust has secured ¥30m ($280,000) in a seed round from management consulting firm Skylight Consulting, VC firm East Ventures and startup incubator 01Booster. The cash will go toward updating the blockchain-powered identification software-as-a-service product dubbed CloudCerts, as well as talent acquisition and marketing.
SynSense, a Switzerland-based neuromorphic computing technology developer spun out of ETH Zurich and University of Zurich, completed a series A round of undisclosed size on Tuesday with investors including M Ventures, the corporate venturing arm of pharmaceutical firm Merck Group, robot vacuum producer Ecovacs and smart developer Yunding. CTC Capital led the round, which also included investment manager Archer Investments and CAS-Star, an investment arm affiliated to Chinese Academy of Sciences. The funding is intended to enable SynSense’s expansion to China, where it has opened offices and R&D facilities, later this year. SynSense is working on neuromorphic computing technology to emulate the human central nervous system for robotics, smart homes and surveillance applications. The spinout was previously called AiCTX, having raised an eight-figure renminbi pre-series A sum in November 2018 led by Baidu Ventures, the corporate venturing arm of internet group of Baidu.
Gauss, a Japan-based e-commerce-oriented artificial intelligence technology developer spun out of University of Tokyo, has collected an undisclosed sum from printing, data mining and desktop publishing company Nishikawa Communications, eight months after raising a series B round featuring Isetan Mitsukoshi Innovations and Nagoya TV Ventures, the corporate VC subsidiaries of retail group Isetan Mitsukoshi and broadcaster Nagoya TV, in addition to IT transformation firm Change, fashion item manufacturer Armagnac and business investment and incubation firm Edge Labs. The company had secured ¥170m ($1.5m) from clothing business operator Anap, recruitment firm DIP Corporation and an undisclosed corporate in December 2017.
US-based bot mitigation and fraud protection software developer White Ops has closed an investment of undisclosed size from cybersecurity company ClearSky Security and investment bank Goldman Sachs’ Merchant Banking Division. Goldman Sachs will appoint a representative to White Ops’ board of directors. Paladin Capital and Grotech Ventures previously co-led a $20m series B round in 2016, with participation from several private investors. White Ops had already secured $7m in series A funding from Paladin and Grotech in 2014.
Hikma Ventures, the corporate venturing division of pharmaceutical firm Hikma Pharmaceuticals, has injected an undisclosed amount into Altoida, a US-based developer of medical devices and software to treat brain diseases. Altoida previously collected $6.3m in a round led by M Ventures, a strategic investment vehicle of pharmaceutical firm Merck Group, in May 2019, when Grey Sky Venture Partners, VI Partners, Alpana Ventures and Fyrfly Venture Partners also participated. Altoida had earlier attracted some $1.2m from investors including Polytech Ecosystem Ventures as of the end of 2016.
– Additional reporting by Liwen-Edison Fu and Callum Cyrus
