US-based health technology platform Parachute Health has closed a $9.5m series A round backed by GNYHA Ventures, the investment arm of trade association Greater New York Hospital Association, and led by Insight Venture Partners. Private investor Anthony Welters also provided capital. The company, which offers a digital platform for ordering critical medical equipment and servicing patients’ needs after they have been discharged, previously raised $5.5m in a seed round backed by GNYHA Ventures, private equity firm Loeb Holding Corporation and private backers including Welters.
Hearst Ventures, the corporate venturing arm of publisher Hearst, has contributed to a $7.5m series A round for Systum, a US-based provider of a cloud-based platform that helps SMEs engage with customers, generate invoices and manage their inventory. The round was led by Underscore VC, with the money going towards an expansion of Systum’s sales and marketing efforts.
US-based autonomous logistics technology developer Boxbot secured $7.5m on Monday in seed funding from investors including Toyota AI Ventures, a corporate venturing subsidiary of carmaker Toyota. Artiman Ventures led the round, which also featured University of California, Berkeley-backed VC firm the House Fund, as well as Pear Ventures, Afore Capital and Ironfire Ventures. [read more about this deal on our sister site Global University Venturing]
US-based online consumer debt restructuring and consolidation platform LendStreet has raised $7m in a series A round co-led by insurance company Prudential Financial and Radicle Impact. Accion, the Center for Financial Services Innovation, Serious Change, CrunchFund, Kapor Capital and Cross Culture Ventures also participated in the series A round. The company concurrently obtained $110m in debt financing from Prudential and Community Investment Management.
Games developer Supercell has injected $5m into US-based game studio Redemption Games in return for a minority stake. The money will be used to develop additional intellectual property, though Supercell and Redemption Games have not entered a publishing relationship. The deal marks the first time Supercell invested in a US startup.
US-based enterprise drone developer Kittyhawk has raised $5m in funding from investors including aerospace and defence company Boeing’s HorizonX Ventures and Bonfire Ventures, which led the round, as well as Freestyle Capital and Kluz Ventures’ Flying Object. The latter previously supplied a total of $1.5m in seed funding.
Spain-based online travel agency Exoticca has closed a €3.5m ($4.1m) series A round, according to TechCrunch, backed by construction firm Grupo Palau, Palladium Corporate Ventures, the investment arm of hotel chain Palladium Hotels, and Sabadell Venture Capital, the investment arm of financial services firm Sabadell, as well as K Fund, which led the round, and Nero Ventures. The funding will be used to expand beyond Spain, France and the UK into Germany, the US and Canada.
India-based logistics automation platform Locus has raised $4m in pre-series B funding from investors including Recruit Strategic Partners, the investment unit of human resources company Recruit, according to TechCrunch. The round also featured Rocketship.VC, Pi Ventures and Hemendra Kothari. Blume Ventures, Exfinity Venture Partners, BeeNext and GrowX Ventures also took part, with all but the latter of these previously contributing to a $2.75m series A in 2016 alongside Rajesh Ranavat. GrowX Ventures had however backed a seed round in 2015 alongside assorted angel investors.
Construction engineering company Keda has invested in four blockchain technology companies, according to China Money Network. The four businesses are Crypto Future, which received $1.9m; TokenGazer, which obtained $1.6m; Shanghai Ganqu Network Technology, which secured $620,000; and Iterduo, which raised $470,000. The investments follow the launch of a RMB60m ($9.4m) blockchain-focused fund launched by Keda in March this year.
Netherlands-based artificial intelligence and visualisation company Beyond Sports has raised $2.36m in seed funding from investors including technology company Triple IT and several angel investors. The company, which has developed a range of virtual and augmented reality prodcuts, will use the money to drive recruitment and expand into additional sports and healthcare markets, with a key focus on North America.
UK-based insurance technology developer Laka has raised $1.5m in seed funding from a group of investors led by insurance provider Tune Protect, with participation from 500 Startups, according to TechCrunch. The money will go towards an international expansion and will help Laka launch new insurance products. The company has so far targeted high-end bicycle owners.
UK-based smart thermostat developer Switchee has raised £1.3m ($1.7m) in pre-series A funding from investors including Contrarian Ventures, which manages the Innovation Fund on behalf of utility Lietuvos Energija, according to TechCrunch. The round was led by Fair by Design Fund and also included AU Capital Partners. Switchee previously raised nearly £1.1m over two rounds featuring Wayra UK, the accelerator of telecoms firm Telefonica, ClearlySo, Pi Labs, Mustard Seed Ventures, InseadAlum Ventures and Ian Peters.
Subtle Medical, a US-based medical imaging processing spinout from Stanford University, has secured an undisclosed amount of seed capital from VC fund Deep Health Seed Program, TechCrunch has reported. The spinout previously secured $1.1m at an undisclosed date from Baidu Ventures, a corporate venturing subsidiary of internet group Baidu, as well as ZhenFund, Data Collective, Wisemont Capital and Tsingyuan Ventures. [read more about this deal on our sister site Global University Venturing]
India-based sport content app provider India Sports Flashes has raised $1m in pre-series A funding from SRI Capital, according to VCCircle. The company previously obtained an undisclosed sum from media conglomerate Bennett, Coleman and Company in August 2017 after raising an undisclosed sum in angel funding in March 2017. Sports Flashes’ offering includes sports TV, live scores and statistics, news and highlights.
Globacap, a UK-based regulated blockchain securities issuance platform, has closed an $800,000 seed round co-led by customer engagement services provider ContactPartners and Stoic Capital, with participation from assorted angel investors. The cash will enable Globacap to launch its platform.
Solarflare, a US-based provider of an integrated set of technologies for distributed software-defined data centres, has raised an undisclosed amount from semiconductor manufacturer Xilinx and Oak Investment Partners, which led the round. Solarflare will use the cash to expand beyond its current market through the development of new products. The company, whose investors also include Anthem Venture Partners, Acacia Capital Partners, Accel Partners, Foundation Partners, Amadeus Capital Partners, Miramar Venture Partners, has raised at least $190m in equity funding to date.
India-based artificial intelligence developer DigiConnect has raised $125,000 in seed funding from transport management company Aspire Logistics, according to VCCircle. DigiConnect focuses on sales analytics and enablement, and was launched last year.
Tagnos, a US-based developer of automation technology for clinical healthcare logistics processes, has raised an undisclosed amount from networking equipment producer Cisco’s Webex Innovation Fund. The company previously raised $5m from investors including Zebra Ventures, the corporate venturing vehicle for data tracking technology provider Zebra Technologies, in March 2018. That round also featured Benhamou Global Ventures and Morpheus Ventures.
China-based blockchain media company Mars Finance has attracted an undisclosed amount of series A+ funding co-led by Huobi Global Ecosystem Fund, an investment vehicle of digital currency exchange platform Huobi, and Ceyuan Ventures, according to China Money Network. The round valued Mars Finance at $51.5m. The company previously obtained an unknown amount in series A capital in March 2018 from IDG Capital, Fun City Capital, OK Blockchain Capital and Future Cap.
Potamus Holdings, which owns US-based brokerage firm Potamus Trading, has raised an undisclosed amount of funding from SBI Crypto Investment, a wholly-owned subsidiary of financial services firm SBI Holdings. The money will go towards Potamus’ expansion efforts.