Internet and technology conglomerate Alphabet has provided $10m in series A funding for US-based mobile commerce software provider Universe through early-stage investment unit GV, TechCrunch reported on Tuesday. GV general partner MG Siegler will join Universe’s board of directors in connection with the deal, which followed $3.2m from Box Group, General Catalyst, Greylock Partners and Eniac Ventures in 2017 and $4m from General Catalyst, Box Group, Eniac Ventures, Y Combinator, Javelin Venture Partners and various angel investors in June 2018.
Schibsted Growth, an investment vehicle for media company Schibsted, has co-led a SEK85m ($8.4m) funding round for Mindler, the Sweden-based operator of a mobile platform that offers access to psychologists, Breakit reported on Monday. The round was co-led by venture capital fund Ventech and included undisclosed existing investors. Mindler launched with $450,000 from medical communication services provider Add Health Media and 3T Invest in May 2018 before adding $1.3m from Luminar Ventures in December and $3.1m from Back in Black and Kichi Invest in June 2019.
US-based property analysis software developer Arturo received $8m on Tuesday in a series A round featuring IAG Firemark Ventures, the strategic investment arm of insurance firm IAG. The round was led by VC firm Crosslink Capital and came roughly two years after Arturo was spun off by American Family, the insurance provider that led a seed round of undisclosed size for the startup in May 2019. The funding will support expansion in North America and the Asia Pacific region.
Thailand-based corporate innovation services provider Rise has raised $8m from conglomerate Metro Company, digital advertising firm D2C and security equipment producer Chanwanich Company, The Business Times reported on Wednesday. The funding will support the company’s expansion from Thailand to neighbouring markets Singapore, Indonesia and Malaysia.
Payment services firm Visa and VC firm Global Brain have provided “several million” dollars of funding for UK-based open banking platform developer Railsbank, TechCrunch reported yesterday. Railsbank raised $1.2m from Firestartr, Kima Ventures and unnamed angel investors in 2017 before adding $10m in series A funding from insurance firm Singapore Life, online lender CreditEase, Moneta Capital, Clocktower Technology Ventures and Firestartr in September 2019.
Financial services provider SBI invested in Japan-based business services matching platform Linkers on Monday as part of a ¥750m ($6.9m) funding round. The corporate participated through subsidiary SBI Investment, and Linkers’ existing backers include Opt Ventures, the corporate venturing arm of digital marketing agency Opt, as well as enterprise services provider SoldOut, which invested in September 2018, Jafco and DBJ Capital.
Caster, the Japan-based operator of remote work management platform Caster.biz, received ¥600m ($5.5m) in funding today from Strive, the corporate venturing arm of digital media company Gree, and VC firm Yamaguchi Capital. The company had raised at least $6.9m from Gunosy Capital, the investment arm of news aggregator Gunosy, financial services firm Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation’s SMBC Venture Capital division, brokerage Daiwa’s Corporate Investment unit and World Innovation Lab as of May 2019 before recruitment firm DIP Corporation added an undisclosed amount in January.
Financial services firm Standard Bank has paid an undisclosed amount for a 40% stake in South Africa-based telematics and fuel management software provider Payment24, Disrupt Africa reported on Tuesday. The companies had been collaborating with each other for three years on projects including the BlueFuel Fleet Card, which Standard Bank offers to customers in Nambia.
India-based online restaurant listings and food delivery service Zomato has secured $5m in series J funding from investment manager Baillie Gifford’s Pacific Horizon Investment Trust at a $3.25bn valuation, Entrackr reported on Monday, citing a regulatory filing. Zomato had raised a total of $840m from investors including e-commerce firm Alibaba’s Ant Financial affiliate, food delivery service Delivery Hero, classified listings operator Info Edge, Glade Brook Capital, Shunwei Capital, Saturn Shine, Sequoia Capital, Vy Capital and Temasek as of January this year.
UK-based flow sensor developer Flusso has completed a £4m ($5m) seed round that included Foresight Williams, the joint venture formed by engineering and technology services provider Williams Advanced Engineering and private equity firm Foresight Group. Parkwalk Advisors, 24Haymarket and Cambridge University also participated in the round (disclosure: 24Haymarket is an investor in Mawsonia, publisher of Global Corporate Venturing).
Points Technology, a China-based blockchain computing technology developer backed by credit ratings agency Zhong Cheng Xin Credit Technology, has received an undisclosed amount in a series A round led by VC firm K2 Venture Partners. It followed an $8m seed round in July 2018 that also featured Ontology Foundation, which operates blockchain-powered collaboration platform Ontology, in addition to K2VC, Danhua Capital, Ceyuan Ventures, NestBio and Cherubic Ventures.
India-based digital banking startup Juno has raised $3m in seed funding from investors including Consensys Labs, a strategic investment vehicle for blockchain software provider Consensys, YourStory has reported. The round included Sequoia Capital’s Surge fund, Polychain Capital, Dragonfly Capital Partners, Astarc Ventures, Singapore Angel Network and angel investors including Balaji Srinivasan, Salil Deshpande, Amrish Rau, Jitendra Gupta, Nitin Sharma, Venu Palaparthi, Rajesh Chelapurath, Brian Ma, Sanjay Mehta and Prashant Malik.
Industrial manufacturer Toyoda Gosei invested an undisclosed amount in Japan-based digital transformation services provider Uhuru Corporation on Wednesday. The funding was provided as the companies look to collaborate on products such as e-Rubber, a form of rubber that moves when it is electrically charged.
Aidea, the Japan-based developer of autonomous navigation system Aisea, secured ¥240m ($2.2m) in funding on Monday from investors including Mirai Creation Fund 2, which is overseen by asset manager Sparx and backed by carmaker Toyota and financial services firm Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation. The round also featured Mizuho Capital, the VC arm of financial services provider Mizuho Bank, and the round came alongside a financial and strategic partnership with Tokio Marine & Nichido Fire Insurance, part of insurance firm Tokio Marine.
South Korea-based water-testing and bacteria sensor developer The.Wave.Digital received $2m from VC firm Big Basin Capital and impact VC fund Yellowdog yesterday to increase its overall funding to $6m. It said its earlier investors include internet group Naver, pharmaceutical company EstechPharma, accelerator and VC fund Bluepoint Partners and private equity fund LB Investment.
Aerospace and weapons manufacturer LIG Nex1 acquired a 20% stake in Microinfinity, a South Korea-based developer of sensor chips for unmanned aerial vehicles, in late 2019, The Korea Herald has reported. LIG Nex1 converted ₩2.5bn ($2m) in debt into shares in Microinfinity, which was founded in 2001, and the investment will likely inform a surveillance drone the corporate is developing.
India-based ready meal delivery service Fingerlix has raised Rs 140m ($1.8m) from online food ordering service Swiggy, Accel, Zephyr PeaCock and RB Investments, Entrackr reported on Tuesday, citing a regulatory filing. Fingerlix had received a total of raised $11.3m from investors including Zephyr Peacock, Accel and Maverix Platforms before Swiggy supplied $4.4m in series C funding for the company in February 2019.
Globis Capital Partners, the corporate venturing arm of education services provider Globis, supplied an undisclosed amount of funding on Tuesday for Giria, a Japan-based developer of artificial intelligence-equipped business planning software. The deal followed undisclosed amounts from education services provider TryGroup and financial services firm Mizuho Bank in August 2019 and from engineering services and consulting firm Zuken the following month.
OK Group, the owner of cryptocurrency exchange OKEx, provided more than RMB10m ($1.4m) in funding for China-based blockchain information services provider Yun Qu Technologies yesterday. The startup’s offering could potentially be useful in informing activities such as anti-money laundering actions and regulatory compliance.
FamiOne, the Japan-based operator of a pregnancy concierge service, secured ¥150m ($1.4m) on Monday in a pre-series A round that included Aflac Ventures and Venture United, which invested on behalf of medical insurance provider Aflac and advertising technology producer United. The corporates were joined by VC firms KVP and AG Capital, angel investors Jun Nishikawa, Minoru Moriya and Sōichirō Kawai, and Japan Finance Corporation, which supplied an undisclosed amount of debt financing through the round.
Spain-based audio fingerprinting technology developer Fluzo has received €1.25m ($1.4m) in funding from investors including Sabadell Venture Capital, the strategic investment vehicle for financial services firm Banco Sabadell, Finsmes reported yesterday. VC firm Adara Ventures led the round, the proceeds of which will go to product development and planned expansion in Europe and Mexico.
JR West Japan Innovations, a corporate VC arm for rail operator JR West, invested an undisclosed amount in Yolo Japan, a Japan-based provider of support services for foreign residents, on Tuesday. Yolo Japan, which has about 150,000 users, has also formed a partnership with JR West intended to boost the number of foreign workers employed by the company.
Web and mobile development agency Square1 has supplied an undisclosed amount of funding for audio-focused social app developer Limor, Silicon Republic reported yesterday. The company’s existing investors include Cian Blackwell, the treasurer of airline Ryanair, and the latest funding will support the development of the next iteration of Limor’s app.
India-based electric scooter rental platform Vogo has raised Rs 30m ($390,000) from Ramachandran Narayan of private equity firm Gaja Capital, and a vehicle called Exponentially I Mobility, Inc42 reported on Monday, citing a regulatory filing. Vogo secured $19m in a February 2020 series C round led by LGT Lightstone and backed by Matrix Partners and Kalaari Capital, and received $100m in financing from ride hailing service Ola in late 2018 to acquire some 100,000 scooters.
VC fund Prasetia Dwidharma led a seed round of undisclosed size for Indonesia-based online trucking services startup Webtrace that also featured Astra Ventura, the VC arm of conglomerate Astra International, e27 reported yesterday. It will use the funding to increase its sales staff and strengthen marketing.
Diversified conglomerate Mahindra & Mahindra agreed last month to pay $150,000 for a 5% stake in Algeria-based tractor supplier Eurl LD Azouaou, Business Standard has reported. Eurl LD Azouaou also operates as the exclusive franchisee for India-headquartered Mahindra’s tractors in its home country.
