Brazil-based charter bus booking service Buser has raised an undisclosed amount in a series B round led by telecommunications and internet group SoftBank, Reuters reported on Monday. The round also featured mass media group Grupo Globo, Valor Capital, Canary and Monashees, the latter three having contributed to a series A undisclosed size for the company in November 2018.
Japan-based artificial intelligence software developer Araya has increased its latest funding round to ¥1bn ($9.3m), adding $4.2m from undisclosed investors to a first tranche in July 2019 that included telecoms firm KDDI’s Open Innovation Fund and real estate developer Mitsui Fudosan’s 31Ventures unit. The first close also featured GB-VI Growth Fund Investment Limited Partnership, a vehicle backed by venture capital firm Global Brain.
Sweden-based savings app developer Dreams, which counts insurance firm Axa’s Axa Investment Managers (Axa IM) unit and financial services firms Storebrand and Åland Bank among its backers, has closed a SEK90m ($9m) funding round, Nordic9 reported on Wednesday. Axa IM paid $5.7m for a 10% stake in Dreams in January this year, following $7.7 from Storebrand and Åland in September 2018, and Dreams has now raised more than $31m in total according to Nordic9.
France-based photonics technology developer Cailabs has secured €8m ($8.8m) in financing from investors including Safran Corporate Ventures, aerospace technology manufacturer Safran’s corporate venturing unit. The round was led by Supernova Invest and included French Ministry of the Armed Forces-owned Definvest in addition to Innovacom and Starquest Capital. Cailabs had raised $5.7m from Safran Corporate Ventures and unnamed existing backers in 2017 following $1.1m from undisclosed investors in July 2016 and $2.8m in November the same year.
New Vector, a UK-based decentralised, secure communication platform developer backed by blockchain technology provider Status, raised $8.5m yesterday from VC firm Notion and early-stage funds Dawn Capital and Firstminute Capital. The company had previously received $5m from Status in January 2018 and will channel the latest funding into enhancing Riot, its secure chat app, and adding features to its decentralised communications platform, Matrix.
BrainCheck, a US-based cognitive health-tracking software developer that is a graduate of care provider Texas Medical Center’s TMCx accelerator, has received $8m in a series A round co-led by VC fund S3 Ventures and VC firm Tensility Venture Partners, TechCrunch reported on Tuesday. The company closed a $4.5m seed round featuring True Wealth Ventures in June 2017 before adding $1.5m from True Wealth Ventures, Tensility Venture Partners, S3 Ventures and XFactor Ventures in December 2018.
Quantitative trading firm Susquehanna International Group co-led an $8m post-series A round for US-based autonomous security video technology developer Umbo Computer Vision on Wednesday with VC firm Translink Capital. Diversified conglomerate Shin-Kong also took part, through both security alarm subsidiary Shin-Kong Security and VC unit Shin-Kong Capital, and the round boosted Umbo’s overall funding to $17.6m. It had raised $2.8m in a 2016 seed round featuring corporates Phison and Wistron before adding $6.8m in late 2017.
Financial services group Intesa Sanpaolo yesterday invested €7m ($7.7m) in MatiPay, the Italy-based developer of a system that allows users to pay for goods in vending machines using their smartphones, through corporate venturing subsidiary Neva Finventures. MatiPay was incubated in the internet-of-things division of high-tech holding company Angel Group’s Sitael subsidiary. The Neva financing will fund the company’s expansion in Europe, Japan and the US.
Salesforce Ventures, enterprise software producer Salesforce’s corporate venturing unit, contributed to a $7.5m series C round for US-based computer telephony integration technology provider Tenfold on Tuesday. The round was led by Next Coast Ventures and included Andreessen Horowitz and Geekdom Fund. It followed a reported $31.3m from backers including the four series C investors, as of a $14m series B round disclosed in December 2018.
Media company Nikkei paid an undisclosed amount for a 14.8% stake in Singapore-based artificial intelligence technology developer DC Frontiers on Monday. Nikkei will look to leverage the relationship-tracking software developed by the company, which operates under the brand of Handshakes, to enhance its ScoutAsia database.
Florence, a US-based developer of clinical trials software, closed a $7.1m series B round last month featuring healthcare provider Atrium Health, it revealed yesterday. The round was led by growth equity firm Fulcrum Equity Partners and included VC firm Bee Partners, and it came after $1.7m from Bee Partners, Bessemer Venture Partners, Green D Angel Fund and angel investor Will Crawford in 2016. The cash will fund product development and the hiring of sales, marketing and customer success staff.
Adaptive Phage Therapeutics, a US-based developer of treatments for multi-drug resistant pathogenic bacteria, has raised $7m from backers including Alexandria Venture Investments, the VC arm of life sciences real estate investment trust Alexandria Real Estate Equities, as well as an unnamed healthcare delivery provider and an undisclosed specialty life sciences company. The startup had previously received $765,000 in debt financing from unnamed investors in April 2017 and an additional $2.35m in debt in June 2018 according to securities filings.
Classified listings operator Info Edge has joined growth equity fund MegaDelta Capital to invest $4.9m in India-based human resources and payroll management technology provider Greytip Software, Inc42 has reported. Greytip raised an undisclosed amount from Blume Ventures in 2014 before adding $5.2m from Blume and fellow VC firm New Enterprise Associates two years later.
Healthcare provider Intermountain Healthcare’s corporate venturing arm, Intermountain Ventures, provided an undisclosed amount of funding yesterday for Omada Health, the US-based creator of a platform that helps users prevent or deal with conditions such as diabetes and hypertension. Omada had raised a total of about $200m from investors including pharmaceutical firm company Sanofi and care providers Kaiser Permanente, Providence Health & Services and Cigna as of a $73m round in June this year.
Jones, an Israel-based developer of insurance automation software for the real estate industry, has secured $4.6m in a funding round led by VC fund Hetz Ventures that included workspace provider WeWork and JLL Spark, property services provider JLL’s corporate venturing unit, as well as MetaProp, Ground Up Ventures and 500 Startups, Globes reported yesterday. The same investors – bar WeWork – had provided $2.8m in seed capital for Jones in September 2018 and Globes stated it has now raised a total of $8m.
Chikaku, the Japan-based creator of an app that allows users to send videos and messages from their mobile devices to another user’s television, has received ¥460m ($4.3m) in funding from investors including GMO Venture Partners and Impact Venture Partners, subsidiaries of internet company GMO and consulting firm Lib Consulting. The round also featured SMBC Venture Capital and Seibu Shinkin Capital, on behalf of banks Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation and Seibu Shinkin, in addition to Incubate Fund and debt financing from Japan Finance Corporation. Chikaku has now raised about $9.4m altogether.
HRBrain, the Japan-based provider of a cloud human resources analysis platform, raised ¥400m ($3.7m) on Wednesday in a series B round featuring internet company CyberAgent’s Fujita Fund as well as diversified conglomerate Mitani Sangyo, leasing services provider JA Mitsui Leasing and Mizuho Capital, financial services firm Mizuho Bank’s VC arm. The company said it has now raised about $5.6m in total and that its earlier investors include Genesia Ventures and Beenext as well as Mizuho Capital.
IT processing services firm I-net Corporation has provided an undisclosed amount of funding for Japan-based spacecraft developer Space Walker alongside ¥370m ($3.5m) from computing technology supplier Sanwa Supply, digital advertising agency Bascule, Bliss Link, AbbaLab and angel investor Kenji Kasahara in a separate deal. Space Walker intends to begin testing its space plane in 2022.
South Africa-based home cleaning services platform SweepSouth secured more than R50m ($3.3m) on Monday from investors including brand management services provider Smollan and Naspers Foundry, the local corporate venturing unit set up by media and e-commerce group Naspers, VentureBurn reported on Monday. Michael & Susan Dell Foundation, Vumela Fund, CRE VC and individual investor Black Coffee also took part in the round, which came in the wake of a $2.1m investment by Naspers in June this year.
Spain-based interior navigation software developer Situm has closed a €3m ($3.3m) funding round co-led by Prosegur Tech Ventures, the corporate venturing arm of security product maker Prosegur, and VC fund Swanlaab Venture Factory, El Referente has reported. The round included Amadeus Ventures, the strategic investment vehicle for travel services provider Amadeus, as well as Unirisco and the Galician government-backed Xesgalicia, the three having supplied an undisclosed amount of funding for Situm in January 2018.
Juno, a neo bank launched by crypto lending protocol developer Nuo, has received $3m in funding from investors including Consensys Labs, a subsidiary of blockchain software technology provider Consensys, the Economic Times reported on Wednesday. Consensys Labs provided $500,000 and payment technology producer PayU $250,000, and the round was co-led by Polychain Capital and Sequoia Capital’s Surge Fund, while Dragonfly Capital, Astarc Ventures, Singapore Angel Network and angel investors including Amrish Rau, Jitendra Gupta and Nitin Sharma also took part.
Semiconductor technology producer Xilinx invested an undisclosed sum in Germany-based database management software provider Swarm64 on Tuesday. Swarm64 had raised a total of $21m as of a series B round co-led by Intel Capital, a subsidiary of semiconductor technology provider Intel, and VC firm Investinor in January 2018 that included Alliance Venture and Target Partners. Its earlier backers also include Springfondet.
Blue Canoe, the US-based provider of an app that helps users improve their spoken English, completed a $3.9m seed round yesterday having raised $2.5m from investors including Qualcomm Ventures, mobile semiconductor producer Qualcomm’s corporate venturing subsidiary. VC firm Tsingyuan Ventures led the round, which also featured Fantail Ventures and unnamed additional participants. Qualcomm Ventures invested $500,000 in the company in July 2019 and the latest tranche followed $1.4m from investors including Kernel Labs in late 2017.
Education provider Beaconhouse School System has led a series A round for Pakistan-based learning resource and software provider Knowledge Platform sized at more than $2m, Tech in Asia has reported. Asset manager Lakson Investments Venture Capital also participated in the round, which comes after Knowledge Platform expanded its user base to some 200,000 students across Pakistan.
Saudi Arabia supercomputing technology developer UnitX has received $2m in funding from oil and gas supplier Saudi Armco’s Wa’ed Ventures Fund and Kaust Innovation Fund, the VC arm of King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Saudi Gazette reported on Wednesday. Salman T. Jaffrey, chief investment officer for Wa’ed Ventures, is joining the startup’s board of directors in connection with its investment.
Soil Scout, a Finland-based developer of soil-moisture sensor technology, secured an undisclosed amount on Tuesday in a late-seed funding round led by outdoor power product supplier Husqvarna Group. The round included undisclosed private investors and the funding will be used to increase production of the company’s sensors.
Vivid Garden, the Japan-based operator of online food sourcing platform Tabechoku, has raised ¥200m ($1.9m) in a funding round featuring internet company DeNA, rice product maker Shinmei Holdings and Voyage Ventures, online advertising technology provider Voyage Group’s corporate VC unit, VentureTimes has reported. Monex Ventures, ISGS and angel investors Dai Tamesue, Ryosuke Matsumoto and Yoshihiro Nozaki also participated.
Tokyo University of Science Innovation Capital invested ¥165m ($1.5m) in Future Standard, the Japan-based creator of intelligent video analysis platform Scorer, yesterday. Future Standard had previously raised $6.6m including $3.6m from electrical equipment maker Toyo Tsushin Kogyo and IT services firm TIS, Spiral Ventures Japan, AG Capital, Incubate Fund, Hack Ventures and Hiroshima Venture Capital in May this year.
CyberAgent and offshore software provider Evolable Asia contributed to a ¥150m ($1.4m) funding round on Monday for Nailie, the Japan-based operator of a manicurist services booking platform. The round included angel investor Keiji Nishie and the cash will fund the enhancement of Nailie’s marketing capabilities, an increase in headcount and an acceleration of company growth.
Japan-based school operator Wisdom Academy raised ¥147m ($1.4m) today from a fund underwritten by education management services provider Kids Learning Network, as well as university investment vehicle Tokyo University of Science Innovation Capital. It will put the capital toward increasing headcount and improving its technology.
Newrope, a Japan-based provider of enterprise software for the fashion industry, closed a ¥100m ($930,000) funding round on Wednesday that included broadcaster Chukyo Television and mail order retailer Dinos Cecile. The round also featured Daiwa Corporate Investment, a vehicle for securities brokerage Daiwa, in addition to the software-as-a-service focused Reality Accelerator.
Singapore-based shipping data software provider Claritecs has received S$850,000 ($620,000) in pre-series A funding from maritime services provider Bernhard Schulte’s corporate venturing unit, Innoport, e27 has reported. The startup aims to raise series A funding next year that will support product development and international growth.
Communication services firm Usen-Next Holdings invested an undisclosed sum in Spotmate, the Japan-based creator of part-time job sourcing app Baitry, on Wednesday. The deal formed part of a business alliance that will involve Usen-Next supplying Baitry to its customers to help them source employees.
OsidOri, the Japan-based creator of a savings app designed for married couples, has secured ¥55m ($510,000) in funding from fashion services provider World Mode Holdings, education services firm Globis’ Venture Challenge Fund II fund and Kagayaku Mirai Ouen Fund II, which is run by financial services provider Bank of Kyoto. The round also featured business development services firm Infcurion Group and undisclosed angel investors, and it boosted OsidOri’s overall funding to about $930,000.
IT services provider Pipi supplied an undisclosed amount for Japan-based condominium investment platform Clearth Life late last month, the companies disclosed on Tuesday. The pair have also signed a business agreement, and Clearth Life intends to leverage Pipi’s apartment management software in its business.
Nissay Capital, the corporate venturing vehicle for insurance firm Nippon Life, has provided ¥50m ($470,000) for Antway, the Japan-based operator of a food delivery service called Tsukuri.jp that is aimed at two-income households. Antway got the funding in connection with its participation in Nissay’s 50M accelerator, having been admitted in July this year.
Japan-based coffee subscription service PostCoffee has also raised ¥50m in funding, from investors including digital media company Ceres and Asahi Media Lab Ventures, a subsidiary of newspaper publisher Asahi Media. The round included VC fund Incubate Fund and a company called Studies.
Tryeting, a Japan-based artificial intelligence software provider backed by automotive component manufacturer Toyoda Gosei and advanced materials producer Japan Material Technologies Corporation, has secured an undisclosed amount from Aigin Future Creation Fund, a joint venture between financial services firm Aichi Bank and wealth manager Shizuoka Capital. It will be added to $2.8m invested by both corporates together with banking firm Tokai Tokyo Financial Holdings’ Tokai Tokyo Investment subsidiary in August 2019.
Erajaya Holding, a subsidiary of consumer electronics distributor Erajaya Swasembada, provided S$600,000 ($430,000) in convertible note financing for Singapore-based wifi service provider DataPro Technologies late last month, IDN Financials has reported. DataPro offers on-the-go wifi for tourists visiting the country on behalf of businesses that can monetise the service through analytics.
Basketball professional Stephen Curry has invested an undisclosed sum in US-based adult education provider Guild Education. The company had previously raised $71.5m, most recently closing a $40m series C round in July 2018 that included Salesforce Ventures and Workday Ventures, which invest on behalf of enterprise software producers Salesforce and Workday, as well as Felicis Ventures, Silicon Valley Bank, Rethink Impact & Education, Redpoint Ventures, Harrison Metal, Bessemer Venture Partners and Cowboy Ventures.
Real estate marketplace operator Tsukuruba supplied an undisclosed amount for Japan-based furniture subscription service Subsclife in August this year, the startup revealed at the start of this month. The capital was invested in connection with a business partnership agreement and is Tsukuruba’s first since it went public in July.
