Internet group Tencent agreed on Tuesday to invest an undisclosed amount in Czech Republic-based game developer Bohemia Interactive. Bohemia specialises in PC games and its portfolio of titles include Operation Flashpoint: Elite and the Arma series of military simulation games.
Susquehanna Growth Equity, a subsidiary of quantitative trading and technology firm Susquehanna International Group, invested an undisclosed amount in ProviderTrust, a US-based provider of screening, monitoring and verification tools for compliance in the healthcare industry, on Tuesday. It had previously raised $550,000 in 2012 from a single unnamed investor, according to a regulatory filing.
TomoCredit, the US-based creator of a credit card that helps build users’ credit scores, revealed on Wednesday it has secured $7m in seed capital from investors including financial services firms Barclays and Kookmin Bank, the latter participating through subsidiary KB Investment. The banks were joined by Knollwood Investment Advisory, Bam Ventures, Passport Capital, Ulu Ventures, Strong Ventures and angel investors including Arlan Hamilton, Michael Vaughan and James Kim.
Investment firm Reefknot Investments has provided an undisclosed amount for Roambee, a US-based shipping management software developer backed by industrial conglomerate Jebsen & Jessen and telecoms firms Telkom Indonesia, Deutsche Telekom and Telkomsel, e27 reported on Wednesday. Anchor Group and Comcraft co-led the company’s last round, a $15.2m series B in January 2020, investing alongside Jebsen & Jessen, Telkomsel, Intuitive Ventures and Anant Singhania to take its total funding to $24.2m.
Payment technology provider Stripe co-led a $6m seed round for Accord, the US-based operator of an online business-to-business sales platform, on Wednesday, with accelerator operator Y Combinator. Accord co-founder and CEO Ross Rich had spent four years in sales and partnerships roles at Stripe before leaving to form the startup in 2019.
Private equity fund TIW Private Equity supplied almost $6m for Scentials Beauty Care and Wellness, an India-based cosmetics brand backed by consumer goods producer Unilever, on Tuesday, Business Standard reported. Unilever Ventures led a $3.6m round for Scentials in mid-2019 and the proceeds from the TIW investment will support the expansion of its product range and distribution network.
Hubx, the UK-based operator of a capital raising platform for businesses, has closed a $5.5m funding round that included financial services firm Barclays, City AM reported on Monday. VC fund Basinghall Partners led the round, which also featured investment management firm Elite and unnamed private investors. The cash will fund project development, recruitment and marketing activities.
Financial services firm Kenanga Investment Bank’s Kenanga Private Equity subsidiary is paying an undisclosed amount for a 19% stake in Tokenize Technology, the Malaysia-based owner of a licensed digital asset exchange called Tokenize Xchange, The Star reported on Monday. The deal is intended to help Kenanga expand its digital asset offering.
Pngme, the US-headquartered creator of a financial data management platform designed for use in Africa, received $3m in seed funding from investors including financial services provider Raptor Group in Q3 2020, TechCrunch reported yesterday. Radical Ventures, Lateral Capital and EchoVC also participated in the round, which comes after $500,000 in a 2019 pre-seed round. Rally Cap and Kepple Africa Ventures are also among Pngme’s earlier backers.
Ledn, the Canada-based operator of a digital platform for asset savings and credit, secured $2.7m on Monday from investors including Coinbase Ventures and CMT Digital, which invested on behalf of cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase and trading firm CMT Group respectively. The round was led by investment firm White Star Capital’s Digital Asset Fund and also featured Global Founders Capital, Kingsway and Darrow Holdings.
Aroma Bit, a Japan-based developer of odour sensors, raised an undisclosed amount on Tuesday from printer manufacturer Epson’s investment arm, Epson X Investment Corporation, as well as electronics producer Kyocera and VC firm TechAccel Ventures. Electronics manufacturer Sony’s Innovation Fund invested $2.2m in Aroma Bit in March 2019, before it secured $3.2m from tobacco producer Japan Tobacco and East Ventures in October the same year and an undisclosed sum from Sony Innovation Fund the following month.
Marble, the US-based creator of a digital wallet and online loyalty platform for insurance, disclosed on Wednesday it has received $2.5m in seed capital from investors including MS&AD Ventures, a corporate venturing subsidiary of insurance group MS&AD. The startup’s other investors are IA Capital Group, Reciprocal Ventures, Fintech Ventures Fund, Takoma Group and HU Investments.
Insurance firm Helvetia invested an undisclosed amount in Taxly, the Switzerland-based developer of a software platform that helps users organise and fill in their tax returns, on Tuesday. The capital was provided through corporate venturing vehicle Helvetia Venture Fund and will go to geographical expansion.
Cryptocurrency exchange Binance led a $2.4m round for Stake Technologies, the Japan-headquartered operator of a public blockchain network called Plasm Network, on Monday through subsidiary Binance Labs. It was joined by auto component producer Wanxiang’s HashKey Capital vehicle, LongHash, Digital Finance Group and Paka Ventures, and the round came after a grant of undisclosed size from Web3 Foundation in February 2020.
Japan-based infrastructure inspection software developer Lilz closed a ¥250m ($2.4m) series A round on Tuesday featuring consumer electronics producer Sony’s Startup Acceleration Program and Dogan Beta, a subsidiary of investment and consulting services firm Dogan. They were joined by Energy & Environment Investment and Okinawa Development Finance Corporation, and the company identified UmuSun Lab as an existing shareholder.
Telecoms and internet group SoftBank’s Opportunity Fund invested an amount likely to be roughly $2m in US-based automation technology developer Adapdix Corporation on Tuesday to take its overall funding to $10m. Adapdix was part of the fourth batch of investment firm Morgan Stanley’s Multicultural Innovation Lab in April 2020 before WRVI Capital led an $8m series A round in December also backed bv Micron Ventures, the investment arm of data storage technology provider Micron, and existing backer X2 Equity.
Japan-based food industry digitalisation service SpiceCode received ¥200m ($1.9m) in pre-series A financing on Monday from investors including digital media company Gree’s Strive fund. The round also featured Kemuri Ventures, a VC fund spun off by restaurant operator En-Rest, as well as VC firm Coral Capital and unnamed individuals. The company said the round boosted its overall funding to approximately $2.6m.
Swajal, an India-based water purification technology developer backed by solar engineering firm Saurya EnerTech, secured $1.6m in pre-series A funding from Rajasthan Asset Management Company and angel investors including Pramod Agarwal, VCCircle reported on Wednesday. The company, which was founded by staff at Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur, had previously raised $1.2m from investors including Saurya and Abhishek Gupta in 2015.
Baked goods producer Grupo Bimbo invested an undisclosed amount in US-based vegan treat developer Rule Breaker Snacks today through corporate venturing subsidiary Bimbo Ventures. Rule Breaker said the transaction represented its first external funding since it was founded in 2015.
Internet company Mail.ru’s video game publisher subsidiary My.Games provided $1.5m for US-based mobile game studio Pizza Club Games through corporate venturing vehicle My.Games Venture Capital on Tuesday. The startup’s first title, Raid Boss, is in early access on the Android mobile operating system, and My.Games will assist it in marketing, game design, hiring and product analytics.
Safepay, the developer of a digital payment system geared for merchants in its home country of Pakistan, has received a seven-figure dollar amount in a seed round that included digital payment processor Stripe, Menabytes reported yesterday. Global Founders Capital, HOF Capital, Soma Capital, Mantis Venture Capital and VC Fatima Gobi Ventures also participated in the round, which comes after Safepay graduated from the Y Combinator accelerator with $125,000 in August 2020.
VC firm Kairous Capital led a $1m seed round for China-headquartered online technology media and community platform Technode Global on Monday that included SPH Ventures, the investment arm of media company Singapore Press Holdings. The round was filled out by Nutty Capital and came after Technode Global, which will concentrate on news and developments across Asia, was spun off by China-focused parent company Technode in 2019.
IT services firm Infosys has provided $1m in funding for India-based unmanned aerial vehicle producer IdeaForge, Business Standard reported today. Infosys had invested an amount it revealed this week was $1.5m in IdeaForge through its Innovation Fund in 2016, and the company’s existing investors include mobile chipmaker Qualcomm’s corporate VC unit, Qualcomm Ventures, as well as WRVI Capital.
Aba, the Japan-based developer of a continence management nursing, raised ¥100m ($960,000) on Wednesday from investors including welfare equipment provider Yamashita Corporation and Impact Venture Capital, an investment firm supported by consultancy Lib Consulting. It had secured $3m in April 2019 from RealTech Fund, Mistletoe and New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organisation as well as undisclosed individuals.
Physiotherapy provider Rapid Physiocare has joined JDTT Holdings to invest $960,000 in Onycho Pharma, the Singapore-based developer of a product that treats nail fungus, DealStreetAsia reported on Tuesday. Onchyo’s treatment uses anti-fungal properties derived from a strain of cyanobacteria.
Pan for You, the Japan-based bakery digitalisation technology developer also known as Yuabread, secured an undisclosed amount on Monday from e-gifting platform Giftee and Kyushu Open Innovation Fund, a vehicle backed by VC firm GxPartners that is managed by financial services firm Fukuoka Financial Group’s FFG Venture Business Partners fund. The company had already raised an undisclosed sum from GxPartners in June 2020.
Xend Finance, the Nigeria-based creator of a decentralised financing platform designed for use by credit unions and cooperatives, has received an amount likely to be $500,000 in a round co-led by Haskhey, a vehicle for automotive component producer Wanxiang, and investment platform NGC Ventures, Coindesk reported on Tuesday. Xend launched in November 2020 with $1.5m from Binance Labs, the VC arm of cryptocurrency exchange Binance, as well as internet technology provider Google’s Launchpad subsidiary, AU21 Capital and TRG Capital.
Web development services provider Thorgate has led a €350,000 ($420,000) bridge round for UK-based virtual reality game developer U24 Solutions through corporate venturing unit Thorgate Ventures, EU-Startups has reported. The round also featured MSD Service and it increased the company’s overall funding to almost $1.2m.
Financial data aggregator Minkabu The Infonoid invested an undisclosed amount in Japan-based pension information provider Mirai Chokin on Tuesday through a business partnership agreement. The company had reportedly received an undisclosed amount of funding from travel technology provider Voyage Group and VC fund SV Frontier in 2018.
Toletta Cats, the Japan-based smart litter box provider formerly known as Hachi Tama, has received $200,000 through its inclusion in the fourth cohort of Leap Venture Studio, the accelerator co-sponsored by pet food and care group Mars Petcare’s open innovation subsidiary, Kinship. The company had raised a total of $4.7m as of May 2020 when it secured $930,000 in series A funding from packaging technology provider Kikuchi Seisakusho and Monex Ventures, a subsidiary of currency exchange services group Monex.
Additional reporting by Liwen-Edison Fu.
