E-commerce marketplace Flipkart and its owner, retail group Walmart, have jointly invested an undisclosed amount in India-based online fresh produce retailer Ninjacart, LiveMint reported on Wednesday. Reports in August this year suggested Walmart could provide up to $50m for Ninjacart, though it is unclear whether it did so. The company had previously raised approximately $148m from investors including Qualcomm Ventures, NeoPlux and Syngenta Ventures, subsidiaries of mobile chipmaker Qualcomm, conglomerate Doosan and agribusiness Syngenta respectively.
IT and network technology producer NEC provided $10m in funding for Canada-based quantum computing technology developer D-Wave Systems on Tuesday through a hybrid services development agreement. D-Wave closed $50m in convertible note financing from Public Sector Pension Investment Board in February 2018 having previously raised approximately C$200m ($152m) from investment and financial services group Fidelity, Goldman Sachs, DFJ, In-Q-Tel, BDC Capital and Jeff Bezos as of late 2016 according to the Globe and Mail.
Aeva, a US-based developer of sensors for autonomous vehicles, revealed on Wednesday it recently raised a ‘significant’ amount from automotive manufacturer Porsche. The company secured $3.5m in January 2017 according to a regulatory filing, and $45m in an October 2018 round co-led by venture capital firms Lux Capital and Canaan that likely involved Socii Capital, a VC firm that lists Aeva among its portfolio companies.
Artidis, the Switzerland-based developer of a diagnostics system for breast and lung cancer, has completed a CHF8.8m ($8.9m) seed round featuring medical device maker SMD MedicalTrade. The round included Bernina Bioinvest, a vehicle potentially representing sewing machine manufacturer Bernina, as well as undisclosed family offices and individual investors. It will support the progression of the company’s technology into a multi-centre clinical study.
Financial services firm Crédito Real led an $8m series A round for Camino Financial, a US-based online lender that targets the Latinx community, on Wednesday. The round involved $3m in convertible note financing previously provided by Dila Capital, 10x Capital Management and unnamed existing investors being converted into equity. Camino raised $750,000 in 2015 and added $2m in extra seed capital from Comcast Ventures Catalyst Fund, which is owned by mass media group Comcast, as well as Collaborative Fund, Hunt Holdings and Impact America Fund, the following year.
Qualcomm Ventures supplied $8m in funding for US-based machine maintenance analysis software provider Augury yesterday through its AI Fund. Augury had previously raised more than $51m, as of a $25m series C in February this year that included machine learning technology producer Alluvium, reinsurer Munich Re’s Munich Re/HSB Ventures unit, Insight Partners, Eclipse Ventures, Lerer Hippeau and Pritzker Group Venture Capital. Its earlier backers included Bloomberg Beta, which is sponsored by media group Bloomberg.
Laudio, the US-based developer of an engagement platform for nursing teams, closed a $7.3m series A round on Tuesday featuring healthcare provider MemorialCare Health System’s MemorialCare Innovation Fund. The round was co-led by InHealth Ventures and .406 Ventures and included undisclosed existing investors, which would have joined MemorialCare Innovation Fund in a $1.7m seed round closed by Laudio in February this year according to a securities filing.
CapitalG, a growth equity subsidiary of internet and technology group Alphabet, is set to invest almost $1.2m in India-based mathematics tuition platform Cuemath as part of a Rs 390m ($5.5m) tranche of series B funding, Entrackr reported on Monday, citing regulatory filings. Manta Ray Ventures is leading the tranche, which includes Sequoia India. Cuemath had raised a total of at least $19m from CapitalG, Sequoia India, Unitus Seed Fund and Alok Mittal as of January 2017.
India-based retail digitisation technology developer m.Paani has received $5.5m in a series A round that included chemicals and consumer goods producer Henkel, the Economic Times reported on Wednesday. AC Ventures, Chiratae Ventures, Candy Ventures, Blume Ventures and angel investors Kevin Aluwi, Ryu Suliawan and Suvir Varma also contributed to the round, which follows pre-series A funding from Blume Ventures and various angels in 2016, and $1.35m in additional capital from Blume Ventures, Chiratae and Saha Fund in March 2017.
Norway-based e-commerce logistics services provider Porterbuddy has secured about NOK40m ($4.4m) in funding from online pharmacy Farmasiet, clothing retailer Varner and investment firm Canica, Dagens Næringsliv has reported. The round valued the company at roughly $11m to $13m and it will use the cash to expand beyond the Norwegian capital of Oslo to other cities within the country.
Innogy Innovation Hub, which is sponsored by energy utility Innogy, led a $3m seed round for Portugal-based mesh networking software developer HypeLabs on Tuesday. The round also featured EDP Ventures, the corporate VC arm of another energy provider, EDP; Caixa Capital, which invests on behalf of financial services firm Caixa Geral de Depósitos; telecommunications firm Deutsche Telekom, AngelPad, NovaBase Capital and Mustard Seed. The capital will support hiring and international expansion.
Internet group Baidu has invested an undisclosed amount in China-based open-source software community Open Source China, Sohu has reported. The funding will go toward increasing headcount, expanding research and development and bolstering the company’s infrastructure as it seeks to promote the creation and use of open-source technology.
Media company Schibsted has paid NOK12m ($1.3m) for a 12% stake in Norway-based smart home alarm developer Homely. The startup launched in February this year and its system links the alarms to a 24-hour emergency monitoring station through the company’s platform, which is accessible through a subscription model.
Government-owned gas and petroleum supplier Gail has provided Rs 50m ($700,000) of bridge financing for India-based micro-mobility vehicle developer Pi Beam, YourStory reported on Tuesday. The company has now raised a total of about $1m this year, the earlier funding coming from Eagle10 Ventures, Bluehill Capital, Keiretsu Forum and undisclosed angel investors.
Mobile entertainment app and game developer Gismart supplied $500,000 of funding for Jambl, the Germany-based operator of a social media platform for creators of beat-based music, on Monday through a strategic partnership agreement. Gismart said the cash was provided through an investment platform it recently set up to back teams with interesting mobile projects.
Hubro Education, the Norway-based creator of a game that helps students learn about economics, is raising NOK4m ($440,000) in funding from investors including publisher Vigmostad & Bjørke, Shifter has reported. The round will include undisclosed angel investors and will allow the company to meet international demand for its product while beefing up marketing and staff numbers.
Image courtesy of Ninjacart.
