Limitless, the UK-based creator of an artificial intelligence-equipped customer experience platform, secured $10m on Tuesday in a series B round featuring consumer product manufacturer Unilever’s investment arm, Unilever Ventures. The round was led by Redline Capital and also backed by Genesys and AlbionVC, the latter having joined existing investors Unilever Ventures and Downing Ventures in a $6.6m series A round in 2019 that took the total raised by Limtless to $10.6m.
Metalenz, a US-based developer of optical lens technology, emerged from stealth yesterday with $10m from investors including 3M Ventures, Applied Ventures, Intel Capital, M Ventures and TDK Ventures, on behalf of consumer and industrial goods producer 3M, chipmakers Applied Materials and Intel, pharmaceutical firm Merck Group and electronics manufacturer TDK respectively. The corporates were joined in the round by Tsingyuan Ventures and Braemar Energy Ventures.
Superb AI, a US-based developer of smart training data software, closed a $9.3m series A round on Tuesday that included KT Investments, the corporate venturing arm of telecommunications firm KT Corporation. The round was led by venture capital firm Atinum Investment and also backed by Premier Partners, Stonebridge Ventures, Murex Partners and Duke University’s Angel Network. The company said it has now raised $11.3m altogether, and its earlier investors include Y Combinator.
HBSE Ventures, a corporate venturing subsidiary of sports brand owner Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment, co-led a $9m funding round for Anzu.io, the Japan-based creator of an in-game advertising system, on Wednesday with VC firm Bitkraft. It included baseball franchise Chicago Cubs, public relations group WPP, electronics producer Sony’s Innovation Fund, Alumni Ventures Group, Gaingels, Goal Ventures and private investors Dylan Collins and Marc Merrill. The company had already raised $6.5m from WPP, Bitkraft and Axel Springer Digital Ventures, part of media group Axel Springer, in August 2019.
Italy-based advanced materials producer Tau increased a series A round featuring specialty chemical producer Altana to €6.75m ($8.1m) yesterday with an undisclosed amount from Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF), undisclosed Middle Eastern sovereign wealth funds and an unnamed investment manager. Altana’s corporate venturing unit, Altana Ventures, had invested $5m for the round’s first tranche in April 2020.
Share Denki, the Japan-based operator of a solar energy distribution service, secured an undisclosed amount today from Eneos, the petroleum producer formerly known as JXTG Holdings, as well as insurance firm Dai-ichi Life, Incubate Fund and Energy & Environment Investment. The company said it has now raised approximately $11.1m altogether, with Eneos having invested in October 2020.
Ridge-i, the Japan-based operator of a consulting service for artificial intelligence technology, raised ¥780m ($7.5m) on Monday from financial services provider Orix Corporation, VC firm Global Brain and asset manager Sparx Group. The round took the company’s total funding to approximately $14.6m and followed $6.7m from industrial machinery producer Ebara Corporation, electronics vendor Ricoh and public-private partnership Innovation Network Corporation of Japan in April 2019.
Susquehanna Growth Equity (SGE), a subsidiary of quantitative trading and technology firm Susquehanna International Group, made a ‘significant’ investment of undisclosed size in Seek Now, a US-based technology services provider for property and casualty insurance firms, on Wednesday. The company, which was founded in 2012 as Ladder Now, had not revealed any earlier funding. SGE managing director Ben Weinberg is joining its board of directors in connection with the deal.
Telstra Ventures, the investment arm of telecoms firm Telstra, co-led a C$9.5m ($7.4m) series A-plus round for Canada-based risk analysis software developer Certn last month with B Capital Group that included Cyber Mentor Fund, it revealed on Monday. It had raised $4.6m in seed capital from Tribe Capital, Preface Ventures, Moxxie Ventures, Weekend Fund, Scribble Ventures and Basement Ventures in February 2020 and all but Tribe returned for a $21m series A in November co-led by Inovia Capital and 01 Advisors and also backed by Panache Ventures.
AffyXell Therapeutics, a gene and cell therapy-focused joint venture for drug producers Avacta Group and Daewoong Pharmaceutical, completed a $7.3m series A round on Monday. The cash came from Samsung Venture Investment Corporation and Smilegate Investment, on behalf of electronics producer Samsung and game developer Smilegate respectively, as well as Shinhan Venture Investment, Shinhan Investment Corporation, Kolon Investment, Stonebridge Ventures and Gyeongnam Venture Investment.
US-based veterinary biotherapeutics developer Resilient Biotics has received $7.1m in series A funding from investors including animal medicine and vaccine producer Elanco Animal Health, AgFunder News has reported. Berkeley Catalyst Fund and Fulcrum Global Capital co-led the round, which also featured Innovation in Motion, and Viking Global Investors. The proceeds will support development of a microbiome-derived bovine respiratory disease drug candidate called RBX001.
Software producer Microsoft has agreed to invest an undisclosed sum in Climeworks, a Switzerland-based company developing direct air capture technology to remove carbon dioxide from the air. The cash was supplied through the corporate’s Climate Innovation Fund and follows $3.4m in series B funding from financial services firm Zürcher Kantonalbank and various private investors in 2014, before the bank joined unnamed individuals to invest another $31.1m in the company in 2018.
Japan-based proton beam therapy developer B Dot Medical had raised a total of ¥700m ($6.7m) in series A funding from investors including medical equipment importer Mediark, capacitor manufacturer Nichicon, radiotherapy and nuclear technology provider Cosylab and leasing service JA Mitsui Leasing as of the end of last month, it disclosed on Tuesday. The corporates were joined by Keio University’s Keio Innovation Initiative, and B Dot’s technology was created at Japan’s National Institute of Radiological Sciences.
US-based risk management platform developer TrustLayer closed a $6.6m seed round on Tuesday that included NFP Ventures, the investment arm of insurance provider NFP; BrokerTech Ventures, a VC representative of 13 insurance agencies; and Propel Venture Partners, the VC firm backed by financial services firm BBVA. The round was led by VC firm Abstract Ventures and also featured BoxGroup and Precursor Ventures. It came after TrustLayer took part in the 2020 batch of BrokerTech Ventures’ accelerator.
Poland-headquartered telemedicine platform developer Telemedico has completed a €5.5m ($6.6m) series A round featuring pharmaceutical company Adamed, PKO VC and Uniqa Ventures, the respective investment vehicles for financial services firm Bank Polski and insurance firm Uniqa, TechCrunch reported on Monday. VC firm Flashpoint Venture Capital led the round, which included Black Pearls VC, an existing investor according to TechCrunch. Telecoms firm Telefónica’s Wayra subsidiary had invested an undisclosed amount in Telemedico in 2014.
Bangladesh-based fortified snack producer Frontier Nutrition secured $6m in series B funding on Wednesday from investors including DSM Venturing, the corporate venturing vehicle for nutrition product maker Royal DSM. The round was led by life sciences fund Adjuvant Capital and included DSG Consumer Partners, Great Point Ventures and angel investors Shazi Visram, Seth Goldman and Bridgette Heller. The funding will help the company expand distribution of the snacks across Bangladesh.
US-based digital checkout technology developer Balance emerged from stealth on Wednesday with $5.5m in seed capital from investors including digital payment technology producer Stripe. The corporate was joined by accelerator operator Y Combinator and VC firms Lightspeed Venture Partners and UpWest in addition to angel investor Max Levchin.
Gradient Ventures, the artificial intelligence investment fund owned by internet technology provider Google, led a $5.4m series A round yesterday for Iteratively, the US-based developer of a data analytics tracking tool. Zach Bratun-Glennon, partner at Gradient Ventures, is joining the company’s board of directors in conjunction with the round, which included Fika Ventures and PSL Ventures, the latter of which was described as an existing investor.
Eurekite, a Netherlands-based spinout of University of Twente that has created a flexible ceramic fibre material called Flexiramics, raised €4.2m ($5.1m) on Monday in a round featuring equity funding from electronic product manufacturer Demcon, Lumana Invest and Oost NL’s Innovation Fund Twente, debt financing from RVO and an equipment lease facility from High Tech Fund. The company said it had raised a total of €2.75m from Cottonwood Technology Fund between 2015 and 2020, including $1.3m in seed capital in 2015.
PasarPolis, an Indonesia-based online insurance portal backed by consumer electronics producer Xiaomi, has received $5m in equity funding from the World Bank Group’s private investment arm, International Finance Corporation (IFC), e27 reported yesterday, citing a company announcement. Xiaomi and investment firm LeapFrog Investments co-led the company’s $54m series B round in September 2020 with SBI Investment, a subsidiary of financial services provider SBI, investing with Alpha JWC Ventures and Intudo Ventures.
Casa, a US-based developer of digital currency storage technology, has secured $4m in seed funding from investors including Coinbase Ventures, a subsidiary of cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase, Coindesk reported yesterday. Avon Ventures, a vehicle for investment and financial services group Fidelity, led the round, which included Tioga Capital, Castle Island, Cadenza, Champion Hill, Compound VC, Lerer Hippeau and Precursor. The company had previously raised $2.1m from Lerer Hippeau, Compound and Boost VC in 2018.
Versus Game, the US-based creator of an online platform for predictive games, has closed a $4m seed round co-led by Raised In Space, a joint venture between and media holding company Ithaca Holdings and currency exchange platform developer Ripple’s Xpring subsidiary. VC firm Plus Eight Equity Partners co-led the round, which included Sway, Jam Fund, Spero Ventures, TIE Group, KLO Capital and various angel investors. The company said it has now raised a total of $6m.
Alzheimer’s Drug Discovery Foundation supplied an undisclosed amount on Tuesday for NeuroVision Imaging, an Alzheimer’s disease test developer backed by vision-focused insurance provider VSP Global and medical product group Johnson & Johnson. NeuroVision ha received $11.2m in series C funding in 2018 from VSP, Johnson & Johnson subsidiary Johnson & Johnson Innovation – JJDC, Nikon-SBI Innovation Fund – formed by optical technology producer Nikon and financial services provider SBI – Wildcat Capital Management and Whittier Ventures, taking its total financing to $25.4m.
Fashion retail chain Breuninger has led a €3.2m ($3.9m) seed round for AutoRetouch, the Germany-based creator of an intelligent image editing system. The funding was revealed as the company’s Ghost Mannequin effect technology was commercially released.
Valera Health, the US-based operator of a mental health-focused telemedicine service, completed a $3.8m funding round on Wednesday led by Axa Venture Partners, a subsidiary of insurance group Axa. The round also featured Windham Ventures, Figure Eight Investments, TWC and private investors Tom Insel and James Nahirny. Valera said the round pushed its total funding to $9m and identified TWC and Nahirny as existing investors. Manish Agarwal, general partner at Valera, will join its board of directors.
Nelo, a China-based producer of sugar-free jelly drops, has secured “millions of US dollars” in series A funding from investors including Bertelsmann Asia Investments (BAI), a local investment vehicle for media group Bertelsmann, DealStreetAsia has reported, citing a post on WeChat. BAI was joined by VC group IDG Capital and the round came after an undisclosed amount from private equity fund Vision Knight Capital in June 2020.
Japan-based artificial intelligence technology developer 1Sec received ¥270m ($2.6m) today from Gumi Ventures, a corporate venturing subsidiary of mobile entertainment provider Gumi, as well as media company Ceres, mobile game developer Ignis, VC firm East Ventures and individuals including Hironao Kunimitsu and Yūki Naitō. The startup had previously raised $940,000 from undisclosed corporate and VC investors in September 2019, eight months after it was founded.
Light Technologies, a US-based developer of assessment tools for neurological health, raised $2.5m on Tuesday in a seed round that included Yamaha Motor Ventures, the investment arm of motorised vehicle producer Yamaha Motor. The round was led by Creative Ventures and also featured Wisconsin Investment Partners, Berkeley Skydeck Fund, Band of Angels, EGB Capital, Monde Green Ventures, Puck Ventures and Vectors Angel Group. It said it has now secured over $3.25m in total including a grant of about $480,000 from National Institutes of Health.
Payflow, the Spain-based operator of a service enabling employees to access monthly pay early, has increased a seed round featuring Wayra, a subsidiary of telecoms firm Telefónica, to €2m ($2.4m), EU-Startups reported yesterday. Zone2boost and Plug and Play joined Wayra in the second tranche, which followed $1.9m from e-commerce holding company Rocket Internet, Itnig Fund, Lanai Partners, Abac Nest, angel investor Michael Benabou and Payflow co-founder Clement Benoit in July 2020.
Mindstone, the UK-based developer of an online platform for compound learning, received $2m in seed funding on Wednesday from investors including Zanichelli Venture, the corporate venturing arm of textbook publisher Zanichelli. The round was led by Moonfire Ventures and also featured The Fund, Nex.D and unnamed angel investors. It comes after Mindstone took part in the Techstars London accelerator earlier this year.
Carmaker Porsche has invested an undisclosed amount in Cresta, a US-based developer of smart customer service software, through corporate venturing unit Porsche Ventures. The company was spun out of Stanford University before raising $21m from Greylock Partners, Andreessen Horowitz and angel investors Andy Bechtolsheim, Mark Leslie and Vivi Nevo in February 2020. Its technology will be utilised on the online platforms for Porsche subsidiaries Porsche Cars North America and Porsche Financial Services.
Rarible, the US-based operator of an online marketplace for non-fungible tokens, has completed a $1.75m seed round featuring digital currency exchange Coinbase’s strategic investment arm, Coinbase Ventures, Coindesk reported on Wednesday. The corporate was joined in the round by VC fund 1kx and blockchain-focused investment firms ParaFi Capital and CoinFund.
VC firm Rocketship has joined an unnamed retail company and various angel investors to provide an undisclosed amount for digitalisation software developer BukuWarung, e27 reported on Wednesday. The company reportedly raised between $10m and $15m from GMO Venture Partners, a subsidiary of internet company GMO, as well as Soma Capital, Hof Capital, VentureSouq and assorted angel investors in October 2020. Its earlier backers include AC Ventures, Golden Gate Ventures, Tanglin Venture Partners, Quona Capital and East Ventures.
Edify, a US-based developer of engineer-focused enterprise software, received $1.6m in seed capital on Tuesday from investors including Atlassian Ventures, the corporate venturing arm of project management software producer Atlassian. The round has a $2m target and is being led by VC firm Flying Fish Ventures with participation from Portland Seed Fund and angel investors including Mat Ellis, Luke Kanies and Leigh Honeywell.
Melody International, the Japan-based creator of a perinatal care software platform, raised ¥164m ($1.6m) in series D funding today from 11 investors including gas utility Saibu Gas’s SG Incubate unit. Seiho Investment Works’ Innovation Discovery Fund led the round, which also featured KSP, VC firm Monozukuri Ventures’ MBC Shisaku unit and unnamed individuals and existing investors. The company had received $740,000 from Innovation Discovery Fund and used car exporter HA Holdings in June 2019.
Social Auto Transport, a US-based vehicle movement service for on-demand ride providers, has completed a $1.5m seed round featuring freight transportation provider Estes Express Lines. The round was led by VC firm Overline and was also backed by trucking factoring finance provider OTR Capital, automotive technology advisory firm Automotive Ventures and angel investor Kevin Nolan.
Oil and gas supplier Total has invested an undisclosed amount in Singapore-based renewable microgrid developer Canopy Power through investment vehicle Total Carbon Neutrality Ventures. The company had raised an undisclosed amount in a 2018 series A round featuring sensor and wiring system manufacturer CMR Group, Gaia Impact Fund and existing backer Golden Elm Investments.
Social commerce company Crowd Media Holdings has provided $1.3m in seed funding for Aflorithmic Labs, the UK-based developer of an audio content creation system, Tech.eu reported on Wednesday. The startup’s technology is set to be integrated with Crowd Media’s app portfolio.
Insurance technology provider Roadzen has invested an undisclosed amount in India-based telematics and driver assistance technology developer DrivebuddyAI. The funding will be channelled into product development and international growth that will be supported by Roadzen across India, Europe, the United States and China.
Tricera, a Japan-based online art marketplace operator backed by internet company Digital Garage, publisher Kodansha, broadcaster Fuji TV and currency exchange operator Monex, secured ¥115m ($1.1m) on Wednesday from angel investors including Nobuhiro Ariyasu alongside debt financing from undisclosed financial institutions. It had raised a total of $1.4m as of May 2020, from investors also including Globe Advisors and Ryōsuke Matsumoto.
South Africa-based crypto exchange operator Ovex has received an undisclosed amount of funding from quantitative cryptocurrency trading firm Alameda Research, Disrupt Africa has reported. The company had raised undisclosed amounts from VC firm Newtown Partners in April 2019 and tokenised fund manager Invictus Capital two months later.
Japan-based healthcare data technology developer Frontier Field raised an undisclosed amount from pharmaceutical holding group CMIC Holdings last month, it disclosed on Monday. Frontier Field had previously secured an undisclosed amount from financial services firm Mizuho Bank’s Mizuho Capital vehicle and Global Catalyst Partners Japan in September 2020.
Additional reporting by Liwen-Edison Fu.
