NetDrive, a Taiwan-based energy data technology developer, secured $10m in series B funding on Tuesday from e-commerce group Alibaba’s Taiwan Entrepreneurs Fund and Arm IoT Fund, which is owned by semiconductor technology producer Arm Holdings, a subsidiary of telecommunications group SoftBank. It had raised a total of $270,000 as of May 2018, when it received $180,000 from undisclosed investors.
Stonewise, the China-based creator of an artificial intelligence-equipped drug development software platform, has received nearly $10m in a series A round led by VC firm Longhill Capital that included Linear Capital, Technode reported on Monday, citing a company statement. The startup had previously raised an undisclosed amount from SIG Asia, an investment vehicle for quantitative trading and technology firm Susquehanna International Group.
Marketing firm Dentsu and computing equipment supplier MCJ both took part in a ¥1bn ($9.5m) funding round on Monday for InfoRich, the Japan-based operator of smartphone energy charging service ChargeSpot. It had previously received $27.3m in funding in December 2019 from Japan Post Capital, the investment arm of postal service Japan Post, as well as talent agency Horipro, Goldman Sachs, GMCM Venture Capital Partners and Chartwell Capital.
Mainframe Industries, a cloud-native game developer jointly based in Finland and Iceland, raised an amount reported by VentureBeat to be $8.3m yesterday, from game video game publisher Riot Games and venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz. The round came in the wake of $2.2m in seed capital from Maki.vc, Play Ventures, Crowberry Capital and Sisu Game Ventures in October 2019.
Recruitment firms Tsunagu Group Holdings and Persol Career, outsourced office services provider S-Pool and Globis Capital Partners, the VC arm of educational services provider Globis, have contributed to an ¥800m ($7.4m) series A round for Zenkigen, the Japan-based developer of an online interview service called Harutaka for use by recruiters. World Innovation Lab led the round, which included Pksha Sparx Algorithm Investment Limited Partnership – a joint venture by machine learning technology provider Pksha and asset manager Sparx – and Delight Ventures. Zenkigen said it has now raised $9.2m in total.
Robin Games has secured $7m in seed funding from investors including Hearst Ventures, the corporate venturing unit for media group Hearst, VentureBeat reported yesterday. The round was led by VC fund London Venture Partners and also featured 1Up Ventures, Alpha Edison, Everblue Management, Firstminute Capital, GC Tracker Fund and Third Kind Venture Capital.
Multi-corporate venture fund Engage added approximately $150,000 on Tuesday to a seed round for US-based data management technology provider Fluree that now totals $4.9m. 4490 Ventures led the round’s $4.7m first tranche in June 2019, investing alongside Revolution’s Rise of the Rest Seed Fund. The funding will go to commercialising Fluree’s product and the deal marks more than 40 investments from Engage, which has 11 corporate backers.
India-based social commerce platform Shop101 is raising Rs 287m ($3.9m) in series C funding from investors including Unilever Venture Holdings, a vehicle for consumer product manufacturer Unilever, as well as Stellaris Venture Partners, Vy Capital and Kalaari Capital, Inc 42 has reported, citing a regulatory filing. It had secured a total of $16.4m as of an $11.4m series B round in late 2018 co-led by Unilever Ventures and Kalaari Capital and backed by existing investors Stellaris Venture Partners, Vy Capital and Ramakant Sharma.
Luxembourg Stock Exchange contributed to a series A round of undisclosed size on Tuesday for a company it incubated, FundsDLT, a developer of distributed ledger-equipped asset management technology. The round included Clearstream, a central securities depository subsidiary of exchange operator Deutsche Börse; Credit Suisse Asset Management, a subsidiary of financial services group Credit Suisse; and asset manager Natixis.
Catallaxy, the Japan-based operator of a bespoke metal-parts trading platform called Mitsuri, secured ¥325m ($3m) in series A-plus funding on Tuesday from investors including SMBC Venture Capital and Mizuho Capital, the VC vehicles for financial services firms Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation and Mizuho Bank. The banks were joined by VC fund Incubate Fund and an unnamed angel investor.
High Mobility, the Germany-based developer of an application programming interface (API) for vehicle data, has received a seven-figure euro amount (€1m = $1.1m) in a funding round led by automotive data provider Deutsche Automobil Treuhand. Venture capital firm IBB Beteiligungsgesellschaft and private investor Fabian von Kuenheim also participated in the round, having provided $3.5m in funding for High Mobility in July 2018. They had already taken part in a seven-digit euro round for the company two years earlier.
Car dealership manager Group Landmark has led a $2.5m series A round for India-based car servicing provider Pitstop, the Economic Times reported on Monday. The round also featured commercial vehicle distributor Goldbell Group and VC fund Blume Ventures, the two investors that helped supply $1.5m in funding for Pitstop in a pre-series A round that closed in April 2018, alongside assorted angel investors. Goldbell and Blume Ventures invested a further $2.9m in the company in 2019, according to ET.
US-based mobile multiplayer game developer Bazooka Tango has secured $2.5m in series A funding from investors including Sweden-headquartered digital entertainment provider Modern Times Group, VentureBeat reported on Monday. The round was led by VC fund Bitkraft Esports Ventures and also featured investment fund MergeLane. Bazooka Tango’s co-founders had been key executives at another mobile game studio, Super Evil Megacorp.
Maersk Growth, the strategic investment arm of AP Moller – Maersk, has provided an undisclosed amount of bridge funding for Huboo, the UK-based developer of an e-commerce fulfilment platform, TechCrunch reported on Monday. Huboo had received $1.2m in a September 2019 seed round led by VC firm Episode 1 and backed by unnamed angel investors, and True Capital and Ada Ventures are also among its earlier investors.
Standing Ovation, the Japan-based developer of a virtual wardrobe app called XZ (Closet), received ¥200m ($1.8m) in funding from eyewear retailer Jins Holdings and second-hand goods seller Treasure Factory on Wednesday. It raised $1.1m in 2015, from iStyle Capital and Gumi Ventures – on behalf of fashion services provider iStyle and mobile entertainment provider Gumi – as well as DBJ Capital, adding $1.6m from iStyle, textile trader Toyoshima’s Fashion and Technology Investment fund, mobile content provider Voltage, corporate joint venture Design for Ventures’ D4V1 Investment Limited Partnership and Messiah Capital in 2017.
Fabless semiconductor technology producer MediaTek recently supplied an undisclosed amount of pre-series A funding for Taiwan-based blockchain services provider International Trust Machines Corporation (ITM), the startup revealed on Monday. ITM intends to put the capital towards product development.
NAKD Corporation, the Japan-based owner of an exclusive fitness centre, raised ¥60m ($540,000) from digital marketing services provider Leo Sophia yesterday. The startup’s selling point is that it offers a more luxurious and convenient service to members, giving them private spaces to change clothes and offering free protein after workouts.
Shikigaku Fund I, a corporate VC vehicle formed by consulting firm Shikigaku, made its first investment yesterday, providing an undisclosed amount for Surpass, a Japan-based sales outsourcing services provider. Surpass focuses on mostly inexperienced female staff it trains to provide sales support for its client base.
Retired cricketer MS Dhoni has invested an undisclosed sum in India-based bookkeeping app developer Khatabook and will become a brand ambassador. Khatabook had previously raised a little over $27m, $25m being secured in an October 2019 series A round featuring internet group Tencent, GGV Capital, RTP Global, Sequoia India, Y Combinator, partners of DST Global and various angel investors.
Additional reporting by Liwen-Edison Fu.
