US-based data encryption software developer Enveil received $10m in series A funding on Tuesday from investors including payment services firm Mastercard as well as Capital One Ventures and Bloomberg Beta – vehicles for financial services firm Capital One and media group Bloomberg respectively. The round was led by investment firm C5 Capital, included 1843 Capital and came in the wake of $5m in earlier funding from Bloomberg Beta, media group Thomson Reuters, financial services provider USAA, DataTribe and In-Q-Tel.
OurPath, the UK-based developer of a mobile app promoting healthy habits, has rebranded itself as Second Nature and raised $10m in a series A round featuring insurance firm Uniqa’s strategic investment vehicle, Uniqa Ventures, TechCrunch reported on Tuesday. Bethnal Green Ventures, Connect Ventures and Speedinvest also took part in the round along with angel investors including Taavet Hinrikus. The company had received $3m from investors including Connect Ventures, Speedinvest and Hinrikus in August 2018, and $640,000 from various angels in 2017.
US-based neurodegenerative disease drug developer EnClear Therapies secured $10m in series A funding on Wednesday from investors including Amgen Ventures, pharmaceutical firm Amgen’s investment arm. Investment group 20/20 HealthCare Partners led the round, which was also backed by GHS Fund, a joint venture formed by Quark Venture and GF Securities, as well as Presight Capital, Dolby Ventures and angel investor Peter Thiel. The company had previously raised $2m in seed capital from Presight Capital, Thiel Capital, Bioverge and Sanford Biosciences in March 2019,
Equinom, an Israel-based developer of non-genetically modified seeds, completed a $10m series B round on Wednesday that was led by chemicals producer BASF through its BASF Venture Capital unit. The round included agribusiness Roquette, technology commercialisation firm Trendlines Group and private equity group Fortissimo Capital. The company had raised $2.25m from seed provider Hazera and various angel investors as of a $1.25m round in 2016, before Fortissimo Capital supplied another $4m in 2017.
Indonesia-based online lending platform UangTeman has closed a $10m series B round featuring telecommunications firm KDDI’s Open Innovation Fund, Tech in Asia reported yesterday. The fund took part in the August 2019 first tranche with Draper Associates and Global Brain, and the second close was funded by ACA Investments, an affiliate of brokerage Daiwa Securities, in addition to Spiral Ventures and Pegasus Tech Ventures. Its $12m series A was funded by Draper Associates, K2 Venture Capital, STI Financial Group and existing investors Alpha JWC Ventures and Teong Chee Hooi in 2017.
Mexico-based digital bank Stori has confirmed a $10m series A2 round that was co-led by Bertelsmann Investments, a vehicle for media group Bertelsmann that invested through the Bertelsmann Asia Investments fund. The round was co-led by venture capital firm Source Code Capital and also featured VC fund Vision Plus Capital, billed by Stori as an existing investor. The startup said it has now raised $17m altogether.
Members Exchange, a US-based startup that plans to launch an equity exchange in July this year, completed a funding round of undisclosed size yesterday that included quantitative trading firm Jane Street Capital and investment banks JP Morgan and Goldman Sachs. The company was launched in January 2019 by Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Charles Schwab, Citadel Securities, E*Trade, Fidelity Investments, Morgan Stanley, TD Ameritrade, UBS, and Virtu Financial.
Ayenda, the Colombia-based operator of a budget hotel chain, has received $8.7m in funding from investors including Altabix, a subsidiary of hotel operator City Express, Skift reported on Wednesday. VC firm Kaszek Ventures led the round, which also featured Kairos and BWG Ventures, and which followed a $1.2m seed round in March 2019 led by telecoms and internet group SoftBank’s Innovation Fund and backed by Kairos and 500 Startups.
MotoRefi, the US-based operator of an automotive refinancing platform, has secured $8.6m in a series A round featuring Motley Fool Ventures and CMFG Ventures, subsidiaries of investment advice provider Motley Fool and insurance group Cuna Mutual respectively. VC firms Accomplice and Link Ventures co-led the round, which included LGBT-focused investment vehicle Gaingels and unnamed additional backers. MotoRefi had raised $4.7m in seed funding from Motley Fool Ventures, Accomplice and QED Investors in March 2019.
Santander Innoventures, financial services firm Santander’s strategic investment arm, led an $8.5m series A round for Blueprint Title, the US-based developer of a title and escrow software platform for real estate deals, on Wednesday. Insurance firm Liberty Mutual also took part in the round, through its Liberty Mutual Strategic Ventures unit, along with Greycroft, Mucker Capital, Tribeca Early Stage Partners and unnamed additional investors. Blueprint Title aims to expand into 25 US states by the end of this year.
Swivel, the US-based agile office-leasing service formerly known as Poquito, completed an $8m series A round on Tuesday that was led by VC firm Breyer Capital and backed by JLL Spark, real estate services provider JLL’s corporate venturing unit. VC firm First Round Capital led Swivel’s $4.75m seed round in July 2018, which also featured Fuel Capital, Correlation Ventures, Great Oaks Venture Capital, Hack VC, Capital Factory, Abstract Ventures and existing investors Floodgate and Next Coast Ventures. It has now raised $14.6m in total.
Safety software provider Soliton Systems joined undisclosed existing investors to provide $8m in funding for US-based cybersecurity technology developer Polyverse yesterday. The company has not revealed the identity of its earlier backers but had previously raised a total of $10m as of May 2019, when it added $1m to the $2m in funding it received in January the same year.
Docket, the Brazil-based developer of a document-management platform, has raised R$35m ($8m) in funding from investors including Wayra, telecoms firm Telefónica’s open innovation arm, Valor Econômico has reported. Canary, OneVC, Kaszek Ventures and Valor Capital also contributed to the round, which expanded Docket’s overall funding to about $8.5m.
Informetis Corporation, a Japan-based power analysis platform developer spun off from consumer electronics producer Sony, received ¥800m ($7.1m) in funding from air conditioning equipment manufacturer Daikin Industries, marketing agency Hakuhodo DY Holdings and electronics producer Hitachi yesterday. The round boosted the total raised by Informetis to approximately $22.8m.
Hopin, a US-based startup developing an event-focused video-conferencing platform, has secured $6.5m in a funding round featuring Slack Fund and Amaranthine Fund, the strategic investment vehicles for enterprise communication platform Slack and technology event promoter Web Summit, it announced on Wednesday. VC firm Accel led the round, which included Northzone and Seedcamp. The cash will support recruitment and the expansion of the platform to incorporate a greater number of members.
Optum Ventures, healthcare services provider Optum’s corporate venturing unit, invested an undisclosed amount in US-based molecular technology platform developer Scipher Medicine on Wednesday. Scipher secured an amount of series B funding indicated by a securities filing to be $25m from Northpond Ventures, Alumni Ventures Group, Tachyon Ventures, Khosla Ventures and Granpool Innovative Investments in October 2019. It had raised a total of $10m as of a series A round led by Khosla Ventures in September 2018.
Range, the US-based developer of an app intended to improve workplace efficiency, has received $6m in seed funding from investors including Bloomberg Beta, media company Bloomberg’s corporate venturing vehicle. The round was led by General Catalyst and also featured First Round Capital, Upside Partnership and Precursor Ventures. The company had previously raised $2.3m in 2017, when it was called Habitat Labs, according to a securities filing.
Rapyuta Robotics, the Japan-based developer of a robotics control platform called Rapyuta.io, raised an undisclosed amount on Monday in a round led by Monoful, a logistics service subsidiary of logistics facility manager Global Logistic Properties. Electronic component manufacturer Yaskawa Electric Corporation also participated in the round, which followed a total of $22.5m in funding as of mid-2018, from investors including subsidiaries of corporates Sony and Japan Material Technologies Corporation.
Media group HT Media has provided $5.5m in series A funding for India-based online real estate portal Zvesta through corporate venturing vehicle Hindustan Media Ventures, YourStory reported on Wednesday. Zvesta has earmarked the capital for marketing, technology development and the expansion of its partner base.
China-based fabless semiconductor design startup Suzhou Sutong Semiconductor Technology has closed a series A round of undisclosed size led by Hubei Xiaomi Yangtze River Industrial Fund, a joint venture between consumer electronics producer Xiaomi and the government of Hubei province, 36Kr reported yesterday. Cross-border investment fund Glory Ventures also participated in the round.
Vorwerk Ventures, the corporate venturing arm of consumer product distributor Vorwerk, led a €4.6m ($5m) seed round for Germany-based adult learning platform developer Sharpist on Tuesday. Holger Witte, a partner at the unit, is joining Sharpist’s advisory board in connection with the round, which included VC firm Btov Partners and APX, the accelerator formed by carmaker Porsche and media company Axel Springer. Its earlier backers include seed-stage fund Motu Ventures.
Roxx, the Japan-based recruitment services provider formerly known as Scouter, secured ¥500m ($4.5m) on Wednesday in a series B round featuring internet company CyberAgent, SMBC Venture Capital, Mizuho Capital and Mitsubishi UFJ Capital – subsidiaries of financial services firms Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, Mizuho Bank and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group. Roxx’s total funding stands at $10.8m, the company having received $3.4m from investors including Persol Career, a subsidiary of recruitment agency Persol in July 2019.
Resily, the Japan-based creator of a business objective and key results measurement platform, has also raised ¥500m ($4.5m), with enterprise software provider Salesforce and VC firm DNX Ventures providing the funding yesterday. The company has allocated the funding to technology development and the enhancement of its sales capabilities.
Japan-based distributed ledger technology developer Scalar has received an undisclosed amount of pre-series A funding from investors including Electric Power Development Company, the energy utility also known as J-Power, as well as system integrator TIS, and Line Ventures and MS Digital Limited Investment Fund, on behalf of messaging platform Line and insurer MS&AD respectively. They joined D4V1 and MID Venture Capital, both of which took place in Scalar’s $2.8m seed round in August 2019 with Line, recruitment firm Mynavi, retailer group Mitsuwa, blockchain technology developer Creators Coin, animal feed producer Miwa Sangyo’s MS Digital Fund, Top Gate and H2 Investment.
FreakOut Shinsei Fund, a joint venture between digital advertising firm FreakOut Holdings and financial services firm Shinsei Bank’s Shinsei Corporate Investment unit, joined VC firm East Ventures to invest ¥400m ($3.6m) in Japan-based coding school manager Progate in a round that included debt financing from Mitsubishi UFJ Bank. Progate has now raised a total of $5.5m, securing $250,000 from East Ventures and various angel investors in 2015, and $880,000 from FreakOut Holdings, internet company DeNA and unnamed individuals in 2017.
Electriphi, the US-based creator of an electric vehicle fleet management platform, raised $3.5m in seed capital yesterday from investors including Acario Innovation, the innovation hub formed by gas utility Tokyo Gas. The corporate was joined by Wireframe Ventures, Urban Innovation Fund, Blackhorn Ventures and Lemnos Labs, and the proceeds will be used to expand Electriphi’s services and move into new markets.
Tamatem, a Jordan-based publisher of mobile games for the Arabic speaking market, has secured $3.5m for the second tranche of its series A round. VC fund Wamda Capital led the round, which included conglomerate Al Faisaliah Group’s Modern Electronics Company subsidiary as well as investment firm North Base Media. Tamatem raised $2.5m from Wamda Capital, diversified holding group Almajdouie’s Raed Ventures unit, Discovery Nusantara Capital, Vision Venture Capital and Seed Equity Venture Partners in the 2018 first close.
Chemicals producer Mitani Sangyo supplied an undisclosed amount of series B financing for Japan-based natural language processing and image recognition technology provider Nextremer on Monday. Nextremer had previously raised $4.2m from financial services firm Kochi Bank and Innovation Network Corporation of Japan in 2017 and has formed a strategic partnership with Mitani Sangyo.
Diversified conglomerate Sojitz and Compound Partners have provided Rs 239m ($3.3m) in series C funding for India-based shuttle bus provider Shuttl at a valuation of almost $125m, Entrackr reported on Tuesday citing regulatory filings. The company had raised a total of $92m as of last month, from investors including trading firm Susquehanna International Group’s SIG Global India Fund, carmaker Toyota’s trading arm, Toyota Tsusho, and subsidiaries of e-commerce firm Amazon, marketing agency Dentsu and media group Bennett Coleman & Co.
Energy utility Enercity has paid an undisclosed but ‘significant’ amount for a 25.1% stake in Epilot, the Germany-based developer of an e-commerce management platform for energy providers, supplying the cash in the form of series A funding. Epilot is the second recipient of investment from Enercity, which sold a 25.1% stake in e-mobility charging technology provider to Weidmüller Group in September 2019.
CareSignal, the US-based patient monitor developer previously known as Epharmix, raised an amount likely to be about $2.7m on Tuesday from investors including UnityPoint Health Ventures and OSF Ventures, subsidiaries of care providers UnityPoint Health and OSF Healthcare. The corporates were joined by Nueterra Capital and 1984 Ventures, and St Louis Business Journal reports the round took CareSignal’s total funding to $7m. It had received $2.4m and $1.9m in rounds disclosed in September 2018 securities filings, and named OSF Ventures as an existing backer.
Oasis VR, the China-based developer of a software platform that allows users to create their own virtual reality avatars, has closed a series A round in the eight-digit range (RMB10m = $1.4m) featuring Bertelsmann Asia Investments, a corporate venturing vehicle for media group Bertelsmann, 36Kr reported yesterday. The round included VC firm Morningside Ventures and reportedly closed in September 2019.
US-based skincare brand Starface has received $2m in funding from investors including Amity Ventures, the VC firm formed by advertising agency Derris, Fortune reported on Tuesday. The round was led by BBG Ventures, the female-focused VC firm spun off from telecoms firm Verizon, and included Able, Brand Foundry and angel investors NJ Falk, Brian Spaly and Roth Martin.
KDDI Open Innovation Fund invested ¥200m ($1.8m) in Japan-based livestreaming platform developer Livestreamers yesterday, increasing its overall funding to $4.9m. The company had raised $2.7m from KDDI Open Innovation Fund and VC firm Global Brain, which runs KDDI’s fund, in May 2019 and the capital will support the introduction of new features to the platform.
Car dealership owner OpenRoad Auto Group and InMotion Ventures, the corporate venturing fund formed by carmaker Jaguar Land Rover, participated in a series A round of undisclosed size for Digital Motors, the US-based creator of an e-commerce software product for the automotive retail market, on Wednesday. The round was led by VC fund Autotech Ventures and included angel investors Maryann Keller and Ryan Kerrigan.
Logistics service provider DPD Group and digital payment technology provider Fawry have supplied $1.4m in series A funding for Egypt-based last-mile delivery service Bosta, Waya has reported. Bosta secured a total of $225,000 from Cairo Angels and Numu Capital across rounds in March and July 2017 before Fawry invested a six-figure dollar amount in December the same year.
Wildnote, a US-based developer of environmental compliance management software, secured $1.35m in seed capital from HG Ventures, the corporate venturing vehicle for chemicals and environmental services provider Heritage Group, and VC fund Entrada Ventures on Monday. The startup formed part of the inaugural class for The Heritage Group Accelerator powered by Techstars in September 2019 and raised $120,000 through its participation.
India-based feminine hygiene product developer Sanfe has received Rs 80m ($1.1m) in pre-series A funding from investors including pharmaceutical company Elixir Pharma, Hindu Business Line reported on Tuesday. The government-owned Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council (Birac) also took part, as did SucSeed Venture Partners, Titan Capital and angel investors Saurabh Chawla, Shankar Narayanan, Sunil Kumar Singhvi and Rohit Chanana. Sanfe will spend the cash on marketing, hiring and product development.
Human resources firm Saramin HR has invested a seven-figure dollar amount in Vietnam-based online IT recruitment platform TopDev, KrAsia has reported. TopDev will put the funding into improving its platform and introducing IT training schemes in order to increase the number of professionals available to use the service and meet demand in the country.
Credify, a Singapore-based developer of digital identity technology for the financial services and e-commerce sectors, completed a $1m seed round on Monday that included SoftBank’s artificial intelligence incubator, Deepcore, as well as VC firm Beenext. The company, which took part in Plug and Play Japan’s 2020 FinTech Accelerator, will use the cash for product development and the localisation of its product within Southeast Asia.
Short-term insurance provider Santam has supplied an undisclosed amount of funding for JaSure, the South Africa-based developer of an app that offers on-the-go contents insurance. The investment was made through a strategic partnership that will allow JaSure to sell products using Santam’s FSP (financial services product) licence.
PlanetSpark, an India-headquartered operator of local skills-based learning centres, has secured Rs 32m ($450,000) in pre-series A funding from student coaching institute Fitjee, Indian Angel Network, Lead Angels and Hyderabad Angels, YourStory reported on Monday. Fitjee had previously provided approximately $220,000 in seed capital for PlanetSpark in December 2018.
Electrical component producer Fujikura invested an undisclosed sum in ActivateLab, the Japan-based operator of an employment consultation service for disabled users called OpenGate, on Monday through a business partnership. The cash was supplied as part of an ongoing round and comes after an undisclosed amount from tax adviser AGS Consulting last month.
Blockchain-focused betting platform developer Peerplays has led a $420,000 funding round for AvalonMeta Ventures, the India-based creator of an app that utilises online influencers to teach users skills, VCCircle reported on Tuesday. The round included VC firm Purvi Capital and angel investor Abhinav Chhikara and the equity funding was provided alongside $250,000 of equity-free capital from AvalonMeta’s parent company, Avalon Labs.
E-commerce services provider Commerce.Asia has paid a seven-figure ringgit (RM1m = $240,000) amount for a 30% stake in Malaysia-based social commerce platform developer BizApp, DealStreetAsia reported on Tuesday. The corporate intends to assist BizApp in expanding across Southeast Asia and helping to boost rural participation in e-commerce activity through the investment.
Ac-Planta, a Japan-based biostimulant material developer spun out of scientific research institute Riken, received an undisclosed amount from IT services provider Hitomedia’s Hitotoki incubator and undisclosed angel investors yesterday. It will use the funding to expand internationally and enhance its research and development activities.
