Telecommunications and internet group SoftBank has invested $10m in US-headquartered cloud communications platform developer Dialpad, adding to the $100m in series E funding the company raised in October this year at a $1.2bn valuation. Omers Growth Equity led the first close, which included internet and technology conglomerate Alphabet’s GV unit, Andreessen Horowitz, Iconiq Capital, Felicis Ventures, Section 32 and Work-Bench. Dialpad has now raised a total of $230m.
Zipari, the US-based insurance management software producer backed by health insurance providers Horizon Healthcare Services and CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield, has raised an undisclosed amount from private equity firm Thoma Bravo. The deal came after Vertical Venture Partners led a $22.5m series B round for Zipari in January this year that included CareFirst’s Healthworx unit, Horizon and Health Velocity Capital, following at least $11m in earlier funding.
Pakistan digital payment and lensing platform developer Finja has secured $9m in series A funding from investors including inspection and testing services provider Gray MacKenzie Engineering Services, the company told MenaBytes on Tuesday. The round has a $10m ceiling and includes ICU Ventures, BeeNext, Vostok Emerging Finance and Quona Capital. Finja had raised $1.5m in a 2016 seed round led by Vostok Emerging Finance, $1.5m from Vostok and Gray Mackenzie in 2017 and $3m in a November 2019 round co-led by BeeNext and Quona Capital that included Vostok.
US-based retail analytics software startup PostHog has disclosed that GV, the subsidiary of internet and technology conglomerate Alphabet formerly known as Google Ventures, led its $9m series A round in July this year. The round included Y Combinator’s Continuity Fund and private investor Jason Warner, and it followed on from $3m in seed funding from angel investors including Solomon Hykes and David Cramer four months earlier.
Pharmaceutical firm Merck & Co has provided an undisclosed amount of equity funding for US-based cancer cell therapy developer A2 Biotherapeutics as part of a clinical development and manufacturing agreement. Merck is also supplying an upfront payment and, potentially, opt-in, milestone and royalty payments for any product launched through the collaboration. A2 had raised a total of $136m as of October this year when it completed a $71.5m series B round featuring Hartford HealthCare Endowment, part of care provider Hartford HealthCare.
Renewable energy developer RP Global has co-led an $8.5m series B round for Senegal-headquartered home solar system provider Oolu that included All On, an impact investment hub backed by oil and gas supplier Shell, in addition to renewable energy project developer DPI Energy Ventures, Persistent Energy Capital and Gaia Impact Fund. The company took part in accelerator Y Combinator in 2015, adding $3.2m in a 2017 seed round featuring Persistent Energy Capital and Y Combinator, and then an undisclosed sum from Gaia in July 2018.
Pharmaceutical firm GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) is co-leading a series A round of undisclosed size for UK-based precision medicine startup Adrestia Therapeutics with deep technology investment fund Ahren Innovation Capital. Adrestia was co-founded by Ahren in 2018 and GSK is investing through a multi-year strategic, collaboration agreement covering up to five projects. Adrestia will get an additional upfront payment from GSK and will be eligible for up to $230m in post-option milestone payments per project in addition to royalties.
Cosemi Technologies, a US-based provider of high-speed connectivity technology, has completed an $8m round led by its technology and solutions partner: sheet and film manufacturer Nitto Denko Corporation. The company, which has not disclosed details of any previous funding, said it will use the cash to accelerate growth.
Motorq, a US-based developer of analytics software for connected car data, has secured $7m in series A funding from investors including Avanta Ventures, the corporate venturing vehicle for CSAA. VC fund Story Ventures led the round, which also featured FM Capital and Monta Vista Capital, all three having taken part in Motorq’s $2m seed round in May 2018 alongside Purple Arch Ventures and Milliways Ventures.
Japan-based biomolecule developer Epsilon Molecular Engineering has closed a ¥570m ($5.5m) series A round made up of equity, debt and lease financing, with chemical and cosmetics producer Kao Corporation among the equity investors. Financial services firm Mitsubishi UFJ Group’s VC arm, Mitsubishi UFJ Capital, led the round, which included Gunma Medical Engineering Vitalization Investments and Gunma Bank, loans from Shoko Chukin Bank and Saitama Resona Bank, and a lease from Syutoken Leasing.
Talpasolutions, the Germany-based developer of a software platform that analyses data from heavy machinery, has raised €4.5m ($5.5m) in series A funding from investors including coal miner RAG Foundation. The round was led by logistics investment fund F-Log Ventures and also featured financial services firm NRW.Bank, High-Tech Gründerfonds and Gründerfonds Ruhr, the latter two having already supplied $1.7m in seed financing in June 2018.
Colombia-based digital remittance platform developer Valiu has secured $5.25m in seed capital from investors including consulting firm Ideo’s CoLab, LaRepublica has reported. Blockchange Ventures and Pomp co-led the round, which also featured Castle Island, Y Combinator and Mercy Corps, the last two, like Ideo CoLab, named as existing investors.
Alchemy Foodtech, the Singapore-based producer of a vegan powder blend, has closed a seven-figure round led by seafood provider Thai Union, Green Queen has reported. Life insurer Muang Thai Group’s Fuchsia Venture Capital unit also took part in the round, as did Bits x Bites, Sunbo Partners, Heritas Capital and Seeds Capital. The last two had previously co-led a $1.8m pre-series A round for the company in September 2018.
Cassius Family fund and professional footballer Gerard Pique have contributed to the €3.5m ($4.3m) extension to a seed round for Sorare, a France-based digital sports card game developer backed by blockchain technology provider ConsenSys, Sifted has reported. The company raised $560,000 from ConsenSys investment vehicle ConsenSys Ventures, Seedcamp, Kima Ventures and undisclosed angel investors in May 2019, adding $4m in seed funding from E.ventures, Partech, Fabric Ventures, Semantic Ventures, Cygni Capital and André Schürrle in July this year.
Chemicals producer Evonik has invested an undisclosed amount in UnionTech, a China-based developer of stereolithography 3D printing technology, through its Evonik Venture Capital unit. The corporate expects the investment to give it a strategic hand as it prepares to release its own ready-to-use stereolithography materials.
US-based customer rewards service provider Tap Network has received $4m in funding from investors including record label Warner Music Group and its parent company, conglomerate Access Industries, TechCrunch has reported. The round was also backed by Revelis Capital, Nima Capital, the Forbes family office and angel investors Bill Tai, Bob Hurst and Edward Devlin.
VC fund Siana Capital Management has led a Rs 250m ($3.4m) funding round for India-based farming intelligence software developer Gramophone that included classified listings operator Info Edge, YourStory reported on Tuesday. Asha Impact and Better Capital also took part in the round, which came after $1m in pre-series A funding from Info Edge in early 2018 that followed $1.5m of earlier cash from angel investors; $2m from the same investor in April 2019; and $3.5m from Info Edge, Asha Impact, Better Capital and angel investor Raveen Sastry four months later.
US-based credit building service Perch Credit has secured $2.5m in a seed round featuring telecoms and internet group SoftBank’s $100m Opportunity Fund and financial services firm Citi, Los Angeles Business Journal has reported. Marcy Venture Partners, Concrete Rose Capital and VilCap Investments also took part in the round, which came after Perch graduated from Y Combinator in August this year.
Singapore-based crypto bank Vauld has raised $2m from investors including digital currency exchange operator Coinbase’s corporate venturing unit, Coinbase Ventures, and CMT Digital, the crypto asset trading and investment arm of trading firm CMT Group, Bitcoin.com reported in a sponsored post on Monday. Crypto-focused investment firm Pantera Capital also contributed to the round, the cash having been accumulated over the past four months.
Floki, a Brazil-based developer of retail stock management software, has received approximately $700,000 in pre-seed funding from investors including e-commerce platform operator Olist, local services app developer Apontador, real estate listings portal Viva Real and finance management app developer GuiaBolso, Exame has reported. The round was led by venture capital fund Iporanga Ventures.
Pharmaceutical companies Atomwise and FutuRx have launched a US-based immuno-oncology startup called A2i Therapeutics with an undisclosed amount from a seed round to which they contributed. The round included Johnson & Johnson Innovation – JJDC, Takeda Ventures and Leaps by Bayer – which invested on behalf of drug producers Johnson & Johnson, Takeda and Bayer – in addition to OrbiMed and the Israeli Innovation Authority.
