Narwal, the China-based provider of a smart cleaning robot, has closed a series C round of undisclosed size featuring digital media company ByteDance, DealStreetAsia reported on Monday. Venture capital firm Sequoia Capital China led the round, which included Hillhouse Capital and GGV Capital, and which followed a $14.1m series B round co-led by Bytedance and Source Code Capital in April this year that was also backed by existing investors including Infore Capital and Dami Ventures.
Quidnet Energy, the US-based developer of a pumped energy storage system, completed a $10m series B round on Tuesday that included commodity trader Trafigura. The corporate joined Breakthrough Energy Ventures, Evok Innovations and The Jeremy and Hannelore Grantham Environmental Trust in the round, the first two having contributed to an $8m series A round in May 2018 according to a regulatory filing. Quidnet has also agreed to demonstrate its technology in partnership with the New York State Energy Development Authority.
Tara Biosystems, a US-based developer of cardiac disease drug discovery technology, secured $10m on Tuesday in a series A2 round featuring real estate investment trust Alexandria Real Estate Equities’ VC arm, Alexandria Venture Investments (AVI), as well as OMX Ventures, Merieux Equity Partners, LifeForce Capital and existing backers Partnership Fund for New York City, Trancos Ventures, Defta Partners, New York Ventures and Tachyon Ventures. Tara had raised $2.25m from AVI, Partnership Fund for New York City and Harris & Harris Group in a 2016 seed round and $9m in series A funding from unnamed investors in 2017.
China-based medical diagnostics technology developer Shanghai Polaris Biology has received RMB70m ($9.9m) in a series B round that included Baidu Ventures, a subsidiary of internet group Baidu, DealStreetAsia reported on Wednesday. Delian Capital led the round, which also featured investment firm Wuxi Capital, Ascendin Fund, ETP, Morningside Venture Capital and Volcanics Venture. Polaris raised an undisclosed sum from care provider Shulan Health, Volcanics Venture, Puhua Capital in 2018, $8.25m from ETP, Morningside Venture Capital and Volcanics Venture in January 2019 and an undisclosed amount of series A-plus funding from Baidu Ventures in September, according to DealStreetAsia.
Envelope and stationery producer Imura Envelope invested in Lestas, the Japan-based developer of a sales and manufacturing platform for customisable products, yesterday as part of a ¥1bn ($9.3m) series A round. The round included Mizuho Capital, the VC arm of financial services firm Mizuho Financial Group, as well as venture capital firm Hack Ventures, startup accelerator Japan Startup Support Association and debt financing from Japan Finance Corporation, Mizuho Bank and Resona Bank.
Connecterra, a Netherlands-based developer of AI technology for the dairy industry, raised €7.8m ($8.7m) in series B funding on Monday from investors including food safety product supplier Kersia, Sistema VC, which took part on behalf of conglomerate Sistema, and Breed Reply, the VC arm of internet-of-things technology provider Reply. The round also featured investment manager ADM Capital and impact investor Pymwymic. Connecterra had previously received a total of $4.7m from backers including Sistema VC and Breed Reply as of May 2018.
Even.com, the US-based operator of a personal finance management app, has received an undisclosed amount from PayPal Ventures, the strategic investment arm of digital payment processor PayPal, as well as Valar Ventures, Founders Fund and private investor Marc Benioff. It raised $40m from Khosla Ventures, Valar Ventures, Allen & Company, Harrison Metal, Silicon Valley Bank, BCVP and Ron Conway in mid-2018, and its earlier backers include Qualcomm Ventures, the investment arm of mobile semiconductor producer Qualcomm.
Cryosa, a US-based developer of a sleep apnoea aid, closed an $8.25m series A round yesterday that was co-led by medical technology producer Hoya Corporation and healthcare investment firm Santé Ventures. The round came in the wake of $1m from undisclosed investors in May 2018 according to a securities filing, and the proceeds will fund the first in-human clinical trials for Cryosa’s device.
Realife Tech, the UK-based operator of a digital experience platform for live events, rebranded from LiveStyled on Monday having closed a $7.2m series A round that included live event agency Superfly Ventures. The round was led by Virgo Investment Group and also featured Stadia Ventures, and it was announced alongside the launch of a product called the Post-Covid Fan Safety Hub.
Financial services firm HSBC added $7m to UK-based data privacy software provider Privitar’s series C round on Monday. Privitar secured $80m in the first close of the round, which values it at $400m, in April this year. The cash for the first tranche came from Salesforce Ventures and ABN Amro Ventures, subsidiaries of enterprise software provider Salesforce and financial services firm ABN Amro, as well as Warburg Pincus, Accel, Partech and IQ Capital. Privitar has now raised more than $147m to date.
BayWa r.e. Energy Ventures, a corporate VC subsidiary of energy, agriculture and building materials group BayWa, has led a €6m ($6.7m) series B round for Pexapark, the Switzerland-based developer of a software platform that streamlines power purchase agreements, PV-Tech reported on Monday. Renewable energy producers Encavis and RP Global also took part in the round, as existing investors, Pexapark having previously secured $4m in December 2018.
DMarket, a US-based provider of in-game item trading and monetisation tools, has completed a $6.5m funding round led by VC fund Almaz Capital that also featured game sales technology producer Xsolla. The company closed a two-phase initial coin offering at more than $19m in February 2018, and the equity funding will support the hiring of additional executives and engineering staff in the coming months.
RenoFi, the US-based operator of an online platform that provides loans for home renovations, received $6.4m in series A funding on Tuesday from investors including mass media group Comcast’s corporate venturing arm, Comcast Ventures. The round was led by Canaan Partners and backed by fellow VC firm First Round Capital, and the startup told HousingWire it was preceded by a $750,000 seed round led by First Round at an undisclosed date.
Authomize, an Israel-based developer of application authorisation management software, publicly launched on Tuesday with $6m in seed capital from investors including M12, the corporate venturing subsidiary of Microsoft. VC firms Blumberg Capital and Entrée Capital also participated in the round and have representatives on the startup’s board of directors alongside M12 partner Lior Litwak.
News aggregator Gunosy has led a $6m funding round for Slice, an India-based company that provides payment cards to customers in non-traditional jobs, TechCrunch reported yesterday. EMVC, Better Capital, Das Capital and private investor Kunal Shah also took part in the round, which came after $500,000 in pre-series A funding from Blume Ventures and Tracxn Labs in 2016, $2m from Das Capital, Simile Venture Partners and Blume Ventures in 2017, about $15m from online lender FinUp, Blume Ventures, Das Capital and Simile Ventures in September 2018, $2.8m in debt financing from Gunosy Capital, Das Capital and Pegasus Wings Group in September 2019 and $1.4m more debt in October.
Mabl, a US-based software testing technology developer backed by internet technology group Alphabet, has raised $6m in funding from investors including VC firm Amplify Partners, which led the round. Amplify Partners and CRV had supplied $10m in series A funding for Mabl in February 2018 before joining Alphabet subsidiary GV in a $20m series B round in September the same year.
91springboard, an India-based workspace provider backed by marketing technology producer Freakout Holdings, has received Rs 450m ($5.9m) in funding from undisclosed existing investors, the Economic Times reported on Tuesday. Freakout and financial services firm Shinsei Bank of Japan joined unnamed existing backers to invest $10.2m in the company in December 2018 to take its total funding to $33m. It had raised an undisclosed amount from media company Al Nour, Sandway Investment, Pearl Brook Holdings, AMA Holdings and Silo Holdings the year before.
Property developer Simon Baron Development co-led a $5.7m funding round for US-based rental services platform developer Doorkee yesterday with VC firms Corigin Ventures and Alpha Edison. The round also featured property managers Stonehenge NYC and Bushburg Properties, and Bushburg and Simon Baron are among the landlords currently utilising the startup’s product.
Milkbasket, an India-based grocery delivery service backed by consumer goods manufacturer Unilever, has secured $5.5m in a round led by VC firm Inflection Point Ventures and backed by unnamed existing investors to take its total funding to more than $38m, the Economic Times reported on Monday. Unilever led its last round, when it raised $10.5m in June 2019, through subsidiary Unilever Ventures, investing alongside Mayfield India, Kalaari Capital and Blume Ventures.
Biotech company Immunomic Therapeutics agreed on Wednesday to provide an undisclosed amount of seed funding for Replicate Bioscience, a US-based Duke University spinout working on treatments that can reduce resistance to cancer drugs. The investment will be made as part of a research and licensing option agreement focusing on infectious diseases and cancers.
Oil and gas supplier BP provided $5m in funding for US-based geospatial analytics software developer Satelytics on Tuesday through corporate venturing unit BP Ventures. The funds will support the expansion of Satelytics’ technology into the oil and gas industry, as BP seeks to install methane measurement technology at all its fossil fuel processing locations. Formerly known as Blue Water Satellite, the company’s earlier investors include Millstream Angel Fund, Rocket Ventures and angel investor Jeff Twyman.
Israel-based video broadcasting technology provider LiveU has spun off DriveU.auto, a developer of technology that ensures autonomous driving systems remain connected, with $4m in funding, TechCrunch reported on Tuesday. The round was led by Zohar Zisapel and also featured other angel investors including Yigal Jacoby, in addition to Kaedan Capital, Two Lanterns Venture Partners and LiveU backer Francisco Partners.
Yulu, the India-based electric scooter rental platform backed by motorcycle and scooter manufacturer Bajaj Auto, has received Rs 300m ($3.9m) in a funding round led by VC firm Rocketship, TV 18 reported on Monday. The company has reportedly now raised more than $20m to date, securing $8m from Blume Ventures, Binny Bansal, Naveen Tewari and Girish Mathrubootham in early 2018 before adding $8m from Bajaj later that year. Its existing backers reportedly include 3one4 Capital and Wavemaker Partners.
Japan Post Capital, the investment arm of postal service Japan Post, led a ¥400m ($3.7m) series B round in April this year for ABCash Technologies, the Japan-based creator of financial education platform Bookee, The Bridge reported on Monday. The round included Fintech Fund, a joint venture by advertising technology producer Voyage Group and VC fund SV Frontier, in addition to Mizuho Capital and SMBC Venture Capital – on behalf of Mizuho Financial Group and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation – as well as Lead Capital Management and ISGS Investment Works. ABCash had closed its series A round at $3.4m in July 2019.
Singapore-based options trading platform developer Sparrow raised $3.5m on Monday in a series A round led by HDR Group, the owner of crypto trading platform Bitmex. Blockchain investment firms Signum Capital and Du Capital also participated in the round, along with FinLab EOS VC, and the proceeds will support further development of the Sparrow platform.
Diversified conglomerate Ackermans & van Haaren has invested Rs 256m ($3.4m) in India-based online medical supplies marketplace MedikaBazaar, Inc42 has reported, citing a regulatory filing. Ackermans & van Haaren co-led the company’s last round, when it secured $15.6m in November 2019, with printing services firm Toppan Printing, Rebright Partners and HealthQuad. The round included insurer Mitsui Sumitomo’s investment arm, Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Venture Capital, as well as pharmaceutical firm Elan, industrial trading firm CBC, Koisinvest and various individuals.
NTT Comware, the system integrator subsidiary of telecommunications firm NTT, paid an undisclosed sum for a 10% stake in Japan-based customer support software developer Mobilus on Monday. Mobilus had secured $3.9m in May 2018 from media company Nippon Cultural Broadcasting, veterinary wellness group Anicom Holdings’ Anicom Capital unit, IT services firm Fujitsu’s Corporate Venture Fund, financial services firms Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation’s Mitsubishi UFJ Capital and SMBC Venture Capital subsidiaries, and Line Ventures, a vehicle for messaging platform developer Line.
Agamon, the Israel-based developer of a data analytics software platform for the medical industry, has received $3m in seed capital from investors including Bayer G4A, a subsidiary of medical and agricultural technology producer Bayer, NoCamels reported on Monday. VC fund MMC Ventures led the round, which was also backed by InHealth Ventures and Seedcamp. Agamon was one of the entrants for enterprise software producer Oracle’s Startup Cloud Accelerator in June 2018.
Infrastructure holding company Pattac Empreendimentos e Participações has invested R$15m ($2.9m) in Brazil-based logistics services marketplace CargoX, TI Inside has reported. CargoX had raised a total of $176m from mobile chipmaker Qualcomm, logistics firm Ability Logistics, Goldman Sachs’ Growth Equity unit, LGT Lightstone, Valor Capital, Farallon Capital, Soros Fund Management, Lumia Capital, Hans Hickler and Oscar Salazar as of an $80m series E round in April this year.
Consumer electronics producer AsusTek Computer has led a $2.7m funding round for Deep01, a Taiwan-based developer of brain scan analysis technology, DigiTimes reported on Monday. Healthcare investment firm BE Capital and Industrial Technology Research Institute’s Digital Economy Fund also participated in the round.
Authentication software provider Okta Ventures supplied an undisclosed amount for Vndly, a US-based developer of cloud workforce management software, on Tuesday through subsidiary Okta Ventures. VC firm Madrona Venture Group led an $8.1m series B round for Vndly last month to boost its overall funding to $57.5m, its earlier investors including enterprise software provider ServiceNow, Insight Partners, Battery Ventures, Hyde Park Venture Partners, Epic Ventures, Bowery Capital and Cintrifuse Syndicate Fund.
UK-based Propoly has launched its business-to-business property letting platform having raised £2m ($2.5m) from investors including estate agents Countrywide and Foxtons, UKTN reported on Monday. Seedcamp and Pi-Labs are also among the investors in the company, which has created a software product that enables letting agents to automate some tasks while managing their lets and complying with regulations.
Routrek Networks, the Japan-based creator of a robotic irrigation and fertilisation system, received ¥260m ($2.4m) today from IT services firm Optim, leasing services provider JA Mitsui Leasing and public-private partnership A-Five. The company has now raised about $6.5m altogether, including $4m from Globis Capital Partners, the investment vehicle for education services provider Globis, as well as meal delivery service Oisix, University of Tokyo Edge Capital and TechAccel in 2016. Electronics producer JFE Shoji Electronics, advanced materials producer JX Nippon Anci and Norinchukin Bank are also shareholders.
Aerospace manufacturer Lockheed Martin has invested an undisclosed amount in US-based synthetic training technology developer Red 6 through corporate venturing subsidiary Lockheed Martin Ventures. The company had raised $2.35m in an April 2019 seed round led by VC firm Moonshots Capital and backed by Irongate Capital Advisors and unnamed angel investors. The latest investment was made as part of an effort to develop and commercialise an airborne tactical training system on which Red 6 is working.
Barion, a Hungary-based mobile wallet and digital payment gateway developer backed by non-banking financial institution Home Credit Group, has secured €2m ($2.2m) in a series B round led by private equity firm Financial Services Capital, EU-Startups has reported. Home Credit Group led Barion’s $7.1m series A round in 2017 through its Home Credit Venture Capital vehicle, and the series B funding will support product development and geographic expansion.
Toolmaker Stanley Black & Decker has provided an undisclosed amount for US-based thermoplastics manufacturing technology producer Evolve Additive Solutions, it revealed yesterday. Evolve, a spinoff from 3D printer provider Stratasys, had previously received $19m from Stanley Black & Decker, toy manufacturer Lego and an unnamed third investor in 2017, a deal subsequently disclosed in September 2018.
M&A Cloud, the Japan-based operator of an online matchmaking service for merger and acquisition deals, raised ¥220m ($2.1m) in series B funding on Wednesday from online real estate marketplace Toggle, financial services firm Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation’s SMBC Venture Capital unit, Incubate Fund and angel investors Tetsuya Noguchi, Shingo Iwata, Naoki Fumino, Yasuhisa Takatani and Hiroki Yanagihashi. It has now received about $2.8m in total, including an undisclosed sum from consulting firm Sawada Holdings, digital marketer Findstar, mobile commerce services provider D-Pops, Skyland Ventures and angel investors including Yasuo Takahata in 2017.
Online tutoring services provider Vedantu has supplied $2m in series A funding for Instasolv, the India-based operator of a mobile app for university clearing, the Economic Times reported on Tuesday. The startup said it now has more than 1.1 million registered users on the platform, and Vedantu’s investment is regarded as part of what will eventually be a larger round.
Digital transformation services provider UST Global invested an undisclosed amount in UK-based gamification tool developer Ksubaka yesterday. Ksubaka has not revealed any earlier funding but said the cash was supplied in connection with a strategic partnership that will involve its technology being offered to UST’s clients.
Root C, the Japan-based creator of a robotic coffee maker, received ¥170m ($1.6m) in funding on Wednesday from investors including telecoms and internet group SoftBank’s artificial intelligence fund, Deepcore, as well as VC fund The Seed and undisclosed angel investors. Deepcore and The Seed had previously supplied $640,000 for Root C in July 2019.
Film and media content producer Ideosource Entertainment has provided an undisclosed amount of funding for Cinepoint, the Indonesia-based operator of a film rating and box office information app, e27 reported today. Cinepoint plans to collaborate with another Ideosource portfolio company, GoPlay, on a voucher scheme intended to support workers in the film industry.
Japan-based sub-orbital spacecraft developer Space Walker raised ¥155m ($1.5m) on Monday from human resources firm Agent, management consulting firm D&GrowthCapital, Kyushu University’s QB Capital unit and angel investors including Yoshihide Arai, Hidekuni Takagi, Noriyuki Takano, Akihiro Katō, Daisuke Ikeda, Hiroaki Nakano, Keiichi Kubo and Masanori Ōta. It had previously raised at least $3.5m from corporates I-net Corporation, Sanwa Supply and Bascule as well as Bliss Link, AbbaLab and Kenji Kasahara, in October 2019.
Internet browser provider Mozilla has participated in a funding round of undisclosed size for Wallets Africa, the Nigeria-based developer of a mobile wallet and financial services platform, Ventureburn reported yesterday. 9Yards Capital, Samurai Incubate and Michael Seibel, CEO of accelerator operator Y Combinator, also took part in the round, which came after Y Combinator had paid $150,000 for a 7.5% stake in the startup in March 2019.
Display technology producer Rorze Corporation and financial services firm Hiroshima Bank’s Hiroshima Venture Capital subsidiary provided ¥100m ($940,000) in funding for Japan-based walking support system developer Space Bio Laboratories on Wednesday. The capital will support the generation of more data from Space Bio’s technology in addition to product development and expansion into new markets.
Crediation, a Japan-based lending affiliate of VC fund Kepple Africa Ventures, secured an undisclosed amount from SBI Investment, a subsidiary of financial services firm SBI, yesterday. X Capital and angel investors including Hitoshi Koide, Tatsurō Shimada, Hajime Shimazu and Toshio Taki also took part in the round, which came after internet technology provider Google chose Crediation for its Google for Startups Accelerator.
Telecoms firm Telefónica’s Wayra subsidiary has co-led a R$4m ($800,000) funding round for Brazil-based ride hailing aggregator Voll with VC fund manager Iporanga Ventures, Contxto has reported. Voll operates a mobile app that enables users to compare prices across different ride hailing options.
India-based mobile entertainment content producer Rusk Media has received an undisclosed amount of seed capital from investors including Info Edge Ventures, the investment arm of classified listings operator Info Edge, the Economic Times reported on Wednesday. Micro VC fund Sprout Venture Partners also contributed to the round, which came after an undisclosed sum already supplied by angel investors.
Yathar, the Singapore-based operator of an online restaurant review platform, secured $680,000 yesterday in a series A round that included cross-border entertainment provider MCIP Holdings, billboard advertising agency Advertising Nagata and Scala Partners, a social impact fund for AI services provider Scala. The company said it has now raised about $1.4m to date, including an undisclosed amount of pre-series A funding from Advertising Nagata in March 2019.
Sportip, a Japan-based developer of artificial intelligence-equipped sports performance analysis technology, raised an eight-figure yen amount (¥10m = $93,000) yesterday from SoftBank’s Deepcore fund as well as sports business services provider Deportare Partners and Monex Ventures, the corporate venturing arm of financial exchange services provider Monex. The startup was spun out of University of Tsukuba and focuses on motion analysis.
Digital advertising technology developer ViaMedia has provided R4m ($220,000) in funding for Paymenow, the South Africa-based operator of a financial wellness and inclusion platform for employees, Ventureburn reported on Monday. The investment was made through a strategic partnership intended to help Paymenow expand, first in South Africa and then theoretically in the rest of Africa and Latin America.
Additional reporting by Liwen-Edison Fu. Photo courtesy of Narwal Robotics.
