Salesforce Ventures, the investment arm of enterprise software producer Salesforce, has added an undisclosed amount to US-based marketing software provider AppsFlyer’s series D round, which stood at $210m as of January this year, at a valuation reported by VentureBeat to be $2bn. The January close featured DTCP, the investment manager backed by telecommunications firm Deutsche Telekom, in addition to General Atlantic, Goldman Sachs Growth, Qumra Capital, Pitango Venture Capital and Magma Venture Partners.
Kea, a US-headquartered developer of voice-based ordering technology for restaurants, has received $10m in a series A round featuring telecoms and internet group SoftBank’s artificial intelligence fund, Deepcore. The round was led by investment firm Marbruck and included Streamlined Ventures, Xfund, Heartland Ventures, Barrel Ventures, AVG Funds and angel investors Raj Kapoor, Craig Flom, Tony Lam and Jonathan Kelly. It came after $2.8m in seed capital in May 2019 from Deepcore, Streamlined Ventures, Xfund and various individuals.
Insurance firm Sunshine Insurance Group has led a series C round of undisclosed size for China-based e-commerce fulfilment services provider Idol Group, DealStreetAsia has reported. The round included Legend Capital, the venture capital firm spun off by conglomerate Legend Holdings, as well as Sinovation Ventures and Noah Holdings. Idol had previously received $110m in series B funding from Sinovation Ventures, GGV Capital, BA Capital and Zhongyuan Capital in October 2018, according to DealStreetAsia, which also named Legend Capital as an existing backer.
Saudi Arabia-based e-commerce software provider Salla has completed a SAR32m ($8.5m) series A round led by STV, the VC firm anchored by telecoms firm Saudi Telecom, Wamda reported on Tuesday. The round included Raed Ventures, the VC arm of conglomerate Almajdouie Holding, and VC firm Vision Ventures, and it was preceded by a seed round of undisclosed size in May 2018 led by Raed Ventures, and backed by Vision Ventures, public relations agency Direct Influence and Inspire Ventures.
Consumer and industrial technology producer Honeywell has invested an undisclosed amount in Trinity Mobility, an India-based developer of digital transformation technology for urban areas, through its Honeywell Building Technologies subsidiary. The deal is intended to provide the path to full acquisition of Trinity, and Honeywell intends to leverage its technology in its smart cities offering in the meantime.
UK-based incentive marketing platform developer WeGift has secured $8m from investors including Unilever Ventures and SAP.io, the respective corporate VC arms of consumer goods producer Unilever and enterprise software provider SAP, as an extension to its series A round, TechCrunch reported on Wednesday. AlbionVC, the VC arm of investment manager Albion Capital Group, led the extension, which included Stride.vc and which followed $5.1m from Unilever Ventures, SAP.io, Stride.vc and assorted angel investors in June 2019.
Lunewave, a US-based developer of 3D-printed antenna and radar sensor technology, completed a $7m series A round featuring internet group Baidu on Monday. The round was led by mobility-focused VC fund FM Capital and also featured Proeza Ventures, Blue 9 Capital, Tsingyuan Ventures and Intact Ventures. The company had raised $500,000 in pre-seed funding from SBIR/STTR Phase I and Urban-X in 2017 and $5m from Baidu subsidiary Baidu Ventures, carmaker BMW’s investment arm, BMW i Ventures, and Fraser McCombs Capital in September 2018.
Audoo, the UK-based creator of an electronic music analysis device that helps measure royalty rates, has secured £5.2m ($6.9m) in series A funding from investors including creative co-working space Tileyard London, Tech.eu reported on Monday. The round was led by ex-Abba member Bjorn Ulvaeus and also featured unnamed existing backers. The company had raised $760,000 from angel investors including Greg Gormley, Luke Heron, Tim Davies, Ed Matthews and Marcus Watson in May 2019 and $1.9m from investors including Tileyard London in March this year.
Growth equity firm Scottish Equity Partners provided an undisclosed amount of funding for Dohop, an Iceland-backed airline itinerary management platform backed by airline operator EasyJet, on Wednesday. EasyJet invested $2.7m as part of a $3.5m round in June 2018 that included unnamed existing backers. Angel investor Jon S. von Tetzchner had paid an undisclosed sum for a 10% stake in Dohop in 2013 and joined NSA Ventures in a $4m round three years later.
HealthBeacon, an Ireland-based medication management system developer backed by law firm Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, has received €5.5m ($6.5m) in funding from investors including Elkstone Capital, Cantor Fitzgerald Private Clients, Oyster Capital, Business Venture Partners (BVP) and Enterprise Ireland, RTÉ reported on Wednesday. Manatt and SGInnovate were revealed as investors by the company in September 2019, eight months after $12m in series A funding from Oyster Capital, Elkstone Partners, Quorndon Capital and Cantor Fitzgerald. That followed $1.1m from Enterprise Ireland and various angels in 2016 and $1.1m in a BVP-led round in October 2018.
Financial services firm Siam Commercial Bank’s SCB 10X unit has supplied an undisclosed amount for Singapore-based online parenting community TheAsianparent to help it close its series C round, e27 reported on Tuesday. Conglomerate Fosun led a July 2019 first tranche of the round reportedly sized between $10m and $30m, investing with e-commerce firm JD.com, ATM Capital, Redbadge Pacific and existing backers Global Grand Leisure and WHG Holdings.
Shipsy, an India-based provider of digitalisation technology for logistics operators, has secured $6m from classified listings operator Info Edge and Surge, the accelerator subsidiary of VC firm Sequoia Capital India, Business Insider reported on Wednesday. Parcel delivery service DTDC Express invested $1m in the company in 2016 in return for a 20% stake, before it closed a $690,000 pre-series A round led by Info Edge in November 2019.
PowerUp, a France-based developer of battery enhancement technology, raised €5m ($6m) from energy utility EDF, VC fund manager Supernova Invest and undisclosed private investors yesterday. The company was formed in 2017 as a joint venture between lighting equipment producer Lumila and state-funded technological research organisation CEA-Liten, and it described Supernova Invest as an existing backer.
Food delivery service Delivery Hero has led a $5.5m funding round for Quiqup, the United Arab Emirates-based operator of an on-demand logistics service, Gulf Business reported on Tuesday. Cross-border product distributor Transmed, VC firm Cedar Mundi Ventures and VC fund and incubator Jobi Capital also took part in the round, which came in the wake of more than $44m in earlier funding as of February 2019, from the four latest investors in addition to Global Founders Capital.
MDI Ventures, the investment arm of telecoms firm Telkom Indonesia, has co-led a series B round of undisclosed size for Kata.ai, an Indonesia-based developer of natural language processing technology, e27 reported on Wednesday. The round was co-led by Trans-Pacific Technology Fund, the VC fund that led a $3.5m series A round for Kata that included MDI Ventures, Access Ventures, Convergence Ventures, VPG Asia, Red Sails Investment and Eddy Chan in 2017.
F3, the Latvia-headquartered creator of an online question-and-answer platform, has raised $3.9m in seed capital from investors including internet company Mail.ru, TechCrunch reported on Tuesday. VC firm AdFirst and angel investors including Alex Hofmann and Marat Kichikov also contributed to the round, which will support the startup’s planned entry into the US market.
Hasty.ai, a Germany-based developer of vision artificial intelligence tools, received $3.7m on Tuesday in a seed round featuring iRobot Ventures, the strategic investment arm of domestic robot producer iRobot. Shasta Ventures led a round that included fellow VC firm Coparion, with the proceeds earmarked for product development and US customer acquisition.
E-commerce holding company Rocket Internet’s Flash Ventures fund has co-led a €3m ($3.6m) funding round for Katoo, a Spain-based provider of food procurement tools for restaurants, Expansión reported on Tuesday. The round was co-led by Otium Capital and also featured angel investors including Marcos Alves. Katoo was founded in July 2019 and its service is used by some 3,000 customers across Spain, Italy and Portugal.
US-based interactive children’s entertainment provider Hellosaurus raised $3.5m in seed capital on Monday from investors including BDMI, a corporate venturing subsidiary of media group Bertelsmann. The round was led by VC firm General Catalyst and included Y Combinator, GSV Ventures, Shrug Capital, Next 10 Ventures, Runway Fund, Global Founders Capital, Good Friends and angel investors including Chad Hurley and Zach Klein.
Tonari, the Japan-headquartered developer of a video-based virtual environment platform, closed ¥340m ($3.3m) in angel investment and seed funding on Monday from investors including featuring Leave a Nest Capital, a subsidiary of research firm Leave a Nest. The consortium was led by One Capital and included startup services provider Mistletoe, AbbaLab and assorted individuals.
Diversified trading group Sumitomo Corporation has joined KDDI Open Innovation Fund III, an investment vehicle for telecoms firm KDDI, to provide an undisclosed amount for Japan-based artist collaboration platform developer ArtSticker. KDDI invested through a strategic partnership agreement and the round came after printing services firm Toppan invested an undisclosed sum in ArtSticker’s parent company, The Chain Museum, in January this year.
Video game producer Bandai Namco has invested $3m in Genies, the US-based creator of a 3D avatar development platform, through a business and capital alliance. Genies had raised a total of $40m as of a $15m round in June 2019, from talent agencies Management 360 and CAA, Macro Ventures, TGZ Capital, Tull Investment Group, Foundation Capital, Lerer Ventures, Trinity Ventures, L Catterton, New Enterprise Associates and various individuals.
Nailie, an online booking service for manicurists and nail technicians, received ¥300m ($2.9m) in series A funding on Wednesday from investors including internet companies CyberAgent and Nexyz Group, cosmetic surgery provider SBC Group and angel investors including Tōru Kenjō, Tomoyoshi Nishiyama and Takami Kondō. It followed $1.4m from CyberAgent, offshore software provider Evolable Asia and Keiji Nishie in October 2019.
Mobile game developer Supercell provided $2.8m in funding for New Zealand-based game studio 2Up Games on Wednesday. The company is developing cooperative games and will join a Supercell portfolio that already includes the likes of Bunch, Metacore and Redemption Games.
Trunk, the Japan-based owner of online work experience platform Workschool, has closed a series A round of undisclosed size that included real estate developer Tokyu Fudosan Holdings’ TFHD Open Innovation Program and Seibu Shinkin Capital, a subsidiary of financial services firm Seibu Shinkin. They were joined in the round by the president of children’s play area operator KCJ Group.
Japan-based customer experience software developer G-Next, has completed a ¥260m ($2.5m) funding round on Wednesday featuring Mitsubishi UFJ Capital – on behalf of financial services group Mitsubishi UFJ – and DG Daiwa Ventures, the joint venture between internet company Digital Garage and securities brokerage Daiwa, as well as undisclosed firms and individuals to take its total funding to approximately $6.9m. That amount includes $3m from angel investors such as Mizuki Inoue and Kiyohiro Sugashita in October 2019.
Mobile semiconductor technology producer Qualcomm’s corporate venturing unit, Qualcomm Ventures, has co-led a series A round of undisclosed size for Brazil-based edge computing software provider Azion, Fusões & Aquisições has reported. The round was led by VC firm Monashees and Qualcomm Ventures made its contribution as one of four investments through its 5G Ecosystem Fund that it announced earlier this month.
Leasing services provider Fuyo General Lease has invested an undisclosed amount in ALI Technologies, the Japan-based developer of intelligent drones and blockchain software products. The company had raised $21.1m in a November 2019 round featuring a host of corporates, following undisclosed amounts from rail operator Meitetsu, aviation services provider Nakanihon Air Service, entertainment producer Sega Sammy, Drone Fund, KSK Angel Fund and Ibis Capital Partners in 2018.
Socialeads, the US-based creator of an online platform that applies machine learning to generating sales leads, secured $1.75m on Monday from financial services firm Northwestern Mutual, Winnebago Seed Fund, Cameron Ventures, Rock River Capital and Plug & Play Ventures. The startup had previously closed a $750,000 seed round in 2018 led by Winnebago Seed Fund and backed by Northwestern Mutual-sponsored VC fund Cream City Venture Capital and BrightStar Wisconsin Foundation.
CoCooking, the Japan-based owner of food sharing service Tabete, has raised an undisclosed amount of pre-series A funding from DD Holdings Venture Capital and Kemuri Ventures, on behalf of restaurant operators DD Holdings and En-Rest, as well as energy utility Chugoku Electric Power and angel investor Naruhisa Nakagawa. The cash represented the third close of the round, following corporate-backed tranches in July 2019 and August this year.
Moulding equipment producer Kikuchi Seisakusho invested an undisclosed sum in Japan-based intelligent camera technology developer AWL on Tuesday. It had secured $7.4m in debt and series A equity financing from internet company CyberAgent, printing services provider Toppan, photo processor Asukanet and Kyodo Tsushin Digital, a subsidiary of news agency Kyodo Tsushin, as well as Yoshikazu Azuma, Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ, Mizuho Bank unit Mizuho Capital and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group vehicle Mitsubishi UFJ Capital in February 2020, and an undisclosed amount from cold forging technology manufacturer Katagiri Corporation seven months later.
Monex Ventures, the corporate venturing arm of financial exchange operator Monex, joined VC fund The Seed and an undisclosed angel investor to provide ¥100m ($960,000) in funding for Japan-based virtual and augmented reality game studio CharacterBank yesterday. It plans to release its first VR title by the end of 2020 and will put the capital towards development of multiplayer and action games.
Drone services provider Aerodyne supplied an undisclosed amount of funding on Monday for Sensorem, the Australia-headquartered operator of a drone-based aerial inspection service. The deal will give the Malaysia-headquartered corporate the opportunity to access Australia’s industrial, energy, mining and agricultural industries.
StreamHero, the US-based operator of a livestreaming advertising service, has secured $550,000 in pre-seed funding from investors including affiliate advertising network Admitad, Esports Observer reported on Monday. VC fund Adventures Lab led the round, which also featured angel investors Vlad Panchenko, Marat Kichikov and Alexander Kokhanovskiy.
Ohealer Healthcare, the India-based insurance and healthcare access platform Clinikk, has raised an undisclosed amount of pre-series A funding from investors including Times Internet, the digital subsidiary of media group Bennett, Coleman & Co, Tech in Asia has reported. Emphasis Ventures led the round, which also featured 500 Startups’ 500 Durians fund, WEH Ventures, First Principles VC and angel investors including Anjali Joshi. The company had previously raised an undisclosed sum from WEH Ventures in October 2018.
RB Ventures, the corporate venturing arm of consumer goods manufacturer Reckitt Benckiser, has invested an amount in UK-based on-demand laundry service Oxwash likely to be £350,000 ($470,000), The Times reported on Monday. The round took the company’s total funding to £1.75m and came after £1.4m ($1.7m) from TrueSight Ventures, Founders Factory, Oxford Technology Management and angel investors including Biz Stone and Paul Forster.
On-demand ride provider Grab’s strategic investment arm, Grab Ventures, has announced the first five winners of its Vietnam-focused Grab Ventures Ignite accelerator, DealStreetAsia reported on Wednesday. The winners, which will get the chance to receive up to $150,000 from the corporate, are point-of-sale system provider BePOS, communication tool developer Stringee, affordable transit system GoDee, digital insurer Papaya and Vbee, a developer of content automation software.
Additional reporting by Liwen-Edison Fu.
