Canada-based data collaboration software developer Cinchy raised $10m on Tuesday in a series A round that included insurance firm Manulife’s Investment Management subsidiary. The round was led by venture capital firm Information Venture Partners and also featured BDC, ScaleUp Ventures and Techstars. Cinchy had previously received $2.3m in an October 2018 round led by Blindspot and backed by Techstars, BDC Capital Seed Fund, ScaleUp Ventures and Mars Investment Accelerator Fund.
US-based smart home product maker Wyze Labs has received $10m in a series A-1 round led by VC firm Norwest Venture Partners and backed by American Family Ventures, the strategic investment arm of insurance firm American Family. Norwest had previously led the company’s $20m series A round in March 2019, following an undisclosed amount of seed funding from iSeed Ventures. It has expanded its product range in recent weeks to include face masks and non-contact thermometers.
UK-based digital banking technology provider Meniga completed an €8.5m ($9.4m) funding round led by Groupe BPCE yesterday that included fellow financial services firms Grupo Crédito Agrícola and UniCredit as well as Velocity Capital, Industrifonden and Frumtak Ventures. The company had previously raised a total of about $36m as of a $3.4m investment by banking firm Íslandsbanki in late 2018. UniCredit, Swedbank, banking software producer Crealogix, Industrifonden, Frumtak Ventures, Velocity Capital and Kjolfesta were also earlier backers.
India-based microlender Suryoday Small Finance Bank has raised Rs 621m ($8.6m) in a private placement provided by six existing investors including insurance firm Kotak Life, pension fund manager Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association, Gaja Capital, Lok Capital and private investor Kiran Vyapar, Financial Express reported yesterday. Suryoday received $4.5m from Lok Capital, International Finance Corporation (IFC) and Aavishkaar Goodwell in 2014, $15m from financial services firms IDFC Bank and ASK Group, insurer HDFC Life and unnamed family offices in 2016, $23.5m from HDFC Life, ASK Group, IFC, TVS Shriram, Gaja, Evolvence, Developing World Markets and unnamed family offices and individuals in early 2017 and $35.8m from Kotak Life, DEG, KfW Group and various existing backers in April 2019.
Computing technology producer IBM has paid an undisclosed amount for a stake in We.trade Innovation DAC, the Ireland-based digital trading software developer formerly known as Digital Trade Chain, that was sized at 7% according to Coindesk. IBM joins the banks that make up We.trade’s earlier backers: CaixaBank, Deutsche Bank, Erste Group, HSBC, KBC, Nordea, Rabobank, Santander, Société Générale, UBS and UniCredit.
Japan-based cell culture technology developer Integriculture secured ¥800m ($7.4m) on Monday in a series A round featuring food processor Nippon Ham, media, data and investment firm AgFunder and Real Tech Fund, the joint venture for biofuel supplier Euglena, research firm Leave a Nest and investment firm SMBC Nikko. The round included financial services firm Hiroshima Bank’s Hiroshima Venture Capital unit, Venture University’s VU Venture Partners fund, Beyond Next Ventures and individuals including Naruhisa Nakagawa. It follows $2.7m from Euglena, Beyond Next Ventures, brand developer Modern Times Group, public-private partnership A-Five and angel investors including Hiroaki Kitano in May 2018.
Knowledge Merchants Works (KMW), the Japan-based provider of retail management tool HataLuck, received ¥760m ($7.1m) in series B funding on Monday from 31 Ventures, the corporate VC arm of property developer Mitsui Fudosan, as well as internet company GMO’s GMO Venture Partners unit, pharmacy chain Yakudo, data processor BrainPad, food technology producer Gyro Holdings, data assets manager Pipedo HD’s Double Sharp Partners unit and various angel investors. BrainPad, GMO Venture Partners, recruitment firm En-Japan, restaurant and theme park owner DD Holdings, consulting firm Value Create and assorted angel investors in September 2018.
Greeneye Technology, the Israel-based creator of an automated weed-spraying system, completed a $7m seed round on Tuesday that included Syngenta Ventures, agribusiness Syngenta’s corporate venturing unit. VC firm Jerusalem Venture Partners (JVP) led the round, which also featured 2B Angels, One Way Ventures, Panache Ventures. Techstars and Hyperplane Venture Capital. Syngenta Ventures managing director Shubhang Shankar has joined Greeneye’s board of directors, as has Michal Drayman, a partner at JVP.
Groovenauts, the Japan-based developer of a quantum computing-equipped cloud platform, secured ¥730m ($6.8m) on Wednesday from investors including real estate developer Mitsubishi Estate, toll collection card producer Mirai Support and SG Incubate, the corporate VC subsidiary of gas utility Saibu Gas. The corporates were joined by VC firm Cherubic Ventures and three undisclosed additional backers, and the cash will go to marketing, hiring and technology development.
Singtel Innov8, the corporate venturing arm of telecommunications firm Singapore Telecommunications, has led a series B round of undisclosed size for China-based data management software provider DataHunter, 36Kr reported on Monday. Green Pine Capital Partners provided an eight-figure renminbi amount (RMB10m = $1.45m at contemporary rates) for DataHunter in early 2017 before Ventech China led another eight-figure round in September the same year, according to 36Kr.
Electronics and workplace equipment manufacturer Brady Corporation invested $6m in React Mobile, a US-based provider of panic button systems for hotels, in connection with a strategic partnership agreement on Tuesday. React Mobile had previously raised $1.5m in equity funding and $750,000 in debt financing since 2012 according to regulatory filings but has not disclosed details of its existing investors.
US-based caregiver support and coaching provider Cariloop closed a $6m series A round on Tuesday featuring workplace healthcare consulting firm Acap Health. The round was led by Patterson Thoma Family Office and included Revolution’s Rise of the Rest Seed Fund, KCRise Fund, MPK Equity Partners, angel investor Patrick McGee and unnamed other participants. Cariloop said it has now raised $8.2m in total, including an undisclosed sum from Health Wildcatters in 2013, $400,000 from Green Park & Golf Ventures and Corbett Capital the following year and $540,000 from unnamed investors in 2017.
Stringr, the US-based operator of an on-demand video news service, raised $5.75m yesterday from investors including Thomson Reuters Ventures, the corporate VC vehicle for media company Thomson Reuters. The corporate was joined by G5 Capital and Advection Growth Capital, both of which contributed to a $1.8m round for the company in late 2018 alongside media companies Associated Press and McClatchy. It had reportedly raised $1.5m from Matter, Founder.org and Signia Ventures three years before.
China-based credential-checking software provider iBeiDiao has received an eight-figure renminbi amount (RMB10m = $1.4m) in a series B2 round led by Legend Capital, the VC firm formed by conglomerate Legend Holdings, which invested together with FutureCap and Frees Fund, China Money Network reported yesterday. It had previously raised another eight-digit amount in an October 2019 series B round featuring FutureCap.
Financial services firm Santander led a $5m funding round yesterday for a55, the Brazil-based operator of an online business lending platform, through corporate venturing subsidiary Santander InnoVentures. The company had previously received $3m in seed capital from undisclosed investors and it raised the latest funding on the back of a recent expansion into Mexico.
Singapore-based, enterprise-focused artificial intelligence software developer Sentient.io has secured an undisclosed amount in a series A round led by internet company Digital Garage that increased its overall funding to $5m, Business Times reported on Wednesday. The round included ABC Dream Ventures, a corporate venturing subsidiary of broadcaster Asahi Broadcasting, and accelerator Leave a Nest Group, and the company’s existing investors include Beenext and A*Star, according to Business Times.
SIX Fintech Ventures, the strategic investment arm of financial information and banking services provider SIX, has led a CHF4.6m ($4.7m) seed round for Switzerland-based identity verification software developer PXL Vision. Financial services firms ZKB and Arab Bank also participated in the round, which included High-Tech Gründerfonds and angel investors Beat Schillig and David Studer. PXL had previously joined the accelerator run by SAP.iO, the corporate VC subsidiary of enterprise software provider SAP, in October 2019.
University of Tokyo’s recently launched AOI I Fund led a ¥500m ($4.6m) funding round yesterday for Onedot, the Japan-based operator of childcare-focused online media platform Babily. Insurance firm Nippon Life also took part in the round, through corporate VC subsidiary Nissay Capital, as did diversified conglomerate Sumitomo, consulting firms Boston Consulting Group and XRoss, Mizuho Bank’s Mizuho Capital unit and Pksha Sparx Algorithm I, a joint venture between algorithm producer Pksha and asset manager Sparx.
MiddleField, the Japan-based owner of an e-commerce marketplace for automotive components, secured ¥340m ($3.2m) on Wednesday in a series B round led by D4V, the joint venture formed by design and consulting firm Ideo and VC firm Genuine Startups. The round was backed by entrepreneurial community Chiba Dojo and Femto Partners, the VC fund that contributed to the company’s $2.2m series A round in 2017. It said it has now raised approximately $5.6m altogether.
Spectrm, the Germany-based creator of an artificial intelligence-equipped conversational marketing tool, has received $3m in series A financing from VC firm Runa Capital, Tech.eu reported on Tuesday. It had previously raised $1.5m from BDMI, a corporate venturing subsidiary of media group Bertelsmann, as well as media company Axel Springer, investment firm North Base Media, VC firm Lerer Hippeau and angel investor Jens Schumann, in 2016.
Nature Architects, the Japan-based creator of an algorithm for metamaterial design, raised ¥325m ($3m) today in a series A round featuring air conditioner manufacturer Daikin and farm machinery producer Kobashi Industries. The round was also backed by FFG Venture Business Partners, the early-stage investment arm of financial services firm Fukuoka Financial Group, in addition to VC fund Drone Fund.
US-based lead recovery software developer Curu has completed a $3m seed round led by Vestigo Ventures that included Harlem Capital, Techstars Ventures, Holt Accelerator, Chingona Ventures, Matchstick Ventures, Carolina Fintech Ventures and Upscale Fund, Finsmes has reported. Curu participated in banking technology producer FIS’s FIS Fintech Accelerator in May 2019 four months after joining Western Union Accelerator Powered by Techstars, which is backed by money transfer service Western Union.
South Africa-based digital insurance platform developer Inclusivity Solutions doubled its series A round to $2.6m on Wednesday, adding $1.3m from investors including financial technology provider MFS Africa. The round was led by Goodwell Investments’ uMunthu fund and included fellow investment firm UW Ventures, while the first tranche featured existing backer RGAx, a subsidiary of advertising agency RGA.
Digital wallet provider Coinbase’s corporate venturing vehicle, Coinbase Ventures, co-led a $2.5m funding round for India-based online cryptocurrency trading platform CoinDCX on Tuesday with crypto technology investment firm Polychain Capital. Bain Capital Ventures led a seed round of undisclosed size for the company in March 2019 that included assorted angel investors, before it added $3m in a series A round led by HDR Group, the owner of cryptocurrency exchange BitMex, and backed by Polychain Capital and Bain Capital Ventures 12 months later.
Repohappy, the Japan-based provider of a social network rating service, secured ¥270m ($2.5m) on Tuesday from Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Venture Capital (MSIVC), Nagoya TV Ventures, Kiraboshi Capital, Resona Capital and Mizuho Capital, subsidiaries of insurer Mitsui Sumitomo, broadcaster Nagoya TV and financial services firms Tokyo Kiraboshi Financial Group, Resona Bank and Mizuho Bank respectively. VC firm Nippon Venture Capital also took part in the round, which came after $1.2m from MSIVC, Resona Capital, advertising technology provider DA Consortium, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group’s Mitsubishi UFJ Capital unit and Hack Ventures in January 2019.
Logistics services firm DHL has invested an undisclosed sum in Link Commerce, an e-commerce services provider spun off by Nigeria-based online marketplace MallforAfrica, TechCrunch reported yesterday. DHL has been a MallforAfrica partner since 2015 and the companies jointly launched a joint venture called DHL Africa eShop in 2019.
Gradient Ventures, the artificial intelligence-focused investment vehicle formed by internet technology provider Google, has led a $2.4m seed round for Benepass, the US-based creator of an employee benefits provision platform, TechCrunch reported on Tuesday. Global Founders Capital, Y Combinator, Soma Capital, Amino Capital, Altair Capital, Elysium Ventures and Polymath also participated in the round, which will support product development, recruitment and customer acquisition.
17zhiliao, the China-based creator of a background-checking software product, has raised an undisclosed amount of series A-plus funding from IT services provider YLZ Information Technology, 36Kr reported on Monday. Beijing Shiteng Hongcheng Investment Management had supplied $3m in funding for the company in 2017, and the latest capital will support product development.
US-based warehousing services provider Warehouse Exchange completed a $2.2m seed round yesterday featuring real estate developers including Xebec Realty. Unnamed angel investors also contributed to the round, and the proceeds will be channelled into sales and marketing, recruitment and the further development of the company’s artificial intelligence algorithm.
Semiconductor technology provider Galois spun off data-relationship tracking software developer thatDot on Wednesday with a $2.1m seed round in which it participated. VC fund Oregon Venture Fund led the round, which also featured private equity firm Hale Capital Partners.
Insurance firm Helvetia has led a seven-digit funding round for Switzerland-based digital signature technology developer Skribble through its Helvetia Venture Fund, VentureLab reported yesterday. The round included another insurer, Mobiliar, as well as financial services firm Zürcher Kantonalbank and VC firm Btov Partners. The company had previously raised $1.1m from Btov’s Digital Tech fund and angel investors Myke Näf and Gian Reto á Porta in May 2019.
Living Tech, the Japan-based operator of accommodation listings app Now Room, secured ¥210m ($2m) in seed capital yesterday from investors including Nissay Capital, the VC arm of insurance provider Nippon Life. The round included unnamed individual investors and debt financing from undisclosed financial institutions.
University of Tokyo’s UTokyo Innovation Platform joined VC firm Anri to invest ¥210m ($2m) in Fimecs, a Japan-based protein search platform spun off by pharmaceutical firm Takeda yesterday. The startup, which was founded in 2018, has partnerships in place with University of Tokyo and Kyoto University, and UTokyo Innovation Platform provided the cash through its newly formed AOI I Fund.
Hotel and wellness centre operator Eaton Workshop and entertainment studio IHeartComix participated in a $2m seed round for Kippo, the US-based operator of a dating app built for gamers, yesterday, Built in LA reported. The round was led by Primer Sazze Partners and also featured fellow VC firm NextGen Venture Partners and former executives for dating app developer Tinder.
Consumer electronics producer Sony revealed an investment of undisclosed in US-based connected payment technology developer MagicCube yesterday through its Sony Innovation Fund. MagicCube had secured $2.2m in seed funding from payment services firm Visa, Azure Capital, Epic Ventures, Bialla Venture Partners and unnamed angel investors in 2015 before adding $8.5m from Bold Capital Partners, Epic Ventures, Social Starts and Silicon Valley Bank two years later. The company’s backers also include NTT Data, telecoms firm NTT’s IT services subsidiary, which formed a partnership with it in June 2019.
Japan-based video production platform developer Crevo received ¥200m ($1.9m) from investors including Voyage Ventures and Kiraboshi Capital, subsidiaries of marketing technology provider Voyage and financial services firms Tokyo Kiraboshi Financial Group, on Tuesday. VC firm Yamaguchi Capital and three unnamed investors also took part in the round, which came after $2.8m in 2017 from Itochu Technology Ventures and Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Venture Capital, on behalf of trading group Itochu and insurer Mitsui Sumitomo respectively, as well as AG Capital and D4V.
Insurance provider Insurance Australia Group (IAG) invested an undisclosed amount in Digital Agriculture Services, an Australia-based developer of rural and agricultural risk management technology, on Monday through VC subsidiary Firemark Ventures. The funding was supplied through a strategic partnership that will involve the companies offering a free risk report to all rural households in Australia.
Finland-based educational activity provider Kide Science secured €1.5m ($1.7m) yesterday in a seed round led by VC firm Sparkmind.vc that was also backed by existing investors including Zanichelli Venture, textbook publisher Zanichelli’s corporate VC unit. The round came after educational services provider KSI Education and VC fund Emerge Education co-led an $850,000 round for Kide in March 2019 that included Zanichelli Venture, MPA Education, Reaktor Ventures and unnamed angel investors.
Curatio, the Canada-based developer of a healthcare engagement software platform, received an undisclosed amount of series A funding from investors including Conexus Venture Capital Fund, a subsidiary of credit union Conexus. VC firm Rhino Ventures led the round, and the company’s earlier investors include StartUp Health.
Indonesia-based data management software developer Delman has raised $1.6m in a seed round led by VC firm Intudo Ventures that also featured smart city services provider Qlue Performa Indonesia and technology investment firm Prasetia Dwidharma Ventures, e27 reported on Tuesday. Delman will put the funding toward increasing headcount and opening a research and development centre.
Marubeni Ventures, the corporate venturing arm of trading group Marubeni, provided an undisclosed amount for US-based fresh produce distribution service GrubMarket on Tuesday. GrubMarket closed its last round, a series C1 featuring internet company Digital Garage, packaged food producer Kraft Heinz’s Evolv Ventures unit, conglomerates Fosun and Arancia Industrial, WI Harper, University Growth Fund, CentreGold Capital, Ace & Company, GGV Capital, Fusion Fund and Bascom Ventures, at $28.2m in May 2019 according to a securities filing, taking its total funding to more than $92m.
Japan-based avatar robot developer Mira Robotics secured ¥120m ($1.1m) today from construction firm Taisei as well as Mitsubishi UFJ Capital, the VC arm of financial services firm Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, and MBC Shisaku, a vehicle for accelerator operator Makers Boot Camp. The company had previously secured undisclosed amounts from product development agency Monstar Lab in June 2018 and from temporary staff provider Pasona Group four months later.
Restaurant manager Toridoll Holdings, real estate asset management firm SunFaro and angel investor Shinya Saegusa supplied an undisclosed amount of funding for Japan-based food delivery service Ghost Kitchens today. The startup launched last month and will use the cash to develop its brand and expand its first outlet.
Japan-based online learning service Play Life raised about ¥115m ($1m) on Tuesday from investors including corporate training consultancy Celm, investment and consulting services firm Dogan and financial services firm Mizuho Bank, through Aristoteles Partners, Dogan Beta and Mizuho Capital respectively. The round also featured Optima Ventures, Shizuoka Capital and Energy and Environment Investment. Play Life said it has now raised about $2.7m in total, $490,000 having come from Coent Venture Partners and various angel investors in 2015.
WorkSpace, the US-based creator of a software platform for the management of commercial real estate, received an undisclosed amount of funding yesterday from ASG and its affiliates, which together make up a collection of vertically-integrated software-as-a-service providers. The investment was made as Vivek Kartha moved from ASG to take up the president position at WorkSpace.
OnMobile Global Solutions Canada, a subsidiary of mobile entertainment provider OnMobile, has paid C$1m ($710,000) for a 25% stake in Canada-based user engagement technology startup Back to the Game, the Economic Times has reported. Back to the Game is the developer of a tool called Rob0 which enables video game developers to track user engagement in detail.
Plaid, the operator of online customer measurement product Karte, invested an undisclosed amount in Emotion Tech, a Japan-based developer of customer experience management software, on Monday. Formerly known as Wizpra, Emotion Tech raised $2m in 2015 from digital media company Gree’s Strive fund, financial services firms Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation and Mizuho Bank’s SMBC Venture Capital and Mizuho Capital units and Mobile Internet Capital, and an undisclosed sum from social media platform Globalway in 2016.
Digzyme, a Japan-based bioinformatics technology developer spun out of Tokyo Institute of Technology, secured ¥30m ($280,000) in seed funding today from corporate services firm ReBoost and VC firm Anri. The startup has created a technology platform capable of performing reverse synthesis analysis in order to discover useful compounds.
Additional reporting by Liwen-Edison Fu.
