Luca Science, a Japan-headquartered developer of mitochondria-based therapeutics, completed a $9.8m series A round on Tuesday that included medical research equipment provider CaHC. The round was led by venture capital firm Axil Capital Partners and also featured Remiges Ventures, Nippon Venture Capital and Fast Track Initiative. The capital will be used to strengthen the company’s research and development activities.
Diversified conglomerate Sumitomo joined Equinor Ventures and Wintershall Dea Technology Ventures, the corporate venturing subsidiaries of oil and gas suppliers Equinor and Wintershall Dea, to provide NOK75m ($8.5m) in series B funding for Norway-based petroleum geoscience software producer Earth Science Analytics on Wednesday. The company had received an undisclosed amount of series A funding from oil and gas provider Saudi Aramco’s strategic investment arm, Saudi Aramco Energy Ventures, in March 2019.
Denmark-based portable speaker manufacturer Soundboks has secured DKK52m ($8.4m) in funding on Tuesday from investors including M-Venture, the corporate VC fund formed by alcoholic beverage producer Mast-Jägermeister. The round was led by Heartcore and included Danish Growth Fund, and it follows an undisclosed amount from Zillionize in 2016, $120,000 from Y Combinator the same year, $2.5m from angel investors the following year and $2.3m from Danish Growth Fund – also known as Vaekstfonden – in June 2019. Ace & Company is also an investor.
Netherlands-based natural ingredients producer Nutrileads closed a €6.5m ($7.7m) series B round yesterday featuring DSM Venturing, the strategic investment arm of health and nutrition product maker DSM. The round was led by VC firm Icos Capital and included Goeie-Grutten, Oost NL, Shift Invest and Thuja Capital. The company had raised seed funding from DSM Venturing, Shift Invest, Thuja Capital and PPM Oost in 2015 before the same four investors added a similarly undisclosed amount in a 2017 series A round.
Canada-based automotive data software developer Acerta Analytics completed a $7m series A round on Tuesday backed by software provider Microsoft’s corporate venturing unit, M12. The round was led by pension fund manager Omers through its Omers Ventures vehicle and it included StandUp Ventures, Radical Ventures, EDC and Techstars. The company had received $2m in funding from M12 in late 2018 and its earlier investors include Velocity and Trifecta Capital.
China-based medical exoskeleton developer MileBot has raised tens of millions of yuan (RMB10m = $1.45) in a series A round featuring Lenovo Capital, an investment subsidiary of consumer electronics manufacturer Lenovo, as well as power tools producer Zhejiang Dening Industrial and Zhuhai Keming Investment. It had secured an undisclosed amount in a 2016 round co-led by Share Capital before Lenovo Capital invested an undisclosed sum in April 2018.
UK-based patient data software developer uMotif secured £5m ($6.6m) yesterday in a series A round led by VC fund AlbionVC that included classification and testing services provider DNV GL and undisclosed individuals described as existing investors. AlbionVC also led the company’s last round, when it raised $3.2m in a June 2018 round also backed by unnamed angel investors. The latest funding will support commercial and geographic growth as well as further development of its software.
Sun SEA Capital, the corporate venturing arm of diversified conglomerate Sunway Group, has co-led a pre-series B round of undisclosed size for Singapore-based e-commerce services provider Intrepid Group with investment holding group Thakral Corporation. Intrepid had previously received an undisclosed amount in a December 2019 series A round led by VC firm Kairous Capital and backed by Sun SEA Capital and 500 Startups Vietnam.
Myst AI, the US-based developer of a software platform that uses artificial intelligence to calculate time series forecasting for electricity, raised $6m yesterday in series A funding from investors including internet technology provider Google’s AI fund, Gradient Ventures. The round was led by VC firm Valo Ventures and comes after Gradient Ventures led a $2m seed round for Myst in January 2018, co-founder and chief executive Pieter Verhoeven told Crunchbase News.
Germany-based computational pathology technology developer Aignostics has completed a €5m ($5.9m) seed round led by pharmaceutical company Boehringer Ingelheim through its Boehringer Ingelheim Venture Fund. The corporate was joined by High-Tech Gründerfonds, VC Fonds Technologie der IBB Beteiligungsgesellschaft and Future Capital, and the startup plans to use the funding to expand its research portfolio.
Aspinity, a US-based developer of machine learning processors, received $5.3m on Wednesday in a series A round featuring e-commerce and cloud services firm Amazon’s Alexa Fund. It was led by Anzu Partners and included Birchmere Ventures, Mountain State Capital and Riverfront Ventures. Aspinity was part of the first class of Alexa Accelerator, powered by Techstars, in 2017 before Birchmere led a $2.9m seed in November 2018 featuring Alexa Fund, Riverfront Ventures and Mountain State Capital. Its other backers include New Stack Ventures and Right Side Capital Management.
US-based diagnostics tool developer PhotoniCare raised $5.2m yesterday in a series A round that included OSF Ventures and Sony Innovation Fund, respective investment vehicles for care provider OSF Healthcare and consumer electronics manufacturer Sony. The round was led by i2E Management Company, also featured Dreampact Ventures, and the cash was secured alongside a $2.1m grant from National Institutes of Health. It followed $250,000 from unnamed investors in 2015 and about $2m from Julz, Almond Tree Capital, VisionTech Partners, Innovation In Motion and F&S Capital in April 2018.
US-based crypto software provider Zero Hash closed a series C round led by brokerage owner and financial media company Tastytrade on Wednesday that it told Coindesk was $4.8m in size. Crypto asset trader CMT Digital, brokerage services provider TradeStation, Bain Capital and Monday Capital also took part in the round, disclosed as Zero Hash rebranded from Seed CX. Bain Capital Ventures led its $15m series B round in September 2018, taking its total funding past $25m. Its backers at that time included CMT Digital, trading firms Queueco and Tetras Capital, F2Pool, Konza Capital, OKCoin USA, Divergence Digital Currency Fund and XMS Capital.
Plant Jammer, the Denmark-based creator of a mobile app that devises recipes based on a user’s available ingredients, has secured €4m ($4.8m) in a funding round that included packaged food producer Dr Oetker and Miele Venture Capital, the investment arm of kitchen appliances manufacturer Miele, according to AgFunder. The Danish state-owned Vaeksfonden also took part in the round, which followed an undisclosed amount from Miele in August 2018.
Japan-based video training technology developer Clipline received ¥500m ($4.7m) today from Mizuho Capital and SMBC Venture Capital, on behalf of Mizuho Bank and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, as well as professional services firm SunBridge and Innovation Network Corporation of Japan (INCJ), while Japan Finance Corporation supplied debt financing. Formerly known as Genex Solutions, Clipline raised $1.1m from Incubate Fund in 2015, $860,000 from Mizuho Capital, SMBC Venture Capital, Mitsubishi UFJ Capital and DBJ Capital in 2016, $5.7m from INCJ and construction firm Aoki Group’s Anniversaire Holdings subsidiary in March 2018 and $880,000 from Canal Ventures, part of IT services firm Nihon Unisys, nine months later.
Japan-based online recruitment and training platform developer Manebi raised ¥480m ($4.5m) in debt and equity financing on Monday, with the equity funding coming from SBI Investment, the VC arm of financial services firm SBI, and VC firm Global Brain. MT Partners and angel investors Mamoru Taniya and Fumiaki Koizumi had supplied an undisclosed amount of funding for the company in October 2019.
Germany-based credit ratings and brokerage platform developer Bonify has completed a round of undisclosed size that included banking group Santander and credit ratings provider Experian, which invested through Santander InnoVentures and Experian Ventures respectively. The round also featured Avala Capital, Mosaic Ventures and the co-founders of savings marketplace Raisin. It followed $5.8m from Mosaic Ventures, Ribbit Capital, Index Ventures and DN Capital in 2017 and an undisclosed sum from Santander InnoVentures in late 2018.
Two-wheel vehicle manufacturer TVS Motor has paid Rs 300m ($4.1m) to increase its stake in India-based electric motorcycle developer Ultraviolette Automotive to 29.5%, Hindu Business Line reported yesterday. TVS had previously supplied $860,000 in series A funding for Ultraviolette in August 2018, eight months after it had invested $780,000 in the company, whose earlier backers include Speciale Invest.
Japan-based aquaculture technology developer Regional Fish closed a ¥400m ($3.8m) series A on Monday featuring chemical producer Ube Industries, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group subsidiary Mitsubishi UFJ Capital, Kyoto Chuo Shinkin Bank unit Chushin Venture Capital, Innovation C, Beyond Next Ventures and Kyoto Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Growth Support Fund. The company had previously raised $1.9m in a June 2020 round led by Beyond Next Ventures and backed by industrial machinery manufacturer Ebara Corporation.
Dorian, the US-based developer of a development app for collaborative narrative games, has received $3.25m in seed capital from investors including talent management agency Night Media, TechCrunch reported on Monday. VC firm March Capital Partners led the round, which also featured VGames, Konvoy Ventures, London Venture Partners, Andover Ventures and angel investor Michael Chow. It followed $2m in a March 2019 round led by March Capital and backed by investors including digital entertainment producer Modern Times Group and mobile game developer Century Game.
Germany-based rocket propulsion technology developer Morpheus Space has completed a funding round of undisclosed size featuring Airbus Ventures, the corporate venturing subsidiary of aerospace manufacturer Airbus. The round was led by deep tech-focused VC firm Vsquared Ventures and was also backed by Lavrock Ventures, In-Q-Tel, Pallas Ventures and Techstars.
Freshket, the Thailand-based operator of an e-commerce marketplace for fresh produce, has secured $3m in series A funding from investors including packaged food provider Denis Asia Pacific, Techsauce reported yesterday. Openspace Ventures led the round, which also featured ECG-Research, Innospace, Tanihub, Seedersclub and angel investors Pamitra Wineka and Ivan Sustiawan. It had received a six-figure amount of seed capital in 2017 from 500 Tuktuks and an unnamed corporate venturing fund likely to have been operated by Denis Asia.
Snaq.me, the Japan-based operator of a snack box subscription service, raised ¥260m ($2.4m) yesterday from Delight Ventures, SMBC Venture Capital and Future Food Fund, which are backed by internet company DeNA, financial services firm Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation and online supermarket Oisix Ra Daichi respectively, as well as VC firm W Ventures, to take its total funding to about $5.6m. It had secured $1.8m in May 2019 from SMBC Venture Capital, W Ventures, Spiral Ventures Japan, Line Ventures and Asahi Media Lab Ventures, the last two on behalf of messaging platform developer Line and media company Asahi Shimbun.
Pharmaceutical firm Novo led a €1.9m ($2.3m) seed round for Chromologics, a Denmark-based developer of natural food colourants, on Tuesday through early-stage investment arm Novo Seeds. The round also featured Nordic FoodTech VC and Vækstfonden, and the capital will support development of the company’s first colourant, ChromoRed.
Material sciences and electronics product manufacturer TDK has provided an undisclosed amount for Israel-based hydrogen and ammonia fuel cell technology developer GenCell through corporate venturing subsidiary TDK Ventures. The company had previously raised an undisclosed amount from Landa Ventures but TDK Ventures invested through a strategic partnership between GenCell and its parent business.
Crowdz, a US-based invoicing software provider backed by financial services firm Barclays, has completed a $2m series A-plus round led by Bold Capital Partners that included Augment Ventures and TFX Capital Partners, VC News Daily has reported. Barclays and Bold Capital co-led a series A round for the company that included finance software producer First Derivatives, TFX Capital and Techstars Ventures in 2019 that reportedly closed at $6.1m, and it said its overall funding now stands at $9.1m.
Japan-based housing cooperative platform Share Village launched yesterday with an undisclosed amount of funding, as a joint venture of education and training provider Habataku and agricultural services firm Kedama. The startup’s investors are shared office operator Platform Service, housing provider Mamekurashi, commercialisation and IT services firm Hanoi Advanced Lab, disinfectant producer Local Power, tour guide app developer On The Trip and 10 unnamed angel investors.
Greenspoon, the Japan-based owner of smoothie subscription service Green Spoon, received ¥180m ($1.7m) yesterday from mobile game publisher Akatsuki’s Heart Driven Fund, fruit and vegetable wholesaler Sensyuy and unnamed individual investors. The round included an undisclosed amount of debt financing and came five months after the service was launched.
FrontierField, a Japan-based communications technology provider for hospitals, secured an undisclosed amount of funding last month from Mizuho Capital, a subsidiary of financial services firm Mizuho Financial Group, and VC firm Global Catalyst Partners Japan, it revealed yesterday. The round came in the wake of a $790,000 investment by telecommunications firm NTT’s business process management subsidiary, NTT Data Intramart Corporation, in March this year.
Pharmaceutical company Pacira BioSciences has led a $1.5m seed round for US-based data analytics software developer Avalon.ai. Dennis McLoughlin, chief customer office of Pacira, is joining Avalon’s board of directors in conjunction with the round, which will support the company’s expansion in its home country and in Europe.
Toyota Industries, the industrial machinery subsidiary of carmaker Toyota, joined diversified conglomerate Mitsui and logistics property manager GLP to invest an undisclosed amount in Japan-based warehouse robotics technology developer Plus Automation on Tuesday. The startup was founded in June 2019 with an undisclosed amount of funding from Mitsui, and Toyota Industries invested in the latest round through a strategic partnership agreement.
Ingage, the Japan-based owner of cloud customer service platform Re:lation, secured ¥150m ($1.4m) on Monday from investors including Shinsei Corporate Investment and SMBC Venture Capital, respective VC vehicles for financial services firms Shinsei Bank and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation. The banks were joined by VC firm Seiho Investment Works and the cash will fund the addition of new features to the Re:lation platform.
AWL, a Japan-based intelligent camera technology developer spun out of Hokkaido University, received an undisclosed amount of funding from cold forging technology producer Katagiri Corporation on Tuesday. It had raised $7.4m in debt and equity financing from Kyodo Tsushin Digital, a subsidiary of news agency Kyodo Tsushin, as well as internet company CyberAgent, printing services firm Toppan, photo processor Asukanet, Mizuho Capital, Mitsubishi UFJ Capital, Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ and Yoshikazu Azuma in February this year.
Cachet, an Estonia-based provider of automotive insurance for ride hailing drivers, completed a €1.1m ($1.3m) seed round yesterday featuring financial services firm Barclays. The round was led by Icebreaker.vc and was also backed by Techstars, Lemonade Stand and angel investors including Chris Adelsbach, Kartik Varma and Richard Howard. The startup graduated from London Barclays Accelerator, powered by Techstars earlier this year, and will put the funding into entering Poland, the UK and the Nordics region.
Thirdfort, the UK-based developer of a software application that streamlines financing checks for lawyers, has raised £1m ($1.3m) in seed-plus funding from law firm Mishcon de Reya and private investors including David Rutter, James Meekings and Andy Mullinger. The company said it has now raised about $3.5m in total, including $520,000 from legal risk management service Lawyer Checker and angel investor Alex Chesterman in October 2018. It graduated from Mishcon de Reya’s MDR Lab accelerator the same year.
Japan-based neighbourhood social media platform Machimachi received an undisclosed amount of funding from chemicals producer Mitani Sangyo, infrastructure maintenance provider Kashiwabara Corporation, logistics firm Sanwa and undisclosed angel investors today. The round was disclosed alongside a strategic partnership agreement with Tokyo Fire Department.
Internet company Jabbar Internet Group has led a $1m seed round for Pakistan-based online grocer GrocerApp, Wamda reported yesterday. Diversified trading group Nader Group also participated in the round along with IT services firm 7Vals, VC fund Nama Ventures, VC platform Karavan Ventures and Asif Keshodia, Jabbar’s chief financial officer. Jabbar made the investment having exited a similar company, United Arab Emirates-based InstaShop, in a $360m acquisition by Delivery Hero last week.
Huda Beauty Investments, the family office representing the founders of cosmetics producer Huda Beauty, has invested an undisclosed amount in The Luxury Closet, a luxury fashion item marketplace backed by insurance provider EquiTrust, Wamda reported on Tuesday. The company closed an $11m round in May 2019 featuring Equitrust, Wamda Capital, Knuru Capital, Middle East Venture Partners (MEVP), Precinct Partners, TechInvest and Saned Partners, following $7.8m from Equitrust, Wamda, MEVP, Saned and Arzan Venture Capital in a 2016 series B round and $2.2m from MEVP, Dubai Silicon Oasis Capital, Twofour54 and MENA Venture [Investments] the year before that took its total funding to $3m.
Japan-based smart marketing software developer Cognirobo secured ¥85m ($800,000) on Monday from SG Incubate, the investment arm of gas utility Saibu Gas, and VC firm TechAccel Ventures. Cognirobo had raised an undisclosed amount from investors including textile manufacturer Teijin Frontier in July 2018 before adding $890,000 from Mobile Internet Capital in April 2019.
Aioi Nissay Dowa, a subsidiary of MS&AD Insurance Group, provided an undisclosed amount of funding yesterday for SmartPlus Insurance, an insurance-focused spinoff of Japan-based financial technology producer Finatext Holdings. The investment was made through a strategic partnership agreement between the companies.
Hogugu Technologies, the Japan-based owner of an online marketplace for massage therapists, received ¥60m ($570,000) from marketing agency Vector and private investor Teruaki Yabuta on Monday. The company had secured an undisclosed amount from angel investors including Norihiro Takenouchi in November 2019. The startup, which has piloted the service in the city of Osaka, plans to begin testing it in Tokyo this week.
Transport equipment manufacturer Randon has invested an undisclosed amount in Brazil-based on-demand roadside assistance service Reboque.me through corporate VC subsidiary Randon Ventures. Reboque had raised an undisclosed amount from automotive insurance provider Porto Seguro Seguradora and Plug and Play Tech Center in 2017. The deal is the second for Randon Ventures this year, following an investment of undisclosed size in Brazil-based trucking services marketplace TruckHelp in February.
Anatomic Studios, a Sweden-based provider of aesthetically pleasing covers for prosthetic limbs, has completed a SEK4.5m ($520,000) funding round featuring IT services firm Edument. The round included Wellstreet Ventures, Queen Invest and angel investors Thomas Koch, Mette Gross and Pål Svensson.
UMG Idealab, an investment vehicle for diversified conglomerate UMG, has supplied an undisclosed amount of seed funding for Myanmar-based grocery delivery service Zay Chin and Indonesia-based chocolate brand Moodco, DealStreetAsia reported on Wednesday. Both deals were closed last month and although the unit did not reveal the size of its commitments, it generally invests between $50,000 and $1m per transaction.
Payment services provider NextPay has invested VND11bn ($470,000) in CNV Loyalty, the Vietnam-based developer of a software platform that enables businesses to create customer loyalty schemes. The capital will support product and technology development, and NextPay provided the funding amidst media reports it plans to raise up to $100m in an initial public offering.
Flamers, the Japan-based operator of online internship review platform Voil, received an undisclosed amount of funding from mobile game publisher Akatsuki’s Heart Driven Fund on Wednesday. The platform was launched in June this year and was developed by three current University of Tokyo students.
Additional reporting by Liwen-Edison Fu.
