On-demand ride provider Gojek has provided an undisclosed amount of funding for LinkAja, the Indonesia-based mobile wallet provider that raised about $100m in a November 2020 series B round led by Gojek peer Grab, Reuters reported on Tuesday, citing a company statement. The November round also featured telecommunications firm Telkomsel as well as BRI Ventures and Mandiri Capital, which invested on behalf of financial services firms Bank Rakyat Indonesia and Bank Mandiri respectively.
Allganize, a US-headquartered developer of natural language processing technology that can generate answers to queries based on unstructured data, closed a $10m financing round on Monday featuring financial services firm Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation. The round was led by investment firm Atinum Investment and included Stonebridge Ventures and unnamed existing investors. Telecoms firm KDDI’s Open Innovation Fund invested $1m in Allganize in 2017 and joined SparkLabs Global Ventures in a $3.4m series A round in mid-2019.
Exabel, a Norway-based investment analytics software developer backed by automotive component producer Sanden, secured $10m on Wednesday in a fourth seed round, which was led by AWC, the family officer formerly known as Awilhelmsen Capital Holdings. The company has now raised more than $21m altogether, including $3.6m in September 2020 and $4.7m from Sanden, Vatne Equity, Andenæsgruppen, Melesio Capital, Axan Invest, First Partners Holding 5, Holta Invest and LT Invest two years earlier.
Hatch Work, the Japan-based operator of a parking space location service, raised ¥1bn ($9.2m) in equity and debt financing on Monday from investors including public relations group Vector and crowdsourced services marketplace CrowdWorks. The round also featured Mizuho Capital, the venture capital arm of financial services firm Mizuho Financial Group, as well as Energy and Environment Investment and Innovation Engine.
Telecoms and internet group SoftBank’s SB Opportunity Fund co-led a $7.5m series A round for US-based cybersecurity software startup Lumu on Wednesday with VC firm Panoramic Ventures. The round included angel investors Tom Noonan and Lane Bess, and the proceeds will be channelled into sales and marketing in addition to research and development.
Data software provider Snowflake invested an undisclosed amount in US-headquartered analytics technology producer ThoughtSpot on Tuesday through growth equity subsidiary Snowflake Ventures. ThoughtSpot had raised a total of $554m as of a 2019 round valuing it at $1.95bn, from investors including enterprise technology producer Hewlett Packard Enterprise, financial services firm Capital One, Silver Lake Waterman, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Sapphire Ventures and Geodesic Capital.
Internet company VNG Corporation supplied $6m in funding for Got It, a Vietnam-based provider of digital loyalty and rewards products for corporate customers, DealStreetAsia reported yesterday. The corporate will also assist Got It in expanding its business and customer digital gifting services.
Veruna, the US-based creator of an agency management system for the insurance industry, had completed a $6m funding round co-led by insurance agency network Keystone and business insurance provider EMC Insurance. EMC’s chief field officer, Phil Lucca, is joining Veruna’s board of directors in connection with the round, and Keystone said it first invested in the company in 2016, without disclosing further details.
Colombia-based e-commerce services provider Elenas has secured $6m in series A funding from investors including social commerce platform developer Meesho, TechCrunch has reported. Leo Capital, FJ Labs and Alpha4 Ventures also contributed to the round, which came after Elenas raised $2m from Meesho, Alpha4 Ventures, Amador Holdings and Polymath Ventures in October 2020.
Pharmaceutical wholesaler AmerisourceBergen and laboratory services provider Labcorp have co-led a funding round of undisclosed size for TrakCel, a UK-based developer of cellular orchestration systems for the gene and cell therapy space. TrakCel had previously received a ‘multi-million dollar’ amount from VC firm Telegraph Hill Partners in 2016.
Harborside provided $5m for US-based cannabis cultivator, manufacturer, processor and distributor Loudpack on Monday through a 15% secured convertible note due December 2022. Loudpack will work with Harborside to help increase the efficiency of its production and improving yields at the latter’s Salinas, California facility.
US-based mobility data software developer Populus AI has received $5m in funding from investors including automotive component manufacturer Magna International, TechCrunch reported on Wednesday. VC firm Storm Ventures led the round, which also featured Precursor, Relay Ventures and Ulu Ventures, the three having contributed to a $3.1m for the company in March 2019 that reportedly increased its overall funding to $3.85m.
Storegga, a UK-based developer of carbon removal technology, has raised an undisclosed amount from diversified trading group Mitsui, Singaporean sovereign wealth fund GIC and investment bank Macquarie’s Commodities and Global Markets Group. The last of the three had previously been the cornerstone investor in Storegga, which is developing a carbon capture and storage (CCS) and hydrogen project in Scotland.
Proper, the Denmark-based operator of a software platform that automates the long-term home rental process for property owners, has completed a $4.6m seed round that included architecture firm Bjarke Ingels, Tech.eu reported yesterday. The round was led by VC fund ByFounders and also featured PreSeed Ventures, Prehype, Vaekstfonden and undisclosed angel investors.
Novolog Group has paid an undisclosed amount for a 20% stake in Germany-based telemedicine platform developer MedFlex, Calcalist reported yesterday. MedFlex’s platform allows patients to consult physicians through messaging, video calls or video communication, and Israel-headquartered Novolog made the investment as part of plans to expand abroad.
C2C, the Singapore-based operator of an online platform that matches clients with service providers, increased its pre-series A round to $3.6m on Monday by adding ¥110m ($1m) from angel investors including Hideki Yoshimura and members of its management team. It raised an undisclosed sum for the round from recruitment firm En-Japan in September 2019 and $1.6m from online travel agency AirTrip, property developer Ambition and various angel investors in December, boosting the round to $2.6m with capital from En-Japan, AirTrip and unnamed individuals in November 2020.
Crosser, the Sweden-based creator of a low-code application development platform, has secured €3m ($3.6m) in a funding round co-led by NTT Docomo Ventures, the investment arm of mobile network operator NTT Docomo, Nordic 9 has reported. VC firm Montan-Ventures-Saar co-led the round, which included Industrifonden, Spintop Ventures, 42Cap, Almi Invest and Norrlandsfonden. It followed a $1.8m seed round in 2017 led by Spintop Ventures and backed by Almi Invest and Norrlandsfonden, and a $3.3m round led by 42Cap in April 2019 that included all the seed investors.
Internet and telecoms conglomerate SoftBank’s Latin America Fund has invested an undisclosed amount in UOL EdTech, a Brazil-based developer of digital learning technology, Startupi has reported. The funding will be allocated to technology development and international expansion.
Battery recycling technology producer Linico Corporation has led a $3.45m seed round for Green Li-ion, a Singapore-based developer of sustainable for battery rejuvenation technology, e27 has reported. IT recycling services provider TES, Entrepreneur First and SOSV’s Hax subsidiary also took part in the round, which followed $400,000 in pre-seed funding from Entrepreneur First in September 2020. Linico invested having raised $2m from peer Aqua Metals last month in an all-share deal valuing it at $20m.
Angel investors Frederic Kerrest, Sri Viswanath, Kevin Mandia and Jason Chan provided an undisclosed amount of funding on Tuesday for JupiterOne, the US-based creator of a cloud platform used to monitor cybersecurity operations, which was spun off by healthcare software provider LifeOmic. The company had secured $19m in a September 2020 series A round led by Bain Capital Ventures, the venture capital arm of private equity firm Bain Capital, and backed by LifeOmic and Rain Capital.
Financial services firm ING supplied $3m in funding for Flowcast, a US-based company that uses artificial intelligence to reduce risk in credit decisions, on Monday through VC unit ING Ventures. ING Ventures has already co-led Flowcast’s $3m series A round with VC fund BitRock Capital in 2019, participating alongside existing investors Katalyst Ventures and Alpana Ventures.
Plan A, a Germany-based provider of software that helps businesses identify ways of reducing their carbon footprint, has received $3m in funding from investors including telecoms and internet group SoftBank, TechCrunch reported on Tuesday. Demeter led the round, which also featured fellow VC firm Coparion, and which will support international growth and the strengthening of its software platform.
GloveBox, the US-based creator of an easy-to-use mobile insurance portal, raised $3m from investors including insurance brokerage Heffernan Insurance Brokers today. The round was led by growth equity firm Mercato Partners’ Prelude Fund and also featured undisclosed angel investors from the insurance industry. The cash will be allocated to platform development.
Growth equity firm Clerisy provided an undisclosed amount for Dormify, the US-based operator of an e-commerce platform that sells home décor to students, on Wednesday. The company had secured a total of over $5m as of a $3.45m series A round led by fashion retailer American Eagle Outfitters in 2018. It received $780,000 in debt financing from undisclosed investors in January 2020, according to a securities filing.
Entertainment group Riva Technology and Entertainment has invested $2.5m in US-based gaming studio Rogue Games having provided $1m in seed funding for US-based esports tournament operator OKLetsPlay last week, VentureBeat reported on Wednesday. Rogue raised $1.25m from investors including VC firm Grishin Robotics in a March 2019 seed round, adding $2m Grishin Robotics, Runa Capital, Mighty Capital, Liquid 2 Ventures and angel investor Ronnie Lott in May 2020.
Energy provider National Grid led a $2m funding round yesterday for Copper Labs, a US-based developer of wireless energy management technology, through corporate venturing subsidiary National Grid Partners. The corporate was joined by Blue Bear Capital, Moonshots Capital and Bull Creek Capital, all of which joined Capital Factory and Service Provider Capital in an earlier $2m round for Copper Labs in November 2019.
BallWave, a Japan-based provider of gas measurement technology, closed a ¥181m ($1.7m) series C round on Monday featuring automotive component manufacturer Toyoda Gosei, leasing service JA Mitsui Leasing and the Taiwanese government’s Industrial Technology Investment Corporation. It had previously raised $5.3m from Daiwa Corporate Investment, Mitsubishi UFJ Capital, SMBC Venture Capital, Tohoku University Venture Partners and RealTech Fund in 2018.
Broadcaster UKTV has acquired a stake in Time-To-Find, the UK-based operator of an online comparison platform for Swiss watches, on Tuesday through an ad-for-equity deal valued in the seven figures (£1m = $1.4m). The transaction was conducted through the corporate’s UKTV Ventures unit and the company identified angel investor Alex Chesterman as an existing backer.
Cross Sync, the Japan-based developer of artificial intelligence-equipped medical software, secured ¥150m ($1.4m) on Monday from investors including Toyota Tsusho, a subsidiary of carmaker Toyota, as well as hospital communication software provider Findex and optical product manufacturer Konica Minolta. The corporates invested together with Development Bank of Japan.
Blue Industries, a Japan-based company leveraging cell-free DNA and RNA analysis technology to develop urine testing products, received ¥120m ($1.1m) on Monday from investors including life sciences equipment and information provider Nippon Genetics. The round also featured individual investors including Shōko Takahashi.
Taas, the Japan-based operator of confidential document processing service e-PodDigital, completed ¥100m ($920,000) in funding on Monday from undisclosed existing backers and 80 angel investors through crowdfunding portal Fundinno. It came after online wholesaler services provider Raccoon Holdings had provided $2.7m in equity and convertible note financing for the company in December 2019.
LexxPluss, a Japan-based startup working on automated transport robots for use in warehouses, has raised an undisclosed amount of seed funding from investors including diversified conglomerate Sumitomo, The Bridge has reported. Incubate Fund and SOSV also participated in the round, which came after LexxPlus entered Hax Tokyo, the accelerator run by Sumitomo and SOSV, in July 2020.
Terrace Mile, a Japan-based developer of digitalisation technology for the agriculture industry, secured ¥78.5m ($720,000) of funding on Monday from packaged food producer Oisix Ra Daichi’s Future Food Fund, energy utility Kansai Electric Power’s K4 Ventures unit, agricultural cooperative as JA Group and Norinchukin Innovation, part of financial services firm Norinchukin Bank. The company joined computing technology producer IBM’s BlueHub incubator in 2014 and raised $650,000 from Dogan Beta, Yamaguchi Capital, Sumitomo Mitsui Marine Capital (on behalf of consulting firm Dogan, financial services firm Yamaguchi Financial Group and insurance group MS&AD respectively) and Chikugin Regional Revitalization Investment Limited Partnership in February 2019.
Sketchbook, the Japan-based operator of a nursery school food service called Baby’s Fun, raised an undisclosed amount from investors including frozen food producer Yamadai Food Corporation on Monday. The corporate participated alongside four angel investors including Toshihito Kobayashi and Kunihiro Tanaka, and the funding will support the expansion of Sketchbook’s services to incorporate nutrition education services.
HoloAsh, the US-headquartered creator of a social network for teens in minority communities called WeBelong, collected ¥73m ($670,000) in pre-seed funding on Monday from mobile game publisher Akatsuki’s Heart Driven Fund, Miraise and angel investors including Kenji Kasahara, Hiroshi Tomishima and Shokei Suda, The Bridge reported. It has now raised $925,000 in total, having secured angel investment from Indee Japan and various individuals in 2018 and pre-seed funding from private investor Hiroshi Takato in 2019.
The Harmony, the Japan-based developer of a nursing care communication robot, received ¥63m ($580,000) on Monday in a seed round that included Dogan Beta, the VC arm of investment and consulting services firm Dogan. The round also featured research firm Leave a Nest and angel investors including Satoshi Umino, and it increased the company’s overall funding to approximately $930,000.
Additional reporting by Liwen-Edison Fu.
