Funding
D-Matrix, a US-headquartered developer of compute technology for data centres, raised $44m yesterday from investors including flash memory chip producer SK Hynix, semiconductor manufacturer Marvell Technology and M12, the corporate venturing arm of software producer Microsoft. Venture capital firm Playground Global led the round, which also featured Nautilus Venture Partners and Entrada Ventures.
US-headquartered remote health benefits provider SafetyWing has completed a $35m series B round backed by internet company Digital Garage’s DG Ventures unit and online lending marketplace and CreditEase’s Innovation Fund today. The round was led by investment firm Kinnevik and included ByFounders and Mundi Ventures.
US-based data management software provider Spruce secured $34m yesterday in a series A round featuring financial services firm Siam Commercial Bank’s SCB 10X vehicle, research and development lab Protocol Labs, cryptocurrency investment platform developer Gemini’s Frontier Fund and Okta Ventures, a subsidiary of identity management technology provider Okta. VC firm Andreessen Horowitz led the round, which included Robot Ventures, OrangeDAO, Ethereal Ventures, Electric Capital, Y Combinator, A.Capital Ventures, Third Kind Venture Capital and SV Angel.
US-headquartered consumer product-sharing service Tulu has completed a $20m series A round featuring industrial technology and appliance producer Robert Bosch and cleaning device manufacturer Alfred Kärcher, TechCrunch reported yesterday. The corporates invested through Robert Bosch Venture Capital and Kärcher New Venture respectively, joining New Era Capital Partners, which led the round, Round Hill Ventures and undisclosed existing shareholders.
Wheelhouse, the US-based provider of a revenue management software platform for the flexible rental sector, was spun off by short-term accommodation provider Lyric yesterday with $16m in funding from investors including real estate developers Tishman Speyer and RXR Realty. The round was co-led by New Enterprise Associates and Highgate Ventures and also backed by Signalfire, Fifth Wall, 01 Advisors, Certares and PAR Capital.
Quantitative trading firm Alameda Research and VC fund Ship Capital co-led a $9.1m seed round for Delta One, the US-headquartered creator of a decentralised finance protocol for the Solana blockchain, on Tuesday. Solana’s corporate venturing vehicle, Solana Ventures, also took part, as did Electric Capital, AlleyCorp and angel investors Raj Gokal, Chris McCann, Joe McCann and Alfred Chuang.
US-based health technology product and services developer Cope Health Solutions completed a $7.5m series A round on Tuesday featuring Mindtree, a digital transformation services provider collaborating with the company on development of its population health analytics software. Management services organisation Solutions 4 Community Health also invested.
Healthcare provider UnityPoint Health co-led US-based digital pathology technology developer Pathware’s $7m series A round on Tuesday through subsidiary UnityPoint Health Ventures. The round was co-led with Level Eight Ventures and included MVolution Partners, Solas BioVentures and angel investors Sidney Taurel, Steve Laczynski, Monica Richter, David Johnson, James Watt and Peter Faroni.
Unbereal, the Japan-based operator of virtual karaoke platform Topia, raised ¥550m ($4.3m) in series B funding today from investors including telecoms firm KDDI’s Open Innovation Fund, Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Venture Capital and Nissay Capital, vehicles for insurance providers Mitsui Sumitomo and Nippon Life respectively. The round was filled out by Anri and included debt financing from an undisclosed investor. It took the company’s total equity and debt financing to nearly $8m.
Gambling resort operator Las Vegas Sands invested an undisclosed amount in US Integrity, the US-based creator of a software platform which uses artificial intelligence to detect match fixing and irregular betting patterns, on Tuesday. The company had previously raised $1m in seed capital from New York Angels, Harvard Business School Alumni Angels of New York, existing backer SeventySix Capital and unnamed individuals in January 2021.
Experify, the Switzerland-headquartered operator of an online platform which allows potential purchasers to get product feedback from experienced buyers, completed a $4m seed round on Tuesday featuring Sonae Investment Management, a vehicle for conglomerate Sonae. VC firm Vertex Ventures US led the round, which was also backed by Berkeley SkyDeck Fund.
Japan-based online product data provider Lazuli secured ¥500m ($3.9m) today in a series A round featuring business-to-business seminar provider Infomart Corporation. The round was led by Carbide Ventures and included fellow VC firm Coral Capital.
Hedge Labs, the US-headquartered developer of a protocol for the Solana blockchain that provides liquidity on cryptocurrency assets, received $3.7m in seed funding on Tuesday from investors including Solana’s corporate VC unit, Solana Ventures. VC firm Race Capital led the round, which also featured Pantera, Shima Capital, DCM, AngelDAO, Gaingels and assorted angel investors.
US-based residential home finance provider Neat Capital secured an amount of series B-1 funding indicated by a securities filing to be $3m on Tuesday, from investors including mass media group Comcast’s Forecast Labs subsidiary. The company said it had previously raised over $40m, as of a $22.5m series B round in January 2021 led by Left Lane Capital and backed by insurance firm American Family’s VC arm, American Family Ventures.
Automotive manufacturer Volvo Cars’ Tech Fund provided an undisclosed amount of funding for Israel-based fast-charging battery developer StoreDot on Tuesday. Electric carmaker Ola Electric had supplied a similarly undisclosed amount last month, through a series D round with an $80m target that had reached $60m in January this year.
Torana, the Japan-based operator of an infant education subscription service called Toy Sub, raised ¥370m ($2.9m) today from investors including trading group Sumitomo Corporation. It was joined in the round by AG Capital, SMBC Venture Capital and Mitsubishi UFJ Capital, on behalf of consumer finance provider Aiful and financial services firms Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation and Mitsubishi UFJ respectively, as well as Samurai Incubate Fund 6, Future Venture Capital, Kamakura Investment’s Sohatsu no Tsubomi Fund and unnamed institutional investors.
US-headquartered creativity monetisation tool developer Trac completed a $2.5m pre-seed round on Tuesday that included blockchain game publisher Dapper Labs. The round was led by Zrosk Investment Management and also backed by AppWorks, InfinityVC, Calm Company Fund and individuals including Roham Gharegozlou and Siqi Chen.
Gifmo, the Japan-based creator of a cooking appliance called DeliSofter which softens meals, received ¥250m ($2m) in funding today from investors including electronics producer Panasonic. The corporate participated in the round alongside BeeEdge, a startup incubator it has formed with VC firm Scrum Ventures.
Marine and port services provider Wärtsilä invested an undisclosed amount in Marindows, the Japan-based developer of an online platform which links ships to cloud software services, yesterday. The cash was supplied by the corporate’s digital technology subsidiary, Wärtsilä Voyage.
Medical care provider Inmunomet Intolerancia y Disbiosis supplied €1.5m ($1.6m) in funding on Tuesday for Microviable Therapeutics, a Spain-based developer of biological medicines based on microbiota-derived products. The company had been spun out by the Spanish National Research Council in 2016.
Pollen Mobile, the US-headquartered developer of a decentralised mobile telecommunications network, completed a seed round of undisclosed size on Tuesday that included mass media company Dish Wireless and cryptocurrency research firm Delphi Digital. VC firm Slow Ventures led the round, with OVN Capital, Acorn Pacific Ventures and unnamed others also participating.
Telemetrix, a US-based developer of electronic medical record technology designed for use by remote care providers, secured $1.5m from Florida Community Health Network, a non-profit investment vehicle for healthcare provider Memorial Healthcare System’s Memorial Foundation, on Tuesday. The company had previously raised $1m in an August 2021 seed round led by another care provider, South Florida Health.
Onebox, the Japan-based operator of a collaborative email service called Yaritori, raised ¥40m ($310,000) today from investors including mobile game publisher KLab’s Anobaka unit. The corporate was joined in the round by Apricot Ventures and it increased Onebox’s overall funding to approximately $470,000.
Funds
US-headquartered venture capital firm Tofino Capital has reached a $5m first close of its debut fund with backing from limited partners including WS Investment Company, a vehicle for law firm Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, TechCrunch reported today. The fund has a $10m target for its close and will invest in companies located in Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Middle East.
Additional reporting by Liwen-Edison Fu. Image courtesy of Joshua Sortino via Unsplash.
