Funding
Consumer product distributor Vorwerk and kitchen appliance manufacturer Instant Brands co-led a $20m financing round yesterday for Fresco, the Ireland-based creator of a mobile app which connects smart appliances. The round was co-led by a third appliance brand which will shortly be revealed alongside a strategic partnership with Fresco.
TVScientific, the US-based developer of an advertising measuring software platform for connected television content, secured $20m yesterday in a series A round featuring TV broadcaster NBCUniversal and Hearst Ventures, a subsidiary of media group Hearst. The round was led by venture capital firm Norwest Venture Partners and included undisclosed strategic partners.
US-headquartered machine learning software developer Jarvis ML completed a $16m seed round yesterday led by Dell Technologies Capital, the corporate venturing arm of computing technology producer Dell. It participated alongside Shakti Capital and more than a dozen undisclosed angel investors.
Energy utility UGI Corporation’s UGI Energy Services subsidiary paid an undisclosed amount for a 33% stake in US-based renewable energy provider Ag-Grid Energy yesterday. Ag-Grid develops and operates waste-to-energy projects situated at dairy farms.
Klima, the Germany-headquartered creator of a mobile app which helps users find ways to take climate action, received €10m ($10.8m) yesterday in a series A round that included HV Capital, the VC firm backed by publisher Holtzbrinck. Fellow VC firm Keen Venture Partners led the round, which also featured Headline, 468 Capital, Adjacent and angel investors including Christian Reber, Jens Begemann, Niklas Jansen and Lawrence Leuschner, through his Blue Impact vehicle.
SwatchOn, the South Korea-based creator of a wholesale textile and fabric aggregator, raised $10m yesterday from investors including Kakao Ventures, the corporate venturing subsidiary of internet group Kakao. It was joined by Pavilion Capital, a vehicle for Singaporean state-owned investment firm Temasek, in addition to TBT Partners.
Real estate services firm JLL led an $8.5m series A round for Aunt Flow, a US-based provider of organic cotton period products, through its JLL Spark subsidiary yesterday. The round included Amboy Street Ventures, Harlem Capital, CityRock Ventures and Precursor Ventures while JLL Spark principal Kitty Sullivan is set to take a board seat at the company.
Open-source development laboratory Protocol Labs contributed to an $8.3m seed round for Privy, the creator of a data management software platform for the Web3 space, on Wednesday. Sequoia Capital and BlueYard Capital co-led the round, with Electric Capital, Archetype and BoxGroup also participating, alongside assorted angel investors.
Canada-based cement and concrete additive developer Carbon Upcycling Technologies raised $6m yesterday from investors including oil provider Occidental’s Oxy Low Carbon Ventures unit and Cemex Ventures, a subsidiary of building materials producer Cemex. The round was led by VC firm Clean Energy Ventures and also featured Amplify Capital, Zero Carbon Partners, Purpose ESG, Fund for Sustainability and Energy, Prithvi Ventures and private investors Bryan Trudel and Mark and Faye McGregor.
US-headquartered influencer and celebrity services marketplace Influur raised $5m in seed financing from investors including talent management agency LatinWe and marketing agency Loud and Live on Wednesday. VC firm Point72 Ventures led the round, which was also backed by Magma Partners, H20 Capital and individuals including Sofia Vergara, Luis Balaguer, Tommy Mottola, Thalia, Lex Borrero, Evaluna Montaner, Juan Pablo Zurita, Danna Paola, Calle y Poché and Mario Rui.
US-based data logging software startup Dassana came out of stealth yesterday with a $5m seed round led by computing technology provider Dell through its Dell Technologies Capital unit. The corporate was joined by angel investors including Anand Babu Periasamy and Jon Oringer.
Process automation software producer Esker supplied $5m in convertible promissory note financing for US-based working capital finance provider LSQ on Wednesday. The companies are collaborating with each other on supply chain finance services.
Japan-based retail software provider B8ta Japan raised an undisclosed amount today in a series B round led by office machinery manufacturer Toshiba Tec Corporation. The round is expected to close at ¥600m ($4.7m) in June this year.
Flow, the Netherlands-based operator of a finance management app for freelancers and the self-employed, received €3.5m ($3.8m) in seed funding today from investors including payment technology provider SaltPay’s corporate VC arm, RockSalt. The round was led by Eleven Ventures with additional backing from angel investors Robert Kraal, Hristo Borisov, Marnix van der Ploeg and Arnoud Aalbersberg.
Singapore-based automated coffee stand developer Crown Digital has secured S$5m ($3.7m) in a pre-series A round featuring logistics management firm Gloca Link and Momentum Ventures, a subsidiary of public transport operator SMRT, Asia Tech Daily reported on Wednesday. They were joined by research hub Leave a Nest, Temasek vehicle Heliconia Capital Management, ParticleX and M4ever.
E-commerce platform operator Shopify invested an undisclosed amount yesterday in Crossing Minds, a US-based developer of online recommendation software for businesses. The deal came six months after Radical Ventures led a $10m series A round for the company that included Partech, Lerer Hippeau and existing investor Index Ventures.
Blockchain game developer Animoca Brands led a $1.7m seed round for SoundMint, the US-headquartered creator of a digital platform enabling users to mint their own music-based non-fungible tokens, on Wednesday. Castle Island Ventures, Focus Labs, Sfermion, Sky Vision, Tess Capital and Goodwater Capital also contributed to the round.
Additional reporting by Liwen-Edison Fu. Photo courtesy of Fresco.
