Funding
US-headquartered cryptocurrency scaling and hybrid compute technology developer Boba Network completed a $45m series A round featuring digital currency exchanges Crypto.com, Huobi and BitMart yesterday at a $1.5bn valuation. Almost 400 investors backed the round, the company said, including Hypersphere, Infinite Capital, Hack VC, GBV, Alliance DAO, The Venture City, Sanctor Capital, Shima Capital, DeFi Tech, 10X Capital, TRGC, D1, Portal, Genblock Capital, Rarestone Capital, Kosmos, Kinetic Capital, Ghaf Capital, LD Capital, Old Fashion Research, Krypital, Alphanonce, IOST Foundation, ROK Capital and RedlineDAO.
Carmaker BMW led Switzerland-based natural fibre composite developer Bcomp’s CHF32m ($34.9m) series B round yesterday through its BMW i Ventures unit. The round was also backed by Volvo Cars Tech Fund and Porsche Ventures – on behalf of automotive manufacturers Volvo Cars and Porsche – in addition to insurance firm Generali; Airbus Ventures, the investment arm of aerospace manufacturer Airbus; and unnamed existing backers.
US-based revenue orchestration software startup Rattle received $26m yesterday in a series A round that included GV, the subsidiary of internet and technology group Alphabet formerly known as Google Ventures. Growth equity firm Insight Partners led the round, which also featured existing backers Sequoia Capital and Lightspeed Venture Partners.
Cryptocurrency exchange FTX agreed yesterday to provide an undisclosed amount of funding for IEX Group, the US-based operator of stock exchange Investors’ Exchange. IEX had raised a total of $101m as of a $75m series C round in 2015 featuring insurer Massachusetts Mutual’s MassMutual Ventures unit, Spark Capital, Bain Capital Ventures, Franklin Resources, Jim Clark and Steve Wynn. It added undisclosed amounts from Georgian in 2019 and Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec in late 2020.
US-based coding terminal technology developer Warp emerged from stealth yesterday, disclosing $23m in funding from internet and technology conglomerate Alphabet’s GV subsidiary, Neo, BoxGroup and angel investors Dylan Field, Elad Gil, Jeff Weiner and Marc Benioff. The financing was split between a $6m seed round featuring GV, Neo and BoxGroup and a $17m series A led by Field, according to TechCrunch.
Australia-headquartered data analytics software provider Zetaris has closed a A$30m ($22.8m) funding round that included online investment platform operator Reach Markets, ARN reported today. Exto Partners led the round at an $83.7m valuation and it also featured In-Q-Tel, Vulpes Ventures Singapore, 72 Capital and unnamed other investors.
The Parentinc, the Singapore-based operator of online parent community TheAsianparent, has secured $22m in primary and secondary funding through a series D round featuring messaging app developer Line, which invested $8m, and department store group Central Retail Corporation, The Business Times reported today. Venture capital firm East Ventures led the round with a $10m contribution.
Blockchain technology provider Solana took part in US-based decentralised mapping network developer Hivemapper’s $18m series A round yesterday through strategic investment vehicle Solana Ventures. Investment firm Multicoin Capital led the round, which included Craft Ventures, Shine Capital, 75 & Sunny Ventures, Spark Capital, Founder Collective and Homebrew, increasing the company’s overall funding to $23m.
PayU, the payment technology subsidiary of internet holding group Prosus, is joining the World Bank-owned International Finance Corporation to invest $15m in India-based supply chain financing provider Vayana Network, Inc42 reported yesterday, citing regulatory filings. The deal valued Vayana at $149m and may be an extension of the $38m series C round disclosed by the company in November 2021. Chiratae Ventures, CDC Group, Jungle Ventures, March Capital and Marshall Wace supplied that cash along with unnamed family offices.
Ceramic tile provider Pamesa Grupo Empresarial invested $11.2m in US-headquartered industrial hydrogen producer eCombustible Energy yesterday. The equity funding was provided in conjunction with a follow-on contract.
US-based low-code software development technology provider 8base closed a $10.6m series A round yesterday featuring database software producer MongoDB’s corporate VC unit, MongoDB Ventures, Silicon Angle reported. Foundry Group led the round, also investing with Techstars Central, Firebrand Management, 11 Tribes Ventures, Argonautic Ventures, Lago Innovation Fund II and Alumni Ventures Group’s Strawberry Creek Ventures fund.
CynLr, an India-based developer of visual intelligence software for robotics systems, has secured $4.5m in a pre-series A round backed by classified listings operator Info Edge, Business Today reported yesterday. The round was co-led by Speciale Invest and GrowX Ventures and included Anicut Capital, Java Capital, Venture Catalysts, Arali Ventures and assorted angel investors.
A partnership between financial services firm BBVA and financial technology investment firm Anthemis partnership put up €1m to lead a €1.6m ($1.8m) pre-seed round for Spain-based electronics rental service Wiserentr on Monday. They were joined in the round by asset manager Shard Capital.
One World Nation (OWN), the India-based developer of a non-fungible token-focused game for cryptocurrency markets, received $2m in seed funding from investors including blockchain entertainment product provider Polygon Studios on Monday. Better Capital, Cloud Capital and Indigg also contributed to the round.
M&A
US-based cardiovascular disease technology developer Tara Biosystems was purchased by drug discovery technology producer Valo Health for an undisclosed sum yesterday, providing an exit for life sciences focused real estate investment trust Alexandria Real Estate Equities. Tara’s total funding stood at just over $21m as of a $10m series A2 round in mid-2020 featuring VC vehicle Alexandria Venture Investments.
