Funding
Finland-based mobility technology provider Maas Global yesterday added €11m ($12.9m) from transport infrastructure provider Ferrovial (which invested in May), real estate developer Mitsui Fudosan, Tesi and NordicNinja to a series B round now totalling $45.9m. Oil and gas supplier BP’s investment arm, BP Ventures, joined conglomerate Mitsubishi and NordicNinja to provide the first tranche in late 2019, following a $10.4m round in 2018 that took the company’s total funding to $29.7m. Its earlier backers include corporates Toyota, Karsan, Denso, Aioi Nissay Dowa, Swiftcom, Veho, Transdev, Korsisaari, Good Sign, GoSwift, IQ Payments and Neocard
Visic Technologies, an Israel-based developer of gallium-nitride technology for use in automotive systems, closed a $35m funding round yesterday that was co-led by HG Semiconductor, the subsidiary of LED lighting product manufacturer HongGuang Lighting Holdings formerly known as Fast Semi Corporation. The round was co-led with GoldenSand Capital and included $10m from Suzhou Industrial Park. Visic had raised an undisclosed sum from fabless semiconductor maker MediaTek in October 2020 following $21.6m in series C and D funding across 2017 and 2018. Its earlier backers include Birch Investment, Federmann Enterprises, Inversiones Plasma and Genesis Partners.
Bazaar, the Pakistan-based operator of an online business-to-business marketplace, has secured $30m in series A financing from investors including Saison Capital, the venture capital arm of payment services firm Credit Saison, TechCrunch reported on Tuesday. Defy Partners and Wavemaker Partners co-led the round, which also featured Acrew Capital, Zayn Capital, B&Y Venture Partners, unnamed individuals and existing investors Indus Valley Capital, Global Founders Capital, Next Billion Ventures and Alter Global – all of which had joined Wavemaker, S7V and Derayah Venture Capital in Bazaar’s $6.5m seed round in January this year. Indus Valley Capital and Alter Global had supplied $1.3m in pre-seed funding in June 2020.
Balance, a US-based developer of online checkout technology for business deals, received $25m in series A funding yesterday from investors including payment technology provider Stripe. The round was led by VC firm Ribbit Capital and also featured Avid Ventures, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Y Combinator Continuity Fund, SciFi VC, UpWest and unnamed angel investors. The company had formed part of Y Combinator’s Summer 2020 batch before it raised $5.5m from Stripe, Lightspeed Venture Partners, SciFi VC, Upwest and Max Levchin in February this year.
Involve.ai, a US-based developer of customer intelligence software, completed a $16m series A round yesterday featuring media group Bertelsmann’s BDMI subsidiary. VC firm Sapphire Ventures led the round, which was also backed by Bonfire Ventures, Greycroft, Launch Capital, GTMfund, Fenwick, Stanford University and angel investors Gokul Rajaram and Michael Whitmire. It came in the wake of $2.5m from Bertelsmann, Bonfire Ventures, Greycroft, Launch Capital, CrowdSmart and Noname Ventures in 2018, when Involve named Mucker Ventures as an earlier backer.
China-based digital healthcare technology provider Zuoshouyisheng raised RMB100m ($15.4m) yesterday in a series B round that included Haier Capital, a subsidiary of consumer electronics and appliance maker Haier, DealStreetAsia reported. The round was led by VC firm Qiming Venture Partners and also featured the state-backed Hunan Hi-Tech Investment Group. The company’s earlier investors reportedly include 5Y Capital, Volcanics Venture, Chenshan Capital and Will Hunting Capital.
Ant Group, the financial services affiliate of e-commerce group Alibaba, has provided RMB100m ($15.4m) in series E funding for Singapore-based restaurant booking service Chope, DealStreetAsia reported today, citing a regulatory filing. Brewery group Boonrawd’s Singha Ventures unit co-led the round’s $10.6m first tranche with Square Peg Capital in February this year, Chope having previously raised $24.5m from investors including corporates Susquehanna International Group, property developer CapitaLand and publisher Singapore Press Holdings.
Biome Makers, a US-based developer of soil analysis technology, secured $15m on Tuesday in a series B round led by Prosus Ventures, the investment arm of Prosus, the internet holding group spun off by media and e-commerce group Prosus. The round included Seaya Ventures, Viking Global Investors, JME Ventures and Pymwymic, and it followed $2.2m from Viking Global, genomics technology provider Illumina’s accelerator and undisclosed family offices in a 2016 seed round, and $4m from Seaya Ventures, JME Ventures and LocalGlobe in August 2019.
Real estate developer Janus Continental Group invested approximately $14.5m in UK-based energy storage technology provider Highview Power today, following on from a $13m contribution to a $70m funding round in February this year. That round was led by industrial manufacturer Sumitomo Heavy Industries and included engineering firm TSK in addition to Highview’s founding investors.
Computing technology producer Dell led a $14m series A round for US-headquartered data analytics software startup Bodo.ai yesterday through corporate venturing unit Dell Technologies Capital. The corporate was joined in the round by VC firms Uncorrelated Ventures, Fusion Fund and Candou Ventures.
FlexDex Surgical, a US-based developer of minimally-invasive surgical technology, has closed a $13m series AA round co-led by Johnson & Johnson Innovation – JJDC, a subsidiary of medical product group Johnson & Johnson, Surgical Robotics Technology has reported. Almeda Ventures co-led the round, which included insurance provider Hylant, University of Michigan’s Mints fund, Michigan Biomedical Venture Fund, Consensus Business Group, Nirvana Serial Stage Investment Partners and unnamed individuals. FlexDex had secured $2.3m in series A funding in 2014, $5m in a 2016 series B round and $14.5m in March 2019, according to a securities filing, in each case from undisclosed investors.
India-headquartered fashion brand Bewakoof has received Rs 600m ($8.1m) in a pre-series B round that included marketing consulting firm Spring Marketing Capital, Business Standard reported yesterday. InvestCorp led the round, which also featured IvyCap Ventures and which reportedly boosted the company’s total funding to $23m. Bewakoof raised $850,000 from various individuals in 2018, $1.1m from Aarti Corporate Services, Pranak Consultants, Pratithi Investment Trust and IndigoEdge Management in August 2020 and $4.1m in series A2 funding from IvyCap in March this year.
Biologics manufacturing technology provider iBio supplied $7.5m in series A2 funding for RubrYc Therapeutics, the US-based creator of an intelligent antibody discovery system, yesterday. Third Point Ventures, Paladin Capital Group and Vital Venture Capital had provided $10m in series A financing for the company in 2018, and it added $2.3m in convertible note financing in July 2019 according to a regulatory filing. RubrYc named Hayan Health Networks as an existing investor this week.
Known Medicine, the US-based developer of a system that utilises 3D cell culture to predict the best cancer treatments for individual patients, completed a $7.2m seed round yesterday that included OATV, the investment arm of publisher O’Reilly Media. VC firm Caffeinated Capital led the round, which was also backed by Khosla Ventures, Cota Capital, Kickstart, Forward VC, Y Combinator and angel investors including Chris Gibson and Nish Bhat.
Photoruction, the Japan-based creator of a software platform that increases efficiency in the construction sector, received ¥760m ($6.9m) in funding yesterday from investors including GMO VenturePartners, the corporate VC arm of internet company GMO. It was joined by SMBC Venture Capital, Keio Innovation Initiative and DBJ Capital – on behalf of financial services firm Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, Keio University and Development Bank of Japan respectively. The company had raised $130,000 from Primal Capital in 2016; $890,000 from Genesia Ventures, SMBC Venture Capital, Mizuho Bank’s Mizuho Capital unit, Primal Capital and unnamed individuals in 2017; $900,000 from SMBC Venture Capital, Mizuho Capital and Genesia Ventures in March 2019; and $5.3m from SMBC Venture Capital, Future Creation Fund and assorted private investors in May 2020.
Japan-based online yoga class operator Soelu raised ¥650m ($5.9m) yesterday in a funding round led by DG Daiwa Ventures, a fund backed by internet company Digital Garage. It was joined by Hirac Fund, GMO VenturePartners and Venture United, respective vehicles for Money Forward Venture Partners – a subsidiary of accounting software provider Money Forward – and internet groups GMO and United, in addition to five unnamed investors. Soelu said it has now secured $13.6m in total, $730,000 coming from mobile game provider KLab’s Anobaka vehicle (then KLab Venture Partners), ISGS Investment Works, Anri and several angel investors in 2018.
Healthcare technology services provider Vizient has led a second seed round of undisclosed size for Panda Health, the US-based operator of a digital health product marketplace. The round included health technology consultancy CitiusTech and health systems Bellin Health, BJC HealthCare, Dartmouth-Hitchcock, Ochsner Health, UW Health and Yale New Haven Health. The company was formed in 2020 by care providers Gundersen Health System, CentraCare and ThedaCare in partnership with healthcare company builder Fitzroy Health.
India-headquartered mobile game studio SuperGaming has secured $5.5m in series A funding from investors including mobile game publisher Akatsuki’s AET Fund and Bace Capital, an investment vehicle backed by e-commerce firm Alibaba, the Economic Times reported today. Skycatcher, Dream Incubator, 1Up Ventures and Monish Darda, co-founder and chief technology officer of contract management software provider Icertis.
Chemical producer FMC Corporation has co-led a $5m series A round for India-based agricultural robotics technology developer TartanSense through corporate venturing unit FMC Ventures, the Economic Times reported yesterday. The round was co-led by VC firm Omnivore and included Blume Ventures, both having joined Beenext in TartanSense’s $2m seed round in March 2019.
Japan-based overtime emergency medical service Fast Doctor raised an undisclosed amount of series B funding yesterday from Itochu Technology Ventures, NTT Docomo Ventures, Globis Capital Partners and KDDI Open Innovation Fund, respective subsidiaries of trading group Itochu, mobile network operator NTT Docomo, education services provider Globis and telecommunications firm KDDI, in addition to Fast Track Initiative and Global Brain. It came in the wake of an undisclosed amount from Globis Capital Partners in September 2019.
Yup, the Japan-based operator of a same-day payment service for freelancers, received ¥450m ($4.1m) on Tuesday from investors including Seven Bank, AG Capital, FFG Venture Business Partners – on behalf of retail group Seven & I Holdings, consumer finance provider Aiful and financial services firm Fukuoka Financial Group. The round was led by W Ventures and also featured Incubate Fund, private investor Takeshi Aida and venture debt from Blue Topaz. The company had raised an undisclosed sum from Incubate Fund and unnamed individuals in September 2019 and $1.2m from Logly Investment – part of advertising technology provider Logly – Incubate Fund, East Ventures and various angel investors in July 2020.
Insurance provider Sumitomo Life’s Sumisei Innovation Fund has provided an undisclosed amount of funding for ExaWizards, a Japan-based developer of intelligent medical care technology. The company had raised an undisclosed sum from Aflac Ventures, on behalf of fellow insurer Aflac, in March this year following a $14.7m series B round in mid-2019 featuring Persol Innovation – part of recruitment firm Persol – as well as insurance firm Sompo Holdings and Innovation Network Corporation of Japan, taking its total funding to $23.1m.
Commerce technology provider CM.com invested €2m ($2.4m) in Phos Services, the UK-headquartered developer of technology that allows mobile devices to be converted to point-of-sale systems, on Tuesday. VC fund New Vision 3 had led a $1.4m round for the company in April 2020 that reportedly increased its overall funding to about $2.7m.
Coco, a Japan-based provider of customer service digitalisation technology, secured ¥240m ($2.2m) yesterday from investors including Z Venture Capital, Monex Ventures and Mitsubishi UFJ Capital, subsidiaries of internet group Z Holdings, currency exchange Monex and financial services firm Mitsubishi UFJ respectively, in addition to household service marketplace Minma. The corporates were joined by Base Partners, East Ventures, Headline and several individuals, and it pushed Coco’s overall funding to approximately $2.7m.
Mepple, the Japan-based owner of plant-derived protein supplement brand Koredake, raised ¥150m ($1.4m) on Tuesday from investors including social currency developer Mint, Colopl Next and Saison Ventures, on behalf of game publisher Colopl and payment services firm Credit Saison respectively. The round was led by Yu Akasaka and also featured fellow private investor Takuya Noguchi and debt financing from unnamed financial institutions. The company had previously received an undisclosed amount of seed funding from Colopl Next and assorted angel investors in December 2020.
Alcoholic beverage producer Kirin Holdings’ Kirin Health Innovation Fund has supplied an undisclosed amount of funding for Sweden-based neurostimulation device developer Flow Neuroscience. It came less than two weeks after Flow’s $9m series A round, which was led by Khosla Ventures and backed by health insurance group CSS’s Swiss Health Ventures unit and Zühlke Ventures, a subsidiary of innovation service provider Zühlke. The company had already secured a total of $2.6m from Khosla Ventures, SOSV and Daniel Andersson across 2018 and 2019.
Leala, a Japan-based developer of project management software for the legal space, received ¥100m ($910,000) in seed funding on Tuesday from investors including Salesforce Ventures, the corporate VC subsidiary of enterprise software provider Salesforce. The round was also backed by VC firm DNX Ventures.
Indonesia-based healthcare digitalisation technology developer Zi.Care has raised over $500,000 in seed funding from investors including telecommunications firm Telkomsel’s Tinc accelerator. The round also featured accelerator Iterative VC and growth equity provider Choco Up.
M&A
Search engine technology provider Elastic agreed yesterday to buy Cmd, a Canada-based cybersecurity software developer backed by internet technology group Alphabet, for an undisclosed amount. Alphabet subsidiary GV led the company’s $15m series B round in early 2019, investing together with Amplify Partners, existing backer Expa and undisclosed strategic investors to boost its overall funding to $21.6m.
Fashion market intelligence provider Omnilytics has agreed to purchase Malaysia-based data labelling software developer Supahands in a $20m cash and share deal enabling telecoms firm Axiata to exit, co-founder and chief executive Kendrick Wong told DealStreetAsia yesterday. Axiata’s Digital Innovation Fund had joined 500 Startups to provide a seven-digit amount for Supahands in 2015, before it added an undisclosed amount in a series A round co-led by Patamar Capital and Cradle Seed Ventures in mid-2019.
Additional reporting by Liwen-Edison Fu.
