Brazil-based e-commerce brand aggregator Merama has added $60m from internet and telecommunications group SoftBank’s Latin America fund and Advent International at a valuation of $1.2bn to expand its series B round to $285m. SoftBank and Globo Ventures, a subsidiary of media conglomerate Grupo Globo, had joined Advent, Monashees, Valor Capital, Balderton Capital and Maya Capital in the $225m first tranche in September this year.
US-based supply chain finance provider Tradeshift has raised over $200m in equity and debt financing from investors including chemical and industrial group Koch Industries at a valuation reported by Bloomberg as $2.7bn. The round was filled out by IDC Ventures, Lun Partners, Private Shares and Fuel Capital.
Shiprocket, an India-based shopping logistics aggregator, has hauled in $185m through a series E round co-led by online food delivery service Zomato, Singaporean state-owned investment firm Temasek and private equity platform Lightrock India. They were joined by InfoEdge Ventures, the investment arm of classified listings group Info Edge, as well as Moore Strategic Ventures, 9unicorns, March Capital and assorted private investors.
Cloudbees, a US-based automation technology provider, has secured $150m in series F equity funding and $95m in debt financing from investors including financial services firm HSBC. Investment banking firm Goldman Sachs led the round through its Asset Management unit’s private credit business, with fellow investment bank Morgan Stanley, Bridgepoint Capital, Golub Capital and Delta-v Capital also investing.
Bertelsmann Asia Investments, a corporate venture capital vehicle for media group Bertelsmann, has taken part in a series B round for China based toymaker Chaowanzu sized at nearly $100m, DealStreetAsia has reported. Sequoia Capital China and Gaoraong Capital co-led the round, which also featured K2 Angel Partners and Panda Capital.
PetDx, a US-based developer of canine cancer detection technology, has received $62m in series B funding from investors including laboratory services provider Labcorp. The round was led by Longview Asset Management, which was also joined by Declaration Partners, Torch Capital, Aperture Venture Partners, Valor Equity Partners, Friedman Bioventure and K4 Family Investments.
Internet and telecommunications group SoftBank’s Chinese CVC unit, SBCVC, has participated in a funding round sized in the hundreds of millions of yuan (RMB100m = $15.7m) for China-based industrial augmented reality technology provider Alva Systems, DealStreetAsia has reported. Neovision Capital and Tai Partners also took part in the round.
United Arab Emirates-based e-commerce aggregator Opontia has secured $42m in equity and debt financing in a series A round co-led by STV, the VC firm backed by telecoms firm Saudi Telecom. It also featured conglomerate Almjoudie’s Raed Ventures subsidiary, Global Founders Capital, Upper 90 and VentureSouq.
Paradigm, a US-based liquidity provider for the derivatives market, has closed a $35m series A round co-led by quantitative trading firm Alameda Research’s Alameda Ventures unit and VC firm Jump Capital. They were joined by trading firms MGNR and Capital Markets Trading – the latter through CMT Digital – financial services firm Babel Finance, market maker Optiver, cryptocurrency exchanges Nexo and Genesis Trading, Dragonfly Capital, Digital Currency Group, Vectr Fintech Partners, Mirana Ventures, QCP Capital, IMC, GSR Ventures, Akuna Capital and unnamed executives of Goldentree Asset Management and Amber Group.
China-based coffee shop chain Nowwa has raised $31.5m in series B and B-plus funding from investors including quantitative trading firm Susquehanna International Group, shoe retailer Belle International and mobile game developer 37Games. The round also featured Peakview Capital, GSR Ventures and GurryShark Capital.
Inrupt, a US-based provider of consumer data management technology, has received approximately $30m in a series A round featuring insurance provider Allstate and digital content delivery service Akamai Technologies, TechCrunch has reported. Venture capital firm Glasswing Ventures filled out the participants.
Integrated engineering and industrial product manufacturer ST Engineering’s corporate venturing arm, ST Engineering Ventures, has led a $30m series A round for HiSky, the Israel-based developer of an internet-of-things network. The round was backed by conglomerate Tawazun Holding.
US-based non-fungible token technology developer Palm NFT Studio has secured $27m in a series B round featuring software producer Microsoft’s corporate venturing arm, M12, as well as entertainment producer Warner Bros and conglomerate SK. The round additionally included Sfermion, Third Kind Venture Capital, Griffin Gaing Partners, LAO and RRE Ventures.
Atom Learning, a UK-based provider of early-years educational materials, has raised $25m in funding from internet and telecoms group SoftBank’s Vision Fund 2, TechCrunch has reported. It will use the cash to upgrade content and expand domestically as it considers entering additional markets.
Financial services firm KSD Capital has backed a $25m funding round for Resolve, a US-based buy now, pay later service provider spun off by consumer finance provider Affirm. Insight Partners led the round, which included Haystack VC, Commerce Ventures, Clocktower Ventures and Initialized Capital.
Nigeria-based education technology developer uLesson has raised $15m in series B funding from investors including media information provider Nielsen and internet and gaming group Tencent, TechCrunch has reported. The round was also backed by Owl Ventures, Founder Collective and TLcom Capital.
Cakap, the Indonesia-based developer of an education technology platform, has secured $10m in a funding round co-led by MDI Ventures, the corporate venturing arm of telecommunications firm Telkom Indonesia, The Business Times has reported. MDI Ventures participated through its Centauri Fund, while Heritas Capital co-led the round.
China-based cryptocurrency investment platform Finblox has revealed it closed a seven-digit amount of funding from investors including payment services provider Credit Saison’s corporate venturing unit, Saison Capital, in August this year. Sequoia Capital China filled out the round alongside MSA Capital, Venturra Discovery, Coinfund, Ratio Ventures, First Check Ventures and assorted private investors.
Israel-headquartered media data software provider Vault AI has received $8m in a series A round co-led by media group Hearst’s corporate venturing arm, Hearst Ventures, and Pico Venture Partners. The round included broadcaster TV Azteca, Remagine Ventures and private investor Yair Landau.
US-based decentralised finance futures and options exchange Zeta Markets has raised $8.5m in funding from investors including blockchain technology developer Solana and quantitative trading firms Alameda Research and MGNR through a private token sale. Jump Capital led the round, which included crypto financial services firm Amber Group and digital asset trading firms LedgerPrime, Orthogonal Trading, Wintermute and QCP Capital, along with Genesis Block Ventures, SkyVision Capital, 3kVC, Sino Global Capital, DACM, Airtree Ventures and Electric Capital.
Pakistan-based online travel booking service Bookme has secured $7.5m in series A funding from investors including internet holding company Jabbar Internet Group. The round was filled out by Lakson VC, Hayaat Global, BY Ventures, Millville Opportunities and Mentor’s Fund.
Pontoro, the US-based operator of a securitisation and liquidity platform for digital assets, has received $6m in a seed round backed by financial services provider Banca Intesa Sanpaolo’s corporate venturing unit, Neva Sgr. The round was led by Ulu Ventures and included financial services provider Illuminate Financial, Franklin Templeton, Adit Ventures, Viking Maccabee Ventures, Fin Venture Capital, Bloccelerate Ventures, Quest Venture Partners, Nevcaut Ventures and undisclosed others.
Kwara, the Kenya-based operator of a digital finance platform helping credit unions digitise, has raised $4m in seed funding from investors including internet and telecoms group SoftBank’s Vision Fund Emerge, TechCrunch has reported. Breega led the round, which also featured Finca Ventures, Globinvest, General Market Partners, Do Good Invest, Launch Africa, Rabacap, Norrsken Impact Accelerator, Future Africa, Samurai Incubate, DOB Equity and unnamed angel investors.
