Funding
US-headquartered cryptocurrency wallet developer Phantom raised $109m yesterday in a series B round that included Solana Ventures and Jump Crypto, which invested on behalf of blockchain technology provider Solana and trading firm Jump Trading respectively. Crypto-focused investment firm Paradigm led the round, which also featured Andreessen Horowitz and Variant.
Telecommunications and internet group SoftBank co-led a R$500m ($93.1m) funding round yesterday for Gupy, a Brazil-based provider of human resources management software. The round was co-led by Riverwood Capital and also backed by Endeavor Catalyst, and Gupy claims it is the largest yet closed by an HR technology developer in Latin America as well as the largest by a woman-led startup in Brazil.
Inspectorio, the US-based developer of a quality and compliance management software platform for the supply chain, received $50m yesterday in a series B round featuring freight forwarder Flexport and cleaning product maker Ecolab. The round was led by growth equity firm Insight Partners and included Techstars and Matchstick Ventures.
US-headquartered healthy breakfast food brand Purely Elizabeth completed a $50m series B round yesterday that included fresh produce supplier Fresh Del Monte. The round was led by growth equity firm Semcap’s Food and Nutrition division and also featured Swander Pace Capital.
Gandeeva Therapeutics, a Canada-based startup applying cryogenic electron microscopy and machine learning to drug development, secured $40m yesterday in a series A round co-led by pharmaceutical and chemical producer Bayer through its Leaps by Bayer subsidiary. Venture capital firm Lux Capital co-led the round, which included Amgen Ventures, the investment arm of pharmaceutical firm Amgen, as well as Obvious Ventures, Amplitude Ventures and Air Street Capital.
Daiz, the Japan-headquartered developer of a soy-based meat substitute, received ¥3bn ($26.1m) in pre-series C funding from investors including retail group Marui, chemical producer Mitsubishi Chemical, food flavouring and fragrance provider T Hasegawa, Japanese restaurant operator Monogatari Corporation, diversified food producer Nissin Foods and packaging machinery maker Toyo Seikan Group. They were joined by insurer Mitsui Sumitomo, telecoms firm KDDI and financial services firm Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Bank through Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Venture Capital, KDDI Open Innovation Fund and Sumi Trust Innovation Fund respectively, as well as Investment Lab. Daiz has now raised almost $53m in total.
Microelectromechanical equipment producer Menlo Microsystems, glass and ceramics product maker Corning and Sun Mountain Capital added $4m to a series B1 round for 3D Glass Solutions, a US-based provider of passive radio frequency technology, increasing it to $24m yesterday. Corporate venturing units Intel Capital and Lockheed Martin Ventures joined chemical producer Nagase and CerraCap Ventures in the round’s $20m first close in November 2021.
Qlub, the United Arab Emirates-headquartered creator of a digital restaurant payment tool, has secured $17m in a seed round featuring STV, the VC firm spun off by telecoms firm Saudi Telecom, as well as diversified holding company Almajdouie’s Raed Ventures fund, TechCrunch reported yesterday. Cherry Ventures and Point Nine Capital co-led the round, which was also backed by Heartcore, Shorooq Partners and FinTech Collective.
Circula, the Germany-based provider of an employee benefits automation app, closed a €12m ($13.5m) series A round yesterday that included financial services firm Commerzbank’s Main Incubator. The bank participated alongside Alstin Capital, Peak, Storm Ventures, Capnamic and Wenvest Capital.
Blockchain entertainment app developer Animoca Brands led a $7.5m seed round for Canada-based decentralised identity and credit network developer NFT3 yesterday. Blockchain staking product developer Ankr Network also took part, as did LD Capital, Prometheus Labs Ventures, Digital Finance Group, LVT Capital, Shima Capital, Digital Strategies, ZMT Capital, Tenzor Capital, Double Peak Group, CMS Holdings, GenBlock Capital and Ellipti.
Decentralised finance technology provider Pluto Digital supplied £4m ($5.4m) in funding for UK-headquartered digital entertainment studio Maze Theory yesterday. The cash was invested in conjunction with the launch of a joint blockchain gaming and metaverse studio venture called Emergent Games.
Telecoms operator Bharti Airtel agreed yesterday to pay an undisclosed sum for a 25% stake in Lavelle Networks, an India-based provider of software-defined wide area network technology. Lavelle had raised a total of over $3.1m as of 2019 when it received $2m in series A funding from investors including consulting software and services provider ASM Technologies.
Japan-based oyster farming technology developer ReBlue secured ¥100m ($870,000) today from investors including construction and graphic design firm Less is Design and internet and telecoms group SoftBank’s SB Players unit. They were joined by Region and Tomony Fund – a vehicle formed by financial services firm Tomony Holdings’ Tokushima Taisho Bank and Kagawa Bank subsidiaries and run by Future Venture Capital – in addition to VC firm Kemuri Ventures’ Food Future Fund, Optima Ventures and Setouchi Startups.
WizWe, the Japan-based operator of a mobile app called Smart Habit intended to promote good habits through mentorship, raised an undisclosed amount from alcoholic beverage producer Suntory and consulting group EggForward today. The investment is an extension to the $3.8m in debt and equity round announced by WizWe in September 2021, with EggForward, financial services firm Shinsei Bank, Weru Investment, Mobile Internet Capital and Japan Finance Corporation providing the financing there.
Mobile game distributor Flexion Mobile agreed yesterday to invest $500,000 in Liteup Media, a Germany-based provider of influencer marketing services concentrating on mobile games, in return for a 20% stake. The terms of the transaction give Flexion the option to increase its stake to 40% at the same valuation.
Industrial valve manufacturer Okano Valve invested an undisclosed amount in Industrial-X, the Japan-based operator of a digital transformation service concentrated on the industrial space, today. The company had previously received an undisclosed sum from investors including career support service Hajimari, startup services provider Bulb and real estate investment trust Property Agent in 2020.
Funds
The Australian government provided A$150m ($105m) for Main Sequence Ventures, the Australia-based deeptech venture capital firm established by Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation, for its second fund today, according to StartupDaily. Aerospace and defence manufacturer Lockheed Martin contributed to the vehicle’s first close in April 2021.
Japan-based insurance provider Meiji Yasuda Life is set to commit ¥5bn ($43.3m) to impact investment firm SDG Impact Japan through a strategic partnership. The capital will go to an environmental, social and governance-focused fund and Meiji Yasuda Life will take a 10% stake.
Additional reporting by Liwen-Edison Fu and Thierry Heles.
