Funding
Mirxes, a Singapore-based spinout of research institute A*Star developing cancer screening technology, has completed an $87m series C round featuring oncology screening provider New Horizon Health’s New Horizon Venture Capital fund and CR-CP Life Science Fund, a partnership for conglomerates China Resources Group and Charoen Pokphand Group, DealStreetAsia reported yesterday. Financial services firm China Construction Bank’s CCB International subsidiary also took part, as did CDG Capital, Rock Springs Capital, EDBI and Keytone Ventures.
US-based customer management software provider AnyRoad raised $47m yesterday in a series B round that included healthcare consortium Kaiser Permanente. The round was led by funds and accounts managed by BlackRock and also featured Andreessen Horowitz, Runa Capital, Rally Ventures, Precursor Ventures, Day One Ventures, Commonfund and Corner Ventures.
Puerto Rico-headquartered decentralised finance technology provider Aligned received $34m in funding yesterday from investors including crypto market maker GSR. It was joined by Altium Capital, Cavalry Fund, Ninja4 and angel investors such as Steve Wiggins, Chris Ensey, Andrew Keys and Ron Patiro.
Canela Media, the US-headquartered operator of a digital media offering aimed at Spanish-speaking countries, has secured $32m in a series A round featuring Tegna Ventures and Samsung Next, which invested on behalf of electronics producer Samsung and broadcaster Tegna, Forbes reported yesterday. The round was co-led by Angeles Investors and Acrew Capital while financial services firm BMO, Link Ventures, BBG Ventures, Mighty Capital, Reinveture Capital, Alumni Ventures, Powerhouse Capital and Portfolia’s Rising America Fund also participated.
China-based microbial enzyme and small molecule product developer Shenzhen Siyomicro Biotech has raised almost RMB200m ($31.7m) in series B funding from investors including ophthalmology care provider Aier Eye Hospital Group, DealStreetAsia reported yesterday. China International Capital Corporation’s CICC Capital subsidiary led the round, which also featured a fund backed by cosmetics producer Proya Cosmetics.
Enterprise messaging software provider Slack took part in a $23.7m series A round for Standard Metrics, the US-based creator of an online investor relations platform, through subsidiary Slack Fund yesterday. The round was led by VC firm 8VC and also backed by Alpha Edison, January Capital, First Trust Capital Partners, Fin VC, Spark Capital, Socii Capital, Not Boring Capital, Gaingels and undisclosed individuals.
Investment banking firm JP Morgan co-led US-headquartered compensation intelligence software provider OpenComp’s $20m series A round with VC firm K5 Global yesterday. The round included Circle Ventures, the strategic investment arm of payment technology provider Circle, in addition to Time Ventures, 8VC and Mantis Ventures.
US-headquartered work apparel and boot producer Brunt Workwear completed a $20m series B round on Wednesday that included apartment manager TF Cornerstone. Growth equity firm Stripes led the round, which was also backed by Suffolk Technologies and Bolt.
Canada-based human resources and payroll software producer Avanti Software received C$25m ($19.5m) in equity and debt financing from investors including financial services firm Scotiabank’s Technology and Innovation Banking subsidiary yesterday. Round13 Capital led the round, the first to be closed by Avanti.
Canada-headquartered wifi connectivity technology provider RouteThis has also raised C$25m ($19.5m), in a series A round featuring semiconductor and data technology producer Intel’s investment arm, Intel Capital. It was led by Inovia Capital and also backed by Round13, Garage Capital and Ken Miller Capital.
Slope Finance, the US-headquartered creator of a digital wallet designed for the Solana blockchain, completed an $8m series A round on Wednesday co-led by Solana subsidiary Solana Ventures and Jump Crypto, a vehicle for crypto trader Jump Trading. They were joined by Circle Ventures, a vehicle for blockchain payment technology provider Circle, in addition to digital currency exchanges OKX (through OKX Blockdream Ventures), Gate.io and Huobi, digital currency prime broker Genesis Trading, Sequoia Capital China, CMS Holdings, Spark Digital Capital, Spartan Group, Fenbushi Capital, Wave Financial and Mirana Ventures, the VC partner of crypto exchange Bybit.
Ren Labs, a multichain technology developer with no physical address, secured $7.5m on Wednesday from investors including crypto financial services provider Amber Group, CoinDesk reported. The round also featured Multicoin Capital, BlockTower Capital, Cumberland DRW, GBV Capital, Chiron, Fisher8 Capital, LedgerPrime, Bixin Ventures and PetRock Capital.
Industrial technology and appliance manufacturer Robert Bosch invested an undisclosed amount in India-based automotive parts marketplace Autozilla on Wednesday. The transaction gave the corporate a 26% stake.
Nori, the US-headquartered operator of a carbon removal marketplace focusing on cryptocurrency Ethereum, raised $7m yesterday in a series A round featuring Toyota Ventures, a corporate venturing vehicle for carmaker Toyota. VC firm M13 led the round, which was also backed by Placeholder.
Toyota Ventures also contributed to a $6.85m funding round for Teller, the US-headquartered developer of a lending and borrowing protocol for digital assets, on Wednesday. The corporate invested alongside Franklin Templeton, Bessemer Venture Partners, Upstart, Signum Capital and undisclosed angel investors.
US-based player-owned sports game developer Fast Break Labs completed a $6m seed round on Wednesday backed by blockchain provider Solana’s corporate VC unit, Solana Ventures. The round was co-led by Patron and Pantera Capital and also featured Collab+Currency, South Park Commons and assorted angel investors.
Customer management software producer HubSpot invested an undisclosed amount in US-based call centre software provider Aircall on Wednesday through corporate venturing subsidiary HubSpot Ventures. Aircall was valued at $1bn as of a $120m series D round in June 2021 led by Goldman Sachs Asset Management and backed by Deutsche Telekom Capital Partners (DTCP), the investment firm sponsored by telecommunications firm Deutsche Telekom, as well as eFounders, DraperEsprit, NextWorld Capital, Adams Street Partners and Gaia Capital Partners.
Squads, a company with no fixed address that has developed a software platform facilitating the creation of decentralised autonomous organisations on the Solana blockchain, secured $5m yesterday from investors including cryptocurrency research firm Delphi Digital and Jump Crypto, a subsidiary of crypto trading firm Jump Trading. The round was led by Multicoin Capital and also backed by Collab + Currency, Volt Capital, Chaotic Capital, Reciprocal Ventures, Blockwall Digital, Seed Club Ventures, Davinci DAO, Reverie and assorted individuals.
Cayman Islands-registered blockchain game developer DRepublic completed a $5m funding round led by blockchain entertainment producer Animoca Brands yesterday. It was joined by Huobi Ventures, the corporate venturing vehicle formed by digital currency exchange Huobi, as well as Mirana Ventures, Folius Ventures, Everse Capital and undisclosed individuals.
Financial services firm Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation has paid an undisclosed amount for a 10% stake in India-based infrastructure finance provider Aseem Infrastructure Finance, VCCircle reported today. The investment came after Aseem was incubated by India’s National Investment and Infrastructure Fund.
KnownOrigin, the UK-headquartered operator of an art-focused non-fungible token marketplace, has received £3.5m ($4.7m) in series A funding from investors including cryptocurrency technology provider Pluto Digital, Prolific North reported yesterday. GBV and Sanctor Capital co-led the round, which also featured Cultur3 Capital, D1 Ventures, MetaCartel Ventures DAO, LD Capital, Future Arts, Colborn and angel investor Yin Cao.
Blockchain app developer Animoca Brands led a $3.6m funding round for BitsCrunch, a Germany-headquartered startup providing analytics for the non-fungible token market, today. Blockchain media hub Polygon Studios also took part, as did Coinbase Ventures and Crypto.com Capital – on behalf of cryptocurrency exchanges Coinbase and Crypto.com – Borderless Capital, Bison Funds, Mapleblock, Morning Star Ventures, Shima Capital, GravityX, Thykeblock Ventures, Spark Digital Capital and unnamed angel investors.
Online business finance provider Funding Societies and online used car marketplace Carro have invested an undisclosed amount in Bank Index, an Indonesia-based provider of financing for small and medium-sized businesses, Tech in Asia has reported. The news came in the wake of a $144m series C-plus round for Funding Societies last week.
VC and startup services firm MLTPLY co-led a $3.3m funding round for US-based mobility insurance provider Stable on Wednesday with VC fund Brooklyn Bridge Ventures. They were joined by angel investors including Dave Delaney, VJ Dowling, Christopher Cavallaro, John McKenna and Harry Campbell.
Pipeline, a US-based developer of software which uses artificial intelligence to help companies increase gender equality, raised an undisclosed amount on Wednesday from Workday Ventures, the investment arm of human resources software provider Workday. The company is joining the Workday Software Partner scheme and its product will be integrated into the Workday Human Capital Management platform.
Mgrn Labs, the US-based developer of a decentralised management protocol for trading portfolios, raised $3m on Wednesday from investors including Solana Ventures, the corporate VC vehicle formed by blockchain technology producer Solana. The round was co-led by Multicoin Capital and Pantera Capital and also featured Sino Global Capital.
Geospatial technology producer Maxar Technologies supplied an undisclosed amount of funding for US-based radio frequency and wireless data analytics provider Aurora Insight on Wednesday. Aurora had raised $18m in a 2019 series A round co-led by Alsop Louie Partners and True Ventures and backed by Tippet Venture Partners, Revolution’s Rise of the Rest Seed Fund, Promus Ventures, Alumni Ventures Group, ValueStream Ventures and Intellectus Partners.
Nielsen Ventures, the corporate venturing arm of media market analytics provider Nielsen, has co-led a £1.4m ($1.9m) seed round for QuantrolOx, a UK-based developer of machine learning technology designed to control qubits, TechCrunch reported on Wednesday. The round was co-led by Hoxton Ventures and included Voima Ventures, Remus Capital and angel investors Hermann Hauser and Laurent Caraffa.
Supwat, a Japan-based developer of smart manufacturing management technology, raised ¥150m ($1.3m) yesterday in a seed round backed by internet and telecommunications group SoftBank’s artificial intelligence fund, Deepcore. The corporate invested alongside VC firm Scrum Ventures.
APX, the joint venture formed by media group Axel Springer and carmaker Porsche, took part in a seed round for Germany-based funeral management app developer Emmora in the seven-digit euro range (€1m = $1.13m) on Wednesday. IFB Innovationsstarter also contributed to the round along with unnamed family offices and private investment vehicles, and individuals including Mathias Krahl, Ewald Walgenbach, Marc Sasserath, Kerstin Schiefelbein and Thomas Dadashi.
Moto Business Service India, a mobility services subsidiary of motorised vehicle manufacturer Yamaha Motor, invested an undisclosed amount in India-based motorcycle rental service Royal Brothers yesterday, VCCircle reported. Royal Brothers had received $1m in a 2019 pre-series A round featuring angel investors including Pradeep Deviah and Amrith Prasad.
Supply chain software producer Kaleris supplied an undisclosed of funding for US-based railroad technology provider Buckeye Mountain’s railroad maintenance software subsidiary, Intermodal Maintenance and Repair System (IMRS), on Wednesday. The company also plans to add the capabilities of IMRS to its railcar maintenance and billing offering.
Regenerative medicine developer CellSource provided an undisclosed amount of pre-seed funding yesterday for Lumirous, the Malaysia-based operator of a fertility coaching service. The cash will go to product development, hiring and marketing activities.
Halu, the Japan-based owner of infant-focused consumer product brand Ikou, completed a ¥100m ($870,000) seed round yesterday that included childrearing support and media app developer Ever Sense and D4V, the joint investment venture backed by design agency Ideo. They were joined in the equity and debt round by FGN AbbaLab and Univis.
Switzerland-based gene therapy developer Antion Biosciences has secured an undisclosed amount of funding from cell therapy producer Allogene Therapeutics as part of a strategic collaboration agreement.
Thailand-based online fashion retailer Pomelo has received nearly $600,000 in funding from investors including e-commerce company Start Today’s STV Fund, DealStreetAsia reported today, citing regulatory filings. The corporate participated alongside a vehicle called NA Assets and angel investors Keswaroon Derek and Symonne Lim Hwee Sim.
Lifull, the operator of an online real estate information portal, invested an undisclosed sum in Hash Dash Holdings, the Japan-based developer of a touchless financial transaction system, yesterday. The company had previously raised an undisclosed amount from consulting firm Aoyama Zaisan Networks in March 2021.
M&A
Reinsurance firm Munich Re, insurance software producer Guidewire and insurance companies Sompo Holdings and Suncorp exited US-based online insurance provider Trōv on Wednesday in an acquisition of undisclosed size by property casualty insurance firm The Travelers Companies. The company’s total funding stood at just over $85m as of a $45m series D led by corporate venturing unit Munich Re/HSB Ventures in 2017.
Software-as-a-service (SaaS) marketplace Vendr paid an undisclosed amount to buy Blissfully, the US-based developer of a SaaS product management platform, on Wednesday, enabling marketing software producer HubSpot to exit. HubSpot, Hummer Winblad Venture Partners and existing investor Founder Collective had provided $3.5m for the company in 2018 to push its overall funding to $5m.
Public Markets
Beamr Imaging, an Israel-based video encoding and optimisation technology provider that counts telecoms firm Verizon among its investors, has filed for an initial public offering on the Nasdaq Global Market. The company had raised $4m from corporate VC unit Verizon Ventures in 2016 following $9.5m from Marker and Innovation Endeavors in 2014 and $15m in series C funding from the same two investors and Disruptive Growth two years later, adding $3.1m in bridge funding from all four and Sharon Carmel in 2019. Verizon Ventures’ stake currently stands at 7.9%.
Additional reporting by Liwen-Edison Fu and Thierry Heles.
