Funding
US-based analytics engineering technology developer DBT Labs has raked in $222m in series D funding at a $4.2bn valuation in a round featuring data analytics software groups Databricks and Snowflake as well as GV and Salesforce Ventures, vehicles for conglomerate Alphabet and enterprise software supplier Salesforce respectively. Investment firm Altimeter Capital Management led the round, which included Amplify Partners, Andreessen Horowitz, Sequoia, Coatue, Tiger Global, Iconiq Growth and GIC.
China-based autonomous lorry technology developer Inceptio has raised $188m in a series B-plus round co-led by Legend Capital, the VC firm formed by conglomerate Legend Holdings, and Sequoia Capital China. Diversified conglomerate Chow Tai Fook Enterprises, local services platform Meituan, electric vehicle maker Nio’s subsidiary Nio Capital and home improvement service WZ Group also took part, as did investment and financial services firm Fidelity’s Eight Roads Ventures unit, Cedarlake Capital and Everbright Group’s Broad Vision Funds. The company had previously received $500m in total including a $270m series B round in August 2021.
China-based nuclear fusion technology developer Energy Singularity has raised RMB400m ($63m) in its first external funding round co-led by Nio Capital, a fund run by EV maker Nio, and game publisher MiHo Yo. Sequoia Capital China and BlueRun Ventures also took part in the round.
Germany-based mobile advertising technology developer AddApptr has received $60m from IT services firm Aonic Group.
China-based small molecule drug developer GluBio Pharmaceutical has received $50m in series A funding featuring Lilly Asia Ventures, a vehicle for pharmaceutical firm Eli Lilly, and Legend Capital, a fund formed by conglomerate Legend Holdings. Hillhouse Capital’s GL Ventures unit, Qiming Venture Partners, E Fund, Kaitai Capital and K2VC also took part in the round, which took the company’s overall funding to $70m.
Thyas, a Japan-based immune cell therapy developer spun out of Kyoto University, has secured ¥2.13bn ($18.5m) in series B funding from financial services and investment firm Fidelity’s Eight Roads Ventures Japan and F-Prime Capital Partners units as well as consulting and investment management group D3.
UK-headquartered electric vehicle charging technology developer EV.energy has extended its series A funding to $12.8m, having closed a tranche led by venture capital firm ArcTern Ventures and backed by Future Energy Ventures, part of energy utility Eon, as well as Energy Impact Partners and unnamed returning backers. The company had completed an $8.8m series A first close in June 2021 also featuring Future Energy Ventures.
Switch Media, the Japan-based operator of television commercial analytics service Smart, has raised an undisclosed sum from advertising agency ADK Marketing Solutions and internet company Raksul through a strategic partnership. The deal took the company’s overall funding to more than ¥1bn ($8.67m). SwitchMedia had received $4.6m from marketing intelligence group Intage in May 2021.
Japan-based influencer marketing service Toridori has raised ¥1.2bn ($10.4m) in series B funding featuring financial services provider Mitsubishi UFJ subsidiary Mitsubishi UFJ Capital, digital marketing group Ceres, consultancy First Advisers and Hirac Fund, a vehicle for accounting software provider Money Forward’s corporate venturing arm Money Forward Venture Partners. VC firm Global Catalyst Partners Japan led the round, which included 3S Capital, Innovation Engine and XTech Ventures, and pushed the company’s overall funding to about $20.8m including a $4.5m mid-2020 series A round and debt financing.
US-based probiotic drink producer De La Calle has secured $7m in a round co-led by beverage contract manufacturer DrinkPak, branding design agency Here Studio and private equity group KarpReilly.
India-based test automation software developer Testsigma has received $4.6m in a round co-led by digital media group Gree’s Strive fund and VC firm Accel. The round included additional investors including BoldCap and angel investors Shanmugam Krishnasamy, Kiran Darisi, Parsuram Vijayasankar, Vetri Vellore and Nitesh Banta.
Switzerland-based customers’ metaverse identity authentication platform CollectID has raised $3.5m in seed funding featuring financial services firm SBI Group and digital asset bank Sygnum. Unnamed other strategic investors took part in the round, which was co-led by VC firm SeventySix Capital and investment manager Hellen’s Rock Capital.
US-based home improvement contractors-focused software provider Casa has received $1.2m in pre-seed funding from GS Futures, a corporate venturing arm of conglomerate GS Group, and other investors including Hustle Fund and Chaos Capital.
Naspers Foundry, a South Africa-focused vehicle formed by e-commerce and media group Naspers, is set to invest R15m ($997,000) in local on-demand salary access platform Floatplays.
Thailand-based, corporate-backed apparel e-commerce platform Pomelo Fashion has received $600,000 from unnamed new and returning backers, according to Singapore’s Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority filings seen by Deal Street Asia. Pomelo had last closed a $12.5m series C3 round from investors including Orzon Ventures, a subsidiary of oil and gas group PTT’s Oil and Retail – or PTTOR – subsidiary.
Latvia-based company Madara Cosmetics has incubated an enterprise logo design platform called Selfnamed with €350,000 ($390,000).
Japan-headquartered video game producer MyDearest has raised an extension round of undisclosed size from 2D content creator Coly. The company had reached an $8.1m first close of this round led by educational services firm Globis subsidiary Globis Capital Partners in June 2021.
Telecommunications firm Bharti Airtel has agreed to acquire a stake in Singapore-based blockchain technology developer Aqilliz for an undisclosed amount through the corporate’s Airtel Startup Accelerator Program. The deal is conditional on regulatory approvals.
Business-to-business marketplace operator IndiaMart’s Tradezeal Online unit has paid almost Rs 138m ($1.8m) to acquire a 26% stake in Adansa Solutions, the India-based creator of accounting software Realbooks, through primary and secondary funding, according to VCCircle.
Japan-based ear and brain-powered user interface developer CyberneX has received an undisclosed sum of a first close for its seed round from Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Venture Capital and Yamaguchi Capital, subsidiaries of insurer Mitsui Sumitomo and Yamaguchi Financial Group respectively.
US-based optical connectivity technology developer Ayar Labs has secured an undisclosed sum from Hewlett Packard Pathfinder, part of enterprise technology producer Hewlett Packard.
Tyre and rubber technology group Bridgestone Americas has provided an undisclosed amount for US-based last-mile delivery service Yoshi.
PayPal Ventures, Amex Ventures and Okta Ventures, which invest on behalf of digital payment processing service PayPal, payments technology group Amex and identity authentication platform Okta respectively, have all joined financial services firm Synchrony to supply an undisclosed amount for US-based digital checkout system developer Skipify.
Fundraising
US-based investment firm Hack VC has formed a $200m blockchain-focused vehicle dubbed Crypto Seed Fund, with investment and financial services firm Fidelity among its limited partners. Hack VC managing partners Alex Pack and Ed Roman co-led the fundraising effort, investing together with Sequoia Capital, Marc Andreessen and Chris Dixon, Accolade Partners, Digital Currency Group and unnamed other institutional investors and endowments.
Fosun RZ Capital, an investment vehicle for China-based conglomerate Fosun, has completed its third yuan-denominated fund at RMB2bn ($317m), taking the unit’s assets under management to nearly $1.6bn in total. Venture Capital Guiding Fund and unnamed state-owned and private fund of funds were among the limited partners, as were returning investors.
Cloud9 Capital, a Brazil-based VC firm co-founded by former internet and telecoms group SoftBank Group International investors Felipe Affonso and Noah Stern, has reached a R$280m ($54.3m) first close from unnamed institutional investors as well as single and multi-family offices, on its way to a $77.5m target.
Internet technology provider Google’s entrepreneur hub, Google for Startups, has announced Rs 8.5m ($1.6m) in additional capital for its Black Founders Fund in Brazil, Startups por Gustavo Brigatto has reported. The initiative also revealed a new cohort that included car disassembly and recycling service Octa, black women-focused user experience training platform UX para Minas Pretas as well as Unmaze, which provides a digital English teaching tool, and logistics automation system developer Yoobe.
Mass media group Comcast NBCUniversal has announced 10 startups for its SportsTech accelerator scheme. Fan engagement platforms Ice Cream Social, LetzChat, Local Sports Network and Meetlete were among the selected startups, as were marketing technology developer UruSports, game publisher MoneyLine and venue software providers Bookseats and TipTapSports. Performance group HeadVantage and visual analytics software supplier Movrs filled out the cohort.
M&A
Personal belongings storage services provider Clutter has merged with MakeSpace, a US-based peer backed by IT management services firm Iron Mountain and media company O’Reilly Media’s OATV unit, in a deal of undisclosed size. MakeSpace had last closed a $55m series E round in mid-2020, with participation from Iron Mountain.
Video streaming service Haivision Systems has agreed to acquire Aviwest, a France-based peer backed by telecommunications firm France Telecom-founded Innovacom fund, for €20.5m ($23m), conditional on regulatory adjustments.
Public markets
4Paradigm, a China-based artificial intelligence technology provider that counts corporates China Three Gorges, Cisco and Lenovo among its investors, has refiled an initial public offering in Hong Kong after its first attempt failed to meet the deadline. The prospectus was initially submitted in August 2021 with a $600m target according to International Financing Review. Goldman Sachs and China International Capital Corp will continue to be co-sponsors of the renewed offering, the new prospectus revealed. Its last funding was a $700m series D round in January 2021.
