Funding
US-headquartered e-commerce software and services provider Cart.com secured $240m in equity and debt financing yesterday, with the equity portion backed by financial services firm Citi’s investment arm, Citi Ventures, and payment services firm Visa. The equity portion was led by Legacy Knight Capital Partners while JP Morgan and TriplePoint Capital supplied the venture debt. Cart said it has now raised $380m altogether.
US-based biomolecular condensates developer Dewpoint Therapeutics closed a $150m series C round led by internet and telecommunications group SoftBank’s Vision Fund 2 yesterday. The round included pharmaceutical and chemical producer Bayer’s corporate venturing unit, Leaps by Bayer, as well as General Catalyst, Mubadala Capital, 3E Bioventures Capital, Mirae Asset Capital, NS Investment, Polaris Partners, Samsara BioCapital, Arch Venture Partners, EcoR1 Capital and Maverick Ventures.
SoftBank Vision Fund 2 also led a $115m series C round for US-headquartered connected vehicle software provider Platform Science yesterday. Automotive manufacturer Daimler and warehouse operator Prologis also participated in the round, along with Chimera, 8VC and Four More Capital.
ConcertoCare, a US-based provider of home care for elderly patients, completed a $105m series B round yesterday led by financial services firm Wells Fargo through its Wells Fargo Strategic Capital fund. Obvious Ventures, Vast Ventures, The Schusterman Family Foundation, SteelSky Ventures, Pennington Partners and Deerfield Management filled out the round.
Beijing Hongsong Online Technology, the China-based owner of senior-focused social network Hongsong, has received almost $100m in a series A-plus round led by Bertelsmann Asia Investments, a vehicle for media group Bertelsmann, Nikkei reported today. It was joined by existing investors Matrix Partners China, China Creation Ventures and BlueRun Ventures.
Bold, a Colombia-based developer of digital payment software, in Colombia, raised $55m in series A funding from investors including automotive manufacturer Grupo Auteco. Investment firm Tiger Global Management led the round, which also featured General Atlantic, Endeavor Catalyst, Piton Capital, Global Founders Capital, InQLab, Kingsway Capital, Solid Ventures, Amador and Condor Inverlink.
Existing investors that may include financial services groups Capital One and Citi are part of a consortium that has bought $35m of stock from employees of Canada-based online travel booking service Hopper in a secondary sale valuing it at $5bn, TechCrunch reported yesterday. A source told TechCrunch that Drive Capital and Stack Capital Group were both among the buyers, and the valuation is 43% higher than that at which the company raised $175m in August 2021.
US-headquartered hydrogen generation technology developer Modern Electron secured $30m yesterday in a series B round featuring cooper product manufacturer Wieland Group. Venture capital firm At One Ventures led the round, which included Extantia, Starlight Ventures, Valo Ventures, Irongrey and all the company’s existing backers, of which it named MetaPlanet and private investor Bill Gates.
Koya Medical, a US-based developer of lymphatic and venous healthcare technology, completed a $26m series B round yesterday that included pharmaceutical firm Asahi Kasei, which invested through its Asahi Kasei Ventures unit. VC firm 3×5 Partners led the round, which was also backed by Cadence Healthcare Ventures, Arboretum Ventures and Scientific Health Development.
Digibee, the US-headquartered creator of a low-code integration software platform, raised $25m yesterday in a series A round led by telecoms and internet group SoftBank’s Latin America Fund. Asset manager Kinea and VC firm G2D Investments also contributed to the round.
Laboratory operator Labcorp took part in a $20m series A round yesterday for Getlabs, the US-based creator of a remote healthcare management service. Emerson Collective co-led the round with Minderoo Foundation and it also featured Tusk Venture Partners, Healthworx, Byers Capital and angel investors Anne Wojcicki, Susan Wojcicki, Eric Kinariwala and Mattieu Gamache-Asselin.
ClearEstate, the US-headquartered operator of an online platform designed to make estate planning and settlement easier, received approximately $13.3m in series A funding yesterday from investors including mass media group Torstar and NAVentures, the corporate VC subsidiary of financial services firm National Bank of Canada. The round was led by Omers Ventures on behalf of pension fund manager Omers, and it was also backed by Diagram Ventures and Triangle Capital.
Salesforce Ventures, the strategic investment arm of enterprise software producer Salesforce, joined an undisclosed family office to provide $8m in funding for US-based healthcare and life sciences consulting firm Penrod yesterday. The company has been a Summit Salesforce Partner – the highest level for a Salesforce implementation partner – since 2016.
US-based digital identity system developer Parallel Markets raised $7m yesterday in a series A round backed by mass media group Comcast’s investment arm, Comcast Ventures. The round was led by VC firm Union Square Ventures and also featured Eniac Ventures, Lux Capital, RiverPark Ventures and Supernode Ventures.
Spin, the US-headquartered operator of a multichain decentralised cryptocurrency exchange, received $3.75m in seed capital yesterday from investors including crypto trading firm GSR. The round was led by crypto and blockchain-focused investment firm Lemniscap and also featured Spartan Group, ZMT Capital, Longhash Ventures and AngelDAO.
Logistics software provider Shiprocket supplied $1.5m in funding for Logibricks, the India-based developer of an e-commerce management software platform, today. Logibricks will put the cash into redeveloping its core products with a view to relaunching it in the next two months.
Consumer finance provider Aiful invested ¥35m ($305,000) in Smart Idea, the Japan-based developer of a personal financial management system, today through VC vehicle AG Capital. The unit had previously joined online price comparison service Aucfan to supply nearly $1.4, in series A funding for Smart Idea in 2018.
M&A
Online learning platform developer Studytube purchased Springest, the Netherlands-based owner of an online comparison platform for training courses, for an undisclosed amount yesterday, allowing media companies Sanoma Corporation and FD Mediagroep to exit. Springest had raised seed funding from financial services firm Rabobank and assorted angel investors in 2011, adding undisclosed amounts from Sanoma vehicle SanomaVentures two years later and FD Mediagroep in 2017.
Additional reporting by Liwen-Edison Fu.
