Funding
Inxeption, the US-headquartered operator of a digital commerce platform for industrial products, has raised $125m in series E equity funding from financial services firm Bank of Montreal (BMO), Schonfeld Strategic Advisors – which led the round – and existing backers including Coatue Management. The cash was secured together with $150m in debt financing from BMO and an undisclosed additional lender.
China-based smart home product manufacturer Orvibo has secured RMB1bn ($158m) from investors including furniture brand Suofeiya Home Collection and home furnishings retailer Fusen-Noble House, DealStreetAsia reported today, citing a company announcement. Investment banking firm China Renaissance’s Huaxing Growth Capital subsidiary also participated in the round, as did the municipal state-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of Pingxiang City and, according to Pandaily, internet and gaming group Tencent.
Tencent has also co-led a $120m series A round for Israel-based neobank First Digital Bank with financial services provider SBI and wealth manager Julius Baer. The round valued the company at $320m and included Far East Ventures, on behalf of real estate developer Far East Organization, as well as West Coast Equity Partners, Hebrew University of Jerusalem’s Provident Fund and private investor Amnon Shashua.
Bahrain-headquartered cryptocurrency trading and storage service Rain received $110m in series B funding yesterday from investors including digital currency exchange Coinbase and trading firm Capital Markets Trading, which invested through Coinbase and CMT Digital respectively. The round was co-led by Paradigm and Kleiner Perkins and also featured Global Founders Capital, MEVP and Cadenza Ventures.
US-based metaverse developer Wilder World raised $30m yesterday from investors including blockchain entertainment app developer Animoca Brands, decentralised finance software provider Defi Technologies and cryptocurrency exchange Nexo. They participated alongside Spartan Group, MetaPurse, Republic Realm, Metaversal, Rovida Advisors, Red Beard Ventures, Maelstrom and private investors including Anthony Pompliano, Baron Davis, Magdalena Kala and Stephen Pagliuca.
Tata Capital, a subsidiary of diversified conglomerate Tata, invested $10m in ZingHR, an India-based developer of human resources automation software, through its Growth Fund yesterday. The deal gives Tata a 33% stake in the company, which raised between $770,000 and $1.55m from employee benefits software provider Zeta in 2017 following earlier backing from software producer Microsoft’s Accelerator, onglomerate Triton, Accel and Mumbai Angels.
Blockchain entertainment app developer Animoca Brands co-led a $10m funding round for India-headquartered mobile game publisher nCore Games yesterday with interactive entertainment-focused VC firm Galaxy Interactive. The round included blockchain scaling protocol developer Polygon, Hyperedge Capital and individuals including Amitabh Singhal, Sandeep Nailwal, Kanwaljit Bombra, Sohil Chand, Ashish Chand, Ram Madhvani, Rakesh Kaul, Mannan Adenwala, Sanjay Narang, Taj Haslani, Kristian Segerstrale, Sanjay Gondal, Vedant Baali, Kartik Prabhakara, Peter Leung, Yashraj Akashi and Akshay Chaturvedi.
Animoca Brands also led an $8m series A round for Burnt Finance, the US-headquartered developer of a non-fungible token marketplace. Hashkey, an investment affiliate of automotive component maker Wanxiang, also took part in the round, as did stablecoin developer Terra, blockchain software provider Figment, quantitative crypto trading firm Alameda Research, blockchain technology developer Fantom, Multicoin Capital, Valor Capital Group, Spartan Capital and unnamed others.
Taiwan-based digital health software developer Health to U Corporation completed an $8m funding round co-led by consumer electronics producer Sharp and contract electronics manufacturer Foxconn yesterday. They were joined by memory storage technology producer Adata Technology, electronics distributor Topco Scientific, online media company UDN.com, fitness app developer Wondercise, WeLeader Bio and Flight International.
China-headquartered digital investment platform developer Fraction raised $3m today in a pre-series A round that included media group Emtek and diversified group Thakral. VC firm East Ventures led the round, which was also backed by V Ventures and undisclosed local investors.
SoundPower, a Japan-based developer of wave power generation technology, secured ¥150m ($1.3m) in July 2021 from construction firms Hazama Ando and Daiwa House, it revealed today. The company disclosed the news in a statement referencing an earlier round without giving details.
J-Tama, the Japan-based developer of a digital negotiation tool called Optemo, received ¥85m ($740,000) today from investors including financial services firm SBI, which participated through its SBI Investment unit. The round also featured Chiba Dojo Fund, Headline Asia and Skyland Ventures.
Exest, the Japan-based owner of tour search and experience service Wow U, raised an undisclosed amount today from investors including consulting group Mitsubishi Research Institute and angel investor Atsushi Tamura. The company had secured $470,000 in 2018 and added an undisclosed amount the following year.
Foreign exchange operator Monex supplied ¥30m ($260,000) in seed funding today for Tokuty, the Japan-based creator of a digital matchmaking platform for recruitment. The investment was made through corporate venturing arm Monex Ventures and came three months after the startup launched its product in beta.
Additional reporting by Liwen-Edison Fu.
