Funding
US-based revenue growth software provider 6sense completed a $200m series E round featuring internet and telecommunications group SoftBank’s Vision Fund 2 yesterday, doubling its valuation from $2.6bn in March 2021 to $5.2bn. Blue Owl Capital and MSD Partners co-led the round, which was also backed by B Capital Group, Franklin Templeton, Harmony Partners, Insight Partners, Tiger Global Management, D1 Capital Partners and Sapphire Ventures.
China-headquartered 5G chip developer ChemSemi raised over RMB1bn ($158m) in series A funding today from investors including consumer electronics producer Xiaomi’s Changjiang Industry Fund and electronics manufacturing technology provider Quick, DealStreetAsia reported, citing a company announcement. China Internet Investment Fund co-led the round with Summitview Capital and it also featured CICC Capital, Huaxing Growth Capital, GuoLian Fund and TF Capital.
Green Labs, a South Korea-headquartered developer of digitalisation technology for the agriculture industry, has completed a $140m series C round that included SK Square, an investment vehicle spun off by telecoms firm SK Telecom, TechCrunch reported yesterday. BRV Capital Management led the round, which was also backed by Skylake Incuvest.
Apprentice, a US-based developer of software which helps accelerate the journey of drugs through development to the market, secured $100m on Wednesday in a series C round featuring pharmaceutical product manufacturer Colorcon’s investment arm, Colorcon Ventures. investment firm Alkeon Capital Management led the round, which included financial services firm Pacific Western Bank, Silverton Partners and Insight Partners.
Insurance firm China Life’s Innovation Fund has co-led a series C-plus-plus round for China-based drug development technology provider SiBionics sized at over RMB500m ($78.9m), DealStreetAsia reported today, citing a WeChat post. The round was co-led with CPE and included hazardous materials tester Lucion, supply chain services firm C&D (formerly Xiamen C&D), Qianhai FOF, JD Investment and Jingming Capital. It brings the company’s total series C funding to $126m, with the earlier cash coming from Lucion, Fortune Capital, Source Code Capital, Cedarlake Capital and Riverhead Capital.
France-headquartered exoskeleton technology developer Wandercraft raised €40m ($45.3m) in series C funding from investors including media group Sipa Ouest-France Group’s Sofiouest vehicle, insurance firms Malakoff Humanis, AG2R La Mondiale, MACSF and Mutualité Française yesterday, the last through Mutuelles Impact. Quadrant Management led the round with additional backing from BPIfrance, Xange, Eurazeo, LBO France and Cemag Invest.
Pavilion Data Systems, a US-based developer of data analytics acceleration software, received $45m yesterday from investors including SK Telecom Ventures, a corporate venture capital vehicle for telecoms firm SK Telecom. The round was co-led by Kleiner Perkins and Artiman Ventures and also backed by financial services firm Mirae Asset, Korea Investment Partners, Taiwania Capital, Tyche Partners, DAG Ventures, RPS Ventures, Liberty Street Advisors and Gaingels.
Windgap Medical, a US-based developer of specialty pharmaceuticals and drug delivery technology, rounded off a $39m series B-1 round yesterday with funding from investors including Molex Ventures, a vehicle for industrial conglomerate Koch Industries’ cable and connector subsidiary, Molex. VC firm Taiwania Capital led the round, which also featured Shepherd Kaplan Krochuk and Cobro Ventures.
Commodities trader Mercuria has co-led a $35m series A round for Exergyn, an Ireland-headquartered developer of shape memory alloys intended as a more sustainable replacement for refrigerants, TechCrunch reported today. Lacerta Partners co-led the round, which was also backed by McWin.
Lean Technologies, a Saudi Arabia-based provider of software which links companies to customers’ bank accounts, secured $33m yesterday in a series A round featuring holding group Almajdouie’s Raed Ventures subsidiary. VC firm Sequoia Capital India led the round, which included Outliers Venture Capital, Shorooq Partners, Abdul Latif Jameel Investment Management Company, Liberty City Ventures, Human Capital and angel investors Henrique Dubugras, Jeff Immelt and Michael Ovitz.
Capital Markets Gateway, the US-based operator of a digital platform which connects equity market investors and underwriters, raised an undisclosed amount yesterday from investors including financial services firms Bank of America, Credit Suisse and Citi as well as Shea Ventures, the VC arm of homebuilder JF Shea. The round also featured investment banks Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan and Morgan Stanley, investment and financial services group Fidelity, Franklin Templeton and StageDotO.
US-based remote access technology provider RemoteLock completed a $17.8m series B round yesterday featuring structural engineering firm Kozo Keikaku Engineering. The round was led by VC group UnitLeader and included growth equity firm Iron Gate Capital.
US-headquartered customer service software provider Zingtree secured $15m yesterday in a series A round led by Conductive Ventures, the VC firm funded by consumer electronics producer Panasonic. It was joined by Storm Ventures, Madrona Venture Capital, Rally Ventures, Parade Ventures, Vitalize Ventures and individuals including Hilarie Koplow-McAdams. Zingtree said it had raised $3.5m in seed funding from investors including Rally Ventures, Parade Ventures and Vitalize Ventures in 2020.
Ionomr Innovations, a Canada-based developer of advanced materials for hydrogen energy applications, completed a $15m series A round yesterday co-led by Shell Ventures, the corporate venturing arm of oil and gas provider Shell. The round was co-led with Finidus, an investment vehicle backed by steel manufacturer Arcel Mittal and the Flemish government, and included Chevron Technology Ventures, on behalf of oil and gas supplier Chevron, as well as Pallasite Ventures and NGIF Cleantech Ventures. It came after Pallasite led a $3m seed round in 2019.
Stader Labs, the India-headquartered creator of a cryptocurrency staking platform, was valued at $450m yesterday in a $12.5m funding round featuring cryptocurrency services firm Blockchain.com and crypto finance provider Amber Group. Hedge fund manager Three Arrows Capital led the round, which included Accomplice, DACM, GoldenTree Asset Management, Accel, Fourth Revolution Capital, Figment and angel investors including Prabhakar Reddy and Matt Cantieri.
Wagr, the US-based operator of a social sports betting app, completed a $12m series A round yesterday backed by sports and entertainment group Harris Blitzer and conglomerate Kraft Group. They were joined by Bitkraft Ventures, Greycroft, Pear VC and Seven Seven Six, the last three having taken part in a $4m seed round in June 2021 alongside angel investors Brad Martin and Joe Baker.
Aleph.im, the France-headquartered creator of a decentralised storage and computing network, closed a $10m funding round on Tuesday featuring blockchain consulting firm Ellipti. The round was led by Stratos Technologies and included Zee Prime Capital, NOIA Capital, Theia Ventures, Bitfwd Capital, Incuba Alpha, RareStone Capital, TRGC, Winkrypto, NZVC, Token Ventures, Seven Capital and private investors Chris McCann and Owen Simonin.
US-based coding analytics software developer CodeSee added $7m to a seed round featuring enterprise software producer Salesforce yesterday, expanding it to $10m. The extension came from Wellington Access Ventures, Plexo Capital, unnamed existing backers and angel investors Adam Gross and Window Snyder. The $3m first close took place in October 2021 and included Salesforce’s strategic investment arm, Salesforce Ventures.
UK-based sustainable lithium-ion battery developer Aceleron has raised £5m ($6.8m) in series A funding from investors including automotive manufacturer Toyota’s Mobility 54 Investment subsidiary. Business Growth Fund and Mercia also participated in the round along with undisclosed others.
Soma.Finance, a decentralised digital asset and securities exchange formed by decentralised finance platform developer Mantra DAO and US-based investment bank Tritaurian Holdings, has closed a $6.5m seed round led by blockchain game publisher Animoca Brands, Coindesk reported yesterday. Crypto trading firm GSR and fintech consulting firm BCW Group also took part, as did Kenetic Capital, Griffin Gaming Partners, Token Bay Capital, Mind Fund, Unknown VC, Fomocraft, Tai Ping Shan Capital, Gate Ventures, 0x Ventures and unnamed others.
Internet and technology group Alphabet’s GV subsidiary took part in a $6m round for US-headquartered Bitcoin infrastructure technology startup Voltage that closed yesterday. Trammell Venture Partners led the round, which included Craft Ventures, Stillmark, Cavalry Asset Management, Strategic Cyber Ventures, Fulgur Ventures, Tenzing.vc and undisclosed additional participants.
Azuro, a decentralised betting protocol creator with no fixed location, completed a $3.5m seed round on Wednesday co-led by decentralised finance technology provider Gnosis with Flow Ventures and Polymorphic Capital. They were joined by crypto researcher Delphi Digital, sports betting media organisation Clever Advertising, Ethereal Ventures, Arrington XRP Capital, AllianceDAO, Meta Cartel Ventures, Merit Circle, SevenX Ventures, OP Crypto, CitizenX, BR Capital and angel investors David Post, Alex Wearn and Sergei Chan.
Singapore-based workplace management software developer StaffAny received $3.4m in series A funding yesterday form investors including Far East Ventures, the VC arm of real estate developer Far East Organization. VC firm GGV Capital led the round, which also featured FreakOut Shinsei Fund, a joint venture between digital marketing technology provider FreakOut Holdings and financial services firm Shinsei Bank, in addition to East Ventures, Farquhar Venture Capital and individuals including Allen Shim.
Folks Finance, the Italy-headquartered creator of a capital markets protocol for the Algorand blockchain, raised $3m yesterday from investors including Algorand Foundation as well as Jump Crypto, Coinbase Ventures and OKEx Blockdream Ventures, on behalf of proprietary trading firm Jump Trading and cryptocurrency exchanges Coinbase and OKEx. They were joined by ParaFi Capital, Genesis Capital and unnamed others.
Packaging manufacturer Amcor provided an undisclosed amount of funding yesterday for PragmatIC Semiconductor, a UK-based producer of low-cost flexible electronics. PragmatIC’s overall funding stood at over $146m as of an $80m series C round in October 2021 and its existing investors include semiconductor technology producer Arm Holdings and packaging material maker Avery Dennison.
UK-based voice communication software developer Mobilus Labs received $2.7m in funding yesterday from investors including Chevron Technology Ventures and Schox VC, on behalf of petroleum supplier Chevron and patent firm Schox respectively. They joined Vinci, Ascension Ventures and Entrepreneur First in the round together with members of the UK Stanford Angels network.
Classified listings operator Info Edge co-led a $2.4m seed round on Wednesday for NowPurchase, the India-based operator of a business-to-business marketplace for metals, through corporate venturing unit Info Edge Ventures. The round was co-led by Orios Venture Partners and also featured angel investor Neeraj Arora.
Wrangle, the US-based creator of a task manager for the Slack enterprise communication app, has secured $2m in a pre-seed round co-led by Bloomberg Beta, the VC firm sponsored by media group Bloomberg. VC firm Eniac Ventures co-led the round, which included Liquid 2 Ventures, Hustle Fund, TDF Ventures and more than 20 angel investors.
US-based thermal accelerant gel developer Theromics completed a $2m seed round on Wednesday that included medical device producer Starmed. The round was also backed by Maroon Venture Partners, Beacon Angels Boston and undisclosed angel investors.
Cosmetics producer Lotus Herbals paid an undisclosed amount for a 25% stake in India-headquartered direct to consumer skincare brand Conscious Chemist yesterday. The investment will help the latter build its business in the skincare market.
Power producer Statkraft and public transport operator SNCF Group combined to invest £1.6m ($1.8m) in France-headquartered mobility intelligence provider Fluctuo on Wednesday. They supplied the capital through corporate venturing vehicles Statkraft Ventures and 574 Invest respectively.
Auxivo, a Switzerland-based developer of exoskeletons for industrial workers, has raised an undisclosed amount of seed capital from investors including industrial conglomerate SpanSet’s holding parent, SpanSet Inter. The round also featured ETH Foundation and Serpentine Ventures, and it comes after a similarly undisclosed amount in an early 2020 tranche of the round led by SpanSet and backed by Venture Kick and assorted angel investors.
Alameda Ventures, a VC vehicle for quantitative crypto trading firm Alameda Research, participated in a $1.75m seed round yesterday for Sahicoin, the US-headquartered developer of a crupto investment advice service. The round included Better Ventures and various angel investors.
DoomsdayX, a US-headquartered developer of decentralised technology for the music industry, received $1.5m in pre-seed funding on Wednesday from investors including crypto research firm Delphi Digital and Ideo CoLab Ventures, on behalf of design agency Ideo. It was led by The Chernin Group with additional backing from Sneaky Ventures.
Canbank Ventures, the VC arm of financial services firm Canara Bank, led a $1m funding round yesterday for Settlrs, the India-based operator of a business-to-business product rental service. The company is a spinout from Indian Institute of Management at Bangalore.
Tomato product manufacturer Kagome supplied an undisclosed amount of series A funding today for Two, the Japan-headquartered owner of plant-based food brand 2foods. The companies plan to collaborate on brand and processed food development.
M&A
Revenue growth software producer 6sense (see above) agreed yesterday to acquire Saleswhale, the US-headquartered developer of a sales lead management platform, for an undisclosed amount, allowing digital media company Gree to exit. Gree subsidiary Gree Ventures led the company’s $1.2m seed round in 2017 before joining Monk’s Hill Ventures, Wavemaker Partners and Y Combinator in a $5.3m series A two years later.
Marketing software provider MNTN paid an undisclosed amount yesterday to purchase QuickFrame, a US-based video creation software developer reportedly backed by advertising agency R/GA and entertainment and media company Broadway Video. QuickFrame has not revealed specific details of its funding but is listed as a portfolio company by corporate VC units R/GA Ventures and Broadway Video Ventures.
Funds
Japan-based 3D printing services provider Solize Corporation has formed a yet-to-be-named corporate venture capital vehicle of undisclosed size. The unit will invest in artificial intelligence, mixed reality, internet-of-things, cybersecurity and education technology developers, both in its home country and internationally.
BRI Ventures, the VC arm of financial services firm Bank BRI, launched an Indonesia-based startup accelerator with digital currency exchange Tokocrypto’s Toko Launchpad unit yesterday. Tokocrypto Sembrani Blockchain Accelerator is seeking post-seed stage blockchain technology projects located in Southeast Asia.
Additional reporting by Liwen-Edison Fu and Thierry Heles.
