Funding
US-based organic medicine brand Genexa closed a $60m series A round yesterday that included Unilever Ventures, the corporate venturing arm of consumer foods producer Unilever. The round was led by Jared Stein, managing partner at private equity firm Monogram Capital Partners, and also featured Verlinvest, Northcastle Partners, Point King Capital and angel investors including Gwyneth Paltrow, Chris Pratt, Katherine and Patrick Schwarzenegger, Donald Glover and Zoey Deutch.
Video game publisher Krafton has led a $48m series D round for India-based online storytelling platform developer Pratilipi, TechCrunch reported yesterday. Omidyar Network India also took part in the round, as did individuals including Pratilipi CEO Ranjeet Pratap Singh, Gaurav Munjal, Hemesh Singh, Nishith Rastogi, Vidit Aatrey, Mekin Maheshwari and Amit Agarwal. Internet group Tencent led Pratilipi’s $9.4m series C round in April 2020, investing with media group Bennett Coleman & Co. Omidyar India, Shunwei Capital and Nexus Venture Partners to take its total funding to nearly $30m.
Cape Analytics, a US-based provider of geospatial property assessment software, received $44m yesterday in a series C round featuring insurance firms The Cincinnati Insurance Company, The Hartford, State Farm and State Auto Insurance, the latter two through State Farm Ventures and State Auto Labs Fund. The round was led by Pivot Investment Partners and included Aquiline Technology Growth, Hudson Structured Capital Management’s HSCM Bermuda subsidiary, Formation8 and Brewer Lane Ventures. Cape had raised $31m as of a $17m series B round in 2018 featuring State Auto Labs Fund, Hartford, Cincinnati Insurance and fellow insurers XL Catlin (through XL Innovate) and CSAA Insurance Group.
US-based cybersecurity simulation software supplier AttackIQ raised $44m on Tuesday in a series C round featuring petrochemical producer Saudi Aramco, enterprise software provider Salesforce and telecommunications firm Telstra, through Saudi Aramco Energy Ventures, Salesforce Ventures and Telstra Ventures respectively. The round was led by Atlantic Bridge and included Gaingels, Index Ventures and Khosla Ventures, and the company said its total funding now stands at $79m. Salesforce Ventures, Khosla Ventures and existing investors Telstra Ventures and Index Ventures had provided it with $17.6m in series B funding in mid-2019.
LinkSquares, a US-based provider of contract management and analysis software for the legal sector, secured $40m yesterday in a series B round featuring payment technology producer Bottomline Technologies, printing services firm Xerox and MassMutual Ventures, a subsidiary of insurer MassMutual. Growth equity firm Sorenson Capital led the round, which included Catalyst Investors, Hyperplane Venture Capital, First Ascent Ventures and unnamed individuals. It had previously raised $21.4m, $14.5m coming in a March 2020 series A round featuring Jump Capital, First Ascent Ventures and existing backers MassMutual Ventures and Hyperplane.
Cardless, a US-based developer of technology which enables businesses to launch their own credit cards, has received $40m in a series B round led by investment firm Activant Capital and backed by Accomplice, Pear VC and the owners and management of basketball franchises the Phoenix Suns and Boston Celtics, TechCrunch reported yesterday. The company has now raised a total of $50m according to TechCrunch, including $7m in a June 2020 series A round co-led by Accomplice and Greycroft. Its existing investors include Drive by DraftKings, the investment vehicle set up by daily fantasy sports operator DraftKings.
Cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase took part in a $37m series B round for US-based blockchain security technology developer Certik yesterday through corporate venturing unit Coinbase Ventures. The round was co-led by Coatue Management and Shunwei Capital, and Certik said it had completed an $11m series A round nearly a year ago, naming digital currency exchange Binance and Legend Star, a subsidiary of conglomerate Legend Holdings, as existing investors along with IDG Capital, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Wing, DHVC and Yale University.
Simpplr, the US-based developer of an employee communication software platform, raised $32m yesterday in a series C round featuring enterprise software producer Salesforce’s investment arm, Salesforce Ventures. VC firm Tola Capital led the round, taking a board seat in the process, and it included Norwest Venture Partners (NVP) and George Still Ventures. The company had secured a total of nearly $30m as of August 2020 when it received $10m in a series B round led by NVP that included fellow existing investor Salesforce Ventures.
Russia-based telemedicine technology and medical insurance provider BestDoctor has completed a $26m series B round that included Uniqa Ventures, the corporate venturing vehicle for insurance group Uniqa, TechCrunch reported yesterday. Winter Capital Partners and VNV Global also took part in the round, which valued the company at $90m. AddVenture, Target Global and LVL1 had supplied $4.5m in series A funding for BestDoctor in July 2020 following $3m from Target Global, Ascent Venture Partners and AddVenture in May 2019.
Mobile semiconductor technology producer Qualcomm co-led a $25m series C round yesterday for Sweden-based virtual reality game developer Resolution Games through its Qualcomm Ventures unit. The round was co-led by Bitkraft Ventures and included GV and Bonnier Ventures, on behalf of internet technology group Alphabet and media company Bonnier respectively, as well as Knutsson Holdings, MizMaa Ventures, GP Bullhound, Partech, Creandum, Initial Capital and Sisu Game Ventures. The company had secured a total of $13.5m as of a $7.5m series B round featuring GV and Bonnier Ventures in 2018 valuing it at $87.5m.
Blocknative, a US-based developer of transaction management software for blockchain networks, secured $12m yesterday in a series A round featuring digital currency exchange Coinbase’s investment arm, Coinbase Ventures, and Ideo CoLab Ventures, a vehicle for design agency Ideo. The round was led by Rho Capital’s Ignition Fund and included Robot Ventures, Altonomy Ventures, Foundry Group, Blockchain Capital, Industry Ventures and various individuals. The company said it has now raised $19m in total, $5m supplied by Ideo Colab Ventures, Coinbase Ventures, Blockchain Capital, Industry Ventures and Foundry Group in November 2020.
Tinvio, the Singapore-based creator of a digital communication platform for supply chain stakeholders, raised $12m today in a series A round featuring financial services firm Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group. AppWorks led the round, which included Sequoia Capital’s Surge fund, Global Founders Capital and Partech Partners. The company had already received $5.5m from Surge, Partech and Global Founders Capital in an April 2020 round that took its total funding to $6.5m.
Digital payment platform developer Fawry has led a $10m pre-series C round for Egypt-based online food delivery service Elmenus, Wamda reported on Tuesday. Fashion retailer and property management group Marakez also took part in the round, as did hedge fund manager Luxor Capital. The company had raised $1.5m in series A funding from Algebra Ventures in 2017 and $8m in a May 2020 series B round featuring Algebra Ventures, Global Ventures and private investors Tarek Sakr and Hamad Al Homaizi. Another individual, David Buttress, invested an undisclosed sum in February this year.
US-based restaurant maintenance technology developer 86 Repairs added $5.3m from investors including food distributor Gordon Food Service (GFS) on Tuesday to a funding round now totalling $7.3m. TDF Ventures, Math Venture Partners, Revolution and Cleveland Avenue also backed the extension, GFS and TDF Ventures having joined supply chain optimiser Havi, athletic glove producer GHS Holdings, Tamarind Hill, Invest Detroit Ventures, Network Ventures and Cleveland Avenue State Treasurer Urban Success Fund in the March 2021 first tranche. The company had received $1.5m from Tamarind Hill, Invest Detroit Ventures, Relish Works, Network Ventures, Math Venture Partners, M25 and unnamed individuals in May 2019.
Nature, the Japan-based provider of smart air conditioner Nature Remo, closed a ¥750m ($6.8m) funding round yesterday featuring Daiwa Corporate Investment, a subsidiary of brokerage Daiwa Securities Group, and VC firm Environment and Energy Investment. The latter investor had joined internet company DeNA in a $4.6m round for Nature in mid-2019 that followed $920,000 from Daiwa Corporate Investment in 2018.
ClayStack, the US-based developer of a digital asset staking platform, secured $5.2m in seed funding on Tuesday from investors including Coinbase Ventures, a subsidiary of cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase, and automotive components producer Wanxiang’s Hashed affiliate, as well as mobile game developer Animoca Brands and decentralised cloud technology developer HyperSphere. The round was co-led by CoinFund and ParaFi Capital and included Spartan Group, Defiance Capital, Solana Foundation, The LAO, Genblock Capital, LedgerPrime and Republic Labs.
Financial services firm Sumitomo Mitsui Trust led a ¥470m ($4.3m) funding round yesterday for Kepple, a Japan-based developer of private stock management software, through its Sumi Trust Innovation Fund. The round included two other financial services providers, SBI and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, which invested through SBI Investment and SMBC Venture Capital respectively, as well as consulting firms Strike and Hongo Tsuji Business Consulting.
Multiplier, the Singapore-headquartered operator of a service which streamlines international recruitment, has received $4m in funding from investors including MS&AD Ventures, a corporate VC subsidiary of insurance group MS&AD, YourStory reported yesterday. VC firm Sequoia Capital India’s Surge fund led the round, which also featured Golden Gate Ventures, Picus Capital and undisclosed angel investors.
Indonesia-based solar power services provider Xurya has raised an undisclosed amount from investors including energy and automation technology producer Schneider Electric, Bisnis reported on Wednesday. New Energy Nexus Indonesia and Crevisse Partners also participated in the round, which came in the wake of an undisclosed sum from Clime Capital’s Southeast Asia Clean Energy Facility fund in September 2020.
Waste management services provider JJ Richards has invested £2m ($2.8m) in UK-based personal protective equipment (PPE) provider Viracoat, Health Investor reported on Tuesday. The cash will support research in addition to the final stage of accreditation for the company’s PPE products.
Chemicals producer BASF is providing an undisclosed amount for UrbanKisaan, the India-based operator of a chain of greenhouses that use hydroponics technology, it revealed on Tuesday. The company had reportedly raised a total of $1.5m from investors including Y Combinator, according to Inc 42.
Financial services firm Bradesco’s Inovabra Ventures unit has supplied R$10m ($2m) in series A funding for Brazil-based business intelligence software provider 4intelligence, Brazil Journal reported last month. The investment represented the first tranche of a round with a R$25m target for a close expected to take place in September 2021.
UK-based network analytics and simulation technology developer FNA raised an undisclosed sum on Tuesday from investors including security technology producer Giesecke+Devrient’s strategic investment arm, G+D Ventures. The round also featured IQ Capital and GettyLab, which had combined to provide $5.5m in series A funding for FNA in August 2019. G+D Ventures investment partner Assaf Shamia is taking a board observer position at the company in connection with the round.
MomentRanks, the US-headquartered creator a digital engagement platform for non-fungible tokens, received $1.7m in seed financing from investors including blockchain game developer Dapper Labs on Tuesday. Boston Seed Capital and Permit Ventures also contributed to the round, the proceeds of which will fund infrastructure development and the recruitment of data scientists and engineers.
Japan-based diabetes management app developer Save Medical secured an undisclosed amount yesterday from BIG2, a vehicle for online advertising agency Opt’s Bonds Investment Group unit, and VC fund Spiral Capital. Chipmaker Macnica had provided $880,000 in seed capital for the company in 2018 before joining FFG Venture Business Partners and Mitsubishi UFJ Capital – on behalf of financial services firms Fukuoka Financial Group and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group – to invest an undisclosed sum in January 2020.
Real estate developer RO Group co-led a £1.1m ($1.5m) funding round yesterday for Bamboo Auctions, the UK-based operator of an online property auction marketplace, through its RO Capital Partners subsidiary. The round was co-led by Cass Entrepreneurship Fund, an affiliate of Cass Business School, and it also featured unnamed existing backers and angel investors.
RedStone, the Estonia-headquartered creator of an online platform which offers pricing data for decentralised financial protocols, secured $525,000 in pre-seed financing on Tuesday from investors including decentralised data platform developer Arweave. Investment fund Maven 11 Capital led the round, which was also backed by Collider Ventures, KR1, 1kx and Bering Waters Ventures.
Additional reporting by Liwen-Edison Fu.
