Funding
GHGSat, the Canada-based developer of an orbital system for greenhouse gas monitoring, closed a $45m series B round yesterday with backing from Investissement Québec, OGCI Climate Investments and Space Capital. The first two had joined oilfield services provider Schlumberger, Business Development Bank of Canada, Space Angels and Fonds de Solidarité des Travailleurs du Québec in the round’s $30m first tranche in September 2020. It has now raised $65m altogether.
Digital Payments Holdings, the owner of payment app Oy Indonesia, has secured $44.5m in series A funding from investors including SoftBank Ventures Asia, a subsidiary of telecommunications and internet group SoftBank, and MDI Ventures, on behalf of telecoms firm Telkom Indonesia, as well as convenience store chain Alfamart and ATM services provider Cakrawala Teknologi Asia, DealStreetAsia reported today, citing regulatory filings. AC Ventures and Pavilion Capital have also invested, and the funding came after a $3m seed round in 2020 featuring MDI Ventures, Pavilion Capital and Wavemaker Partners, according to DealStreetAsia.
Intel Capital, the corporate venture capital arm of semiconductor and data technology producer Intel, led a $40m series B round yesterday for Teikametrics, a provider of optimisation tools for online merchants. Online business software provider GoDaddy, Centana Growth Partners, Jump Capital, Granite Point Capital and private investor Lydia Jett also contributed to the round, which followed $10m in series A funding from Granite Point, Jump Capital and FJ Labs in 2018 and $15m from Jump Capital, Granite Point and angel investors Jerry Hausman and Ed Baker in February 2020.
PAQ Therapeutics, a US-headquartered developer of autophagy-based medicines, closed a $30m series A round yesterday that included pharmaceutical firm Merck & Co’s MRL Ventures Fund. The round was led by Sherpa Healthcare Partners and also featured Huagai Capital, MSA Capital, Nest.Bio Ventures and Matrix Partners China. The last two were identified as existing investors, though the company has not revealed details of earlier funding.
Axelar, the US-based creator of a decentralised interoperability network for the blockchain, received $25m yesterday in a series A round featuring financial services firm Siam Commercial Bank’s SCB 10X unit and decentralised software provider Hypersphere. Cryptocurrency-focused investment firm Polychain Capital led the round, which included Dragonfly Capital, Galaxy Digital, North Island Ventures, Robot Ventures, Collab+Currency, Cygni Capital, Lemniscap, Divergence Ventures, Zola Global Investors, Nima Capital, GoldenCoin and assorted angel investors. Axelar had raised $3.8m in November 2020 from Binance X, a subsidiary of crypto exchange operator Binance, as well as DCVC/Data Collective, Lemniscap, Divergence Ventures and angel investors Waikit Lau and Naval Ravikant.
Square Yards, an India-based real estate technology developer backed by media group Bennett Coleman & Co (BCC) and conglomerate Reliance Industries, has secured $25m from investment manager ADM Capital, YourStory reported today. BCC joined Genkai Capital Management, unnamed existing backers and various private investors to provide $20m for Square Yards in 2019, taking its total debt and equity financing to $75m. Reliance had invested $12m in the company in 2016.
Financial services group Credit Suisse’s Asset Management division led a $20m series A round for US-based data extraction software provider Daloopa yesterday through its Next Investors unit. It was joined by existing investors Nexus Venture Partners, Uncorrelated Ventures and Hack VC, and Daloopa said its overall funding now stands at $24m.
The World Bank’s International Finance Corporation arm invested $16.5m in MedGenome, an India-based diagnostics test producer backed by financial services group HDFC Bank, yesterday. HDFC, insurance provider HDFC Life and HDFC Asset Management joined Sofina, Sequoia Capital, Zodius Capital, Kris Gopalakrishnan and Lakshmi Narayanan in MedGenome’s $40m series C round, which closed in 2018, taking its total funding to $64m. LeapFrog Investments, Sofina and Sequoia added $55m in an April 2020 series D round.
China-based cloud data software provider eCloudTech closed a RMB100m ($15.5m) series B round yesterday led by SIG Asia, a vehicle for quantitative trading firm Susquehanna International Group. Computing technology producer Lenovo’s Capital and Incubator Group also took part, as did Zhongnan Investment and Nanjing High-tech Venture Capital. The company had already received “millions of dollars” in an August 2020 series A-plus round led by Lenovo Capital and Incubator Group that included Gaorong Capital, following funding from ShenZhen Co-Stone Asset Management and Orient Fortune Capital the previous year.
US-based natural materials developer Natural Fiber Welding (NFW) has completed a $15m funding round that included BMW i Ventures, the strategic investment arm of automotive manufacturer BMW. Community Development Venture Capital Alliance led the round, which also featured Prairie Crest Capital, Ethos, For Good Ventures and Evolution VC Partners. Fashion brand Ralph Lauren led a $13m round for NFW in August 2020, investing with Prairie Crest and Central Illinois Angels to take its total funding to $25m. Footwear provider Allbirds added $2m in February this year.
Providence Ventures, the investment arm of healthcare provider Providence St. Joseph Health, co-led a $15m series A round for US-based healthcare data software developer Kno2 on Wednesday. The round was co-led by private equity firm Health Enterprise Partners and it came in the wake of $2m in equity funding in 2013 and $1.8m in debt financing the following year, according to regulatory filings.
Stemson Therapeutics, the US-based developer of a therapeutic hair loss treatment, secured $15m yesterday in a series A round that included pharmaceutical firm AbbVie’s corporate venturing unit, AbbVie Ventures. The round was led by DCVC Bio and also featured Genoa Ventures, and it was preceded by a $7.5m seed round in September 2020 that was co-led by AbbVie subsidiary Allergan Aesthetics and Fortunis Capital.
US-headquartered plant-based food brand Wicked Kitchen closed a $14m series A round yesterday co-led by packaged food producer NRF Nove Foods. VC fund Unovis Asset Management co-led the round, which will support the company’s growth in its home country following early commercial success in the UK.
Ivix, the US-based developer of a software platform designed to track capital across the shadow economy, completed a $13m seed round yesterday featuring financial services group Citi’s strategic investment arm, Citi Ventures. Team8 led the round, which was also backed by Cardumen Capital and private investors including Vikram Pandit and Tom Glocer. The cash will be channelled into boosting the startup’s sales and marketing capabilities.
ThreatWarrior, a US-based developer of cyber threat intelligence software, received $10m on Wednesday in a series A round that included cybersecurity software provider CrowdStrike’s Falcon Fund. VC fund Ecliptic Capital led the round, which was also backed by Alumni Ventures Group and which came after the company closed $2.25m in equity funding in April this year, according to a securities filing.
SmartBank, a Japan-based developer of joint banking products, revealed yesterday it raised ¥1bn ($9m) in 2020 from investors including AG Capital, GMO Venture Partners, Heart Driven Fund, Mizuho Capital and SMBC Venture Capital, on behalf of consumer finance provider Aiful, internet company GMO, mobile game publisher Akatsuki and financial services firms Mizuho Bank and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation respectively. They were joined by SV-Fintech Fund, a joint vehicle for marketing technology producer Voyage Group and VC firm SV Frontier, as well as Anri, Beenext and Global Brain.
Workday Ventures, the corporate VC arm of enterprise software producer Workday, supplied an undisclosed amount of series E funding for US-based revenue tracking software provider Clari yesterday. Silver Lake Partners, Northgate Capital, B Capital Group, Sequoia Capital, Bain Capital Ventures, Sapphire Ventures, Madrona Ventures, Thomvest and Tenaya Capital had provided $150m for the round’s first tranche in March this year, increasing its overall funding to $285m and its valuation to $1.6bn.
Egypt-headquartered social commerce platform developer Taager has received $6.4m in seed financing from investors including Raed Ventures, the VC arm of conglomerate Almajdouie Holding, TechCrunch reported on Wednesday. 4DX Ventures led the round, which included Beco Capital, Breyer Capital and angel investors including Magnus Olsson. The startup’s overall funding stands at over $7m, according to TechCrunch.
American Express Ventures, the corporate venturing vehicle for payment services firm American Express, invested an undisclosed amount in BodesWell, the US-based creator of a financial planning app focused on individuals, in late 2020, in connection with a strategic partnership agreement, TechCrunch reported yesterday. The company has not revealed details of past funding but its other investors include MassChallenge and Argon Ventures.
Life science-focused real estate investment trust Alexandria Real Estate Equities led a $5m funding round for US-based neurological disorder drug developer Axonis Therapeutics yesterday through its Alexandria Venture Investments vehicle. The round included R3 Bio, BoxOne Ventures and Civilization Ventures and it came after a $4m seed round closed in January 2020. Jeff Stevens, vice-president of science and technology for Alexandria Venture Investments, is joining the company’s board of directors.
Philippines-based maternal e-commerce platform developer Edamama has received $5m in pre-series A funding from investors including Robinsons Retail, a retail subsidiary of conglomerate JG Summit, as well as telecoms firm Globe Telecom’s Kickstart Ventures unit, e27 reported on Wednesday. Family office Gentree Fund and VC firm Foxmont Capital Partners also participated in the round, as did undisclosed angel investors.
Industrial technology provider Siemens’ Next47 unit provided an undisclosed amount of series A funding for US-based building automation technology developer 75F yesterday in a deal the company said increased its total funding to $28m. The round stood at $22.8m as of March this year and included oil and gas supplier Copec’s Wind Ventures vehicle, Breakthrough Energy Ventures, Climate Initiative, Building Ventures, Revolution’s Rise of the Rest Seed Fund and Clean Energy Trust. 75F had joined financial services firm Wells Fargo’s Innovation Incubator in 2018.
Fundeen, the Spain-based operator of an online investment platform for renewable energy projects, closed a €1.2m ($1.4m) financing round featuring renewable power producer Grupo Enhol. The corporate joined the government’s Instituto para la Diversificación y el Ahorro de Energí in the round, which came after the company secured $140,000 from two angel investors in 2018.
Ape Board, the Singapore-based creator of a decentralised digital asset aggregation and management platform, has raised an undisclosed amount from financial services firm Siam Commercial Bank’s SCB 10X subsidiary, Fintech Singapore reported yesterday. The platform has reportedly accumulated some 350,000 users since its launch in March this year.
CrediLinq.Ai, the Singapore-based developer of an online business finance platform, has received S$1.35m ($1m) from investors including enterprise software provider Aerion Technologies, Finextra reported yesterday. The angel round also featured Brandon Tee of B7 Capital and Sandeep Uberoi of fellow VC firm Jungle Ventures.
M&A
Automotive manufacturer Toyota’s Woven Planet Holdings subsidiary agreed on Wednesday to acquire spatial intelligence software provider Carmera for an undisclosed amount, enabling internet and technology group Alphabet to exit. GV led Carmera’s $20m series B round in 2018, investing alongside existing backer Matrix Partners to bring its overall funding to over $26m. Its other investors include Resolute Ventures, Notation Capital, Hone Capital and individuals including Joe Montana, Bre Pettis and Semil Shah.
Medical billing software provider Patientco agreed yesterday to an acquisition by healthcare software producer Waystar yesterday that will provide an exit for Blue Venture Fund, the investment vehicle for 33 Blue Cross Blue Shield health insurers. Accel-KKR led the company’s $28m series B round in 2018, investing alongside Blue Venture Fund (then BlueCross BlueShield Venture Partners) and fellow existing investor Sandbox Partners, following at least $3.8m of earlier funding. Patientco added $2.9m from unnamed investors in January this year according to a regulatory filing.
Mobile network operator Vodafone and conglomerate Almajdouie Holding have exited United Arab Emirates-headquartered event management software provider Eventtus in a purchase of undisclosed size by conference software producer Bevy, Menabytes reported on Wednesday. Algebra Ventures, Hala Ventures and Daal invested an undisclosed amount in Eventtus in April 2020 following a total of $2.6m from Vodafone subsidiary Vodafone Ventures, Almajdouie’s Raed Ventures vehicle, Algebra Ventures, 500 Startups, Cairo Angels and Middle East Venture Partners.
Additional reporting by Liwen-Edison Fu.
