Funding
Quit Genius, a US-based addiction treatment app developer backed by telecommunications firm Telefónica, secured $64m yesterday in a series B round co-led by Kinnevik and Atomico. The round included Octopus Ventures, Triple Point Ventures and Startup Health, all three of which had reportedly joined Village Global, Semper Virens, Serena Ventures and various individuals in the company’s $11m series A in March 2020. It had already raised $2.6m in seed funding from Telefónica unit Wayra, Village Global, Pioneer Fund, Arab Angel, Force Over Mass Capital, Y Combinator and assorted angel investors.
China-based oral care product manufacturer NYSCPS has raised RMB400m ($61.6m) in series B funding from investors including digital media group ByteDance, DealStreetAsia reported today. The round was led by Huaxing Growth Capital, a subsidiary of investment bank China Renaissance, and also featured Jinding Capital, CoStone Capital, ABC Group’s ABC Capital affiliate and Sinovation Ventures. NYSCPS had secured about $10m in a February 2021 series A-plus round led by Sinovation Ventures that included Crystal Stream Capital and Plum Ventures according to DealStreetAsia, which also named ByteDance as an existing investor.
Engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) firm Doosan Heavy Industries and Construction (DHIC) has agreed to invest in NuScale Power, a US-based developer of nuclear power technology, as part of a $60m funding round, it revealed today. NuScale had agreed a $20m investment from engineering firm IHI Corporation in May this year having secured $40m from EPC firm JGC Holdings the previous month. DHIC said this week it had joined unnamed financial investors to supply $44m for the company in 2019.
PriceHubble, a Switzerland-based provider of real estate data analytics software, closed a $34m series B round yesterday featuring TX Ventures, the investment arm of media company TX Group, as well as insurance firm Swiss Life and Helvetia Venture Fund, which invests on behalf of fellow insurer Helvetia. The round was led by Digital+ Partners and also backed by Latitude Ventures and angel investors including Martin Enderle. The company had received an undisclosed amount of series A funding from Helvetia Venture Fund and existing backers Swiss Life and Swisscom Ventures, part of telecoms firm Swisscom, in 2018.
Precision cancer treatment developer Guardant Health provided $26m in series C funding yesterday for Lunit, a South Korea-headquartered developer of artificial intelligence software for use in oncology research. Lunit had raised a total of $46m as of the round’s $25.7m first tranche, in January 2020, which included LG CNS and Kakao Ventures, on behalf of conglomerate LG and internet group Kakao, and Legend Capital, the venture capital firm formed by conglomerate Legend Holdings, as well as Intervest, Shinhan Investment Corp and NH Investment & Securities.
Non-banking lender Capital India has agreed a $25m debt and equity investment in India-based educational loan provider Credenc, Livemint reported yesterday. Omidyar Network India led the company’s $2.5m seed round in October 2019, investing alongside EMVC, Better Capital and IIMK Alumni Fund.
Germany-based temporary furnished housing provider Wunderflats raised $21m yesterday from investors including Axel Springer Digital Ventures, a corporate venturing subsidiary of media group Axel Springer. Growth equity firm Verdane led the round, which also featured PropTech1, Creathor and IBB Ventures, all three of which joined Axel Springer in a $9.1m round for the company in June 2019. It had secured $3.6m from Creathor Venture, IBB and Econa two years earlier.
Israel-based digital therapeutics developer Sweetch closed a $20m series A round yesterday that included medical technology and electronics producer Philips. VC firm Entrée Capital led the round, which was also backed by Tal Capital, Noaber, Kortex Ventures, FinTLV Ventures, OurCrowd and Qure Ventures. The company had previously received $3.5m from Philips, OurCrowd, Pontifax and Lionbird in 2016.
US-headquartered additive manufacturing technology developer Fabric8Labs completed a $19.3m series A round today led by Intel Capital, the corporate venturing vehicle for data and semiconductor technology producer Intel. The round included TDK Ventures, SE Ventures, Stanley Ventures and Imec.xpand – on behalf of electronics manufacturer TDK, automation technology producer Schneider Electric, toolmaker Stanley Black and Decker and nanotechnology hub Imec respectively. The round also featured Lam Capital and angel investor Mark Cuban, and it followed an undisclosed sum from Asimov Ventures in 2017 and $4m from unnamed investors the following year, according to a securities filing.
Go Philly Fund, a joint venture between enterprise software development service Epam Systems and state-backed investment vehicle Ben Franklin Technology Partners, led a $19.1m series B round for US-based data management software developer Audigent yesterday. Broadscale Group, Raised in Space, MathCapital and Riverpark Ventures also took part, as did undisclosed other investors. Raised In Space had led a $6.7m series A for Audiegnt in late 2019 that included record company Warner Music Group, Galaxy Digital, Broadscale Group, SVK Crypto and Gao Xiaosong, bringing its overall funding to $14.5m.
Mexico-based neobank Klar disclosed yesterday it has received an undisclosed amount of series B funding from investors including Mouro Capital, the VC firm backed by financial services firm Santander, and Prosus Ventures, on behalf of internet group Prosus which has been spun off by media and e-commerce group Naspers. The round was led by growth equity firm General Atlantic and backed by Quona Capital, International Finance Corporation (IFC) and WTI. It came after Prosus Ventures led a $15m series A round in October 2020 that also featured Mouro Capital, IFC, Quona Capital and Acrew Capital, taking Klar’s total funding to $22.5m.
US-headquartered data application technology provider Cube Dev raised $15.5m yesterday in a series A round led by Decibel, the VC firm formed by networking technology provider Cisco. The round also featured Bain Capital Ventures, the VC arm of private equity firm Bain Capital, as well as Betaworks and Eniac Ventures, all three having backed Cube Dev’s $6.2m seed round in September 2020 alongside Slack Fund, the strategic investment arm of messaging platform developer Slack, as well as Innovation Endeavors, Uncorrelated Venutres and Overtime.vc.
LeagueApps, the US-based developer of an organisation software platform for sporting leagues, completed a $15m series B round yesterday that included baseball league operator Major League Baseball. VC firm Contour Venture Partners led the round, which also featured Elysian Park Ventures, Hamilton Lane and various individuals. LeagueApps raised $4.9m from unnamed investors in 2015, adding $1.5m in 2017 and $1.8m the following year according to securities filings. Its early backers include LA Dodgers Sports and Entertainment Accelerator, which had invested by 2015, Red Sea Ventures, Social Starts, Scout Ventures and 645 Ventures.
Native Voice, the US-based operator of a digital system enabling customers to communicate with brands by voice, closed a $14m seed round yesterday featuring Ideaship, an investment vehicle for consumer electronics manufacturer Panasonic. It was joined by Gutbrain Ventures, PBJ Capital, Signal Peak Ventures, Revel Partners, Ideaship, TechNexus Venture Collaborative and undisclosed other investors.
ProciseDx, a US-based developer of in vitro diagnostics technology, has received $14m in convertible note financing from investors including diagnostic test producer Biosynex and Nestlé Heath Science, a subsidiary of food and nutritional product manufacturer Nestlé. They were joined by undisclosed new investors and members of the company’s management team. It had been spun off by Nestlé Health Science before raising $8.5m in equity funding and $2m in debt financing through a Biosynex-led series A round in July 2020.
Real estate services provider JLL co-led a $12.5m series A round yesterday for Jones, the US-based operator of a network of commercial real estate vendors, through corporate VC subsidiary JLL Spark. The round was co-led by VC firm Khosla Ventures and also featured real estate manager Rudin Management, property developer DivcoWest, real estate brokerage Sage Realty and Camber Creek. The company had raised a total of $8m as of a $4.6m round in late 2019, from investors including JLL Spark and workspace provider WeWork.
Rise Gardens, a US-based provider of smart hydroponic garden systems, secured $9m yesterday in a series A round led by telecoms firm Telus through corporate venturing subsidiary Telus Ventures. The round included e-commerce firm Amazon’s Alexa Fund, True Ventures and Listen Ventures, and it boosted the company’s overall funding to $13m. True Ventures joined individuals including Pat Vihtelic, Lee Rosenberg and Michael Alter to supply $2.6m in seed funding for Rise in May 2020 before Alexa Fund added an undisclosed amount five months later.
NanoSyrinx, a UK-based company developing a non-viral peptide and protein delivery system, received £6.2m ($8.5m) yesterday in a seed round led by M Ventures, the strategic investment arm of pharmaceutical firm Merck Group, and VC firm Octopus Ventures. The round also featured BioCity and UK Innovation & Science Seed Fund, both of which had taken part in a pre-seed round of undisclosed size for the startup that was led by M Ventures in September 2020.
M&A
Autonomous driving technology producer WeRide disclosed today it has acquired China-based autonomous trucking technology provider MoonX for an undisclosed sum, allowing conglomerate Legend Holdings to exit. The corporate’s Legend Star subsidiary had led a funding round for the company in 2018 sized at almost $7.2m. MoonX founder and CEO Qingxiong Yang is joining WeRide in a vice-president role.
Video technology producer Quantum Corporation agreed yesterday to purchase the video surveillance portfolio and assets of Pivot3, a developer of intelligent security and surveillance software, for $8.9m. The company had raised at least $210m in equity and debt financing as of 2016, from investors including consumer electronics manufacturer Samsung and law firm Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati. It has not confirmed whether it is shutting down.
Infrastructure protection software provider Opswat has bought the assets of Bayshore Networks, an internet-of-things security software developer backed by electronics producer Samsung and electrical engineering technology manufacturer Yokogawa, for an undisclosed amount, it revealed yesterday. Both corporates joined Benhamou Global Ventures, Trident Capital Cybersecurity and unnamed angel investors in an $11m series A round in 2017 that brought Bayshore’s overall funding to $15m, Samsung investing through its Samsung Next unit.
