Funding
Online business services provider GoDaddy led a $50m series C round for US-headquartered branding agency Tailor Brands, NoCamels reported yesterday. OurCrowd, Pitango Growth, Mangrove Capital Partners, Armat Group, Disruptive VC and private investor Richard Rosenblatt also took part in the round. The company raised $1.1m from Disruptive VC and unnamed angel investors in a 2015 seed round and $4m in series A funding from Disruptive and Mangrove Capital Partners the following year, before both returned for a $15.5m series B in 2018 led by Pitango Growth and also backed by Armat Group.
Beverage retail chain Heytea has led a RMB100 ($15.5m) series A round for China-based specialty coffee chain Seesaw Coffee, ChinaVenture reported yesterday. Private equity firm Hony Capital also participated, having invested $6.6m in the company in 2017.
US-based livestreamed fitness class provider Obé Fitness has secured $15m in a series A round featuring Bertelsmann Digital Media Investments (BDMI) and Samsung Next, on behalf of media group Bertelsmann and electronics producer Samsung, as well as fitness apparel brand Athleta, weight loss service WW International, sports and entertainment group Harris Blitzer Sports Entertainment and media and entertainment platform Wheelhouse Entertainment, TechCrunch reported yesterday. Cavu Venture Partners led the round, which included Cassius Ventures, Ludlow Ventures and angel investor Tiffany Haddish. The report named BDMI, Harris Blitzer Sports Entertainment, Cassius Ventures and Ludlow Ventures as existing backers.
Cannabis product distributor Turning Point Brand supplied $8m in funding yesterday for Old Pal Holding Company, a US-based company that provides cannabis through a non-plant touching licensing model. Old Pal had previously received an undisclosed amount of funding from another commercial cannabis producer, MedMen Enterprises, in 2018.
Consumer electronics manufacturer Samsung’s construction services group, Samsung C&T Corporation, invested an undisclosed amount in US-based small nuclear reactor developer NuScale Power yesterday. The company agreed an undisclosed sum from engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) firm Doosan Heavy Industries and Construction earlier this week for a $60m round, having raised $40m from EPC firm JGC Holdings in April this year and $20m from engineering firm IHI a few weeks later.
Timers, the Japan-based provider of a mothers’ professional and financial education service and a family album app dubbed Famm, has secured an undisclosed amount from recruitment group MyNavi, publisher Asahi Media, mobile network operator NTT Docomo and broadcaster Nagoya TV, the last three through Asahi Media Lab Ventures, NTT Docomo Ventures and Nagoya TV Ventures respectively. It followed $970,000 in 2013 from NTT Docomo Ventures and Itochu Technology Ventures – part of trading group Itochu – East Ventures and Incubate Fund, and $4m in 2017 from Globis Capital Partners, SMBC Venture Capital and DBJ Capital, on behalf of education services group Globis, financial services firm Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation and Development Bank of Japan respectively.
Japan-based digital teaching materials provider Libry received an undisclosed amount on Wednesday from printing services firm Toppan and Globis Capital Partners, a subsidiary of educational services provider Globis. The company (then known as ForEst) had raised an undisclosed sum from Globis Capital Partners in 2018 and $2.8m from Globis Capital Partners and Mirai Creation Fund in August 2019.
1ne Studio, the Japan-based developer of a creative portfolio management system, has rebranded to Foriio having raised an undisclosed amount from human resources software provider Kaonavi, East Ventures and the Akita City-backed Future Support Fund. Internet company Yahoo Japan’s YJ Capital unit had joined East Ventures, Good Smile Partners and unnamed angel investors to provide $460,000 for the company in June 2019.
Japan-based digital transformation services provider I3Design has secured ¥200m ($1.8m) in series A funding from investors including DG Daiwa Ventures, a joint venture between internet company Digital Garage and brokerage Daiwa. The round also featured Mizuho Capital, the VC arm of financial services firm Mizuho Bank.
Digital payment technology provider Xendit has provided an undisclosed amount for Dragonpay, the Philippines-based developer of an alternative payment system to credit cards, Tech in Asia reported today. The company had already secured an undisclosed sum from internet company GMO’s Global Payment Fund in 2014.
Quantitative trading firm Susquehanna International Group’s SIG Japan Fund led a ¥180m ($1.6m) pre-series A round for Japan-based wholesale purchasing marketplace Orosy on Wednesday. Digital media group Gree’s Strive unit, mobile game producer KLab’s Anobaka subsidiary and G-Startup, a vehicle for education services provider Globis, also took part in the round, as did Coral Capital, Plug and Play Japan and Light Street Capital partner Gaurav Gupta. It has now raised about $3.1m in total, $920,000 coming from Anobaka (then KLab Venture Partners), Coral Capital and Plug and Play Japan in February 2020.
Creative digital studio Sun Asterisk has invested an undisclosed amount in Liver Bank, a talent management subsidiary of marketing group Vector, in return for a minority stake. The cash was supplied through a business and capital partnership that will involve the companies collaborating on a fan community system.
Japan-based online counselling startup Soraharu raised an undisclosed amount of pre-seed funding from investors including accounting firm Seven Rich on Wednesday. VC fund SK Impact Fund Japan and unnamed angel investors also contributed to the round.
M&A
Artificial intelligence technology provider Veritone agreed yesterday to purchase PandoLogic, the US-based developer of a conversational recruitment software platform, for $150m in cash and stock, allowing diversified financial services group Orix to exit. Formerly known as RealMatch, PandoLogic had raised $4.7m from Viola Ventures (then Carmel Ventures) and existing investor Baytech Venture Capital in 2010 before the former returned for an $8m series C in 2015 led by Edison Partners and also backed by Orix vehicle Orix Ventures.
Additional reporting by Liwen-Edison Fu.
