Funding
Canada-headquartered enterprise email software provider Sedna has raised $34m in series B funding from investors including SAP.io, the corporate venture capital arm of enterprise software producer SAP, TechCrunch reported today. Growth equity firm Insight Partners led the round, which also featured Stride.VC and Chalfen Ventures, the two having co-led Sedna’s $10m series A round in December 2020, participating alongside SAP.io and angel investors Stéphane Kurgan, Kurt Björklund, Stephen Harper, Ulf Zetterberg and Charlie Songhurst.
US-based advanced coffee machine developer Spinn received $20m from investors including e-commerce firm Amazon’s Alexa Fund yesterday. VC firm Spark Capital led the round, which was also backed by Bar 9 Ventures and unnamed existing investors. Spinn’s chief executive, Roderick de Rode, told TechCrunch the deal followed series A and B rounds, and that the company has now raised $37m since it was founded in 2014.
US-headquartered hydro power turbine developer Natel Energy has secured $20m from investors including Chevron’s corporate venturing unit, Chevron Technology Ventures. The round was led by investment fund Breakthrough Energy Ventures, which also took part in an $11m series A round for Natel in March 2020 led by SE Ventures, the investment vehicle for power and automation technology producer Schneider Electric then known as Schneider Electric Ventures, bringing its overall funding to approximately $46m.
Axa Investment Managers, a subsidiary of insurance group Axa, has led a $6.2m financing round for Eyenuk, the US-based developer of an intelligent eye screening system, through its AXA IM Alts vehicle. The round also featured unnamed existing investors and followed $1.5m from undisclosed investors in 2016, $1.4m the following year and $3m in 2018, according to regulatory filings.
South Africa-based digital insurance provider Pineapple has received R80m ($5.4m) in series A funding from investors including reinsurance firm Hannover Re Africa’s Lireas Holdings vehicle, investment and financial services group Old Mutual’s Enterprise and Supplier Development Fund, Asisa ESD Fund, E4E and Vunani Capital, Disrupt Africa reported yesterday. Lireas Holdings had paid $400,000 for a 25% stake in the company in 2017 before it secured $1.5m through Connecticut Innovations’ VentureClash Global Challenge contest in October 2019.
Financial services firm Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group’s MUFG Innovation Partners subsidiary invested an undisclosed amount in US-headquartered digital transformation technology developer Ripcord yesterday. Automotive retail software producer CDK Global, internet and technology conglomerate Alphabet’s GV unit and internet group Baidu were among the investors in Ripcord’s last round, a $45m series B2 in February 2020 that hiked its overall funding to nearly $120m. Its earlier backers include Telstra Ventures and Legend Star, subsidiaries of telecommunications firm Telstra and conglomerate Legend Holdings respectively.
Education services provider Globis led a ¥350m ($3.2m) series A round for Dinii, the Japan-based developer of a mobile point-of-sale platform for takeaways, through its Globis Capital Partners unit last month, Dinii revealed today. The round also featured VC firms Coral Capital and Anri in addition to unnamed angel investors, and Dinii said its overall funding now stands at approximately $4.4m.
Logistics service provider Yamato Holdings’ Kuroneko Innovation Fund provided an undisclosed amount of funding for Malaysia-headquartered last-mile delivery service iStore iSend yesterday. The cash will be added to the $5.5m the company raised in the January 2021 first tranche of its series B round. That close was co-led by logistics service provider EasyParcel and VC firm Gobi Partners.
Germany-headquartered motorcycle tour operator, training provider and shipping service Motourismo has received more than €1m ($1.2m) in seed capital from investors including motorcycle apparel producer Rev’It and motorcycle-focused online community ADVrider, Tech.eu reported yesterday. IFB Innovationsstarter and Danube Angels also participated in the round together with unnamed individuals.
Bonds Investment Group, a corporate venturing subsidiary of marketing group Opt, led a ¥100m ($910,000) pre-series A round today for LiLi, the Japan-based operator of an education offering focused on women. The corporate was joined by an undisclosed additional investor and the capital will go to marketing, increasing headcount and expanding the company’s services.
Pow, the Japan-based developer of social calendar app Skele, raised ¥51m ($460,000) today from investors including mobile game producer KLab’s Anobaka subsidiary. The corporate was joined by VC firm East Ventures and angel investors including Naofumi Tsuchiya and Yasuyoshi Yanagisawa.
M&A
Digital education provider Byju’s has acquired Toppr, an India-based learning app developer backed by media group Bennett Coleman & Co (BCC), for about $150m in cash and stock, Entrackr has reported. Toppr had raised approximately $105m in debt and equity financing as of its $46m series D round in July 2020, from investors including BCC subsidiary Brand Capital, investment and financial services group Fidelity’s Eight Roads Ventures unit, Foundation Holdings, Kaizen Private Equity, Helion Ventures, SAIF Partners, Alteria Capital, InnoVen Capital, Wenlyn Global Group and WGG International.
Additional reporting by Liwen-Edison Fu.
