Funding
UK-based online automotive marketplace Motorway has secured £48m ($67.7m) in series B funding from investors including carmaker BMW’s investment arm, BMW i Ventures. Venture capital firm Index Ventures led the round, which also featured Unbound, Latitude and Marchmont Ventures. Motorway had raised $670,000 from angel investors in 2017, $3.7m in a 2018 seed round co-led by LocalGlobe and Marchmont Ventures and $14m in series A funding from the same two investors in June 2019.
Popmenu, a US-based provider of marketing and ordering software for restaurants, has received $65m in a series C round featuring Salesforce Ventures, the strategic investment arm of enterprise software producer Salesforce. The round was led by hedge fund manager Tiger Global Management and included Bedrock Capital, Base10 Partners and Felicis Ventures. The company had secured a total of $6m as of a $4.5m series A round led by Base10 and backed by Felicis Ventures in November 2019, adding $17m from Bedrock Capital, Base10, Felicis Ventures, Mantis Ventures and Chapter One Ventures in an October 2020 series B.
India-based online fish and meat retailer Licious has raised $65m in series F funding from media group Bertelsmann, Multiples Alternate Asset Management, Brunei Investment Agency, Vertex Ventures, 3one4 Capital and angel investors including Akshay Ghulati and Narshing Dass Makkar, Entrackr reported on Friday, citing a regulatory filing. The company had received a total of about $90m as of a $30m series E featuring Bertelsmann’s India Investments vehicle and conglomerate Sistema’s Asia Fund in late 2019.
Dating app developer Bumble has participated in a $21m series B round for Hello Alice, the US-based operator of an entrepreneurial assistance platform for women. QED Investors led the round, which included Backstage Capital, Green Book Ventures, Harbert Growth Partners, How Women Invest, Silicon Valley Bank and various private investors. Bumble, Silicon Valley Bank owner SVB Financial Group, Serena Ventures, Shatter Fund, Signia Venture Partners and assorted angel investors provided an undisclosed amount of series A funding for the company in late 2019 following $1.6m in seed capital from Signia Venture Partners, digital agency Zehner, Sherpa Capital, Shatter Fund and several individuals in 2018.
Susquehanna Growth Equity, a subsidiary of quantitative trading firm Susquehanna International Group, has provided an undisclosed amount for UK-headquartered betting and prediction exchange Smarkets. The company said it had previously raised a total of $5.4m, $2.3m of which came from T-Venture, a corporate VC subsidiary of telecoms firm Deutsche Telekom, and Passion Capital in 2013.
Australia-based hydrogen power technology developer Endua has been spun out of Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) with A$5m ($3.9m) in funding from petroleum supplier Ampol and Main Sequence Ventures. It is using electrolysis to make hydrogen-based power generators more accessible and less reliant on solar, hydro and wind power.
Japan-based sake brewer Wakaze has raised ¥330m ($3m) in series A funding from insurance firm Nippon Life’s Nissay Capital vehicle, equity crowdfunding platform Makuake and VC firms Makoto Capital and Jafco Group, The Bridge has reported. Nissay Capital, Spiral Ventures, Nakashimato and individuals including Yo Nagami, Taku Nagao and Takashi Mitachi had supplied $1.4m for the company in mid-2019 through a round the company now states was a pre-series A.
Kurofune Design Holdings, the Japan-based owner of international student dormitory provider U Share, secured ¥200m ($1.8m) today from building materials provider Sedia System, real estate developer Chuo-Nittochi and mail order group Japanet, the last of which invested through a corporate venturing unit formed with VC firm Pegasus Tech Ventures. The cash will support hiring, marketing and the expansion of the company’s property portfolio.
US-based botanical ingredient developer Cirona Labs has completed a $1.5m seed round co-led by food and beverage producer LiDestri Food & Drink, beverage development and production service provider BevSource and food ingredient manufacturer Sweetener Supply. The cash will support marketing and research and development activities.
Taiwan-headquartered Coinomo launched its cryptocurrency investment platform in beta today with an undisclosed amount from investors including gaming accessory producer Razer’s zVentures unit, Tech in Asia reported. Vertex Ventures led the round, which also featured blockchain advisory firm Spartan Group and Leo Cheng, an investor with decentralised autonomous organisation MetaCartel Ventures.
Spain-based expense management software startup Fuell has received €1m ($1.2m) from investors including Wayra, the open innovation arm of telecoms firm Telefónica, Nordic 9 has reported. K Fund, The Venture City, FJ Labs and angel investor David Carrero Fernandez-Baillo also took part in the round.
Publisher Shogakukan invested an undisclosed amount in Plott, a Japan-based animated video clip distributor, yesterday. The company had raised $3.7m from Oriental Light and Magic’s OLM Ventures unit, fellow animation studio Polygon Pictures, video game publisher Sega Sammy Holdings, marketing agency Hakuhodo DY’s Future Design Fund, Dream Incubator’s Dimension fund, Anri, Kensuu and Yōhē Sadoshima last month, following a total of $470,000 in seed and pre-series A funding disclosed in August 2019.
M&A
Air taxi developer Kitty Hawk is acquiring 3D Robotics, a US-headquartered drone technology provider backed by several corporates, for an undisclosed amount, Forbes reported on Friday. The company had disclosed a total of roughly $150m in funding as of a $53m series D round in 2017 led by Atlantic Bridge and backed by design software provider Autodesk’s Forge fund, True Ventures, Foundry Group and Mayfield. Its earlier investors included Qualcomm Ventures, SanDisk Ventures, Shea Ventures and OATV, on behalf of mobile chipmaker Qualcomm, flash storage technology producer SanDisk, homebuilder JF Shea and media company O’Reilly respectively.
Network intelligence technology provider SS8 Networks agreed on Friday to acquire the assets of Bivio Networks, a US-based networking technology provider that counted system integrator Itochu Techno-Solutions Corporation as an investor. The corporate took part in a $15.8m round in 2008 led by Silver Creek Ventures and also backed by Cross Technology Partners and existing investors InterWest Partners, Storm Ventures, Venrock and Goldman Sachs. Bivio had raised a total of $50m between 2002 and 2006 according to securities filings.
Mobility services provider DKV has bought Netherlands-based vehicle charging technology provider GreenFlux for an undisclosed amount, enabling energy utility Eneco and industrial technology and services provider ICT Group to exit. The company had secured $13m in series B funding from Eneco, ICT, Set Ventures and Brabantse Ontwikkelingsmaatschappij (BOM) in 2018, identifying ICT and BOM as existing investors.
Additional reporting by Liwen-Edison Fu and Thierry Heles.
