Funding
VectorY, a Netherlands-based startup developing gene therapies for muscular and neurodegenerative disorders, closed a €31m ($37.5m) seed round today that included pharmaceutical firm Eli Lilly. The startup’s founding investor, life sciences venture capital firm Forbion, co-led the round with an undisclosed investment firm, and it also featured VC firm BioGeneration Ventures.
XYZ Reality, the UK-headquartered developer of an augmented reality (AR) helmet for use in construction, has completed a £20m ($28.1m) series A round featuring construction firm J Coffey and real estate developer Tishman Speyer, The Irish Times reported today. Octopus Ventures led the round, which included Adara Ventures, Amadeus Capital Partners, Hoxton Ventures, Activum SG and Optimas Capital. It came after Amadeus Capital Partners and Hoxton Ventures co-led a $6.4m seed round in March 2020 that also featured J Coffey and Adara Ventures.
Instadapp, an India-based smart wallet developer backed by cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase and design agency Ideo, has secured $10m from investors including VC firm Standard Crypto, mentorship and investment group DeFi Alliance, investment fund Longhash Ventures and angel investor Andre Cronje, the Economic Times reported on Sunday. It had raised $2.4m in a late 2019 seed round led by Pantera Capital and backed by Coinbase unit Coinbase Ventures, the Ideo-backed Ideo Colab, Robot Ventures, Naval Ravikant, Balaji Srinivasan and Loi Luu.
Convosight, the India-headquartered developer of a software platform that helps creative communities monetise their work, received $9m in series A funding on Monday from investors including Unilever Ventures, the corporate venturing vehicle for consumer goods producer Unilever, DealStreetAsia reported. VC firm Qualgro led the round, which was also backed by IvyCap Ventures, Sequoia Capital India’s Surge fund and angel investor Ajay Gupta. The company had secured $4m in pre-series A funding from IvyCap Ventures and Surge in April 2020.
MA Ventures, the VC arm of retail cooperative Migros Aare, has led a €6.4m ($7.7m) pre-series A round for Lykon, the Germany-based operator of a personalised nutritional advice service, through its MA Ventures fund, Tech.eu reported yesterday. Media company Ippen Media also participated in the round, the proceeds of which supported Lykon’s acquisition of personalised meal plan developer Gaia Nutrition.
Israel-based fraud detection software developer nSure.ai has raised $6.8m in seed capital from investors including Kamet, the venture builder subsidiary of insurance group Axa, and insurance firm Phoenix Insurance, Finextra reported yesterday. VC firm DisruptiveAI, VC fund Moneta Seeds and undisclosed angel investors also contributed to the round. The cash will fund work on the startups machine learning and artificial intelligence algorithms.
Investment firm Hayaat Global has led a $5.2m series A round for Pakistan-based online grocery retailer GrocerApp that included internet company Jabbar Internet Group, Millville Opportunities Fund New York, Wamda, Nama Ventures, Haitou Global, LeanBricks, Walled City Capital and unnamed angel investors, Wamda disclosed yesterday. The company had received $1m in seed financing from Jabbar, trading group Nader Group, IT services firm 7Vals, Nama Ventures, Karavan Ventures and Asif Keshodia in September 2020.
Trusco Nakayama, a wholesaler of outdoor worksite equipment, agreed today to provide an undisclosed amount of funding for Japan-based logistics technology developer Ground as part of a series C round expected to close at ¥500m ($4.5m). Ground had raised $15.8m in a 2019 round backed by consumer electronics manufacturer Sony’s Innovation Fund and leasing services provider JA Mitsui, before adding $1.8m from IT services firm Nihon Unisys in June 2020. It had been spun off by home builder Daiwa House in 2015 and raised $9m from the company two years later.
CraftBank, the Japan-based operator of a construction materials ordering platform, secured ¥350m ($3.2m) today from investors including Delight Ventures, the VC firm backed by internet company DeNA, as well as Mizuho Capital and Mitsubishi UFJ Capital, on behalf of financial services firms Mizuho Financial Group and Mitsubishi UFJ respectively. They were joined by VC firm DCM Ventures and private investors Hidetoshi Takano and Junichi Shiroshita. The funding came in the wake of an $8.8m series A round in February 2019 led by DCM, and the company – also known as Union Tec – also named Mizuho Capital as an existing backer.
Japan-based healthy eating support service Mealthy received an undisclosed amount of funding from chemicals, pharmaceutical and IT services group Teijin Pharma and investment bank FinTech Global today. Mealthy had previously raised nearly $1.1m through a crowdfunding campaign on Republic that closed in August 2019.
M&A
Content discovery platform developer Glance is purchasing India-based social commerce platform Shop101 for an undisclosed sum, allowing consumer goods manufacturer Unilever to exit. Unilever subsidiary Unilever Venture Holdings, Stellaris Venture Partners, Vy Capital and Kalaari Capital – all existing investors – had provided $3.9m in series C financing for the company in March 2020, bringing its overall funding to $20.3m.
Additional reporting by Liwen-Edison Fu.
