Funds
Financial services group Cathay Financial Holdings’ insurance subsidiary, Cathay Life Insurance, has agreed to provide $50m for two funds being raised by US-based healthcare investment firm Orbimed, according to regulatory filings. The commitment involves investments of $25m million each to OrbiMed Private Investments IX and OrbiMed Asia Partners V.
Insurance provider Taiwan Life Insurance has supplied $15m in capital for Bessemer Venture Partners XII Institutional Feeder and $5m to BVP Forge Institutional A, according to securities filings. Both vehicles are being managed by US-headquartered venture capital firm Bessemer Venture Partners.
M&A
Online auction platform eBay acquired UK-based non-fungible token (NFT) marketplace KnownOrigin for an undisclosed sum yesterday, allowing cryptocurrency technology provider Pluto Digital to exit. Pluto contributed to the startup’s $4.7m series A round in February this year alongside GBV, Sanctor Capital, Cultur3 Capital, D1 Ventures, MetaCartel Ventures DAO, LD Capital, Future Arts, Colborn and Yin Cao.
Telecommunications and internet group SoftBank’s Opportunity Fund exited Valence, the US-based operator of an online recruitment platform, through an acquisition of undisclosed size by Greenwood, the operator of a digital banking product aimed at Black and Latino customers. The corporate had joined GGV Capital, Upfront Ventures, Maveron and Silicon Valley Bank in a $5.25m round in August 2020 that boosted Valence’s total funding to approximately $7.8m.
Other Funding
| Company | Company description | Sector | Country | Round | Round size ($) | Deal date | Investors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Electric Hydrogen | Green hydrogen system developer | Energy and Natural Resources | US | B, Venture Debt | 198 | 22/06 | Amazon (Climate Pledge Fund), Cosan, Rio Tinto, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Equinor (Equinor Ventures), Honeywell; Fifth Wall Climate Tech (lead), S2G Ventures, Trinity Capital, Silicon Valley Bank, Capricorn Partners, Prelude Ventures |
| Zap Energy | Fusion power technology provider | Energy and Natural Resources | US | C | 160 | 22/06 | Shell (Shell Ventures), Chevron (Chevron Technology Ventures); Valor Equity Partners, Addition, Energy Impact Partners (EIP) |
| Alladapt | Food allergy therapeutics developer | Healthcare | US | N/A | 119 | 22/06 | Novartis; Enavate Sciences (lead), Gurnet Point Capital, Allerfund, Red Tree Venture Capital, WestRiver Group |
| Prime Trust | Financial infrastructure provider | Financial | US | B | 100+ | 22/06 | FIS, William Blair & Company; Mercato Partners, Kraken Ventures, Commerce Ventures, Decasonic, University Growth Fund, Gaingels, GateCap Ventures, Seven Peaks Ventures |
| Cashify | Online electronics retailer | Consumer | India | E | 90 | 23/06 | Prosus; NewQuest, Bessemer, Blume Ventures, Olympus Capital, Paramark Ventures |
| Ledger Investing | Insurance risk marketplace | Financial | US | B | 75 | 22/06 | MassMutual Ventures; West Cap (led), Teachers’ Venture Growth and Intact Ventures, SignalFire, Allegis Capital, Accel |
| Jackpot | Mobile lottery ticket platform | Consumer | US | A | 35 | 22/06 | Kraft Group, Haslam Sports Group; Accomplice (co-lead), Courtside Ventures (co-lead) |
| Courier | App notification software developer | Information Technology | US | B | 35 | 22/06 | Alphabet (GV) (lead), Twilio (Twilio Ventures), Slack (Slack Fund); Bessemer Venture Partners, Matrix Partners, Y Combinator |
| ESG Book | Sustainability data software provider | Financial | UK | B | 35 | 23/06 | Allianz (Allianz X); Energy Impact Partners (EIP) (lead), Meridiam |
| Sanas | Online translation platform developer | Information Technology | US | A | 32 | 22/06 | Alphabet (GV), Assurant (Assurant Ventures); Insight Partners (lead), Human Capital, General Catalyst, Quiet Capital, DN Capital |
| Super Studio | E-commerce software developer | Consumer | Japan | N/A | 29.6 | 22/06 | Mitsui Fudosan (31Ventures); All Star SaaS Fund (lead) |
| Gemelli | Precision diagnostics developer focusing on gastrointestinal diseases | Healthcare | US | A | 19 | 22/06 | Cedars-Sinai (lead); Carolina Angel Network, CerraCap Ventures |
| BotsAndUs | Warehouse robotics technology developer | Industrial | UK | Seed | 13 | 22/06 | Maersk (Maersk Growth); Lakestar (lead), Kindred Capital, Capnamic |
| Near Earth | Autonomous aircraft developer | Transport | US | N/A | 10 | 22/06 | Kaman Corporation |
| Moova | Delivery optimisation software provider | Services | Argentina | N/A | 10 | 14/06 | Insud Pharma, Telefónica (Wayra), Parser Digital, Tasa Logistica; Alaya Capital (lead), FJ Labs, Matterscale, Kalei Ventures, IThink, Reflect Ventures, Murchinson VC |
| Ax Robotix | Smart bed manufacturer | Consumer | Japan | A | 7.4 | 22/06 | CyberAgent (CyberAgent Capital), Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance (Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Venture Capital), Relic; Incubate Fund, Lifetime Ventures |
| SithSwap | Automated market maker | Financial | British Virgin Islands | Seed | 2.65 | 22/06 | GSR; Lemniscap (lead), Big Brain Holdings, DWeb3 Capital, Ghaf Capital Partners |
| Thepeer | Finance transfer software developer for enterprise customers | Financial | Nigeria | Seed | 2.1 | 22/06 | Chipper Cash, Stitch; Raba Partnership (lead), Ezra Olubi, Prosper Otemuyiwa, RaliCap, Timon Capital, Musha Ventures |
| Onebox | Enterprise communication tool developer | Information Technology | Japan | Seed | 1.5 | 22/06 | Anobaka; Coconala Skill Partners, Apricot Ventures |
| Perfora | Direct-to-consumer oral care brand | Healthcare | India | Seed | 0.9 | 22/06 | Shiprocket, Sara Group; Sauce.VC (lead), Lotus Herbals Family Office, Mohit Sadaani, Saurabh Pandey, Ashutosh Valani, Trisha Rajani |
| NEU Battery Materials | Lithium battery recycling service | Energy and Natural Resources | Singapore | Seed | 0.58 | 22/06 | Se-cure Waste Management, SMRT (Momentum Venture Capital); NUS Graduate Research Innovation Programme (GRIP) |
| Staple | Data management software provider | Information Technology | Singapore | Seed | N/A | 22/06 | Delivery Hero (Delivery Hero Ventures) |
| UVeye | Vehicle diagnostics system provider | Transport | US | N/A | N/A | 22/06 | General Motors (GM Ventures) (lead) |
| CTRL | Snack bar brand | Consumer | US | Seed | N/A | 22/06 | StreamworksGG, Human Media Group; Menashe Kestenbaum, Duncan Ironmonger, Diego Nunez |
| Showroom | Livestreaming platform developer | Media | Japan | N/A | N/A | 22/06 | Orient Corporation, Kum-Namu Entertainment, QTnet, Kyushu Asahi Broadcasting; Zenrin Future Partners |
| FourKites | Supply chain visibility software provider | Services | US | N/A | N/A | 21/06 | FedEx |