Funding
Conglomerate Legend Holdings has led a funding round sized at almost RMB100m ($15.5m) for China-based optical chipmaker Turing Quantum through subsidiary Legend Star, China Money Network reported on Saturday. FountainBridge Capital and Shanghai Black Bamboo Seedlings Equity Investment Fund also contributed to the round.
Japan-based online cake vendor Cake.jp secured ¥770m ($7.1m) today from retailer Marui Group, in addition to Hakuhodo DY Ventures, Nissay Capital and Mitsubishi UFJ Capital – on behalf of marketing group Hakuhodo DY, insurer Nippon Life and financial services firm Mitsubishi UFJ Group respectively. It had raised a total of $6.5m as of July 2020 when it received $2.5m from insurance firm Nippon Life’s Nissay Capital subsidiary. The company (then known as Birthday Press) had secured $2.45m from digital marketing group Allied Architects Association and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation’s SMBC Venture Capital unit in 2016 following $300,000 from SMBC Venture Capital and digital advertising agency Adway in 2013.
Malaysia-based drone technology developer Aerodyne raised an undisclosed amount on Monday from metals, logistics and robotics group Kobashi Holdings, robotics technology provider Autonomous Control Systems Laboratory’s ACSL1 vehicle and investment firm Real Tech Holdings’ Real Tech Global Fund. The company had secured an undisclosed sum from Drone Fund in March 2019 and $30m in series B funding from Axiata Digital Innovation Fund – backed by telecommunications firm Axiata and Malaysia Venture Capital Management – as well as Intervest, Kejora Ventures, Gobi Partners, 500 Startups and VentureTech seven months later and an undisclosed amount from North Summit Capital, Arc Ventures and Leave a Nest to close the round in February 2020.
Japan-based human resources technology provider Leading Mark received ¥550m ($5.1m) today from internet company Digital Garage’s DG Ventures unit and funds managed by or affiliated with venture capital firm Femto Partners and Shinsei Corporate Investment, a subsidiary of financial services group Shinsei Bank. It had raised $1.6m from Johnan Shinkin Bank’s Shiraume Fund I, Innovation Engine and Legend Partners in September 2019 to take its total funding to nearly $4.3m, following $420,000 from unnamed angel investors three months earlier. Network services provider Link and Motivation and several banks backed its $1.45m series A round in 2015.
Printing services provider Dai Nippon Printing supplied an undisclosed amount of funding today for AdInte, a Japan-based developer of digitalisation technology for the retail space. AdInte last raised funding in May 2020 when cash handling technology producer Glory invested an undisclosed amount, and its earlier backers include corporates Susquehanna International Group, Vector, Vision, Isetan Mitsukoshi, Uni FamilyMart Holdings, Hakuhodo DY, Cross Marketing and Tokyo Dome.
Pan for You, a Japan-based developer of refrigeration technology for use by bakeries, completed a ¥260m ($2.4m) series A round today backed by telecoms firm KDDI’s Regional Initiatives Fund 1 and VC firm AG Capital, which jointly invested $740,000 in the round’s latest tranche. The company, also known as Yuabread, closed a first tranche featuring e-gifting service Giftee and Kyushu Open Innovation Fund, which is backed by VC firm GxPartners and financial services firm Fukuoka Financial Group’s FFG Venture Business Partners fund, in February this year before KDDI Regional Initiatives Fund 1 added funding in April.
Rail operator JR East invested an undisclosed amount in OpenStreet, the Japan-based operator of bicycle rental service Hello Cycling, today through a strategic partnership agreement. The company had previously raised undisclosed sums from Z Corporation, the holding group formed by telecoms firm SoftBank and internet company Yahoo Japan, in 2018, and conglomerate Sojitz Corporation’s corporate venturing fund in October 2020.
Japan-based construction technology developer Local Works raised ¥130m ($1.2m) today from gas utility Osaka Gas and Mizuho Capital, a subsidiary of financial services firm Mizuho Group. Local Works had previously received $330,000 from VC firm Coent Venture Partners in 2015 and $940,000 from insurance firm Nippon Life’s Nissay Capital unit and VC firm Nippon Venture Capital Company the following year. Both the 2016 investors returned for a $2m round featuring forestry services provider Sumitomo Forestry, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation’s SMBC Venture Capital vehicle and product distribution platform Aucfan in 2018.
Additional reporting by Liwen-Edison Fu.
