Funding
Artificial intelligence
Insurer Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings participated in a $120m series E round yesterday for Pyramid Analytics, the Netherlands-headquartered business intelligence software provider. HIG Growth Partners led the round, which counted contributions from Kingfisher Capital and General Oriental Investments. Pyramid Analytics had completed a $25m round in early 2020 led by Jerusalem Venture Partners and backed by Sequoia Capital, Viola Growth and Maor Investments. Viola Private Equity had provided $30m for the company in 2015, which came two years after Sequoia Capital’s $11.5m.
Energy
Future Energy Ventures and Shell Ventures, respective vehicles for energy utility Eon and oil and gas group Shell, were among the investors in a $16.5m round closed yesterday by Akselos, a Switzerland-based oil and gas infrastructure maintenance prediction software provider. AT Capital Group and Japan Energy Fund filled out the participants in the round, which came after a corporate-backed $10m round in 2018.
Fintech
Financial services firm Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group was among the investors in a $120m series C-plus round today for Opn, the Thailand-based digital payment software provider formerly known as Synqa. Japan Investment Corporation led the round, participating together with Mars Growth Capital, helping the company reach unicorn status, according to DealStreetAsia. Opn had closed an $80m series C round in mid-2020 co-led by financial services firm Siam Commercial Bank’s SCB 10X unit.
Legal & General Investment Management and Fidelity International Strategic Ventures, respective vehicles for financial services firms Legal & General Group and Fidelity, backed a $19m series A round today for UK-based financial technology group Tumelo that was led by VC firm Treasury.
Payment processor Stripe led a $3m pre-seed round yesterday for Manara, a US-based education technology startup that focuses on tech talent in the Middle East and North Africa region. Reid Hoffman, Paul Graham, Eric Ries and Mudassir Sheikha filled out the participants in the round, which came after the company was included in Y Combinator’s March 2021 batch.
Healthcare
Pharmaceuticals distributor McKesson Corporation took part in a round of undisclosed size yesterday for OncoHealth, a US-based cancer-focused digital healthcare technology developer formerly known as Oncology Analytics, investing alongside Arsenal Capital Partners, which will take a majority stake. The company’s $28m series C round, closed in mid-2020, included the corporate’s investment unit McKesson Ventures and Blue Venture Fund, the VC vehicle for a coalition of BlueCross BlueShield health insurers.
Media
SIG Asia Investment, an affiliate of quantitative trading firm Susquehanna International Group, has joined broadcaster Nippon TV, IT services firm Spotlight, publishers Kadokawa, Kodansha and Poplar to back Japan-based children’s picture book platform EhonNavi’s ¥1.1bn ($8.4m) round.
Webtoon subscription platform Kakao Piccoma joined Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Capital, Mizuho Capital and OLM Ventures, vehicles for insurer Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance, financial services firm Mizuho Bank and animation studio Oriental Light and Magic respectively, to back a ¥660m ($5m) round for Minto. The Japan-based mobile content platform was formed between a merger between cartoon character designer Quan and talent agency Wwwaap in October 2021, and has raised a total of $11.2m including this round.
Metaverse
Football media group OneFootball chipped into a €10m ($10.6m) series A round today for Freeverse.io, a Spain-based non-fungible token infrastructure developer. Earlybird and Target Global co-led the round, which was filled out by Adara Ventures, 4Founders Capital and angel investors Mario Götze, Avi Meir, Lucas von Cranach and Maex Ament. Adara Ventures and 4Founders Capital had co-led a $1m round in July 2021, followed by a $550,000 investment by two years before from undisclosed backers.
Quantum computing
Trading firm Toyota Tsusho Corporation and ME Innovation Fund, a joint vehicle for electronic equipment manufacturer Mitsubishi Electric and VC firm Global Brain, have backed a series B extension round of undisclosed size for Japan-based quantum computing algorithm developer QunaSys. The company had last raised funding in a $10m series B round closed in March this year featuring Fujitsu Ventures, part of IT and communications firm Fujitsu, in addition to computer producer HPC Systems, chemicals manufacturer Zeon Corporation and Shinsei Corporate Investment, a subsidiary of financial services firm Shinsei Bank.
Real estate
Real estate developer Sankei Building and Mitsubishi UFJ Capital, a vehicle for financial services firm Mitsubishi UFJ, took part in a round of undisclosed size in March this year for Japan-based urban engineering technology provider Scheme Verge, it said today. The company had last secured $2m in a pre-series A round in September 2021, taking its overall funding to $2.6m.
Funds
BRI Ventures, the corporate venturing arm of financial services firm Bank Rakyat Indonesia, has teamed up with Singaporean alternative asset manager Fundnel Group to form a growth-stage investment vehicle, Fundnel Secondaries Fund, that targets Indonesia-based companies, TechInAsia reported yesterday. The fund is expected to raise at least $50m.
Internet group Z Holdings Corp is among the returning investors that backed VC firm East Ventures’ Southeast Asia-focused $550m fund today. The company did not reveal the other limited partners but said it saw “a re-up rate of 120%” from existing backers.
Petrol group Polski Koncern Naftowy Orlen, or PKN Orlen for short, formed a €100m ($111m) corporate venture capital arm in March this year in partnership with VC firm Emerald Tech Ventures. Orlen VC is expected to invest in startups developing technologies in energy, circular economy and mobility over the next decade.
