Funding
France-based on-demand car rental service provider Virtuo has raised €50m ($60m) in a series C round led by Axa Venture Partners, the investment arm of insurer Axa. The round also included Bpifrance’s Large Venture Fund, Alpha Intelligence Capital, H14, Balderton Capital, Iris Capital and Raise Ventures. Virtuo previously raised $22.6m in series B financing from Iris Capital, Balderton Capital and Raise in February 2019. Balderton Capital had already supplied $8.9m in funding in September 2017.
Super, a US-based home repair subscription services provider, closed a $50m series C round yesterday led by financial services firm Wells Fargo through its investment arm Wells Fargo Strategic Capital. The round also included chemicals company Asahi Kasei, insurance providers AAA – Auto Club Group, Liberty Mutual’s corporate venturing arm Liberty Mutual Strategic Ventures and Munich Re’s HSB Fund operated by Munich Re Ventures. The round also included Reach, a programme run by the National Association of Realtor’s investment fund Second Century Ventures, Gaingels and Aquiline Technology Growth. Super previously raised $20m in series B financing featuring Munich Re Ventures, Liberty Mutual Strategic Ventures, Qatar Investment Authority, Moderne Ventures, 8VC and Solon Mack Capital. The series B round was led by Aquiline and took place in April 2019.
Israel-based application configuration software developer Salto collected $42m in series B financing yesterday backed by Salesforce Ventures, the corporate venturing arm of enterprise software producer Salesforce. The round was led by Accel and also featured Bessemer Venture Partners and Lightspeed Venture Partners. Salto has now raised $69m in funding altogether, having previously secured $27m in a series A round co-led by Salesforce Ventures, Bessemer and Lightspeed in October 2020.
Cynerio, a US-based provider of healthcare internet of things cybersecurity and asset management services, secured $30m in series B funding backed by RDC, the commercialisation arm of defence company Rafael Advanced Defense Systems in partnership with technology group Elron Electronic Industries. The round was led by Alive Israel HealthTech Fund and also included Accelmed, MTIP and CBG London. The round is expected to attract additional investors. Cynerio procured $7m in funding from RDC, Accelmed and MTIP in 2019.
Twine Solutions, an Israel-based on-demand textile dyeing technology developer backed by computing technology producer HP, has raised $28m in a round co-led by Menora, Meitav Dash and Analyst, with participation from Era Capital, Landa Ventures, Gefen Capital and unnamed others. Twine previously secured $22m in a December 2018 round backed by HP’s corporate venturing arm HP Tech Ventures, Landa Ventures, Gefen Capital and Coats Group. That round was co-led by New Era Capital Partners and Maverick Ventures Israel.
US-based nuclear fusion reactor developer Zap Energy has pocketed $27.5m in series B funding led by Addition, with contributions from oil and gas company Chevron’s corporate venturing unit Chevron Technology Ventures, Energy Impact Partners, GA Capital, Fourth Realm and LowerCarbon Capital. Zap Energy closed a $6.5m series A round nine months ago, it revealed, after an earlier report in August 2020 suggested Chevron Technology Ventures had supplied an undisclosed sum. Further details about the series A round were not revealed. Zap Energy advances work conducted at University of Washington and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.
ThinkCyte, a Japan-based cellular treatment developer, raised ¥2.85bn ($26m) in a series B round yesterday led by asset manager Sparx’s Mirai Creation Fund 2. Trading group Itochu’s corporate venturing arm Itochu Technology Ventures, healthcare provider Sysmex Corporation and financial services firms SBI Group and Sumitomo Mitsui Trust’s Japan Co-Invest vehicle took part in the round, which lifted the company’s total funding to nearly $45m. ThinkCyte had secured $18.5m in total as of a series A tranche of undisclosed size in May 2020 led by Mirai Creation Fund, which helped the company close the round at $15.4m. The second close included SBI, Itochu Technology Ventures, Real Tech Fund and leasing services provider Fuyo General Leasing, as well as Osaka University Venture Capital (OUVC). OUVC and Real Tech Fund were identified as returning backers.
China-based autonomous driving system developer MaxiEye has closed a RMB150m ($23m) series A-plus round led by Fosun Capital, the investment arm of conglomerate Fosun, with participation from Tsinghua Research Capital, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Tsinghua University, as well as Sharewin Investment, ZJ Innopark and unnamed others, according to China Money Network. Automotive parts manufacturer Ruili Group supplied an undisclosed amount of funding in March 2020. In June 2017, MaxiEye had already collected tens of millions of Chinese yuan in a pre-series A round co-led by One Capital and Milestone, with participation from Junzilan Capital.
Investment bank Goldman Sachs has put $20m of series C funding into ComplyAdvantage, a US-based developer of technology to detect financial crime, bringing the round to $70m. Goldman Sachs invested through its Growth Equity team in Goldman Sachs Asset Management. ComplyAdvantage had received an initial $50m in series C capital in July 2020 led by Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan Board, with commitments from Index Ventures and Balderton Capital. Index Ventures led a $30m series B round in January 2019, when Balderton also invested. The latter had led an $8.2m series A round in October 2016.
FreightWaves, a US-based operator of a data and news platform for freight markets, has received $16m in funding from investors including Hearst Ventures and Prologis Ventures, respective units for media group Hearst and property developer Prologis. The round was led by Triangle Peak Partners and also featured 8VC, Rise of the Rest Fund, Fontinalis, Kayne Partners and private investor Erik Levy. FreightWaves previously secured $37m in July 2020.
US-based consulting firm ANSR has received $15m in series B funding from Sistema Asia Fund, a vehicle for conglomerate Sistema, and Evolvence India Fund, according to DealStreetAsia. ANSR previously secured an undisclosed amount of series A funding from Accel in 2015 and the venture firm remain the largest shareholder.
US-based cloud storage services provider LucidLink has completed a $12m series A round backed by design software producer Adobe. The round was led by Headline and also included Baseline Ventures and Bright Cap Ventures. The money will allow LucidLink to drive business growth and enhance customer experience. The company has now raised $20m altogether and previously closed a $6m seed round in June 2018, according to VentureBeat, which did not offer further details.
US-based remote collaboration platform Avatour has raised $2.9m in seed funding from investors including NTT Docomo Ventures, the corporate venture capital division of telecoms firm NTT Docomo. The round was led by Ulu Ventures and also featured Merus Capital, Plug & Play Ventures and 500 Startups.
Japan-based construction industry’s matching platform Tsuklink has raised ¥300m ($2.8m) from DG Daiwa Ventures, a joint venture between internet company Digital Garage and brokerage Daiwa; CAC Capital, the corporate venturing unit of IT services firm CAC Holdings; Seibu Shinkin Capital, a subsidiary of financial services firm Seibu Shinkin; and Dogan Beta, investment and consulting services group Dogan’s venture capital arm. The company, then known as Hands Share, had received $758,000 from VC firm Accord Ventures in 2017.
Japan-based covid-19 PCR and antigen self-test kit provider ICheck has received ¥130m ($1.2m) from apparel group TSI Holdings and textile raw material producer Yagi & Co through a strategic partnership.
US-based data-driven private credit marketplace Finitive has secured an undisclosed amount from financial services group Sterling Bancorp. Atomic Labs led a $6m seed round in April 2019, when Ninepoint Partners also invested.
Aerospace company Safran has co-led a series A round of undisclosed size for SkyFive, a Germany-based broadband connectivity services provider targeting airlines. The round was co-led by private equity fund Star Capital. Safran invested through its corporate venturing arm, Safran Corporate Ventures, marking its first investment in Germany.
– Additional reporting by Liwen-Edison Fu
