Funding
Agtech and foodtech
Agribusiness Cargill and software provider Microsoft’s M12 subsidiary participated in a $38m series B round for US-based sustainable farming system developer Regrow Ag yesterday. Tom Steyer and Katie Hall’s Galvanize Climate Solutions led the round, which included Time Ventures, Rethink Impact, Main Sequence Ventures, Ajax Strategies and Jeremy and Hannelore Grantham Foundation’s Neglected Climate Opportunities vehicle.
Food manufacturer House Foods Group’s Innovation Fund took part in a ¥400m ($3.1m) round for Japan-based customised curry vendor FoodCode today. Genesia Ventures led the round, which included Scrum Ventures, Delight Ventures and angel investor Allen Miner.
AI
Professional services firm ZS provided a multimillion-dollar amount for Quartic.ai, the US-based developer of an autonomous manufacturing technology platform, last week.
Internet technology provider Google’s Gradient Ventures unit participated in a $14m series A round for US-based e-commerce chatbot technology developer Zowie yesterday, taking its total funding to $20m. Tiger Global Management led the round, which also featured 10xFounders, Inovo and angel investor Jack Altman.
Crypto
FTX Ventures, a subsidiary of digital currency exchange FTX, led a $5m seed round yesterday for Doppel, the US-based creator of a non-fungible token (NFT) fraud detection service. Cryptocurrency brokerage Paxos and blockchain game publisher Dapper Labs also participated, as did OpenSea Ventures, Solana Ventures and Polygon Studios, respective vehicles for NFT marketplace OpenSea and blockchain technology providers Solana and Polygon. They were joined by SV Angel, South Park Commons, Script Capital, Spartan Group, Punk 6529, Quiet Capital, AlphaLab Capital and angel investors such as Balaji Srinivasan, Sabrina Hahn and Gokul Rajaram.
Cybersecurity
Xerox Ventures, the investment arm of printer and digital document technology producer Xerox, took part in a $5.45m seed round for US-based security infrastructure technology provider LimaCharlie yesterday. Susa Ventures led the round, also investing alongside CoFound Partners, Long Journey Ventures, Sands Capital, StoneMill Ventures and Lytical Ventures. The deal took the company’s overall funding to $6.35m and its valuation to $24m.
EV and lithium batteries
Automotive group Polestar provided an undisclosed amount of funding for Israel-based, electric vehicle-focused lithium-ion battery developer StoreDot yesterday.
Shipping and energy group Delta Corp Holdings has led a $10m series A round for Three Wheels United (TWU), an India-based online financing platform focused on electric vehicles, IndianWeb2 reported today. Techstars and Grip Invest filled out the round with unnamed investors based in the Middle East and Europe.
E-commerce
Alarko Ventures, the corporate venturing arm of conglomerate Alarko, co-led a $23m seed round for Turkey-based e-commerce investment group RubiBrands yesterday. It was co-led with Jam Fund, Atempo Growth, D4 Ventures, Esas Ventures and unnamed angel investors.
Fintech
Prosus Ventures, the investment vehicle for internet group Prosus formerly known as Naspers Ventures, has joined unnamed returning investors in an $80m round for Indonesia-based investment app developer Bibit, e27 reported today. The round was led by Singaporean sovereign wealth fund GIC.
Healthtech
Koch Disruptive Technologies, the corporate venturing subsidiary of chemicals and energy conglomerate Koch Industries, led a $25m series A round yesterday for NeuraLight, a US-based developer of neurological disorder detection technology. The round also featured Samsung Next, part of electronics manufacturer Samsung, as well as Breyer Capital, VSC Ventures and angel investors including Chris Mansi, David Golan and Lily Sarafan.
Law firm Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati has taken part in a $12m seed round for US-based heart disease prevention technology developer Miga Health, Crunchbase News reported yesterday. Quiet Capital led the round, which also featured Floating Point, Asymmetric Capital Partners, VamosVentures, Alumni Ventures, Adapt Ventures, Lux Capital and multiple angel investors.
Logistics and supply chain
Internet and telecommunications firm SoftBank’s Latin America Fund led a $150m series C round for Mexico-based digital freight forwarder Nowports yesterday at a $1.1bn valuation. Internet technology group Tencent and Mouro Capital, the VC firm sponsored by financial services firm Santander, also took part, as did Tiger Global, Foundation Capital, Monashees, Soma Capital, Broadhaven Ventures, Base10 Partners and private investors Daniel Voguel, Ricardo Amper, Alex Bouaziz and Roger Laughlin.
Prosus Ventures, the corporate venturing arm of internet holding group Prosus, has participated in a $65m round for Indonesia-based supply chain services provider Shipper, DealStreetAsia reported today, citing sources familiar with the matter. The fundraising effort is ongoing and the company intends to close the round at $100m, they said. Sequoia Capital India, DST Global, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Insignia Ventures and AC Ventures filled out the participants in the tranche.
Healthcare consortium Kaiser Permanente and project management software provider Atlassian took part in a $27m series C round for Tidelift, a US-based provider of supply chain management software, yesterday, the latter through its Atlassian Ventures unit. Dorilton Ventures led the round, which included General Catalyst and Foundry Group.
Robotics
E-commerce tool developer Zoho has invested Rs 200m ($2.6m) in India-based robotics technology developer Genrobotics, YourStory reported today.
Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Venture Capital, Mitsubishi UFJ Capital, Shizuoka Capital and KSP6, respective subsidiaries of insurer Mitsui Sumitomo, financial services firms Mitsubishi UFJ and Shizuoka Bank and science park operator KSP, participated in a ¥410m ($3.2m) round for Japan-based piping inspection robot developer Solaris today. Japan Science and Technology Agency filled out the investors in the round, which took the company’s total funding to ¥620m ($4.9m).
SaaS
Industrial product and appliance manufacturer Siemens’s Next47 unit led a $43m series A round yesterday for BuildOps, a US-based provider of commercial contractor management software. Other participants in the round included Founders Fund, StepStone Group, Fika Ventures, Global Founders Capital, MetaProp VC, 1984 Ventures, L2 Ventures and angel investors Metta World Peace and Stephen Stokols.
Sportstech
Professional sports team manager Madison Square Garden Sports Corp took part in a $6m seed round for Omorpho, a US-based provider of micro-weighted sportswear, at a valuation of $26m yesterday. KB Partners led the round, which was also backed by Greenchain Capital.
Human resources firm Atrae and office equipment manufacturer Kokuyo joined MTG Ventures, KDDI Open Innovation Fund and Resona Capital, on behalf of internet company MTG, telecoms firm KDDI and financial services provider Resona respectively, in a ¥700m ($5.5m) series C round for Japan-based athlete performance and injury management service Euphoria today. The round was filled out by Innovation Engine and Keio Innovation Initiative, a vehicle for Keio University.
M&A
Human resources software provider Personio paid an undisclosed amount yesterday to acquire Back Technologies, the Germany-based employee experience technology developer backed by Gradient Ventures, the artificial intelligence investment vehicle formed by internet technology provider Google. The corporate took part in Personio’s $3.3m seed round in mid-2020 alongside La Famiglia, Point Nine Capital, Seedcamp and various angel investors.
Climate technology provider Arcadia acquired Urjanet, the US-based utility data aggregator backed by credit score provider Equifax, for an undisclosed amount yesterday. Urjanet had raised over $40m as of a $14.7m series D round in mid-2020 featuring Equifax, Oak HC/FT, Grotech Ventures, Correlation Ventures and Pete Kight.
Public markets
Delhivery, the India-based delivery services provider backed by conglomerate Fosun, media group Bennett, Coleman & Co, logistics services provider FedEx and internet and telecoms group SoftBank, floated on the Bombay Stock Exchange and the National Stock Exchange yesterday in an initial public offering sized at approximately $539m.
Tokyo Stock Exchange gave approval for Nulab, a Japan-based online collaboration technology provider backed by financial services firm Shinsei Bank, to list its shares on the TSE Growth Market on June 28. The company’s market capitalisation is set to be approximately ¥13.7bn ($108m).
Funds
UK-based venture capital firm Crane Venture Partners has closed its second fund at $140m having been backed by anchor limited partners including insurer Massachusetts Mutual Life and British Patient Capital, a subsidiary of financial services firm British Business Bank, Tech.eu reported yesterday.
Visa Foundation, a philanthropic subsidiary of financial services provider Visa, supplied an undisclosed amount of funding for Singapore-based, women-focused private credit scheme Beacon Fund today.
People
David Chao, co-founder and general partner of venture capital firm DCM, has joined internet and telecommunications group SoftBank as an external board director, replacing Lip-Bu Tan, Bloomberg reported yesterday.
Singapore-based venture capital firm Arbor Ventures has hired Peter Sanborn, previously vice-president and head of corporate development at digital payment processor PayPal and managing partner for its PayPal Ventures unit. Sanborn is taking a general partner position at the firm.
Photo courtesy of Raphael Rychetsky on Unsplash
