Funding
Cayman Islands-registered cell therapy developer Hopstem closed almost $40m in series B funding yesterday from investors including Lilly Asia Ventures, a corporate venturing vehicle for pharmaceutical firm Eli Lilly. The round was led by an undisclosed venture capital firm and also featured YuanBio Venture Capital. It came after YuanBio led a $15.7m series A-plus-plus round for the company in May this year that included Longmen Capital and Huacheng Venture Capital.
US-based cybersecurity software provider SlashNext has received $26m in series B funding from telecommunications group Telia and conglomerate Ayala Group’s Active Fund. They were joined by Norwest Venture Partners (NVP), Wing VC, Alter Ventures and private investors Tom and Matt Gallo, and the round followed a $9m series A co-led by NVP and Wing VC in 2017. SlashNext said last week its total funding stood at $43m and it named Alter Ventures as an existing investor.
Family office Ayon has led a $15m series B round CoinRoutes, a US-based cryptocurrency trading software developer backed by crypto-focused financial services provider Bitcoin Suisse, TheStreet reported on Friday. The round valued CoinRoutes at $70m and came after a $3m investment by Bitcoin Suisse in late 2019.
Japan-based cancer and fibrosis drug developer Prism BioLab added ¥100m from pharmaceutical firm Eisai to close its series C round at ¥1.4bn ($12.3m) today. The round’s September 2021 first tranche was led by DCI Partners and backed by DBJ Capital, Newton BioCapital Partners, Healthcare Innovation and Gemseki. Pharmaceutical firm Ohara Pharmaceutical and WM Partners were among the participants in a $5.4m round for the company in early 2019.
Daphne Technology, a Switzerland-headquartered developer of maritime-based sustainability technology, received $10m on Friday from investors including commodities trader Trafigura, maritime logistics provider AET and petroleum suppliers Shell and Saudi Aramco, the last two through Shell Ventures and Saudi Aramco Energy Ventures (SAEV). The company raised $5m from SAEV, Innovation Fund and an unnamed individual in early 2019 following $130,000 from VentureKick, EPFL, FIT, Bridge, ClimateKIC and Gebert Rüf Stiftung the previous year.
Internet technology provider Google’s Gradient Ventures unit has co-led a $6m seed round for US-based customer engagement software developer Social Chat, TechCrunch has reported. Race Capital co-led the round, which also featured angel investors Kevin Lin, Tony Zhao, Ran Makavy, Alanna Gregory and Jack Xie.
Beta Finance, the Israel-headquartered creator of a crypto asset trading and lending tool, secured $5.75m in funding from investors including digital asset research provider Delphi Digital on Friday. VC firm Sequoia Capital India led the round, which also featured ParaFi Capital, DeFiance Capital, Spartan Group, GSR and Multicoin Capital.
Indonesia-based cosmetic brand Nama Beauty has received $5m in seed funding from investors including customer experience services provider NFC Indonesia’s DMMX subsidiary and shipping firm SiCepat, DealStreetAsia reported today. The round was led by VC firm AC Ventures and Nama has formed strategic partnerships with both corporates.
GigLabs, a US-based developer of software which facilitates the creation of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) based on existing intellectual property, has raised $4.5m in a seed round co-led by blockchain game developer Dapper Labs. VC firm Panoramic Ventures co-led the round while Collab+Currency, Red Beard Ventures, Eterna Capital, Alumni Venture Group, Gaingels and Amino Capital also took part.
Cryptocurrency exchange operator Coinbase has participated in a $4.2m funding round for MomentRanks, the US-based creator of an online data platform focusing on NFTs, through subsidiary Coinbase Ventures. The round was led by VC firm Acrylic Crypto and included A Capital, Lattice Capital, Permit Ventures, Maveron and Boston Seed Capital.
Sony Innovation Fund by IGV invested an undisclosed amount in US-based interactive video software developer Kiswe on Friday on behalf of consumer electronics producer Sony, taking the company’s total funding to $46m. Kiswe had closed a total of $18.1m in equity funding in 2015 according to securities filings and named entertainment producer Hybe Corporation, Revolution’s Rise of the Rest fund, New Enterprise Associates and private investor Ted Leonsis as existing shareholders last week.
Hawku, the US-headquartered operator of an online marketplace for gaming and utility-focused NFTs, has received $4m in seed funding from investors including app developer Animoca Brands, quantitative trading firm Alameda Research, blockchain platform developer Solana and consumer entertainment provider Virtual Human Studio. The corporates were joined in the round by Lightspeed Venture Partners, Dragonfly Capital, Multicoin Capital and e^{i} Ventures.
Animoca Brands also led a $3m seed round for Ex Populus, the US-headquartered developer of an online game publishing platform based on the Ethereum blockchain. Cryptocurrency developer Enjin and digital currency exchange Zipmex also contributed to the round, as did Infinity Ventures, Evernew Capital, CMS, Polybius Capital, Decision Tree Ventures and Outlier Ventures.
ClubNFT, a US-headquartered creator of digital infrastructure for artwork-based NFTs, has launched with $3m in funding from investors including CMT Digital, a corporate venturing vehicle for trading firm Capital Markets Trading. The round was co-led by Galaxy Digital and Galaxy Interactive and included Red Swan Ventures, Sfermion, Draper Dragon and individuals including Richard Entrup. The startup said it had previously raised $875,000 from backers such as Motown Capital and angel investor Bharat Krymo.
PuzzleRing, the Japan-based operator of a digital will service called LastMessage, raised ¥160m ($1.4m) today in a series A round featuring cleaning product manufacturer AMG, marketing group Hakuhodo DY Media Partners, consumer finance provider Aiful and financial services firm Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC). The round was led by Nippon Venture Capital and included Okasan Capital Partners, a subsidiary of brokerage Okasan Securities, while Aiful and SMBC were represented by AG Capital and SMBC Capital Partners respectively.
Digital media group Cuebic and internet company Digital Garage joined accelerator operator RiskTaker to invest an undisclosed sum in Odd Future, the Japan-headquartered owner of cricket-based food brand Innocect, today. Cuebic invested through its Cuebic Ventures unit while Digital Garage was represented by DG Ventures and Open Network Lab ESG (Earthshot Fund).
Vanity Wagon, the India-based owner of an online marketplace for clean beauty brands, received Rs 55m ($730,000) in pre-series A funding on Friday from investors including cosmetics brand Lotus Herbals, YourStory reported. Inflection Point Ventures led the round, which also featured Venture Catalysts, Agility Ventures and undisclosed angel investors. Agility Ventures had led the company’s $200,000 seed round in January this year.
India-based antimicrobial air purifier developer Airth has secured an undisclosed amount in a seed round featuring contract electronics manufacturer Syrma Technology, VCCircle has reported. Whiteboard Capital also participated in the round, as did IIT Kanpur’s First investment vehicle.
M&A
Meta, the social media group formerly known as Facebook, is purchasing US-based workout app developer Within for an undisclosed amount, enabling public relations group WPP, entertainment producer 21st Century Fox, media companies Tribeca Enterprises, Macro Ventures and Vice, entertainment agency Endeavor, live event promoter Live Nation and film studios Annapurna Pictures and Legendary Pictures, TechCrunch reported on Friday. Within had raised over $56m as of its $40m series B round in 2017.
Additional reporting by Liwen-Edison Fu.
