Funding
China-based online skills training service Sanjieke has raised a total of over RMB200m ($31.3m) in series B-plus and C financing from investors including online education provider Udemy, DealStreetAsia reported today. Udemy contributed to the series C round while venture capital firm Owl Ventures was among the participants in the previous round. Sanjiek’s earlier investors include IDG Capital, K2VC, Wu Capital, Geekhouse Capital and Fanzhuo Capital, according to DealStreetAsia.
Blockchain game and app developer Animoca Brands has co-led an $18m series A round for Avocado Guild, the Australia-headquartered operator of a play-to-earn blockchain gaming guild, at a $200m valuation, Kr Asia reported today. The round was co-led by QCP Soteria Node and included Binance Smart Chain, Solana Ventures and Polygon Studios – on behalf of cryptocurrency exchange Binance and blockchain technology providers Solana and Polygon – as well as Three Arrows Capital and executives from asset management firm GoldenTree.
Japan-based construction digitalisation technology developer Arent secured ¥1.9bn ($16.5m) today in a series C round led by SBI Investment, a vehicle for financial services firm SBI, and backed by Fuso-SBI Innovation Fund, a unit run by SBI and water and sewage supplies provider Fuso; Higashi Nippon Bank Regional Corporate Revitalisation Fund, a joint vehicle between Higashi Nippon Bank and VC firm Future Venture Capital; and VC firm The Seed. Arent had received $9.6m in debt and equity financing frim J&TC Frontier, a joint venture for engineering services firm JFE and leasing services provider Tokyo Century, in November 2020.
NeuraMatrix, a China-based developer of brain-machine interface technology, has completed a RMB100m ($15.6m) series A round co-led by oil and gas supplier Saudi Aramco’s Prosperity7 Ventures unit, Arab News reported yesterday. Private equity firm Huagai Capital co-led the round, and the proceeds will go to research and development and an increase in the company’s chip manufacturing activities.
Peer-to-peer payment technology provider Circle invested $10.5m to lead a $13.5m funding round for UK-headquartered online retail investment marketplace Crowdcube yesterday that was denominated in digital currency USD Coin. Draper Associates and Balderton also took part in the round, having contributed to a $10.9m round in 2018 alongside broadcaster Channel 4’s Commercial Growth Fund to take Crowdcube’s overall funding above $48m.
Retail chain M&S paid an undisclosed amount to acquire a stake of about 25% in UK-based sustainable fashion brand Nobody’s Child yesterday. The company will look to leverage M&S’s infrastructure to expand its business and the two are looking to collaborate in areas such as sustainability initiatives and nurturing talent.
Japan-based foldable electric bicycle developer Glafit received ¥1bn ($8.7m) today in a series B round led by Mirai Creation Fund 2, a VC fund backed by carmaker Toyota, that included electronics producer Panasonic and motorised vehicle manufacturer Yamaha Motor as well as Mitsubishi UFJ Capital, Nanto Capital Partners, Mizuho Capital, Resona Capital and Senshu Ikeda Capital, on behalf of financial services firms Mitsubishi UFJ, Nanto Bank, Mizuho Bank, Resona Bank and Senshu Ikeda Bank, in addition to angel investor Akio Hosono. Glafit had raised $2.4m in mid-2019 from Yamaha Motor, leasing services providers Kiyo Lease & Capital and Tokyo Century, industrial equipment maker Noritsu Precision, financial services firm Daisan Bank’s Sangin Growth Business Support Investment Limited Partnership and unnamed individuals.
Syn City, the creator of a mafia-themed metaverse game, raised $8m on Monday from investors including blockchain app developer Animoca Brands. It was joined in the round by Goat Capital, A&T Capital, Hack VC, Spartan Group, Project Galaxy, iAngels, Superpower and angel investors such as Jordan Momtazi, Do Kwon, Luke Wagman, Elliot Wainman, Alex Becker, Paul Menchov, Kieran Warwick and Santiago R Santos.
Employment agency CRG Holdings’ CRG Investment subsidiary participated in a ¥820m ($7.1m) funding round today for Manebi, a Japan-based developer of support tools for employee education. SBI Investment, a vehicle for financial services provider SBI, also took part in the round, which included Global Brain, KSK Angel Fund and debt financing from unnamed banks. The round increased Manebi’s overall funding to approximately $11.3m and came after undisclosed amounts from recruitment firm Branding Engineer’s BE Fund in September 2021 and digital media group Inclusive last month.
Audiostock, the Japan-based operator of a royalty-free stock music service, secured ¥670m ($5.8m) today in a series C round led by quantitative trading firm Susquehanna International Group and backed by digital media company Ceres, marketing group Vector, financial services provider Chugoku Bank (through subsidiaries Chugin Lease and Chugin Infinity Fund), HBCC Technology Investment and Nippon Venture Capital. The company’s total funding stands at $9.6m and it last raised money in April 2020 when digital literature platform developer Link-U and East Investment Capital put up an undisclosed amount.
Professional services firm Jacobs provided an undisclosed amount of funding for Microgrid Labs, a US-based consulting firm concentrating on the microgrid and fleet electrification sectors. The corporate intends to utilise Microgrid Labs’ software, which it uses to model, simulate and optimise electric vehicle fleets, charging and energy infrastructure, to expand into those areas.
Lisse Law, the Japan-based operator of contract review software platform LeCheck, raised ¥550m ($4.8m) today from accounting software provider Money Forward, VC firm Global Brain and Daiwa Corporate Investment, a subsidiary of brokerage Daiwa. The company had taken part in the Microsoft for Startups accelerator in late 2019 before business management software provider Miroku Jyoho Service joined undisclosed angel investors to supply $2.1m in funding in November 2020.
China-based augmented reality glasses developer Inmo closed tens of millions of yuan (RMB10m = $1.6m) in pre-series A financing today from Matrix Partners, which led the round, Unity Ventures, Junsan Capital and undisclosed existing shareholders. The round was disclosed together with a February 2021 angel round of undisclosed size that included mobile game publisher 37 Interactive Entertainment and Yilai Investment.
Nigeria-based financial software developer OnePipe has received $3.5m in seed funding from investors including Saison Capital, the VC arm of payment services firm Credit Saison, TechCrunch reported today. Atlantica Ventures, Tribe Capital and V&R Associates co-led the round, which also featured Canaan Partners, Norrsken, The Fund, Two Culture Cap, Techstars, Ingressive Capital, Acquity, P1 Ventures, Raba Capital, DFS Lab and angel investors including Chris Adelsbach. It followed a $950,000 pre-seed round in December 2020 co-led by Atlantica and Techstars that included Future Perfect Ventures, Raba, P1 and Adelbach.
US-based packaging foam producer Cruz Foam completed a $2.5m seed round yesterday that included consumer electronics manufacturer Sony’s Innovation Fund. VC firm At One Ventures led the round, which was also backed by VC fund Regeneration.VC and undisclosed angel investors.
Automotive manufacturer Volvo Cars invested an amount reported by Calcalist to be $2m in Israel-based optical and imaging technology developer Spectralics yesterday through its Volvo Cars Tech Fund. Spectralics had previously participated in the MobilityXLab and Drive accelerators.
Postal service Swiss Post has led a CHF1.7m ($1.8m) seed round for CareerFairy, a Switzerland-based spinout of ETH Zurich that has created a livestreaming platform for student recruitment, Startupticker reported yesterday. VC firm BackBone Ventures also participated in the round along with undisclosed angel investors.
Grancers, the Japan-based operator of back-office outsourcing service Support+iA, secured ¥150m ($1.3m) today from investors including Gree Ventures, a subsidiary of digital media group Gree. The corporate was joined by Keio University’s Keio Innovation Initiative and undisclosed angel investors.
Monex Ventures, the corporate venturing vehicle for currency exchange Monex, provided ¥40m ($350,000) in seed funding for GauG, the Japan-based operator of an online community for gamers. The capital has been earmarked for recruitment and marketing activities.
M&A
Behavioural analytics software provider Similarweb has bought US-based mobile customer data provider Embee Mobile in a deal of undisclosed size enabling mobile semiconductor technology producer Qualcomm to exit. Embee has not revealed firm details of its funding but regulatory filings show it raised $280,000 in 2010 and $2.4m in series A financing three years later, and Qualcomm’s investment arm, Qualcomm Ventures, lists it as a portfolio company.
Additional reporting by Liwen-Edison Fu.
