Funding
Zero Hash, a US-based provider of digital asset management software that counts brokerage owner and financial media company Tastytrade, brokerage services provider TradeStation and trading firms Capital Markets Trading (through subsidiary CMT Digital), Queueco and Tetras Capital, received $35m in series C funding yesterday. Point72 Ventures led the round, which included NYCA Partners, DriveWealth and various individuals. The company had raised a total of over $25m as of September 2020 when it secured $4.8m in earlier series C funding.
China-based automated factory equipment maker VisionNav Robotics completed a series C round yesterday sized in the hundreds of millions of yuan range (RMB100m = $15.5m) featuring Lenovo Capital, a subsidiary of computing technology producer Lenovo, as well as digital media group ByteDance and China Unicom-CICC, a joint venture between state-owned telecommunications operator China Unicom and investment bank China International Capital Corporation. They joined Shunwei Capital, IDG Capital and Eastern Bell Venture Capital in the round, which followed a $15m series B2 round in April this year that took the company’s total funding to over $33m.
Polymer producer Covestro co-led a $25m series B round for US-based quantum algorithm developer QC Ware on Wednesday with Koch Disruptive Technologies, a subsidiary of industrial and chemicals group Koch Industries. The round included Samsung Ventures, an investment vehicle for consumer electronics producer Samsung, as well as financial services firm Citi, DE Shaw and Pegasus Tech Ventures. It followed a $6.5m series A round co-led by Citi and Goldman Sachs in 2018 that also featured aerospace manufacturer Airbus’s corporate VC arm, Airbus Ventures, as well as DE Shaw vehicle DE Shaw Ventures and fellow existing backer Fenox Venture Capital.
US-based weight management app developer Found revealed on Wednesday it secured $24m earlier this year in a series A round featuring internet and technology group Alphabet’s GV subsidiary as well as Atomic and Define Ventures. The round was disclosed at the same time as an earlier $8m seed round the company told TechCrunch was led by Atomic and also backed by Define Ventures.
SecZetta, a US-based provider of identity risk management software, raised $20.5m in series B funding yesterday from investors including MassMutual Ventures, the corporate venturing arm of insurance firm Massachusetts Mutual. It was led by VC firm SYN Ventures and also featured ClearSky and Rally Ventures, the two investors which provided $10m in series A financing for the company in September 2019.
Homee, the US-based creator of an insurance claims management platform, completed a $17m series B2 round yesterday featuring insurance firms Liberty Mutual, State Farm and The Hartford, which invested through Liberty Mutual Strategic Ventures, State Farm Ventures and Hartford Investment Management Company respectively. The round was led by Morningside and included Desjardins Venture Capital, Forte Ventures and Activate Capital. It came in the wake of a $4.5m round in July 2020 that boosted Homee’s overall funding to $34.5m.
Samdesk, a Canada-based organisation monitoring software developer backed by media content provider Associated Press (AP), has secured C$13.5m ($10.6m) in a series A round led by McRock Capital that included HarbourVest, Export Development Canada, Adventure Capital and undisclosed existing investors. Samdesk entered the IdeaBoost accelerator in 2016, adding $2.5m in a 2018 round led by Adventure Capital that also featured AP, fellow existing backer Accelerate Fund and private investor Mark Miller.
Investment bank BNY Mellon provided an undisclosed amount of funding for US-based data analytics software developer Quantexa yesterday that will be added to the $153m in series D funding it raised in July this year. Financial services firms HSBC and ABN Amro both took part in that round, which valued the company at up to $900m and which boosted its overall funding to $263m, the latter through corporate venturing vehicle ABN Amro Ventures.
Archlet, the Switzerland-based developer of a product sourcing software platform, completed a $10m series A round led by HV Capital, a VC firm affiliated with publisher Holtzbrinck. The round also featured Wingman Ventures, Senovo, La Famiglia and angel investor Matthias Hilpert. The startup received an undisclosed amount of pre-seed funding from Wingman Ventures in February 2020 and added $2.8m from Senovo, La Famiglia, Wingman Ventures and assorted angel investors in January this year.
Algo Artis, the Japan-based operator of an artificial intelligence-focused technology consulting service, increased its series A round to ¥528m ($4.7m) yesterday, in a second tranche led by University of Tokyo’s Edge Capital Partners (UTEC) subsidiary and backed by electric utility Kansai Electric Power Company’s K4 Ventures unit and Kyoto University’s Miyako Capital vehicle. The $3.9m first tranche closed in July this year and was led by UTEC, which invested alongside internet company DeNA.
Smino, the Switzerland-based developer of a construction management software platform, completed a €3.1m ($3.6m) series A round yesterday that included enterprise software provider Axept and construction services provider Conreal. They joined BitStone Capital, EquityPitcher Ventures, Swiss Startup Capital, Session VC and Swiss Immo Lab in the round, which followed an undisclosed amount from Axept in March this year.
Japan-based 3D printed prosthesis developer Instalimb closed a ¥240m ($2.1m) series A round yesterday that included telecommunications and internet group SoftBank’s Deepcore vehicle. It was joined by Mitsubishi UFJ Capital, a subsidiary of financial services firm Mitsubishi UFJ, as well as Keio University’s Keio Innovation Initiative, Inclusion Japan and Mistletoe Japan. The round came in the wake of $780,000 in seed funding from Deepcore and Keio Innovation Initiative in mid-2019.
Fixpoint, the Japan-based owner of a system operation automation platform called Kompira, received an undisclosed amount of funding yesterday from investors including IT services provider Segue Group and NTT Communications, a subsidiary of telecoms firm NTT. It will put the funding into strengthening its offering in areas such as the internet of things, 5G, smart cities and Society 5.0.
Luwjistik, the Singapore-based operator of an online platform that links online retailers to logistics partners, secured $1.1m yesterday in a seed round featuring Arise, the investment vehicle formed by telecoms firm Telkom Indonesia’s MDI Ventures unit and VC firm Finch Capital. The round was led by VC firm East Ventures and included Global Founders Capital.
Navigation technology provider Zenrin’s Future Partners fund supplied an undisclosed amount for Japan-based home security technology developer Secual yesterday. Secual had secured $500,000 from Adventure, the operator of airline ticket booking platform Skyticket, as well as real estate developer Ambition and unnamed angel investors in 2015, $1.4m in series A funding from marketing group Vector and real estate technology developer Robot Home the following year and an undisclosed sum from investment firm NHN Investment in 2017.
Micoworks, the Japan-based provider of a marketing tool dubbed MicoCloud which is focused on messaging app Line, received an undisclosed amount of funding from professional services group Aidma yesterday. It came after Voyage Ventures, the investment arm of travel technology provider Voyage, had supplied an undisclosed amount for Micoworks in February this year.
CameLove, the Japan-based operator of camera subscription service GooPass, raised an undisclosed amount yesterday from Goodpatch, a developer of user interface design technology. The company had previously secured hundreds of millions of yen (¥100m = $940,000) in a 2019 series A round that included leasing services provider Showa Leasing, financial services firm Shinsei Bank, Nippon Venture Capital and various individuals.
Oil and gas supplier Saudi Aramco’s Wa’ed Center invested SAR1.9m ($510,000) in Saudi Arabia-based podcasting platform developer Mohtwize on Wednesday. The capital will be allocated to increasing the amount of content on the platform in addition to the size of Mohtwize’s team, as well as to accelerating software development.
Additional reporting by Liwen-Edison Fu.