Funding
SkyCell, a Switzerland-based developer of cold-chain pharmaceutical transport systems, received $35m in series C funding yesterday from investors including insurance firm Mobiliar. Investment holding company ADQ’s DisruptAD also took part in the round, as did Shuaa Capital and unnamed family offices, while a Swiss cantonal bank supplied a debt facility of undisclosed size. MVM Partners led a $62m round for SkyCell in April 2020 that included a then undisclosed Mobiliar as well as family office investors, financial services firm BCGE Bank’s growth fund and Swiss Entrepreneurs Fund – both described as existing backers.
Nice Investment, a subsidiary of credit data provider Nice Group, has co-led a $33.4m series C round for South Korea-based robo-adviser developer Fount with Hana Financial Investment, a vehicle for financial services provider Hana Financial, TechCrunch reported today. Smilegate Investment, KT Investment, Shinhan Capital and Korea Development Bank also participated in the round, as existing investors, and Fount has now raised $58.5m altogether, chief executive Youngbeen Kim told TechCrunch.
ClickPaaS, a China-headquartered provider of low-code software development technology, has raised ‘tens of millions of US dollars’ in a series B-plus round featuring Bertelsmann Asia Investments (BAI) and SIG China – investment vehicles for media group Bertelsmann and quantitative trading firm Susquehanna International Group. The round was led by Sequoia Capital China and included 5Y Capital and Future Capital. It came after ClickPaaS secured a nine-figure renminbi (RMB100m = $15.5m) amount in a late 2020 series B round featuring BAI, SIG Asia, Mingshi Capital and Wuyuan Capital.
Beijing Aerospace Satelliteherd, a China-based satellite management and aerospace data software developer backed by pharmaceuticals distributor Kexin, received almost RMB200m ($31m) in series A-plus-plus funding on Friday, DealStreetAsia reported, citing a company statement. The cash came from Orient Securities, Peak Valley Capital, Tianda Haitang Fund and existing shareholders Future Capital and Yinxinggu Capital. The round was Satelliteherd’s fifth according to DealStreetAsia, which named Kexin subsidiary Kexin Capital, Essential Capital and Dark Horse Ventures as earlier investors.
Impact investor Creation Investments has led a $30m series A equity and debt round for ReshaMandi, the India-based silk product marketplace operator backed by digital media company Gree, The Economic Times reported today. Omnivore, 9 Unicorns, Venture Catalysts and angel investors Sandeep Singhal and Brijesh Agarwal also took part in the round while Northern Arc, Alteria Capital, Innoven Capital and Stride Ventures supplied debt financing. The company had raised $1.7m in a March 2021 seed round co-led by Omnivore and Gree’s Strive Ventures unit and backed by Axilor Ventures and Supply Chain Labs.
Singapore-headquartered internet-of-things (IoT) service provider UnaBiz secured over $25m today from investors including petrochemical producer Thaioil. The round was led by asset manager Sparx Group and also featured private equity firm CDIB Capital and investment holding company GK Goh. Telecommunications firm KDDI’s Soracom subsidiary led a $10m series A round for UnaBiz in 2018 through its Soracom IoT Fund Program, investing with KDDI’s Open Innovation Fund III, Shin Kong Security (on behalf of conglomerate Shin Kong) and existing investor Engie New Ventures, a subsidiary of energy utility Engie, in addition to various individuals.
Investment firm Squadron Capital has provided $25m in funding for Peak Nanosystems, a US-based nanotechnology commercialisation technology developer backed by communications electronics producer L3 Technologies. The company had raised another $25m from Squadron Capital in April 2020 following an undisclosed amount of series B funding from L3 in 2018. Unnamed family offices had supplied it with $5.8m in series A financing the previous year.
Access Entertainment, a newly formed subsidiary of conglomerate Access Industries, led a $16.5m series B round yesterday for Vidsy, a UK-based provider of video advertising creation software. The round included media company Guardian Media Group’s GMG Ventures unit and Delin Ventures, and Access Entertainment president Danny Cohen has taken a board seat at Vidsy in connection with its investment. Vidsy had received $1.6m from GMG, Delin Capital, Coral Reef, Force Over Mass and Ascension Ventures in 2017 and added $4m in a GMG-backed round the following year.
China-based fabless semiconductor producer Phytium Technology has raised an undisclosed amount from e-commerce firm Alibaba and internet group Baidu, CnTechPost has reported, citing information from data provider Tianyancha. Alibaba and Baidu subsidiary Dazi Bairuixiang Venture Capital Management joined China Internet Investment Fund in the round, according to a subsequent report by Gizmochina, which said its registered capital has also risen from $104m to approximately $117m.
Log 9 Materials, an India-based developer of lithium-ion battery technology, has closed a $10m series A-plus round with a $2m extension from oil and gas supplier Petronas through its Petronas Ventures subsidiary, The Economic Times has reported. Lead-acid battery producer Amara Raja Batteries led the round with a $5m investment in August this year, and the corporates were joined by Exfinity Ventures and Sequoia Capital India’s Surge fund. Log 9 had previously raised over $3.9m from investors including Exfinity, Surge, Gems, Metaform Ventures and Hemant Luthra.
Legend Capital, the venture capital firm formed by conglomerate Legend Holdings, has led a series B round of undisclosed size for China-based circulatory assistance system developer ForQaly Medical that included Lilly Asia Ventures, an investment vehicle for pharmaceutical firm Eli Lilly. They were joined by CD Capital, SAIF Partners, Chengwei Chuangban, Co-win Ventures and Kaitai Capital, the last of which – like Lilly Asia Ventures – was described as an existing investor.
JIC Venture Growth Investments and Sapphire Capital have provided ¥700m ($6.2m) for Japan-based property brokerage software developer Housmart. The round increased its overall funding to approximately $12.5m, $2.7m of which came from postal service Japan Post’s investment arm, Japan Post Capital, and VC firm Accord Ventures in January 2020. Freebit Investment, part of IT services firm Freebit, had joined Accord Ventures, Daiwa Corporate Investment, SX Capital and CAC Capital to invest the same amount in Housmart in 2018, following roughly $900,000 from marketing agency Opt (through Opt Ventures), Beenext and Yamato Enterprise in 2016.
Japan-based 3D geolocation technology startup MetCom has closed a series B round of undisclosed size featuring Kyocera Communication Systems and Sony Network Communications (So-net), on behalf of ceramics and electronics producer Kyocera and electronics manufacturer Sony, as well as security alarm provider Secom and computer manufacturer Sun Corporation. It also revealed it had raised an undisclosed amount from Kyocera Communication Systems and So-net in 2020.
RodRadar, an Israel-based developer of obstacle-detection sensors, has secured $6m in a series A round featuring vehicle importer Mayers Cars and Trucks Group, construction firm Haskell and construction vehicle manufacturer Holt Cat, Finsmes reported yesterday. VC firm Brick & Mortar Ventures led the round while Haskell and Holt Cat took part through respective subsidiaries Dysruptek and Holt Ventures.
E-commerce firm Rakuten has led a $5.4m series A round for Airalo, a US-headquartered provider of regional SIM cards, e27 reported yesterday. Conglomerate LG, ride hailing service Gojek and telecoms firms Telefónica and Singapore Telecommunications took part in the round through LG Technology Ventures, Go Ventures, Wayra and Singtel Innov8 respectively, joining internet services provider Ground Control, Sequoia Capital India’s Surge vehicle, Antler, Plug and Play and I2BF Global Ventures. The company had received an undisclosed amount from Antler in July 2019 and Surge three months later.
Retail group Marui, digitisation services studio Sun Asterisk, digital media company Ceres, clothing producer Stylem Takisada-Osaka and textile trader Toyoshima’s corporate venturing unit have participated in a ¥550m ($4.9m) funding round for Good Vibes Only, a Japan-based apparel digitalisation service spun off by Marui. They were joined by financial services firm Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation’s SMBC Venture Capital vehicle and the round came after an undisclosed amount from Marui’s D2C&Co subsidiary in August 2020.
YData, the Portugal-based startup developer of a data preparation software platform for artificial intelligence products, has received just over €2.3m ($2.7m) in a seed round featuring energy utility EDP’s corporate venturing unit, EDP Ventures, EU-Startups reported yesterday. Flying Fish Partners led the round, which included Faber and Real Ventures, the former having led a $560,000 round for the company in March 2020 according to EU-Startups. It joined the Techstars Montréal AI accelerator seven months later.
FinMarie, the Germany-based creator of a financial planning app designed for women, has raised €1.4m ($1.6m) from investors including online brokerage Wallstreet:online. The round, which represents the first external funding for the company since it was founded in 2018, was led by corporate-backed VC fund High-Tech Gründerfonds.
Saison Ventures, the VC arm of payment services firm Credit Saison, joined knitting machine producer Shima Seiki and textile product manufacturer Hasetora Group to invest an undisclosed amount in Bioworks, a Japan-headquartered provider of plant-based plastics products, yesterday. The company had previously secured $890,000 from Osaka University Venture Capital in 2017.
Japan-based fundraising support tool provider Scheeme received ¥100m ($890,000) in pre-series A funding yesterday from IT services firm Nihon Unisys’s Canal Ventures unit and VC firm Genesia Ventures. The latter had already taken part in Scheeme’s seed round – likely to be sized at about $440,000 – in 2020, the company having this week placed its overall funding at approximately $1.3m.
Neutroon, the Spain-based developer of a software platform which facilitates the creation and management of multi-tenant private cellular networks, has completed a €530,000 ($610,000) funding round featuring public transport operator Ferrovial and telecommunications operator SharedAccess. They were joined by VC fund 5G Ventures and angel investors including Oriol Relats and Jordi Vallejo.
Japan-based local food wholesaler Yui Support has raised ¥25m ($220,000) in seed capital from bread and confectionery manufacturer Pasco Shikishima Corporation and logistics group Trade Trust. The startup has created an online platform intended to help customers in the prefecture of Shizuoka access local produce.
M&A
Freelancer network operator Fiverr has purchased US-based online entrepreneurial education platform CreativeLive in a deal of undisclosed size enabling talent agencies CAA and Endeavor, data services provider Relx and internet and technology group Alphabet to exit. Relx subsidiary REV and CAA took part in a $25m round for the company in 2017 that was led by GSV Acceleration and backed by Greylock Partners, Social Capital, Richard Branson and Jared Leto, taking its overall funding to $58.8m. CAA, Alphabet unit GV and Endeavor (then William Morris Endeavor) had taken part in its $8m series A round in 2013 with Greylock and Tuesday Capital (then called CrunchFund).
Diversified conglomerate Wesfarmers has exited Icix, a US-based developer of software that helps businesses assess the environmental, social and governance impact of their supply chains, in an acquisition of undisclosed size by risk management software provider Riskonnect. Vertical Venture Partners and existing backers DFJ and Starfish Ventures provided $25m in funding for the company in 2014 before Arrowroot Capital added $15.5m three years later.
Ditto Technologies, a US-based creator of software which lets users virtually try on glasses, has been bought by direct-to-consumer eyewear retailer 1-800 Contact for an undisclosed amount, enabling fellow eyewear sellers National Vision and Lenskart to exit. VC firm August Capital led a $3m round for Ditto in 2011 before joining National Vision to provide $5m three years later. Lenskart subsequently invested $1m in 2017.
Financial services firm Capital One has acquired most of the technology and employees of Lola, a US-based travel booking software provider backed by internet and technology group Alphabet, for an undisclosed sum, The Boston Globe has reported. Lola had raised nearly $82m as of a $37m series C round in early 2019 that was co-led by General Catalyst and Accel and which included fellow existing investors GV – a corporate VC subsidiary of Alphabet – Tenaya Capital and CRV.
Additional reporting by Liwen-Edison Fu.
