Funding
Medical device manufacturer Boston Scientific led a $19.5m series C round for Nectero Medical, the US-based developer of an aortic stabilisation treatment system, on Friday. The company disclosed in April 2020 that it had raised an undisclosed amount for the first close of its series B round that was led by SMO-Nectero, an investment vehicle managed by Select Medical Opportunities Management.
Japan-based solar power system developer iGrid Solutions secured ¥2bn ($18.2m) today for the first close of a funding round led by investment firm Signifiant’s The Fund and backed by DG Ventures and Mizuho Capital, respective subsidiaries of internet company Digital Garage and financial services firm Mizuho Bank, in addition to undisclosed private investors. Diversified trading group Itochu had supplied an undisclosed amount for iGrid in 2015 through its Itochu Technology Ventures subsidiary.
Jera Americas, a subsidiary of Japan-headquartered energy utility Jera, agreed today to invest €15m ($17.7m) in Germany-based hydrogen carrier technology developer Hydrogenious LOHC Technologies. The round includes Chevron Technology Ventures, the investment arm of oil and gas supplier Chevron, as well as Temasek and Pavilion Capital. The company had raised funding from automotive manufacturer Hyundai in May 2020 following a similarly undisclosed amount from mining group Anglo American Platinum (AAP) in 2014 and $18.9m from conglomerate Mitsubishi, fuel tank producer Royal Vopak, polymer and chemicals manufacturer Covestro and the AAP-backed AP Ventures in 2019.
Adriakaim, the Japan-based developer of a treatment system for heart disease, raised ¥550m ($5m) in equity and convertible note financing today, from robotics technology producer Cyberdyne and its CEJ Capital subsidiary, technology transfer and VC firm 360IP Japan and unnamed angel investors. The company had received $3m in funding from University of Tokyo’s UTokyo Innovation Platform in August 2020.
Retail group Central Retail has added $1m to a series A round for Thailand-based online hobbyist item retailer Mercular that now totals $4m, e27 reported today. Internet company CyberAgent’s corporate venture capital arm, CyberAgent Capital, joined Kairous Capital, 500 Startups, N-Vest Venture and Premier Advisory Group in the round’s $3m first close in April this year.
Electronics and automation technology producer Phoenix Contact has invested an undisclosed amount in Siga Data Security, an Israel-based developer of industrial management technology, through its Phoenix Contact Innovation Ventures unit. Awz Homeland Security invested $3.5m in the company in 2017, and it added $8.1m in a series B round led by PureTerra Ventures last month that included Phoenix Contact, SIBF and Moore Capital.
AndArt, the Japan-based operator of an online platform which enables users to buy partial ownership in artwork, secured ¥280m ($2.5m) today from investors including internet companies United and GMO. The round included private investors Yu Akasaka and Makoto Takeuchi as well as debt financing from Japan Finance Corporation.
Jatri, a Bangladesh-based bus ticketing app developer backed by consulting firm Tahseen Consulting, has received $1.2m in pre-series A funding from Reflect Ventures, Brain-Too-Free Ventures, SBK Tech Ventures and unnamed strategic mobility investors, The Star reported today. The company had raised undisclosed amounts from Adventure Capital in May 2019 and Tahseen Consulting, Superangel, Falcon Network and undisclosed angel investors in January 2020.
M&A
Logistics services provider UPS agreed on Friday to acquire portfolio company Roadie, a US-based same-day delivery service, for an undisclosed amount. Roadie had secured a total of $62m as of a $37m series C round in early 2019 that included hardware retailer Home Depot, TomorrowVentures and Warren Stephens, following $15m in series B funding from UPS’s Strategic Enterprise Fund, TomorrowVentures and Stephens three years earlier.
Additional reporting by Liwen-Edison Fu.
