Fund
UK-based, financial technology-focused venture capital firm Illuminate Financial has secured about $200m in limited partnership commitments for its third fund, from limited partners including banks Jefferies Group, JP Morgan and Citi, financial data provider S&P Global and financial exchange operators Deutsche Borse and Singapore Exchange, DealStreetAsia reported. The firm intends to reach a final close sized between $220m and $250m by May this year and will focus on Asia.
M&A
IT services firm Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) agreed to acquire portfolio company OpsRamp, the US-based developer of an IT infrastructure monitoring and automation platform, for an undisclosed amount. HPE participated in the company’s last round, when it raised $37.5m in 2020 to hike its total funding to $57.5m.
Automotive conglomerate Mahindra & Mahindra paid an undisclosed sum to buy portfolio company Mitra Agro Equipments, an India-based irrigation system producer. The corporate provided $1.25m in series B funding for Mitra in 2018.
Funding
Reebelo, a US-based provider of refurbished consumer electronics, increased its series A round to $50m with a $29m tranche led by Cathay Innovation, a subsidiary of investment firm Cathay Capital. The second tranche included Moore Strategic Ventures, Gandel Invest and Antler while the $20m first close in February 2022 featured internet group Naver’s Kream affiliate as well as FJ Labs, French Partners, Maximilian Bittner and Michael Cassau.
| Company | Company description | Sector | Country | Round | Round size($m) | Deal date | Investors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Qlub | QR code-based restaurant payment app | Financial | UAE | A | 25 | 16/03/2023 | Almajdouie Holding (Raed Ventures), Saudi Telecom (STV); Cherry Ventures (co-lead), Point Nine (co-lead), Heartcore, Shorooq Partners, FinTech Collective, Al Dhabi Capital |
| XXII | Video analysis software provider | Media | France | A | 23.7 | 21/03/2023 | SNCF Group (574 Invest), Duval Group; Fonds Innovation Défense, CIB Développement, Techmind, Kima Ventures |
| Illumix | Augmented reality technology provider | Media | US | A | 18 | 20/03/2023 | Sony (Sony Innovation Fund); LightShed Ventures, Raptor Group (RW3 Ventures), Henry Kravis, Matthew Ball, Maveron, Lightspeed, Mark Cuban, OpenView, Visible Ventures, Xavier Niel |
| Pull Systems | Developer of electric vehicle automation technology | Transport | US | Seed | 5 | 14/03/2023 | Porsche; UP.Partners (UP.Labs) (lead) |
| Metasense B88 | Metaverse-focused entrepreneurial project builder | Financial | Portugal | N/A | 5 | 20/03/2023 | Luduson Entertainment (lead) |
| Soul Wallet | Smart crypto wallet operator | Financial | UAE | Seed | 3 | 16/03/2023 | Alchemy, Ankr; Struck Crypto, Game7DAO, NGC Ventures, Dispersion Capital, Signum Capital, David Hoffman, Ryan Sean Adams, Kristof Gazso, Marc Zeller, Scott Moore, Terence Tsao, Tim Beiko |
| Aica | Developer of manufacturing automation technology | Industrial | Switzerland | N/A | 1.3 | 21/03/2023 | Schaeffler Group; Spicehaus Partners, High-Tech Gründerfonds |
| Sense Neuro Diagnostics | Non-invasive brain scanner developer | Healthcare | US | N/A | <1 ($250,000) | 20/03/2023 | St Elizabeth Healthcare |
| Proxtera | Cross-border wholesale trade marketplace | Consumer | Singapore | Seed | N/A | 17/03/2023 | Ant Group; Singapore Economic Development Board (EDBI), CerraCap Ventures |
| Gaspack | NFT-equipped artwork trading platform | Financial | Indonesia | Pre-Seed | N/A | 20/03/2023 | Telkom Indonesia (MDI Ventures’ Emerge and Arise funds) (lead), Tokoin; 500 Global |
| Covalo | Product and services marketplace for consumer goods brands | Services | Switzerland | N/A | N/A | 20/03/2023 | Gekko Group; High-Tech Gründerfonds (lead), seed + speed Ventures |
| Be Group | Electric vehicle-focused ride hailing service | Transport | Vietnam | N/A | N/A | 21/03/2023 | Vingroup (Green and Smart Mobility) |
