China-based online venture capital news source 36kr has raised an undisclosed amount in a series D round led by Ant Financial, e-commerce group Alibaba’s financial services affiliate, which also included Huatai Securities Company and Matrix Partners. The company received an undisclosed sum in a 2011 angel round before closing a RMB10m ($1.6m) series A round funded by Matrix the following year. It has not disclosed series B or C funding details.
China-based heavy machinery maker Sany Heavy Industry has committed an undisclosed amount of capital to a venture capital firm called Enlightenment Capital that will invest in internet of things technology startups in China, China Money Network reported on Wednesday. The firm plans to fund up to 50 companies in the next three years and Liang Zaizhong, one of Sany’s directors, will act as one of the firm’s partners.
Uhuru Corporation, the Japan-based developer of a data-integrating platform for the internet of things, secured approximately ¥520m ($4.4m) on Wednesday from Salesforce Ventures, cloud computing company Salesforce.com’s corporate venturing unit, and conglomerate Mitsui. Salesforce previously supplied an undisclosed amount of funding for Uhuru in 2011, while Mitsui provided its share following the formation of a strategic partnership between one of its subsidiaries, MBEL, and Uhuru in June this year.
Consumer electronics producer Micromax has invested an undisclosed sum in India-based music streaming service Gaana as part of a partnership deal that will involve Gaana being made available on all Micromax smartphones, the Economic Times reported on Wednesday. Gaana, which has a reported 20 million active users, is a subsidiary of media conglomerate Times Group.
US-based sports streaming platform EverSport Media has raised $4.2m in series A capital from media group ProSiebenSat1, Emil Capital, Third Wave Capital and assorted angel investors. EverSport previously secured seed funding from investors including media company Demarest.
Chauffeured car service provider Ucar has invested an undisclosed sum in China-based designated driver service eDaijia, China Money Network reported on Wednesday. The funding follows the $100m eDaijia raised from US-based private equity firm Warburg Pincus, also an investor in Ucar, in May.
Sweden-based mobile payment technology provider iZettle received an undisclosed amount of funding on Tuesday from venture capital and private equity group MCI Management. The investment followed iZettle’s $67m series D round, which was led by Intel Capital, semiconductor technology producer Intel’s corporate venturing arm, in August this year that increased the company’s overall funding to more than $185m.
Spain-based advertising technology platform developer Marfeel raised $3.5m on Tuesday in a seed round co-led by Bertelsmann Digital Media Investments, a subsidiary of media group Bertelsmann. The round, co-led with venture capital firms Nauta Capital and Elaia Partners, will support the opening of a New York office as Marfeel aims to expand in the US.
US-based women’s lifestyle media brand FabFitFun secured $3.5m on Tuesday in its first round of funding, which was co-led by VC firms New Enterprise Associates and Upfront Ventures, and backed by investors including Simon Ventures, the corporate venturing unit of retail real estate firm Simon Property Group. The round also included Rachel Zoe Ventures, 500 Startups, Simon Ventures, Draft Ventures, Josh Kushner, Will Gaybrick, Joe Green, Eytan Elbaz and Bill Woodward.
Contract electronics manufacturer Foxconn has contributed $1.5m to a $3.4m seed round closed by Nucleus, the US-based developer of a family communication service. Nucleus disclosed the round, which also included FF Angels, Anthiem Ventures, Josh Kopelman and Jerry Kestenbaum, on Tuesday in conjunction with the commercial release of its product, and it has now raised about $3.6m in total funding.
Soapbox, the Canada-based developer of a platform that allows executives to receive feedback from front line employees, raised $3m on Wednesday in a seed round co-led by SBNY, the affiliate of telecommunications company SoftBank formerly known as SoftBank Capital, Golden Venture Partners and Accomplice, the VC firm previously known as Atlas Venture. The cash will go to strengthening sales and marketing, and platform development and expansion.
Orange Digital Ventures, the corporate venturing arm of telecommunications company Orange, has invested an undisclosed sum in Afrostream, a France-based video media platform focused on Afro-Caribbean and African American programming, Variety has reported. Afrostream previously received funding from Orange’s accelerator programme, Orange Fab France, Y Combinator, TheFamily, Cross Culture Ventures and Ace & Company.
Emergent VR, a US-based developer of video capture technology for virtual reality headsets, has raised $2.2 million in seed capital from Google Ventures, internet and technology holding company Alphabet’s corporate venturing unit, as well as Accel Partners and Rothenberg Ventures, yesterday. Its technology is capable of capturing video and sharing it to the Emergent VR network through a smartphone.
VidMob, the US-based operator of a marketplace for video editors, secured funding yesterday from investors including Mother Ventures, the corporate venturing unit owned by advertising agency Mother New York, in a seed round TechCrunch reported was sized at $2m. The round also included Foundation Capital, Acadia Woods Partners and a series of current and former media executives.
US-based automated mortgage transaction technology developer Roostify has raised an undisclosed amount in a series A round led by financial services provider USAA yesterday. The round also included investment management firm Colchis Capital and two undisclosed Tier one banks.
K4Connect, a US-based company that converts ordinary residences into smart homes by installing connected products together with its own software platform, secured $1.9m in seed funding on Monday from backers including home improvement retail chain Lowe’s. The round also included Sierra Ventures, Better Ventures, Stonehenge Growth Equity Partners and assorted angel investors.
India-based online travel community Tripoto has received an undisclosed amount of funding from IDG Ventures India, a local corporate venturing affiliate of media and data company International Data Group, 500 Startups, Advantedge Partners, Neeraj Arora and Leon Seynave, IamWire reported on Monday. Tripoto had previously raised about $2.4m from IDG Ventures India, Outbox Ventures, Palaash Ventures and various angel investors.
Happycar, the Germany-based operator of a price comparison site for automotive rental, has raised $1.6m from backers including HR Ventures, a corporate venturing subsidiary of airline Hahn Air Group, TechCrunch reported today. The round was led by Capnamic Ventures and also featured Global Founders Capital, Wolfgang Heigl, George Hadjigeorgiou, Teodoro D’Ambrosio and Felix Schneider, and took Happycar’s overall funding to $3.2m.
Germany-based enterprise software startup Loopline Systems received an undisclosed sum from investors including corporate-backed VC fund High-Tech Gruenderfonds (HTGF) on Wednesday. The round also featured VC Fonds Technologie Berlin II and early-stage VC fund Project A Ventures, from which Loopline spun out last year, and which increased its stake in the round.
HTGF also supplied an undisclosed amount of funding to VirtualQ, the Germany-based developer of a virtual call waiting service, on Tuesday. The technology sends a push notification or text message to users when it is their turn to speak to customer service, allowing them to connect to the company through the app.