Mobile news aggregation company Gunosy has provided $5m of series B funding for Indonesia-based counterpart Kurio, TechCrunch reported on Tuesday, citing a regulatory filing. Gunosy’s investment, made at a $12m valuation, follows an undisclosed seven-figure amount from CyberAgent Ventures, internet company CyberAgent’s corporate venturing unit, in late 2014.
Forge, the US-based developer of a platform that enables gamers to record and share footage of their exploits, raised $4.5m in seed financing on Monday from investors including WME Ventures, the corporate venturing unit owned by talent agency William Morris Endeavor. The round, co-led by venture capital firms True Ventures and Resolute Ventures and backed by a host of angel investors, will support product development.
NewCo, a US-based promoter of urban business festivals, has raised $4.3m in a round led by True Ventures that included Bloomberg Beta, the early-stage investment arm of media group Bloomberg, as well as Obvious Ventures, Transmedia Capital and various angel investors, TechCrunch has reported. The funding follows $1.7m in February 2015 from Bloomberg Beta, Obvious Ventures, True Ventures, Transmedia Capital, Freestyle Capital, Foundry Fund and a range of angel investors.
Business Growth Fund, the growth equity fund backed by several UK banks, has invested an undisclosed amount in UK-based painted exterior assembly manufacturer Paintbox Automotive. The investment will support “a major expansion” of Paintbox’s robotic painting capabilities.
Brazil-based logistics platform developer Mandaê completed a $2.5m funding round backed by Qualcomm Ventures, the corporate venturing arm of semiconductor technology provider Qualcomm, and existing investors Monashees+ and Valor Capital Group on Tuesday. The round brought the overall total raised by Mandaê, whose past investors also include Kima Ventures and Hans Hickler, to $5m, and will be used to accelerate growth, and to expand its team and operations.
Credly, the US-based operator of a digital credentials platform, closed a $2.5m seed round on Tuesday co-led by University Ventures and New Markets Venture Partners that included apparel identity and badging company Lion Brothers, skills development firm City & Guilds Group and Lumina Foundation. Verified skills, abilities and certifications can be managed and used through the platform as digital credentials.
Avyst, the US-based insurance policy tracking platform formerly known as Wave Insurance Technologies, has closed a $2.5m round featuring Agents Service Corporation, the for-profit subsidiary of trade body Professional Independent Insurance Agents of Colorado. The startup’s cloud-based system enables insurance agents to track, process, quote and issue policies.
Shoppimon, the Israel-based creator of an application management platform for e-commerce, closed a $2.3m seed round on Tuesday featuring internet and media company AOL, which invested through its Israeli VC subsidiary Nautilus, StageOne Ventures, Explore and 2B-Angels. The funding will be used to grow Shoppimon’s team and expand its product offering to different types of e-commerce platforms.
Aesculap, a medical services subsidiary of medical device maker Braun Melsungen, has invested an undisclosed amount in Germany-based neurostimulator startup Neuroloop. The technology which will be developed by Neuroloop, a spinout from Albert-Ludwig-University, will be used to reduce blood pressure.
Sefuri, the Japan-based creator of mountaineering and hiking assistance app Yamap, has raised ¥170m ($1.5m) in a seed round led by mobile gaming company Colopl, The Bridge reported on Monday. The round also featured Daiwa Corporate Investment, a subsidiary of investment bank Daiwa Securities, and VC firm Dogan, and will go to strengthening Yamap’s services.
Investment firm Gate Ventures paid £1m ($1.4m) for a 5% stake in UK-based gaming and video content supplier PlayJam yesterday. PlayJam had received $5m in funding from Gamestop Digital Ventures and Adobe Ventures, the respective corporate venturing arms of games retailer Gamestop and software provider Adobe, as well as Endeavour Ventures and London Venture Partners.
BlueLine Grid, a US-based security collaboration platform developer backed by communications equipment supplier Motorola Solutions, has received an undisclosed sum from VC fund Bold Capital Partners. The investment follows undisclosed amounts from Motorola Solutions’ corporate venturing subsidiary, Motorola Solutions Venture Capital, and In-Q-Tel in 2015. VC firm Double M Partners is also a shareholder in BlueLine.
Business services and applications provider NetSol Technologies agreed on Wednesday to invest $1.1m in UK-based interactive 3D mapping technology developer EeGeo a part of a deal where it will also provide $2.8m of services. NetSol will hold a 15% share in EeGeo once the funding goes through. Investors including Initial Capital and Swordfish Investments provided an initial $2.5m for EeGeo in 2010 before New Enterprise Associates led a $4.7m round two years later.
Asana Yoga, the Germany-based operator of an online shop and magazine for yoga, received an undisclosed amount of seed financing yesterday from corporate-backed VC fund High-Tech Gruenderfonds, Astutia Ventures, and angel investors Florian Huber, Jeannette Fürstenberg and Sebastian Johnston. The startup is also a graduate of ProSiebenSat.1 Accelerator, an accelerator initiative run by media company ProSiebenSat.1.