AAA Weekly corporate venturing deal net: 2-6 May 2016

Weekly corporate venturing deal net: 2-6 May 2016

US-based driver safety technology startup CarVi has received $5m in series A capital from steelmaker Posco, electronics producer Samsung and telecommunications firm Korea Telecom, the latter two of which took part through their Samsung Venture Investment and Korea Telecom Investment subsidiaries, CrowdFund Insider has reported. CarVi raised more than $100,000 on IndieGogo for its lead product, a connected driver safety product that supplies feedback on risky driver behaviour in real time, in 2015.

Humanyze, the US-based developer of an analytics platform that quantifies social interactions, received $4m in series A financing from venture capital firm Romulus Capital yesterday. The cash follows a $1m seed round in February 2015 led by Romulus Capital with participation from Dunnhumby Ventures, the corporate venturing arm of customer research company Dunnhumby, and Boston Seed.

Roam, a US-based provider of communal living spaces for mobile travellers, raised $3.3m in seed funding on Tuesday from real estate developer and operator Corigin as well as CRV, which led the round, Collaborative Fund, NextView and angel investors including Eric Wahlforss, Sean Park and Sten Tamkivi. Founded in 2015, Roam will use the cash to grow its team, further develop its online platform and open in new locations.

Unbxd, an India-based provider of discovery and analytics technology for e-commerce businesses, has received an undisclosed amount of series B funding from IDG Ventures India, the local VC affiliate of media company International Data Group; Nirvana Venture Advisors, which led the round; Inventus Capital and Indian Angel Network, LiveMint reported yesterday. Unbxd raised $2m in a 2013 series A round that included IDG Ventures and Inventus, and is a graduate of retailer Target’s Retail Accelerator Challenge.

Dentsu Ventures Global Fund, a subsidiary of digital marketing company Dentsu, has invested an undisclosed amount in Exo, a US-based producer of food products made from crickets. Founded in 2014, Exo has released a range of protein bars that come in eight flavours, and Dentsu will help the startup expand in the US and its home country of Japan.

CloudDDM, a US-based company that provides 3D printers and computerised numerical control machines to produce specialised parts for industrial customers on demand, has received $2.5m in funding from logistics company UPS, TechCrunch reported on Monday. CloudDDM is also headquartered on the UPS Supply Chain Campus, giving it access to what is said to be the world’s largest package handling facility.

US-based customer service communication technology developer LiveNinja has completed a $2m bridge round that included Comcast Ventures Catalyst Fund and Citi Ventures, respective subsidiaries of mass media firm Comcast and financial services group Citi, VentureBeat reported on Wednesday. The round, which also featured Scout Ventures, Anzu Partners, Accelerated Growth Partners and SeedInvest, boosted LiveNinja’s total funding to $3.5m, according to VentureBeat.

ValiMail, the US-headquartered creator of a cloud-based email authentication platform, has raised $1.5m in a seed round co-led by Bloomberg Beta, the early-stage investment arm of media company Bloomberg, and Flybridge Capital Partners, VentureBeat reported yesterday. The round was disclosed as ValiMail, which offers a subscription-based service that makes sure businesses only send out verified emails, emerged from stealth.

Tierion, a US-based startup developing online verification technology based on the blockchain, has raised $1m in a seed round co-led by Fenbushi Capital, the cryptocurrency investment fund launched by auto parts group Wanxiang. The round was co-led with VC firm Blockchain Capital and backed by investment fund Digital Currency Group.

Mobile internet company MoMagic Technologies has invested $1m in India-based educational product supplier EduAce Services, DealStreetAsia reported yesterday. EduAce intends to use the capital to grow its staff numbers to it can expand into additional Indian states, co-founder and CEO Gaurava Yadav told DealStreetAsia.

Amazon has invested between $250,000 and $500,000 in US-based item tracker technology producer TrackR through its Alexa Fund, Reuters reported on Monday. TrackR secured $8.7m in series A funding from investors including Foundry Group and Resolute Ventures in October 2015, after raising $1.7m in July the same year, according to a securities filing.

Project September, the US-based developer of a curated, image-based shopping platform, has raised an undisclosed amount of funding from backers including WME Ventures, the corporate venturing subsidiary of talent agency William Morris Endeavor, and BBG Ventures, the female-focused venture capital fund owned by mass media company AOL, TechCrunch has reported. Other investors in the startup include Venrock, Montage Ventures, First Round Capital, Greylock, Partners and F3 Ventures.

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