Automotive manufacturer Guangzhou Automobile Group (GAC) invested an undisclosed sum in Uber China, the Chinese subsidiary of US-based ride hailing company Uber on Monday. Uber China, which operates in 21 Chinese cities, raised $1.2bn in funding from Uber and internet services company Baidu, in September this year. The GAC partnership will involve collaboration on auto sales, services, financing and marketing.
Pharmaceutical firm Takeda invested $5m in Aquinnah Pharmaceuticals, a US-based startup developing treatments for neurodegenerative diseases including Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, on Monday. The capital, which represents Aquinnah’s first private equity financing, will be used to accelerate clinical development of its drug program.
US-based emergency response technology developer NowForce has secured $4.5m in a series B round led by data analysis technology provider Verint Systems that also included existing investors Winnovation, Indigo Strategic Holding and Monet Venture Group. NowForce, which was founded in Israel in 2008, previously closed a $4m series A round in 2012.
Motorola Solutions Venture Capital, the corporate venturing arm of telecommunications equipment manufacturer Motorola Solutions has invested an undisclosed sum in BlueLine Grid, the US-based developer of a collaboration network for law enforcement, first responder and security teams. The funding follows an investment by In-Q-Tel, the venture capital fund that invests on behalf of the US intelligence community, in April this year.
Fresvii, the US-based developer of AppSteroid, a platform that inserts social networks into mobile apps and games, secured $4m on Monday in a round led by Nissay Capital, a subsidiary of Nippon Life Insurance, which also included angel investor Guo Wei. Nissay, which supplied “the majority of the investment,” previously invested $1.8m in Fresvii in October 2014.
E-commerce company Flipkart and VC fund Blume Ventures have supplied an undisclosed amount of seed funding for India-based mobile gaming startup Mech Mocha, E27 reported on Wednesday. Mech Mocha will put the funding towards growing its team, developing multiple titles for the Indian market, and the development of a backend platform that will enable social and payment capabilities for their games.
Kooh Sports, the India-based operator of children’s health, fitness and activity testing platform Focus Score, has received $2m from investors including IT service provider and consultancy Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), financial services firm HDFC, private equity fund Faering Capital, and sports promotion service Elevate Sports, which acquired a 5% stake, Hindu Business Line has reported. TVS, HDFC and Faering will hold 70% of Kooh between them.
Cohero Health, a US-based startup developing a range of connected health tools and technologies for respiratory patients, closed a $2m seed round on Tuesday featuring Zaffre Investments, the strategic investment subsidiary of health insurance provider Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts. Three Leaf Ventures, an affiliate of Broe Group, Bioadvance, Swanhill Capital and StartUp Health also contributed funding to the round.
Circuit protection equipment manufacturer Littelfuse has invested an undisclosed amount in US-based silicon carbide technology startup Monolith Semiconductor. Littlefuse said the investment was not a material investment, but that it plans to add to it when Monolith achieves certain undisclosed milestones.