AAA Weekly corporate venturing deal net: 21-25 March 2016

Weekly corporate venturing deal net: 21-25 March 2016

UK-based blockchain monitoring technology startup Elliptic completed a $5m series A round on Monday featuring Santander InnoVentures, a strategic investment subsidiary of financial services firm Santander. Paladin Capital Group led the round, which included KRW Schindler, Digital Currency Group and Octopus Ventures, the investment firm that provided $2m in seed funding for Elliptic in 2014.

US-based diagnostic testing equipment developer Adarza BioSystems closed a $5m series B round co-led by industrial equipment and appliance maker Siemens, which invested through its Siemens Venture Capital unit, Cultivation Capital Life Science Fund and Lewis and Clark Ventures on Monday. It had raised $6.8m in series A funding from investors including Siemens Venture Capital, Cultivation Capital, BioGenerator, St. Louis Arch Angels, Missouri Technology Corp and Serra Capital in 2014.

Medgate, a Canada-based provider of environmental, health and safety risk management software, received a “large strategic investment” from Norwest Venture Partners, the venture capital firm that invests on behalf of bank Wells Fargo, on Wednesday. Jon Kossow and Rob Arditi from Norwest will join Medgate’s board in conjunction with the round, which also included Georgian Partners and BMO Financial Group.

Mitsui’s IT & Communication, a subsidiary of conglomerate Mitsui, has led a £3m ($4.3m) round for UK-based data analytics and prediction technology developer Black Swan. The series B funding will support growth in Europe as well as an expansion into Japan and the US in partnership with Japan-based Mitsui.

Lilly Asia Ventures, a corporate venturing subsidiary of pharmaceutical firm Eli Lilly, has provided an undisclosed amount of series A funding for China-based haemodialysis medical device and healthcare services company Millin Enterprises, China Money Network reported yesterday. Millin is developing medical devices to treat kidney diseases, and set up its first specialist treatment centre in January 2015.

Wave energy developer Carnegie Wave Systems paid A$4.5m ($3.4m) for a 35% stake in Australia-based solar and microgrid system installer Energy Made Clean on Tuesday. The investment, comprising A$3m of cash and A$1.5m in stock, will lead to the companies sharing resources, skills and expertise as they look to broaden the range of renewable energy installation services they can offer.

Online game publisher 37Games paid almost $3.2m for a 10% stake in Canada-based virtual reality game studio Archiact on Tuesday. The investment is the first in a VR technology developer by China-based 37Games, which aims to eventually diversify its product offering to all entertainment markets.

Thailand-based medical services marketplace Medical Departures closed a $2.5m series A round on Monday featuring CyberAgent Ventures and Opt SEA, the respective corporate venturing arms of internet company CyberAgent and digital marketing company Opt, and media group Hubert Burda Media. Venture capital fund DMP led the round, which will be used to accelerate the platform’s growth in Southeast Asia.  

Apperio, the UK-based developer of a legal fee tracking platform, confirmed a £1.7m ($2.4m) seed round featuring NextLaw Labs, the accelerator run by law firm Dentons, on Monday. The round, which was led by Notion Capital and backed by IQ Capital, was originally reported without the newly disclosed amount in last week’s Deal Net.

Israel-based retail analytics technology startup CiValue closed a $2.4m seed round that included Nielsen Innovate, a subsidiary of performance management firm Nielsen Holdings, as well as telecommunications company Deutsche Telekom and VC fund Mac Fund yesterday. CiValue will use the cash to roll out its cloud-based customer analytics software, which is targeted at grocery, health and beauty retailers.

On-vehicle advertising company Cash Ur Drive has invested Rs 132m ($2m) in India-based budget accommodation marketplace Room on Call, the Economic Times reported on Monday. The investment, which follows $300,000 of angel funding from Yahoo executive Payal Syal, will be used to strengthen the startup’s presence in its existing markets and support an expansion to other Indian cities.

Loverly, a US-based wedding inspiration app developer backed by telecoms group Softbank and mass media firm Comcast, has raised $2m from Hunt Technology Ventures, Montage Ventures, GrowthX, Transmedia Capital, 645 Ventures, Great Oaks Capital and Female Founders Fund, TechCrunch reported on Tuesday. It has now secured $7m in total, and announced the funding as it launched a chat-based wedding concierge feature that can recommend local services that fit an individual couple’s needs.

Permission Click, the Canada-based creator of a digital platform for school activity permission slips, completed a $1.75m seed round on Tuesday that included Friesens, a short-run book manufacturer with a substantial school yearbook printing business, and VC firm Real Ventures. The startup’s cloud-based platform helps schools coordinate the permission forms and payments needed for participation in extracurricular school activities.

Canada-based digital health startup QoC Health has closed a C$700,000 ($540,000) seed round co-led by home and community care provider Bayshore HealthCare and boutique investment firm Epic Capital Management that included undisclosed angel investors. The funding will support continued growth and the further development of the startup’s patient engagement platform.

Singtel Innov8, the corporate venturing arm of telecoms firm Singapore Telecommunications, has invested S$710,000 ($520,000) in Singapore-based engineering services provider Hope Technik, increasing its stake in the company from 18% to 21%, DealStreetAsia reported on Wednesday. The company has not disclosed the size or time of Singtel Innov8’s previous investment.

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