Canada-based video distribution and content discovery platform Vemba secured $5m in series A funding on Monday from Bertelsmann Digital Media Investments, the corporate venturing arm of media group Bertelsmann, as well as venture capital firm Upfront Ventures and Enterprise Fund at the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation. Vemba had reportedly already raised $3.3m from Rowanwood Ventures, the VC fund managed by iGan Partners, as well as angel investor Steven Harmer.
PSA Group, the parent company of automotive brands Peugeot, Citroën and DS, invested an undisclosed amount in France-based car sharing service TravelerCar yesterday as part of a €100m ($110m) corporate venturing drive in the mobility sector. Founded in 2012, TravelerCar had previously raised €750,000 from undisclosed investors in July 2014 before closing $5.6m in a March 2016 round featuring MAIF Avenir, the corporate venturing arm subsidiary of insurance provider MAIF.
Germany-based cloud accounting service Smacc has raised €3.5m ($3.9m) in series A capital from e-commerce and internet services holding company Rocket Internet, Cherry Ventures, DvH Ventures, Grazia Equity and undisclosed business angels, Tech.EU reported on Tuesday. It will use the funding to accelerate growth and enhance its platform, which utilises artificial intelligence to automate the accounting process.
US-based electric motor scooter rental service Scoot Networks closed a financing round of undisclosed size co-led by Mahindra Partners, the VC subsidiary of conglomerate Mahindra Group, and Vision Ridge Capital. The round also included angel investor Tom Dinwoodie and unnamed earlier backers, and comes after approximately $4.4m of funding from backers including Greenstart and a host of angels.
Germany-based 360-degree camera app developer Splash has raised $2.5m in a round that included internet company DeNA and Bertelsmann Digital Media Investments. The round, which was led by VC firm Greycroft Partners and also backed by Advancit Capital, Felix Capital, Seedcamp, E.Ventures and angel investor Kevin Wall, was announced alongside the launch of a new version of the app that includes videopainting and virtual reality social features.
Consumer financial services provider Synchrony Financial has made a strategic investment of undisclosed size in US-based digital receipt technology developer FlexReceipts, it disclosed on Wednesday. FlexReceipts closed a $2.5m funding round earlier this month, according to a securities filing, and had previously secured about $1.5m from investors including VenVelo and Florida Angel Network.
Orange Digital Ventures, the corporate venturing subsidiary of telecommunications company Orange, provided an undisclosed amount of funding for BandwidthX, the US-based owner of a marketplace for wi-fi network operators, on Wednesday. BandwidthX, which was founded in 2011, received an undisclosed amount from angel investor Risto Siilasmaa in February 2016.
Immobiliare.it has invested €1.5m ($1.7m) in ProntoPro, the Italy-based owner of an online marketplace for artisans and craftspeople, as part of a $3.4m funding round, Casa 24 has reported. The startup will channel the funding towards further development of its service and expansion within its home country.
Fashion e-commerce company Start Today supplied an undisclosed amount of funding for StretchSense, a New Zealand-based developer of sensors for wearable products, on Wednesday. StretchSense, which spun out of Auckland Bioengineering Institute’s Biomimetics Lab, had previously raised capital from Flying Kiwi Angels and New Zealand Venture Investment Fund, and will spend the cash on sales, marketing and upgrading its overseas support network and R&D capabilities in its home country.
Lifestyle and fitness group CMG.Asia has led a $1.5m round for Singapore-based online healthcare information startup Hello Health Group, DealStreetAsia reported on Wednesday. The round, which also featured angel investors including Charles Toomey, will fund Hello Health’s expansion from Vietnam and Indonesia to other neighbouring markets, and CMG.Asia chairman Randy Dobson will join its board of directors.
Payment services firm Mastercard has invested an undisclosed sum in India-based digital payment technology developer Razorpay, Tech in Asia reported yesterday. Razorpay had previously raised $2.6m in seed capital from Matrix Partners, Y Combinator and 33 angel investors before adding $9m in an October 2015 series A round led by Tiger Global Management that also included Matrix Partners.
Diversified conglomerate Mitsui has led a $1.3m round for Russia-based online food delivery platform ChefMarket.ru, East-West Daily News reported yesterday. The round, closed earlier this month, follows a $5m round in November 2015 featuring VC firm AddVenture that valued ChefMarket at $25m.
Fast Forward, the US-based operator of an accelerator for non-profit startups, has raised $1.25m in funding from backers including Google.org, which acts as the philanthropic arm of internet and technology conglomerate Alphabet, and telecom firm AT&T, TechCrunch reported on Wednesday. The round’s other investors were Omidyar Network, BlackRock, Nasiri Foundation and Rita Allen Foundation.
Flip, the US-based creator of an online marketplace where tenants can seek others to take over their lease, has received $1.2m in seed funding from investors including BBG Ventures, the female-focused VC firm founded by mass media group AOL, TechCrunch reported on Tuesday. Techstars Ventures, V1 Ventures and MetaProp NYC also took part in the round, as did angel investors Joanne Wilson and Scott Belsky.