Ally Commerce, the US-based developer of a management platform for e-commerce retailers, received an undisclosed amount of series B funding yesterday from UPS Strategic Enterprise Fund, the corporate venturing unit owned by logistics company UPS, taking its overall funding to $8.4m. The company had previously raised $2m in equity and $1.3m in debt between 2012 and October 2014, according to regulatory filings.
Robert Bosch Venture Capital, the early-stage investment arm of industrial products maker Robert Bosch, invested an undisclosed sum in Optomed, a Finland-based developer of retinal imaging products to treat eye diseases, yesterday. Founded in 2004, Optomed will use the cash to scale its business and further develop its products.
People Power, a US-based developer of apps, cloud and mobile services for the internet of things, secured $4.4m on Wednesday in a series B round led by semiconductor technology manufacturer MediaTek. The company had previously raised $6.3m between 2009 and 2013, according to regulatory filings.
Statoil Technology Invest, the strategic investment subsidiary of oil and gas company Statoil, and diversified conglomerate Sumitomo Corporation, jointly invested an undisclosed sum in CannSeal, the Norway-based creator of a tool that enhances oil production from mature fields, on Wednesday. Private equity firm Altor Equity Partners remains CannSeal’s largest investor, according to the company.
Pete Kight, the founder and CEO of commerce technology provider CheckFree, has invested $4m in MX Technologies, a US-based real-time money management and financial data analysis platform backed by internet holding company Digital Garage and financial services provider USAA, Beehive Startups reported yesterday. MX has now raised $54m across three rounds from investors also including TTV Capital, North Hill Ventures and Commerce Ventures.
A consortium co-led by Recipharm Venture Fund, the investment arm of contract medical research company Recipharm, and research foundation Östersjöstiftelsen acquired the stake in XSpray Microparticles, a Sweden-based producer of particulate material for the pharmaceutical industry, held by Karolinska Development and European Investment Bank on Tuesday for an undisclosed amount. XSpray was founded in 2003 as CENS Delivery.
Orb, the Japan-based creator of a blockchain-equipped cloud computing system, is set to close a ¥274m ($2.3m) series A round featuring marketing company Ceres, investment firm United, app marketing services provider Adways, Monex Ventures, the venture capital division of holding group Monex, and SBI Investment next week, The Bridge reported on Wednesday. The company, raised $500,000 in an April 2014 seed round and revealed the latest funding as it prepares to launch a cryptocurrency management platform called SmartCoin.
Singapore-based online film platform Viddsee has raised an undisclosed amount in a round led by CyberAgent Ventures, internet company CyberAgent’s investment arm, which took its total funding to $2.3m, TechCrunch reported on Wednesday. Founded in 2013, Viddsee previously received about $40,000 in seed funding from Singaporean state-backed incubator Ace.
Canada-based drug discovery startup Encycle Therapeutics closed a C$2.85m ($2.1m) round on Wednesday led by Takeda Ventures, the corporate venturing subsidiary of pharmaceutical company Takeda. The round, which also included Accel-Rx Health Sciences Accelerator, BDC Capital and MaRS Investment Accelerator Fund, follows a $2.5m seed round backed by undisclosed investors in November 2014.
Interviewed, a US-based creator of simulation games to assist in hiring employees, secured $2m in seed funding on Wednesday from Apollo Education Ventures, which acts as education services provider Apollo Education Group’s corporate venturing unit, SV Angel and Red Swan. The startup, a graduate of Y Combinator, will use the money to form partnerships with other enterprise human resources systems, and to further develop its job simulations.
Germany-based diet meal delivery service Kukimi has raised a seven-figure euro amount in seed financing from High-Tech Gruenderfonds (HTGF), Seedcamp, Atlantic Labs, Valessa Tech Holdings and NewBorn Capital, the latter three contributing capital as existing investors. Kukimi currently lists 20 sous-vide cooked meals on its website, including vegetarian and vegan meals, and plans to launch a paleo offering and a fitness line in the next few months.
HTGF has also invested an undisclosed sum in Germany-based file storage technology developer Cloudplan alongside OP Advisory Services. The funding, the first to be raised externally by Cloudplan, will support product development and its entry into the market.
Sorabito, the Japan-based operator of online heavy machinery marketplace Allstocker, raised ¥100m ($840,000) yesterday from GMO Venture Partners, the investment arm of internet company GMO, Tech in Asia reported. The company, which sells construction, agriculatural and forestry equipment and vehicles, will invest the cash in expanding its engineering and sales teams.
One97 Communications, the operator of online payment platform Paytm, has also made two investments this week, providing undisclosed sums for India-based bus ticketing platform Abhibus and online income tax filing service ClearTax, DealStreetAsia reported today. ClearTax previously raised $120,000 from accelerator Y Combinator in July 2014, while Abhibus secured the investment as it released a mobile wallet product called Abhicash.
Media company MediaCorp agreed a deal with France-based skincare brand Crème Simon on Tuesday that will involve it taking an equity stake in Crème Simon in return for providing advertising products and services. Crème Simon already sells its products in Hong Kong, South Korea, Indonesia and Australia and plans to soon expand to Thailand and Malaysia.