Automotive manufacturer Daimler has invested an undisclosed sum in US-based telematics technology producer Zonar Systems, Reuters has reported. Daimler, which has been collaborating with Zonar for the past five years on a satellite-based diagnostic system for truck drivers, acquired a stake sized at less than 25% in the deal.
US-based pregnancy management app developer Wildflower Health has secured $5m in series B funding from healthcare technology provider Cambia Health Solutions, as well as Easton Capital and Hatteras Venture Partners, which co-led the round, and HealthTech Capital. Cambia, HealthTech and KMG Capital Partners previously invested $1.7m in Wildflower in 2013.
Ratan Tata, chairman emeritus of conglomerate Tata & Sons, invested an undisclosed sum in India-based ride sharing service on Wednesday. Ola had previously raised $675m from investors including SoftBank Capital, the corporate venturing arm of telecommunications company SoftBank, GIC, Falcon Edge Capital, DST Global, Tiger Global, Steadview Capital, Accel Partners, ABG Capital, Matrix Partners and Sequoia Capital, and was valued at $2.5bn as of April this year.
Gladius Pharmaceuticals, a Canada-based developer of treatments to combat bacterial infections, has closed a C$4.1m ($3.3m) series A round led by Merck Lumira Biosciences Fund, the fund run by venture capital firm Lumira Capital and backed by pharmaceutical company Merck. The round also included SR One, the corporate venturing arm of pharmaceutical firm GlaxoSmithKline, and the Québec province-backed unit Fonds de solidarité FTQ.
Reinventure, the fintech-focused VC firm backed by financial services provider Westpac, invested an undisclosed sum in US-based bitcoin exchange platform Coinbase on Monday. Coinbase had raised $106m in total as of January 2015 from investors including financial services firm BBVA, trading firm The New York Stock Exchange and Docomo Capital, the investment arm of mobile network operator Docomo.
Enterprise healthcare technology company Castlight Health has invested $3.1m in US-based behavioural health technology developer Lyra Health as part of a strategic agreement to jointly bring an integrated behavioural health system to market. Castlight chief executive Giovanni Colella will join the board of Lyra, which was founded earlier this year, in conjunction with the deal.
Rithmio, a US-based spin-out from the University of Illinois that is developing a gesture recognition platform for motion-sensing devices like wearables, has raised $3m in a series A round led by Intel Capital, semiconductor maker Intel’s corporate venturing unit, Crain’s Chicago Business reported on Tuesday. The round, which included OCA Ventures, Hyde Park Angels, Hyde Park Venture Partners,New Coast Ventures, Serra Ventures, Foley Ventures, MKRC Ventures and MAS Capital, took Rithmio’s total funding to $3.7m.
India-based credit information platform CreditMantri has raised $2.5m in series A funding from IDG Ventures India, an affiliate of media and data firm International Data Group, VC firm Elevar Equity and Accion Venture Lab, a subsidiary of non-profit organisation Accion, according to the Economic Times. CreditMantri will use the funds to make new hires and to beef up its marketing and back-end technology.
India-based housemate finding app developer Flatchat has received $2.5m in seed funding from online property listings platform CommonFloor, TechCrunch reported on Tuesday. The cash will support an expansion of Flatchat’s 40-strong workforce and in particular its product and engineering teams, and entry into cities with high proportions of students and single professionals.
Creww, the Japan-based developer of a community platform for startups, has raised ¥270m ($2.2m) from financial services firm Orix and investment firm Mistletoe, The Bridge reported on Wednesday. The company previously received $1.2m in seed funding from broadcaster Nippon TV in 2013, and will use the latest round to expand its open innovation activities and launch a financial service for startups in partnership with Orix.
One Month, the US-based creator of an online platform that helps users learn to code, has closed a $1.9m seed round led by VC fund Idea Bulb Ventures that also included human resources provider Cornerstone On-Demand and VC firm Arena Ventures, TechCrunch reported on Tuesday. The startup previously raised $770,000 in a June 2014 seed round backed by Y Combinator, Andreessen Horowitz, General Catalyst, Winklevoss Capital, Funders Club, Wefunder and Innovation Works, which is an affiliate of Idea Bulb.
US-based social media analytics provider Twtrland has rebranded itself as Klear, raising $1.5m in series A capital from Altair Capital, GIG, and TMT Investments in the process, TechCrunch reported on Tuesday. Klear, a graduate of software company Microsoft’s Azure accelerator in 2012, has now raised $2m in total and will spend the funding on sales and marketing as it looks to grow in the US and UK.
NextInput, a US-based developer of force-sensing technology for touch-enabled devices, received $1.5m in funding on Wednesday from Intel Capital, automotive parts provider Takata Holdings, angel investor Steve Nasiri and investor group Band of Angels. It had previously raised $1.9m in financing, according to media reports and regulatory filings, $500,000 of which came from Band of Angels.
SeeClickFix, the US-based developer of a tool that aids citizen communication with local government officials, secured $1.4m on Tuesday in a round featuring O’Reilly AlphaTech Ventures, the corporate venturing unit owned by media company O’Reilly Media, as well as Elm Street Ventures, Omidyar Network, Connecticut Innovations and LaunchCapital. The company has now raised about $3m altogether, including $1.5m from an O’Reilly AlphaTech and Omidyar Network-backed seed round in 2011.
Tegna, the media group previously known as Gannett, invested an undisclosed sum in The Video Call Center, a US-based company developing programming built on contributions from video callers around the world. Tegna, which claims to be the largest independent station group of major network affiliates in the top 25 markets in the US, plans to begin producing programming using the technology.
Pal+, the Taiwan-based mobile messaging app provider formerly known as Cubie, has raised $1.3m in series A funding from game publisher Asiasoft, VC firm Expert Idea and FunP. The company had already received $1.1m in a 2012 seed round backed by NTT Investment Partners, a subsidiary of telecommunications firm NTT; corporate-backed VC fund B Dash Ventures; Gumi Ventures, which acts as gaming company Gumi’s investment arm; Biglobe Capital, Pinehurst, 500 Startups and Andrew Chen.
India-based enterprise software provider Cloudcherry Analytics has received about $1m in seed funding from IDG Ventures India, a corporate venturing affiliate of media company International Data Group, and The Chennai Angels, the Economic Times reported on Wednesday. Cloucherry’s software helps brands track, measure and enhance the customer experience.
France-based in-app merchandising and 3D printing technology developer FabZat raised $800,000 on Wednesday in a series A round led by investment vehicle Alderville Holding that also featured Crédit Agricole Aquitaine Expansion, a venture capital unit owned by financial services firm Crédit Agricole, Kima Ventures, Nestadio Capital and Expanso Capital. FabZat, which raised $600,000 in a Kima-backed seed round in June 2014, will use the cash to support growth in the US and Europe, particularly in the smart toys market.
Semknox, the Germany-based creator of a semantic product search engine, received a ix-figure euro amount of funding on Tuesday from marketing consultancy LeRoi Online Marketing, software developer Seto, corporate-backed VC fund High-Tech Gruenderfonds (HTGF), WestTech Ventures and angel investor Philipp Katz. The cash will support Semknox’s bid to establish its search engine among e-commerce websites.
HTGF also provided an undisclosed amount of seed funding for Germany-based online payment technology startup Payever yesterday. Payever, which formed a strategic partnership with financial services firm Santander in 2014, is also a graduate of the Berlin accelerator programme run by Microsoft Ventures, Microsoft’s corporate venturing subsidiary.
India-based on-demand shipping service provider Parcelled has secured an undisclosed sum from online logistics company Delhivery and Traxcn Labs, a subsidiary of investment research platform Tracxn, the Economic Times reported on Wednesday. The capital will be used to support Parcelled’s technology and back-end capabilities, as well as an expansion to eight cities or more by the end of 2015.
– Photo courtesy of Zonar Systems