Film and television production company Enlight Media has invested an undisclosed amount in Maoyan, the online film ticketing platform operated by China-based group buying company Meituan, China Money Network reported on Monday. The funding was announced shortly after Meitan spun out Maoyan, which claims to have around 120 million users.
Biopharmaceutical company Baxalta has invested $3m in India-based immuno-oncology therapy developer OncoResponse, enabling it to close its series A round at $12.5m. OncoResponse was spun out by biopharmaceutical company Theraclone Sciences and University of Texas’ research institute MD Anderson Cancer Center in October with $9.5m from Arch Venture Partners, Canaan Partners, William Marsh Rice University and Alexandria Real Estate Equities.
Domestic repairs service provider HomeServe has provided £2m ($2.9m) in seed funding for Dad, the UK-based developer of an app that provides users with DIY tips from professionals, Tech City News has reported. The funding will support the launch of the Dad app, which connects users to DIY experts through video calls.
Iluminar Media, the India-based operator of curated urban lifestyle guide Little Black Book, has closed a $1.2m funding round featuring IDG Ventures India, the local venture capital affiliate of media company International Data Group, and Indian Angel Network, the Economic Times has reported. Founded in 2012, Illuminar raised $150,000 in angel investment in June 2015.
Golf equipment manufacturer Callaway Golf Company has supplied an undisclosed amount of funding for in Junior.Golf, a US-based developer of software that helps introduce young children to the game. The deal will also make Callaway the official golf equipment sponsor for Junior.Golf, which combines information on events and coaching, marketing for local courses and a gamification element that can track playing statistics, in a single app.
Bitcoin hardware mining producer Bitmain Technology has invested an undisclosed sum in Israel-based blockchain technology startup ChainLab. ChainLab plans to release Wings, a decentralised network for the construction of decentralised autonomous organisations for financial transactions, by the end of this month.
Liberty Mutual Strategic Ventures, the corporate venturing arm of insurance company Liberty Mutual Insurance Global Consumer Markets, has contributed to a $3.2m seed round for Notion, a US-based internet of things home awareness technology developer. XL Innovate and a range of other, unnamed investors also participated. Notion’s first product consists of a small sensor that offers eight functions, such as the detection of open windows and water leaks.
Bookingkit, a Germany-based booking software-as-a-service developer that is already backed by private-public partnership High-Tech Gründerfonds (HTGF), has obtained a seven-digit series A round from HTGF, media group Media Union’s investment arm Intermedia and angel investor Robert Kabs.
Japan-based virtual reality software company Dverse has added conglomerate Will Group and games publisher Colopl to its shareholders, Colopl participated in a $1m funding round through its Colopl VR Fund, while Will Group took part through its Incubate fund. Marketing company Adways, 500 Startups Japan, Klab Venture Partners, startup support company Slogan and angel investors also joined the round. Dverse’s software enables designers, engineers and architects to build and change 3D models of their creations in virtual reality.
Italy-based smart mobility company Zehus has obtained €1.5m ($1.7m) in funding from Vittoria Industries, a bicycle tire manufacturer, and government-backed Fondo Italia Venture I. Zehus, a spinout of Politecnico di Milano, has developed technology that combines a battery, an engine and sensors in the rear wheel of a bike to enable electric bicycles that do not need to be charged.
Lost My Name, a UK-based children’s publisher, has extended its $9m series A round by an additional €4m ($4.5m) provided by Project A Ventures. The original tranche came from GV, the corporate venturing division of conglomerate Alphabet, media company Chernin Group, Allen & Company and angel investor Cris Conde in June 2015.
Abbyy, a provider of artificial intelligence and language-based technologies, has injected $3m in a series seed 1 round for US-based artificial intelligence search assistant developer Findo.io. The company’s platform allows users to find information spread across a range of sources, such as social media network Facebook, messaging tool Slack and cloud storage provider Evernote.
– additional reporting by Robert Lavine