Korea-based mobile marketing firm Spoqa has raised $3.9m in funding led by Daesung Private Equity group and Bokwang Investments, technology finance news site TechCrunch reported on Tuesday, and will use the funding to expand in its home country of Korea and Japan. Steel company Posco is a past backer, having invested an undisclosed sum last year through its Posco Venture Partners subsidiary, as is multimedia retailer GS Home Shopping.
Life is Tech, the Japan-based operator of a bootcamp that teaches IT schools to children and teenagers, raised ¥310m ($3m) on Monday from human resources company Recruit Holdings, internet company DeNA, venture capital firm Jafco, KCJ Group and Mistletoe. The company, which came out of an incubator run by telecommunications company KDDI in 2013, picked up seed funding from the corporate venturing arm of internet company CyberAgent last year.
Japan-based event ticket marketplace Ticket Street has secured ¥300m ($2.9m) in series A funding from e-commerce company Ebay and Gree Ventures, the corporate venturing arm of social media and gaming company Gree, The Bridge reported on Wednesday. Ticket Street, which had previously raised $750,000 from Mitsubishi UFJ Capital, Mizuho Capital and Incubated Fund, plans to leverage the funding to partner with US-based Ebay subsidiary Stub Hub.
Two Tap, the US-based creator of a ‘universal shopping cart’ that allows users to automatically buy any product from any retailer using any online device, raised $2.7m in seed funding on Thursday from investors including internet company Digital Garage and VC firms Khosla Ventures and Transmedia Capital. The cash will go to product development, marketing and hiring additional staff to support growth.
Semiconductor manufacturer AMS led a $2.5m series A round on Monday for ZircLight, a US-based company conducting research into health problems related to ‘blue light wave lengths’. Risk management firm Circadian acquired a controlling stake in ZircLight, which will be renamed Circadian Zirclight, as part of the same deal.
DMG Information, the business information subsidiary of media company Daily Mail and General Trust, invested an undisclosed sum in SiteCompli, a US-based provider of compliance monitoring technology to New York property owners and managers, on Monday. SiteCompli will use the capital to support growth as it seeks to serve the real estate industry as a whole.
Nitze-Stagen and Daniels Real Estate has invested an undisclosed amount between $1m and $2m in US-based LED lighting product maker Next Lighting through its corporate venturing subsidiary Nitze-Stagen Capital Partners, Puget Sound Business Journal reported on Tuesday. Next Lighting plans to now move its manufacturing facility across Washington State from Scotts Valley to Seattle.
Thailand-based online fashion retailer WearYouWant has secured $1.5m in series A funding from backers including OPT, the marketing firm looking to invest $146m in start-ups over the next three years. Digital Media Partners, which led the company’s seed round, also participated, as did IMJ Investment Partners and WhatYouWear co-founder Julien Chalté.
HelpingDoc, an India-based online healthcare appointment booking platform, has raised $1.5m from Malaysia-based healthcare information provider Senior Marketing Systems, Hindu Business Line reported on Thursday. The funds will support HelpingDoc’s expansion from its home territory of New Delhi to other major centres in India such as Mumbai, Bangalore, Kolkata and Chennai.
Predemtec, the Germany-based creator of a blood test to diagnose Alzheimer’s disease, received an undisclosed amount of seed funding from corporate-backed venture fund High-Tech Gruenderfonds on Tuesday. The money will fund the initial tests required to develop its technology into a marketable product.
Do, the US-based developer of a software platform that helps people prepare for meetings, has raised $400,000 in seed funding from cloud software producer Salesforce.com and venture capital firm SherpaVentures. Do was incubated in SherpaFoundry, a consultancy that operates as an entirely separate entity to SherpaVentures.