Corporate venturing deal net: 3-7 August 2020

MikMak, the e-commerce marketing data provider backed by marketing agency VaynerMedia and talent agency UTA, raised $10m on Monday in a series A round led by Wavecrest Growth Partners that included Luminari Capital, Brave Ventures, Lunch Partners, Madrona Venture Group and angel investors Brett Hurt, Jonathan Opdyke, John Roswech, David Shim and Harry Kargman. The company had secured $3.2m in a 2016 seed round led by VaynerMedia and backed by UTA subsidiary UTA Ventures, Slow Ventures, Brave Ventures and MX Investments, and it also named Luminari Capital and Brave Ventures as existing investors.

Israel-based speech recognition technology developer Voiceitt completed a $10m series A round in June this year featuring M12, the corporate venturing arm of software provider Microsoft, it revealed on Tuesday. Senior citizens interest group AARP, Viking Maccabee Ventures, AMIT Technion, Cahn Capital Corp, Connecticut Innovations, Quake Capital, SLJ Family Office, Dreamit Ventures and Disability Opportunity Fund also invested in the round, which Voiceitt said took its total funding to $15m. It graduated e-commerce firm Amazon’s Alexa Fund accelerator in 2018, the same year it won M12’s $500,000 AI for Good prize.

Real estate developer Nippon Steel Kowa Real Estate committed ¥1bn ($9.5m) to Japan-based venture capital firm DNX Ventures’ third fund on Wednesday. DNX is targeting about $280m for the fund’s close and has so far also secured corporates JXTG Holdings, Mizuho Bank, JCB, Hitachi, Kyocera Communication Systems and Hitachi Solutions as limited partners along with First Brothers and Japan’s Organization for Small & Medium Enterprises and Regional Innovation.

Wealth Park, the Japan-based creator of a digital asset management product, received ¥907m ($8.6m) on Wednesday from financial services firms SBI, Mizuho Bank and Aozora Bank as well as Japan Finance Corporation and assorted angel investors. SBI and Mizuho participated through through SBI Investment and Mizuho Capital respectively, both of which also took part in a $4.8m round for Wealth Park in April 2019 that included Japan Post Capital, the investment arm of postal service Japan Post.

Hygiene technology provider Ecolab has led an $8m funding round for Ecoplant, the Israel-based developer of an energy-use monitoring system for air compressors, Geektime has reported. Techstars’ Farm to Fork accelerator also participated in the round, described by Geektime as part of the company’s series A. It had previously raised $1.7m in series A funding from investors including Benhamou Global Ventures in June 2018.

Japan-based engineer recruitment service Findy secured ¥770m ($7.3m) in debt and equity financing on Monday in a round led by VC firm Global Brain and backed by KDDI Open Innovation Fund, Hakuhodo DY Ventures, SMBC Venture Capital and Mizuho Capital – on behalf of telecommunications firm KDDI, marketing firm Hakuhodo DY, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation and Mizuho Financial Group – as well as leasing service JA Mitsui and internet company United. It had already raised $1.8m in series A funding from Global Brain in June 2019.

Adaptive Phage Therapeutics, a US-based developer of therapeutics intended to combat multi-drug resistant bacterial pathogens, raised $7m on Wednesday in a convertible note round led by $1.75m from  medical research and care provider Mayo Clinic. The company had secured a total of $3.1m in debt financing across 2017 and 2018 according to regulatory filings, before adding $7m in equity funding from investors including Alexandria Venture Investments, part of real estate investment trust Alexandria Real Estate Equities, in October 2019.

Verikai, a US-based risk assessment software startup backed by insurers Aioi Nissay Dowa and National General, has received $6m in a series A round led by VC firm ManchesterStory. The round included ValueStream Ventures and Plug N Play and it followed an undisclosed amount of seed capital from the two insurance firms in early 2018 that was disclosed alongside the series A funding.

Japan-based online produce retailer Vivid Garden secured ¥600m ($5.7m) on Wednesday in a series B round led by VC firm Jafco that included Monex Ventures and Voyage Ventures, on behalf of currency exchange provider Monex and marketing technology provider Voyage, as well as Delight Ventures, the VC fund backed by internet company DeNA, and VC firm Now. It had previously received $1.9m from DeNA, Voyage Ventures, Monex Ventures, rice product maker Shinmei Holdings, ISGS and various angel investors in October 2019.

SB Energy, a renewable energy subsidiary of internet and telecommunications group SoftBank, has invested an undisclosed sum in China-based battery-swapping station operator Aulton, 36Kr reported on Monday. Aulton had previously received an undisclosed amount of series A funding from Nio Capital, the corporate venturing arm of electric vehicle manufacturer Nio, in November 2018.

SoftBank has also provided an undisclosed amount of series B funding for iClinic, a Brazil-based developer of electronic health record software, Brazil Journal has reported. The company has not disclosed details of earlier financing but said the series B funds will support planned growth through strategic merger and acquisition deals.

Wahyoo, an Indonesia-based developer of retail business optimisation technology, secured $5m in series A funding on Wednesday from investors including Amatil X, the corporate venturing vehicle for beverage bottler Coca Cola Amatil. The round was led by VC firm Intudo Ventures and included business coaching service Gratyo Universal Indonesia, Kinesys Group, Arkblu Capital, Indogen Capital, Selera Kapital and angel investor Isenta Hioe, according to Kr Asia. Kinesys and Agaeti Ventures co-led its July 2019 seed round, investing with SMDV, a subsidiary of conglomerate Sinar Mas, as well as Chapter 1 Ventures, East Ventures and Rentracks.

Ayoconnect, the Indonesia-based creator of a digital bill-payment system for businesses, has received $5m in a pre-series B round featuring BRI Ventures, the strategic investment subsidiary of financial services firm Bank Rakyat Indonesia, as well as online price comparison platform Kakaku and family office Brama One Ventures, The Business Times reported on Wednesday. It raised $1m in a 2017 seed round led by digital media company Gree’s investment arm, Gree Ventures, before adding an undisclosed sum in a round led by Finch Capital later that year.

Automotive component manufacturer Central led a $5m funding round yesterday for Mass Vehicle Ledger (MVL), the operator of Singapore-based, blockchain-equipped on-demand ride service Tada, DealStreetAsia reported. MVL has now reportedly raised $13.4m altogether, including $5m in a December 2019 round that was led by private equity and VC firm SV Investment and which included Central and fellow car parts producer Simwon.

Toolmaker Stanley Black & Decker provided an undisclosed sum for US-based contactless security technology developer Evolv Technology on Tuesday through subsidiaries Stanley Security and Stanley Ventures. Evolv had raised more than $75m altogether when it secured $30m in a January 2020 series C round led by Finback Investment Partners and backed by existing investors DCVC (Data Collective), General Catalyst, Lux Capital, SineWave Ventures and Microsoft founder Bill Gates. Its earlier backers include Osage University Partners.

Cedar, the US-based developer of an online patient engagement platform, received an undisclosed amount of series C funding from healthcare investment firm Concord Health Partners yesterday. It had raised $77m in the round’s June 2020 first tranche, which was led by Andreessen Horowitz and which included healthcare provider Kaiser Permanente, Kinnevik, Thrive Capital, Lakestar and Founders Fund, bringing its total debt and equity financing to $157m.

PICadvanced, a Portugal-based developer of photonics and optics technology for telecommunications networks, has raised €4m ($4.8m) in a series A round led by telecoms firm Verizon, it disclosed on Wednesday. The corporate participated through its Verizon Ventures subsidiary and was joined by PME Investimentos’ 200M co-investment fund.

Bonds Investment Group, a vehicle for marketing firm Opt, led a series B round of undisclosed size for Japan-based co-living service AddRess yesterday, investing with financial services firm Yamaguchi Financial Group’s Unicorn fund and various individuals. It had previously raised undisclosed amounts from investors including renovation technology provider Renoveru and game testing service Gaiax, and subsidiaries of rail operators JR East and JR West, insurer Mitsui Sumitomo, financial services firm Mizuho Financial Group and IT services firm NEC, as well as IT-Farm, Social Innovation and Investment Foundation, Area Innovation Alliance, Digital Base Capital and Inter Local Partners.

Japan-based influencer marketing agency Collabo Technology rebranded to Toridori on Monday having raised ¥500m ($4.5m) in new funding. The capital came from Japan Post Capital, Nagoya TV Ventures and Mitsubishi UFJ Capital, investment vehicles for postal service Japan Post, broadcaster Nagoya TV and financial services group Mitsubishi UFJ respectively, in addition to digital media company Ceres and VC firm Innovation Engine.

Enterprise software firm SAP invested an undisclosed amount in US-based business optimisation software producer Vistex on Tuesday. Vistex’s products are compatible with SAP’s and the companies described the deal as the result of a 16-year relationship. The deal comes after private equity firm Accel-KKR provided $65m in funding for the company in January 2019.

Payment software provider Openway has co-led a $3.7m seed round for Cambodia-based point-of-sale technology developer Clik, DealStreetAsia reported on Wednesday. The round was co-led by Poems, an investment holding vehicle for brokerage Phillip Capital, and also featured undisclosed angel investors. The company plans to fully launch its product by the end of this year and will put the seed capital into growing its customer service and engineering teams.

Nanjing eCloud Technology, a China-based developer of big-data modelling software, has received “millions of dollars” in a series A-plus round led by Lenovo Capital, the corporate venturing subsidiary of consumer electronics manufacturer Lenovo, DealStreetAsia reported yesterday, citing a WeChat post from eCloudTech. Gaorong Capital also took part in the round, which came in the wake of a similar amount from ShenZhen Co-Stone Asset Management and Orient Fortune Capital in 2019.

Caps Medical, the Israel-based developer of a medical device that will use non-thermal plasma to treat cancer, has closed a $3.5m series A round featuring surgical robotics technology developer Xact Robotics. It was co-led by Chasing Value Asset Management and Israel Investment Fund Group, and included Technion Research and Development Foundation. Xact Robotics is a portfolio company of Medx Ventures Group, which also founded Medx Xelerator, where Caps Medical was incubated.

Diversified trading group Sumitomo agreed on Tuesday to invest an undisclosed sum in US-based metal additive maker Sintavia through its Sumitomo Corporation of Americas (SOCA) subsidiary. Sintavia had already raised an undisclosed amount from SOCA in 2018 following a $10m investment from private equity firm Neff Capital Management in 2015 and an additional $15m from Neff two years later.

Healthcare provider ProMedica supplied $3m in series A funding on Tuesday for Kumanu, the US-based developer of a mobile app that promotes well-being, in connection with a strategic partnership agreement. The company had previously received $4.5m from CVC Jool Investors, Tappan Hill Ventures, Michigan Angel Fund, Wakestream Ventures and undisclosed angel investors in 2017, back when it was still known as Jool Health.

Japan-based laser oscillator developer Spectronix secured ¥300m ($2.8m) from University of Tokyo’s UTokyo IPC fund on Monday. The round came after $4.6m in 2017 from IT services firm NEC Corporation’s NEC Capital Solutions unit and financial services firms Mitsubishi UFJ and Bank of Kyoto, through Mitsubishi UFJ Capital and Kyogin Lease & Capital respectively, as well as incubator operator KSP and public-private partnership Innovation Network Corporation of Japan.

Japan-based medical device developer Adriakaim has also raised ¥300m ($2.8m) from UTokyo IPC fund, with the deal announced on Tuesday. It had previously received $1.5m from Capital Medica Ventures, the strategic investment arm of healthcare provider Capital Medica, as well as Mitsubishi UFJ Capital and KSP, in November 2019.

Leasing services firm JA Mitsui Leasing and construction firm Kajima joined World of Innovation Lab to invest ¥300m ($2.8m) in Japan-based renewable energy trading service Digital Grid on Wednesday. It has now raised more than $22m in total including $6.9m in June this year, from investors including corporates Toshiba, Yachiyo Engineering, Ohisama Energy, Toyota, For Delight, Fuva Brain, Mitsubishi, Hiroshima Gas, Hokkaido Gas, IS Gastem, JXTG Nippon Oil & Energy, Kyushu Electric Power, Nippon Gas, Toho Gas, Tokyo Gas, Felissimo, Hitachi and Sony.

Technology and engineering firm Emerson provided an undisclosed amount of funding yesterday for Inmation Software, the Germany-based creator of a real-time industrial data management system. The strategic investment is intended to complement the corporate’s efforts to create a software product that combines artificial intelligence, machine learning and augmented reality with data aggregation and workflow management.

Idex, the US-based operator of a decentralised cryptocurrency exchange, received $2.5m in seed funding yesterday from investors including blockchain-equipped predictions market operator Gnosis. The round was co-led by G1 Ventures and Borderless Capital and also backed by Collider Ventures, and the capital is supporting the launch of the newest version of the company’s exchange, IDEX 2.0.

Electronics manufacturer TDK invested an undisclosed amount in US-based machine learning chip developer Groq on Tuesday through corporate venturing unit TDK Ventures. VC firm Social Capital led Groq’s $10m series A round in 2017 and returned to co-lead a series B that stood at $52.3m as of September 2018 according to a securities filing.

Minnow Technologies, the US-based creator of a contactless food delivery system, secured $2.2m on Tuesday in an oversubscribed seed round that included LPC Ventures, the VC arm of real estate developer Lincoln Property Company. VC fund Elevate Capital led the round, which also featured Portland Seed Fund. Minnow said it came in the wake of $1.2m in pre-seed funding from unnamed investors in 2018.

UK-based identity authentication technology developer Keyless has completed a $2.2m funding round co-led by VC firm P101’s P102 fund and the Italia 500 vehicle it manages for Azimut Libera Impresa, Startup Business has reported. It included Maire Investments, Luiss Alumni 4 Growth, Primomiglio and unnamed additional investors. Keyless raised the same amount in an October 2019 round led by Gumi Cryptos Capital on behalf of mobile game publisher Gumi, and backed by currency transfer service Ripple’s Xpring unit, LuneX and Blockchain Valley Ventures. It has now raised about $6m in total according to Startup Business.

Financial services firm Deutsche Bank has supplied an undisclosed amount of funding for Traxpay, the Germany-based creator of a cashflow management software platform. VC firm Earlybird Venture Capital led a $4m series A round for the company in 2012 and returned for a $15m series B in 2014 that was co-led by enterprise software producer Software AG and financial services firm Commerzbank’s Main Incubator, and also backed by Castik Capital Partners.

ComunidadFeliz, the Chile-based creator of a communication platform for landlords and their apartment tenants, has secured $2m in a funding round led by VC firm Clout Capital, Contxto has reported. The company was one of four to receive a total of $400,000 from telecoms company Telefónica’s Wayra subsidiary in 2017 and its existing investors also include real estate developer Tierra y Armonía and VC firm BlueBox Ventures, according to Contxto.

Germany-based bone implant technology developer StimOS received an undisclosed amount of series A funding on Tuesday from investors including industrial product manufacturer Wefa Infotech. The corporate was joined by High-Tech Gründerfonds and MBG Baden-Württemberg, which had combined to provide it with $840,000 in 2017, as well as founding partner Dietmar Schaffarczyk.

We Wealth, the Italy-headquartered developer of a cloud-based wealth management service has completed a €1.5m ($1.8m) funding round that included credit information provider CRIF, investment platform Gellify, private equity firm B.Group and individuals including Federico Ghizzoni and Gianni Franco Papa. The company had previously received $920,000 from undisclosed investors in September 2018.

Treebo, an India-based budget hotel operator backed by media groups Bertelsmann and Bennett Coleman and Co (BCC), has raised approximately Rs 103m ($1.4m) in series D funding from assorted angel investors, Entrackr has reported. The company received $3m from Bertelsmann unit Bertelsmann Netherlands, Matrix Partners India and SAIF Partners in June this year, after BCC invested $460,000 five months earlier. It had previously secured more than $52m altogether as of 2017 and its earlier investors include Ward Ferry Management and Karst Peak Capital.

US-based pregnancy and fertility test provider Stix has received $1.3m in seed capital from investors including another Bertelsmann vehicle, BDMI, Technical.ly reported on Wednesday. The round also featured Rogue Women’s Fund, Vamos Ventures and Founders Factory New York, which counts pharmaceutical firm Johnson & Johnson as its anchor investor. The cash will go to expanding the startup’s educational content and launching new products.

US-based non-toxic cosmetics brand Saie has secured an undisclosed amount in a seed round featuring Unilever Ventures, the corporate venturing subsidiary of consumer product manufacturer Unilever, WWD reported on Tuesday. G9 Ventures, Stage 1 Fund and actress and entrepreneur Gwyneth Paltrow also took part in the round, which came after an undisclosed amount from Unilever Ventures and angel investors Blake Mycoskie and Alexa von Tobel in August 2019.

Compass, the Japan-based owner of mobile career advice service Choice, has disclosed ¥130m ($1.2m) in seed and pre-series A funding from investors including Monex Ventures, the investment arm of cross-border financial services provider Monex. The corporate backed the pre-series A round along with unnamed angel investors, while the seed capital was supplied by SGS Investment Works, KVP and unnamed individuals.

Arca, the Mexico-based operator of an online marketplace for automotive insurance, has completed a $1.2m seed round that included insurance firm Grupo Peña Verde, Magma Partners and Leap Global Partners, Contxto has reported. The participants in the round were originally announced in May this year without details of its size.

NEM Ventures, the investment vehicle for cryptocurrency and blockchain developer NEM, has provided an undisclosed amount for SharpShark, the Chile-based creator of a blockchain time-stamping system intended to help protect copyrights. The startup raised the money at the same time as it is participating in Start-Up Chile’s six-month accelerator scheme.

Classpert, a Brazil-based educational course search system spun off by education comparison service Quero Educaca, has raised R$5m ($970,000) in a seed round led by VC firm Iporanga Ventures, Startupi has reported. The round also featured fellow VC firm Canary and angel investors Eduardo Wurzmann and Mario Pinheiro, Quero Educaca having previously provided an undisclosed amount of pre-seed funding for the company.

Mountain Gorilla, a Japan-based developer of digitisation technology for construction sites, secured ¥100m ($950,000) on Monday from investors including steel producer Nikken and Eneos Innovation Partners, the corporate venturing arm of petroleum supplier Eneos Group. The round also featured unnamed angel investors in addition to debt financing from Shoko Chukin Bank and Kansai Mirai Bank.

Corpy, the Japan-based developer of an artificial intelligence-equipped quality control software platform, also received ¥100m ($950,000) in funding, from investors including telecoms and internet group SoftBank’s AI fund, Deepcore, yesterday. The corporate was joined by VC firm Deep30 and undisclosed others, and the round comes after Corpy participated in graphics processor manufacturer Nvidia’s Inception Program in mid-2018.

Repsol Impacto Social, an impact investment fund owned by oil and gas supplier Repsol, has paid an undisclosed amount for a 35.3% stake in Saema, the Spain-based operator of a recycling plant, Nordic 9 has reported. Saema operates in the autonomous community of Cantabria in northern Spain.

Carstay, the Japan-based operator of a camper van sharing service, secured ¥50m ($470,000) on Monday from CyberAgent Capital, the corporate VC subsidiary of internet company CyberAgent, as well as Lifetime Ventures and individuals including Masato Hirai and Shintarō Tabata. The round took Carstay’s overall debt and equity financing to about $1.2m and comes after $270,000 in funding from Lifetime Ventures and angel investor Daisaku Harada in April 2019.

Financial services firm OCBC NISP provided an undisclosed amount of funding yesterday for Kiddo.id, the Indonesia-based creator of an online education platform aimed at children below the age of 12, DealStreetAsia reported. The investment was made through the bank’s VC unit, OCBC NISP Ventura.

Track-and-trace equipment provider Antares Vision has invested $290,000 in Neurala, a US-based developer of computer vision technology for product inspection. Neurala secured $4.8m in funding in May this year according to a securities filing, having received $14m in a 2017 round featuring Motorola Solutions Venture Capital – part of communications equipment producer Motorola Solutions – as well as multi-corporate fund Ecomobility Ventures, Pelion Venture Partners, Idinvest Partners’ Electranova Capital II Fund, Sherpa Capital, 360 Capital Partners, SK Ventures and existing backer Draper Associates, following $750,000 in 2014.

Digital financial services provider Payfazz has co-led a seed round of undisclosed size for Indonesia-based online debt management service Credibook through a strategic partnership, Tech in Asia reported yesterday. The round was co-led by Insignia Venture Partners and the cash will go to product development and user acquisition.

Chevron Technology Ventures, the corporate venturing subsidiary of oil and gas supplier Chevron, has admitted two companies to its Catalyst Program, an accelerator initiative it formed in 2017. The companies in question are Norway-based oilfield technology provider Entech Solutions and MiqroTech, the US-based developer of a sensor system that analyses the status of pipelines.

Additional reporting by Liwen-Edison Fu.