Daily Deal Round Up: May 26, 2022

Funding

Connectivity

Molex Ventures, a vehicle formed by industrial conglomerate Koch Industries’ Molex subsidiary, took part in a $22m series B round yesterday for Point2 Technology, a US-based developer of cloud and 5G connectivity technology. GU Equity Partners led the round, which included Samsung Securities, on behalf of electronics producer Samsung, as well as Shinhan Capital, Tigris Investment, K2 Investments, Korea Omega Investment, Timefolio Investment, Nautilus Venture Partners, Quantum Ventures Korea and Walden International.

Crypto

Media group Bertelsmann and cryptocurrency exchange Circle participated in an an $80m series B round for Hong Kong-based blockchain investor services provider Babel Finance yesterday through BAI Capital (also known as Bertelsmann Asia Investments) and Circle Ventures respectively. The round valued the company at $2bn and included Jeneration Capital, 10T Holdings, Dragonfly Capital and multiple unnamed family offices.

Cryptocurrency trading firms Wintermute and Jump contributed to a $20m round for Common, the US-based provider of management software for decentralised autonomous organisations, on Tuesday. Other investors in the round included Spark Capital, Polychain and BitDAO.

Smart contract software provider Avalanche’s Blizzard Fund took part in a $15m series B round for ZenLedger, a US-based developer of acryptocurrency data analytics software. ParaFi Capital led the round, also investing alongside Bloccelerate VC, King River Capital, G1 Ventures, Main Street Investment, Three Point Capital, Shorooq Partners, VaynerFund and AngelList Quant Fund.

Blockchain game publisher Animoca Brands, cryptocurrency exchange Huobi (through its Huobi Ventures unit) and cryptocurrency research firm Delphi Digital invested in a $15m seed round for US-based Web3 game publisher MetaKing Studios yesterday. Makers Fund, Bitkraft Ventures, Shima Capital, WW Ventures, Spartan Group and unnamed other investors filled out the round.

Video game publisher Krafton has joined blockchain developer Polygon’s gaming and NFT subsidiary, Polygon Studios, in a $5.4m seed round for ArtistFirst Technology, the India-based owner of non-fungible token marketplace FanTiger, the Business Standard reported today. Multicon Capital led the round, which included Pravega Ventures, Gama, Woodstock Fund, IOSG Ventures and angel investors including Sandeep Nailwal, Gokul Rajaram, Prashant Malik and Miten Sampat.

KuCoin Ventures, a subsidiary of cryptocurrency exchange KuCoin, invested an undisclosed amount in Joyride Games, the US-based developer of a Web3 game publishing platform, through its KuCoin Creators Fund yesterday.

Financial services group Nomura has led a $6m series A round for Hong Kong-based blockchain-driven climate technology developer Allinfra, AsiaTechDaily reported yesterday. The round included unnamed new and existing investors.

Cybersecurity

Professional services firm KPMG participated in an $11m series A round for a US-based cloud security technology provider ShardSecure yesterday. Gula Tech Adventures, Grotech Ventures, Tom Noonan, Epic Ventures and Industrifonden filled out the participants in the round.

E-commerce

Internet and telecommunications group SoftBank’s Vision Fund 2 led a $150m series B round for India-based livestreaming commerce platform developer Firework on Tuesday. The company has now raised $235m in total.

Irani CVC, the corporate venturing arm of luxury retailer Factory54, participated in a $9.5m seed round for US-based livestreamed commerce platform developer Buywith yesterday. IgniteXL Ventures led the round, also investing alongside Fab Co-Creation Studio Ventures, True, Sarona Ventures, Regah Ventures, Andav Capital and Neome – Women Investing Club as well as angel investors John Caplan and Kevin Ambrosini.

Energy

Biodiesel producer Renewable Energy Group and conglomerate Mitsubishi Corporation joined Enterprise Holdings Ventures and Equinor Ventures, vehicles for car rental holding company Enterprise Holdings and energy group Equinor respectively, in a series D round for US-based mobile fuel delivery service Booster yesterday sized at over $125m. Rose Park Advisors led the round, which also featured Chaac Ventures, Thayer Ventures, Cercano Management, Conversion Capital, Invus Opportunities, Madrona Venture Group, Maveron Ventures, Perot Jain and Version One Ventures.

Fintech

Globo Ventures and Propel Venture Partners, the VC funds backed by media company Grupo Globo and financial services firm BBVA respectively, have taken part in a $32m series A-plus round for US-based, Brazil-focused bank account software developer Nomad, Bloomberg Línea reported last week. Stripes led the round, which included Monashees, Spark Capital and Abstract, at a $200m valuation.

Healthcare, veterinary and personal care

Colopl Next and Signite Partners, the corporate venturing arms of internet and gaming group Colopl and department store operator Shinsegae Group respectively, co-led a $35m series B round for US-based women’s personal care brand Rael yesterday, taking its overall funding to $59m. Unilever Ventures, part of consumer goods group Unilever, also took part in the round, as did Aarden Partners, ST Capital and Mirae Asset.

Veterinary care product manufacturer Merck Animal Health took part in a $35m series C round yesterday for Targan, the US-based poultry vaccination technology developer formerly known as Applied LifeSciences & Systems. The round was co-led by Mountain Group Partners and NovaQuest Capital Management and also featured Oval Park Capital.

Mazen Animal Health, a US-based developer of oral vaccination technology for pigs and poultry, has raised $11m in series A funding from investors including veterinary technology provider Addison Laboratories and food and animal product manufacturer Kent Corporation, AgFunder News reported yesterday. Fall Line Capital led the round, which included AgFunder itself as well as Cal Poly Ventures – a vehicle for California Polytechnic State University – 1330 Investments, SLO Seeds Ventures, Next Level Ventures, Ag Startup Engine, Ag Ventures Alliance, ISAV and Summit Ag.

Alexandria Venture Investments, the venture capital arm of life sciences real estate investment trust Alexandria Real Estate Equities, took part in a $15m pre-series A round for Pleno, the US-based developer of a clinical testing instrument platform, yesterday, alongside Medical Excellence Capital.

DSM Venturing, the corporate venture capital arm of chemicals producer Royal DSM, led a $10m series A extension round for Germany-based progesterone tracking technology developer Inne yesterday. Borski Fund, Calm Storm Ventures and angel investors Taavet Hinrikus, Fiona Pathiraja and Rolf Schroemgens filled out the participants in the extension, which took the company’s overall funding to $18.8m.

Arcsync, a subsidiary of smart appliance group Vesync, led a $1.25m seed round yesterday for Japa Health, a US-based provider of digital health content, data and business-to-business care technology.

Human resources and future of work

Telus Ventures, the corporate venturing arm of telecommunications group Telus, participated in a C$31m ($24.2m) round for Canada-based human resources software provider Humi yesterday. Kensington Capital Partners led the round, which included Tribe Capital, Struck Capital, Flex Capital and private investors Mike Dinsdale and Rodney Dobson.

Co-working space provider WeWork led a $30m series A round for US-based hybrid workplace technology provider Upflex yesterday. Property developers Newmark and Cushman & Wakefield were also part of the round, which included Ecosystem Integrity Fund, GPO Fund, Coelius Capital, Industry Ventures, Inertia Ventures, Perennial Private Investments and Silicon Valley Bank. Upflex’s total funding now stands at $34.1m.

Industrial

Food processing group Marel contributed to a C$14m ($10.9m) round yesterday for Worximity, a Canada-based provider of manufacturing productivity technology, investing together with Investissement Québec and Fonds de solidarité FTQ.

Logistics and supply chain

Telstra Ventures, the venture capital firm spun out of telecommunications firm Telstra, co-led a $70m round yesterday for Airspace, the US-based provider of a time-critical shipping service. The round was co-led with DBL Partners and HarbourVest Partners and it took the company’s total funding to $138m.

Direct-to-consumer electric vehicle provider Zypp Electric participated in a $325,000 seed round for India-based drone logistics service provider Technology in Space and Aero Works yesterday. We Founder Circle led the round, which included Soonicorn Ventures, Pedal Start and angel investor Kartik Hajela.

Mobility and automotive

HV Capital, the venture capital firm spun off by publisher Holtzbrinck Publishing Group, took part in a $110m series B equity round for US-based car rental subscription service Finn yesterday. The equity funding was raised alongside $720m in debt financing and was led by Korelya Capital and also backed by Keen Venture Partners, Climb Ventures, Greentrail Capital, Waterfall Asset Management, White Star Capital, Heartcore Capital, UVC Partners and Picus Capital.

Transport infrastructure group Ferrovial took part in a $215m round for US-based mobility electrification technology developer Inspiration Mobility last week. ArcLight Capital Partners led the round, which included Macquarie Asset Management and which increased the company’s total funding to $415m.

Proptech

PayPal Ventures and Experian Ventures, the respective investment vehicles for digital payment processor PayPal and consumer credit reporting firm Experian, took part in a round of undisclosed size yesterday for Jetty, the US-based provider of a home rental finance support service.

SaaS

Classified listings operator Info Edge’s RedStart Labs unit contributed to a $93m series E round for US-based enterprise digitalisation service WSO2 yesterday. Investment banking firm Goldman Sachs’ Asset Management division led the round.

Funds

Semiconductor technology groups ASML and Brabantse Ontwikkelings Maatschappij joined investors including electronics and medical equipment maker Philips and research institute TNO to form a €100m ($107m) Netherlands-based VC vehicle dubbed DeepTechXL Fund I on Tuesday. PME Pension Fund and Invest-NL were also among the fund’s backers, and it also received €9m ($9.6m) in debt financing from Dutch government institute Rijksdienst voor Ondernemend Nederland. Full details here.

Singapore-based venture capital firm NGC Ventures formed its third blockchain-focused vehicle, NGC Metaverse Ventures, yesterday, having raised $100m from investors including crypto financial services provider Babel Finance and cryptocurrency exchange Huobi (through its Huobi Ventures subsidiary). The limited partners for the fund also include Nexo Ventures, Altonomy and Global Blockchain Innovative Capital.

Ling Zhang and Wayne Fu, formerly crypto exchange Binance’s vice-president of mergers and acquisitions and head of corporate development respectively, have formed a crypto-focused vehicle dubbed Old Fashion Research with $100m from a syndicate led by blockchain gaming platform developer Wemix. The fund is backed by unnamed traditional VC funds, family offices and angel investors.

Headwear producer Bioworld Merchandising and NewcrestImage Ventures, a vehicle for hotel management firm NewcrestImage, are among the limited partners (LPs) for US-based venture capital firm Dallas Venture Capital’s latest fund, an $80m vehicle called Dallas Venture Capital Fund II. Gupta Capital Group, Eternal Lotus Capital Partners and unnamed others filled out the backers.

Singapore-based venture capital firm 1982 Ventures closed its first seed fund at $20m today with backing from LPs including equity management platform developer Carta and the VC vehicle of conglomerate Genting Group. The syndicate also featured Trihill, First Close Partners and Rali_Cap, The Business Times reported.

People

Lip-Bu Tan, who has left his external board director position at internet and technology group SoftBank, has joined the board of directors for US-based machine learning technology developer Sima.AI. He already holds a similar position at energy and automation technology group Schneider Electric.

M&A

Alternative investment technology group iCapital agreed yesterday to pay an undisclosed amount to acquire Simon Markets, the US-based developer of a a digital investment management platform for financial advisers that counts financial services firms Barclays, Credit Suisse, HSBC, JP Morgan, Prudential and Wells Fargo as early backers. Simon had closed the first tranche of a $100m series B round that was led by WestCap Partners in July 2021.

ABB E-Mobility, a subsidiary of power and automation technology group ABB, agreed on Tuesday to buy a 72% stake in Numocity, an India-based electric vehicle charging service backed by ABB’s corporate venturing unit, ABB Technology Ventures, for an undisclosed sum. ABB may increase its stake to become the sole owner by 2026, ABB Technology Ventures having joined Rebright Partners in a round of undisclosed size for Numocity in early 2020.

Medical technology producer LivaNova is set to increase its stake in ALung Technologies, a US-based medical device manufacturer backed by electronics and medical equipment manufacturer Philips and hospital equipment maker Abiomed, to 97% for an undisclosed amount, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported earlier this month. The company had raised at least $97.8m as of a $36m series C round in 2017.

Public markets

Yaoshibang, the China-based operator of a supply chain platform for the pharmaceutical industry that counts internet group Baidu, conglomerate Fosun and quantitative trading firm Susquehanna International Group as investors, is seeking $300m from a initial public offering in Hong Kong, people privy to the development told Bloomberg yesterday. The company has filed for the listing, which is expected to take place as soon as Q4 2022 according to one of the sources, who added it could raise up to $500m depending on market conditions.

Genocea, a US-based cancer vaccine and immunotherapy developer backed by pharmaceutical firms GlaxoSmithKline and Johnson & Johnson, has delisted from Nasdaq after an unsuccessful attempt to secure a buyer, Fierce Biotech reported on Tuesday.