Walmart invested another $200m in PhonePe while Polygon, Ripple and GSR are among the LPs in Blockchain Founders Fund’s $75m second vehicle.
Fund
Blockchain technology provider Polygon, cryptocurrency services provider Ripple and crypto trading firm GSR are among the limited partners for Singapore-based venture capital firm Blockchain Founders Fund’s $75m Fund II. Octava, Neo Global Capital, Appworks, Sebastien Borget, LD Capital and Metavest Capital are also backers.
Funding
Hypermarket operator Walmart invested $200m in India-based digital payment platform PhonePe at a pre-money valuation of $12bn as part of a larger round sized up to $1bn. Walmart retains a majority stake and the deal followed $450m from General Atlantic, Ribbit Capital, Tiger Global and TVS Capital Funds in recent months.
| Company | Company description | Sector | Country | Round | Round size($m) | Deal date | Investors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Andes | Microorganism-based carbon dioxide extraction technology developer | Energy and Natural Resources | US | A | 30 (updated) | 16/03/2023 | Yamaha Motor (Yamaha Motor Ventures), Bayer (Leaps by Bayer), Wilbur-Ellis (Cavallo Ventures); Voyager VC, KdT Ventures, Venturance, Germin8, Accelr8 |
| SpectrumAi | Autism-focused behavioural therapy developer | Healthcare | US | A | 20 | 16/03/2023 | CVS Health (CVS Health Ventures) (lead), Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas City (Cobalt Ventures); Fidelity (F-Prime Capital), Frist Cressey, Autism Impact Fund |
| Travel Wallet | Cross-border payment platform | Financial | South Korea | C | 15 | 17/03/2023 | Smilegate (Smilegate Investment), SK Group (SK Securities), BNK Financial Group (BNK Investment & Securities), CJ Corp (CJ Investment); Golden Oak Investment |
| OpenLoop | Telehealth services platform | Healthcare | US | A | 15 | 16/03/2023 | UnityPoint Health (UnityPoint Health Ventures); Nava Ventures (lead), PrimeTime Ventures, KKCG Group (SpringTide Ventures), ManchesterStory |
| Almentor | Arabic language video learning platform | Services | UAE | Pre-C | 10 | 16/03/2023 | E& (E& Capital) (lead); Partech, Sawari Ventures, Egypt Ventures, Sango Capital, Endure Capital |
| Géoflex | Global navigation satellite system | Industrial | France | A | 6.4 | 16/03/2023 | Bouygues (Construction Venture), Stellantis (Stellantis Ventures), Thales (Thales Corporate Ventures); Demeter |
| Utown | Metaverse-based local event and activity aggregator | Services | Singapore | N/A | 4.7 | 16/03/2023 | Advance Intelligence Group, Sinar Mas (Sinar Mas Digital Ventures), Jagat; Northstar Group, East Ventures |
| Smooth Labs | Blockchain infrastructure provider | IT | US | Seed | 2 | 14/03/2023 | Token Metrics; NGC Ventures (lead), Cogitent Ventures, ArkStream Capital |
| Foresight News | Blockchain and Web3 news outlet | Media | Singapore | Seed | 2 | 16/03/2023 | Wanxiang Group (Hashkey Capital); Foresight Ventures (lead), Arcane Group |
| The Next 150 | Climate project services provider | Financial | Switzerland | Seed | 2 | 16/03/2023 | Kemexon |
| 24karat | Web3-based user engagement platform | Media | Japan | Pre-A | <1 ($900,000) | 16/03/2023 | Lotte (Lotte Ventures Japan), Mitsubishi UFJ (Mitsubishi UFJ Capital), Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC Venture Capital); XTech Ventures |
| VotreChauffeur.ma and VotreColis.ma | Last-mile delivery services | Services | Morocco | N/A | <1 ($240,000) | 16/03/2023 | Akwa Group (Afrimobility) |
| Standard Robots | Industrial robotics technology developer | Industrial | China | C | N/A | 17/03/2023 | Xiaomi (Xiaomi Industry Fund); CSC Financial |
| Bang Jamin | AI-driven auto aggregator | Financial | Indonesia | Seed | N/A | 17/03/2023 | Bank Rakyat Indonesia (BRI Ventures); Northstar Group |
| MatchWornShirt | Blockchain-based sports memorabilia marketplace | Consumer | Netherlands | N/A | N/A | 16/03/2023 | Chiliz |
| DeepMotion | AI-based 3D animation content generator | Media | US | N/A | N/A | 16/03/2023 | Bandai Namco (Bandai Namco Entertainment 021 Fund) |
| SuperGaming | Mobile game developer | Media | India | N/A | N/A | 16/03/2023 | Bandai Namco (Bandai Namco Entertainment 021 Fund) |
| Neuet | Operator of bicycle sharing service Charichari | Transport | Japan | N/A | N/A | 16/03/2023 | Toyoda Gosei |
| Future Standard | Provider of AI-equipped image analytics platform Scorer | IT | Japan | N/A | N/A | 16/03/2023 | IX Holdings |
