Financial

Insuers Macif and Securex and several banks joined an LP list that helped BlackFin's first venture fund to a $117m first close a year ago.

The cross-border payment platform has raised cash in a PayPal-led round also featuring Citi Ventures that will fund international growth.

The business-focused financial services provider, backed by Sina and Xiaomi, raised $103m in funding last month.

Booking Holdings has provided more funding for Didi as part of a strategic partnership, as the latter looks to spin off its vehicle services arm in an IPO sized at up to $1.5bn.

Existing investor Itochu led the consumer credit provider's latest round, boosting its overall funding to $80m.

The financial advice provider has formed a venture capital vehicle called Motley Fool Ventures that is targeting a $100m close.

Investment-focused online community Snowball Finance has raised series D funding from Ant Financial that will support hiring and product development.

Munich Re, Nationwide and American Express returned for a round that boosted the insurance platform's total funding to more than $130m.

Companies developing energy storage technologies, a strategic target of oil and gas producer as well as carmakers, have been mentioned over the news in the past weeks, indicating expected growth of commitments in this space.