Every day, Global University Venturing rounds up the smaller investments from across the university innovation ecosystem in its deal net.
Biztex, a Japan-based robotic automation technology developer, has obtained ¥630m ($5.8m) in an equity and debt financing round featuring Miyako Capital, a venture capital affiliate of Kyoto University, KDDI Open Innovation Fund, a VC vehicle co-run by telecoms firm KDDI and Global Brain, IT services firm TIS and existing investor World Innovation Lab (WIL). Japan Finance Corporation and Shoko Chukin Bank supplied debt, but a ratio was not disclosed. Globis Alumni Growth Investment previously injected $179,000 in October 2018, after WIL had led a $3.6m series A round two months earlier, with participation from Genesia Ventures. The latter had already injected an undisclosed amount of seed funding in 2017.
MindsDB, a US-based machine learning development software spinout of University of California, Berkeley, has received $3m in a round featuring the university’s accelerator Berkeley SkyDeck. VentureBeat has reported. The deal was led by venture capital firm OpenOcean and also includes Rogue Capital, SCM Advisors and angel investor Amber Atherton. MindsDB has built an open-source platform that automates the process of training and implementing machine learning models. The funding will support MindsDB’s revenue strategy by expanding its team. MindsDB had raised $1.3m prior to the latest round from investors including Berkeley SkyDeck.
Sprout.ai, a UK-based insurance claims processing and fraud prevention software spinout of Imperial College London, has closed its second seed round at $2.5m. Amadeus Capital Partners led the round with contributions from Playfair Capital and Techstars, with the funding going to an expansion of Sprout.ai’s data science, engineering and sales capacity to prepare for its entry into the US market. Sprout.ai’s platform processes unstructured data contained within insurance claims using blockchain and natural language processing before checking its analysis against public and web-based sources. The spinout is expecting greater demand for its technology as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic. It last raised £500,000 ($630,000) in a June 2019 seed round backed by Amadeus and multiple angel investors, according to Fintech Futures.
LipoCoat, a Netherlands-based developer of anti-infection coatings for medical products spun out of University of Twente, has attracted €1.5m ($1.6m) from investors including Rabobank Innovation Fund, a corporate venturing vehicle for agriculture-focused financial services firm Rabobank. The deal was also backed by High Tech Fund, a VC fund focused on the Dutch municipality of Enschede, in addition to undisclosed private investors. Founded in 2016, LipoCoat supplies non-toxic materials that prevent bacteria and viruses from bonding to medical surfaces. The funding is expected to accelerate LipoCoat’s route to market, including plans to launch contamination-resident contact lenses in autumn 2020. LipoCoat’s initial $680,000 round in 2017 included equity funding from LLX2 Investments and an unnamed private investor, as well as debt and government grant money.
Epigno, a Japan-based developer of a hospital staff management tool, has received ¥100m ($929,000) in funding from Tohoku University Venture Partners, Capital Medica Ventures and Colopl Next, respective investments arms of Tohoku University, care provider Capital Medica and mobile games developer Colopl, as well as Future Venture Capital and unnamed investors. The company will use the cash to accelerate software development. It will also collaborate with Tohoku University and leverage its research results through a business-academia partnership in a bid to expand its services within Japan and overseas. Epigno had raised $137,000 in seed funding in 2018 from two investors, but only Incubate Fund’s Lifetime Ventures (then known as If Lifetime Ventures), was identified in a report by The Bridge.
Tiler, a Netherlands-based light electronic vehicle charging technology spinout of TU Delft, has lured €250,000 ($271,000) in funding from Uniiq, a regional fund backed by TU Delft, Leiden University, regional development agency InnovationQuarter and EU-run student exchange program Erasmus. Tiler has devised a tile-shaped powerpoint that can be installed at locations such as hotels as a space-efficient means of charging e-bikes and other small electric vehicles. The proceeds will go towards staff recruitment and R&D ahead of Tiler’s first production run.
– Additional reporting by Liwen-Edison Fu
