Every day, Global University Venturing rounds up the smaller investments from across the university innovation ecosystem in its deal net.

Hummingbot, the US-based creator of a crypto trading bot platform backed by Stanford University’s Stanford-StartX Fund, has completed an $8m series A round featuring stablecoin developer Terraform Labs, digital asset trading platform developer AscendEX, blockchain software provider Ava Labs and crypto finance data provider NEM Trading. The round was led by Initialized Capital and included Slow Ventures, Arrington XRP Capital, Borderless Capital, DeFiance Capital and Altonomy. The company had secured $3.5m from Stanford-StartX Fund, Bain Capital Ventures, Ironfire Ventures and SharesPost in a 2018 seed round and an undisclosed amount from blockchain technology promoter Algorand Foundation and Borderless Capital in October 2020.
Onchilles Pharma, a US-based cancer treatment developer spun out of University of Chicago, has raised $7m in a series A round led by Lizz Capital, with participation from University of Chicago’s Startup Investment Fund. Onchilles is working on therapeutics that use the immune system to kill cancer cells while leaving healthy cells intact.
PowerTech Water, a US-based sustainable industrial water treatment technology spinout of University of Kentucky, has completed a $6m series B round led by HG Ventures. The money will go towards meeting customer demand, accelerating corporate partnerships and expanding operations at the spinout’s headquarters. PowerTech previously obtained $1.5m in a series A round led by Bluegrass Angels in September 2019, when Mazarine Ventures, Harbor Street Ventures, Commonwealth Seed Capital and assorted angel investors also took part.
InSpace, a US-based collaborative video conferencing platform that aims to replicate the classroom experience and was co-founded by Champlain College faculty, has raised $6m in seed funding led by Boston Seed Capital, with participation from Gutbrain Ventures, PBJ Capital and unnamed others.
Naluri, a Malaysia-based digital health services provider backed by Stanford University-linked Stanford-StartX Fund, has completed a $5m round featuring pharmaceutical company Duopharma Biotech, laboratory services provider BioMark and Sumitomo Corporation Equity Asia, part of conglomerate Sumitomo, according to Digital News Asia. Integra Partners, M Venture Partners, Palm Drive Capital, INP Capital, RHL Ventures and KB Investment also took part. The company had received $240,000 in seed capital from BioMark and 500 Durians in 2018, $1.5m in pre-series A funding from Stanford-StartX Fund, Global Founders Capital, TH Capital and unnamed private and existing investors in 2019, and $1.1m from Duopharma, M Venture Partners and RHL Ventures in April 2020.
Sonia Therapeutics, a Japan-based developer of high-intensity focused ultrasound equipment leveraging research conducted at Tokyo Women’s Medical University, Tohoku University and Tokyo Medical University, has raised ¥530m ($4.8m) in a series A round led by life sciences-focused venture capital firm Fast Track Initiative and backed by SBI Investment, FFG Venture Business Partners, Mitsubishi UFJ Capital and Higin Capital, respective subsidiaries of financial services firms SBI, Fukuoka Financial Group, Mitsubishi UFJ and Higo Bank, as well as consultancy Makoto Group’s Makoto Capital unit, investment and consulting firm Epist Ventures and government-backed Japan Science and Technology Agency. The company’s total funding has reached $6.7m.
ViAqua Therapeutics, the Israel-based creator of an RNA-particle platform designed to improve animal health in aquaculture, has closed a $4.3m funding round featuring Technion Israel Institute of Technology. The round also attracted seafood producer Thai Union, animal nutrition provider Nutreco, Trendlines Group and its Agriline investment affiliate, S2G Ventures and Visvires New Protein. It had raised undisclosed amounts from Nutreco in July 2018 and Visvires New Protein five months later, at which point Technion Institute of Technology and Trendlines were already investors.
Endua an Australia-based hydrogen-based power technology developer, has been spun out of Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) through its deeptech fund Main Sequence Ventures’ venture science model. CSIRO, Main Sequence and petroleum company Ampol have supplied A$5m ($3.9m) in funding. Endua is using electrolysis to make hydrogen-based power generators more accessible and less reliant on solar, hydro and wind power. Main Sequence partner Mike Zimmerman previously joined the Global University Venturing podcast to explain how the fund creates and invests in spinouts.
Kredi, a Mexico-based mortgage services provider, has collected $3.1m in seed funding from investors including Harvard Management Company, the endowment of Harvard University, according to Crunchbase News. The round was led by Amplo and also featured Liquid2 Ventures, Soma Capital, Emles Venture Partners and assorted individuals. Liquid2 and Emles previously supplied $2m in March this year, but it is unclear whether that constituted a first close of the seed round.
Castlepoint Systems, an Australia-based information and records management software developer, has pocketed A$3m ($2.3m) in a series A round led by Main Sequence Ventures, with participation from IxTx, according to the Australian. Castlepoint relies on artificial intelligence to detect, classify and secure documents, emails, chat messages, databases and webpages on an intranet against rogue data and compliance risks.
Scoodle, a UK-based online tutoring platform backed by University of Oxford, has pocketed $2m in seed capital from Google, the internet subsidiary of technology group Alphabet, angel syndicate IFG and investment firm DA One. Google’s commitment follows a $760,000 pre-seed round in January 2020 that featured several of the internet technology developer’s staff as well as University of Oxford, Tiny VC, online gaming website Miniclip and unnamed others.
WYSPR, a UK-based influencer marketing company, has collected £450,000 ($625,000) in pre-seed funding from University of Essex, angel syndicate Anglia Capital Group and private investor Alan Gross, according to UK Tech News.
Aqua Robur Technologies, a Sweden-based developer of internet-of-things equipment for the water industry incubated by Chalmers University of Technology’s tech transfer arm Chalmers Ventures, has obtained an undisclosed amount of funding from Latour Future Solutions, a subsidiary of holding group Investment AB Latour. Chalmers Ventures joined Almi Invest and several private investors for a SEK7.2m ($808,000) funding round in May 2018.
Libelium, a Spain-based developer of internet-of-things sensors spun out of University of Zaragoza, has received an undisclosed amount from investment firm Axon Partners. The funding will support continued business growth, including the launch of new products and plans to increase headcount by a third.
Jupiter Ionics, an Australia-based developer of an environmentally friendly process to produce green ammonia, has been spun out of Monash University. The company has secured an undisclosed amount from private investors, while Alastair Hick, senior director at the university’s tech transfer office Monash Innovation has joined Jupiter Ionics’ board of directors. Hick has been a guest on Global University Venturing’s podcast, discussing Monash’s approach to commercialisation.
6P Color, a US-based colour imaging technology developer, has been spun out of Baylor University. The company will commercialise a system that dramatically increases the range of colour a digital screen can display, essentially expanding the colour palette beyond the current limitation of red, green and blue (commonly called RBG).
– Additional reporting by Liwen-Edison Fu and Robert Lavine

Thierry Heles

Thierry Heles is the former editor-at-large of Global University Venturing and Global Corporate Venturing, and was the producer and host of the Beyond the Breakthrough podcast until December 2024.