Daily deal net: May 15, 2020

Quantum Motion Technologies, a UK-based quantum computing spinout of University of Oxford and University College London, closed an £8m ($9.8m) round yesterday backed by university venture fund Oxford Sciences Innovation, commercialisation firm IP Group and its Parkwalk Advisors unit. The round was led by Inkef Capital and also included the UK government-backed National Security Strategic Investment Fund and Octopus Ventures. Founded in 2017, Quantum Motion is developing quantum information bits, or qubits, that rely on a technique called silicon spin in a bid to facilitate standard fabrication processes. The aim is to build quantum computers with stable qubits in their thousands or even millions, a monumental objective that must be fulfilled in order to make fault-tolerant quantum machines capable of executing fully quantum applications. Quantum Motion’s founding team includes Simon Benjamin, a professor of quantum technologies and affiliate of University of Oxford’s Networked Quantum Information Technologies hub, and John Morton, professor of nanoelectronics and nanophotonics at UCL’s Faculty of Maths and Physical Sciences. The funding will go toward implementing Quantum Motion’s design while also exploring nearer-term opportunities by combining quantum with classical computing. Parkwalk’s Opportunities Fund backed an earlier round for Quantum Motion in 2017 however further details could not be ascertained.
Azul 3D, a US-based 3D printing machine supplier based on technology developed at Northwestern University, has completed a seed round of more than $8m following a $5.4m second close featuring undisclosed investors. The money is anticipated to help bring Azul 3D’s additive manufacturing concept – dubbed high-area rapid printing – toward commercialisation by building a manufacturing facility and recruiting senior leadership personnel. Azul 3D’s first printers are due to reach beta testing partners in the first quarter of 2021 ahead of general release at the end of that year Azul 3D is currently dedicating resources to printing personal protective equipment for frontline healthcare workers fighting Covid-19.
Ziva Dynamics, a Canada-based character simulation software developer , has closed a $7m seed round co-led by Toyota AI Ventures, a corporate venture capital unit for the vehicle manufacturer, Grishin Robotics and Millennium Technology Value Partners’ New Horizons Fund. Ziva Dynamics was co-founded in 2015 by Jernej Barbic, an associate professor of computer science at University of Southern California, and Academy Award-winning special effects engineer James Jacobs.
Tiem Factory, a Japan-based producer of a lightweight aerogel insulator called Sufa, has secured ¥670m ($6.3m) from Kyoto University’s Innovation Capital arm, insurer Sompo Japan Nipponkoa, aluminium building material manufacturer YKK AP and financial services firm Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group’s Mitsubishi UFJ Capital unit. The round also included Mebuki Regional Revitalisation Fund, which is co-run by financial services holding company Mebuki Financial Group’s Joyo Bank and Ashikaga Bank subsidiaries. Public-private partnership Innovation Network Corporation of Japan-sponsored Universal Materials Incubator and VC firm Future Venture Capital filled out the round.
Location Mind, a Japan-based artificial intelligence-equipped geolocation technology developer spun out of University of Tokyo, has raised a ¥400m ($3.7m) angel round from Mitsubishi Research Institute (MRI), the consulting subsidiary of conglomerate Mitsubishi Group, building materials supplier Yoshimei and real estate developer Marimo Holdings as well as undisclosed individual investors. It is additionally considering collaboration with MRI.
Valanx Biotech, an Austria-based biotechnology developer, has received a seven-figure seed investment from IST cube, the venture fund of Institute of Science and Technology, Tecnet Equity and SOSV. Founded in 2017, Valanx is working on technology to efficiently and cost-effectively produce precisely defined protein-drug conjugates and peptide conjugates.
Alcinous Pharmaceuticals, a US-based cancer drug spinout of University of Rhode Island targeting treatment-resistant and rapidly spreading forms of the disease, has collected $600,000 from local seed fund Slater Technology Fund and multiple private investors, GoLocal Prov reported on Wednesday. The cash will support research toward validating a lead inhibitor of Parp molecules that frustrates DNA repair mechanisms in cancerous cells. Alcinous was founded in 2017 by three postdoctoral students at University of Rhode Island’s College of Pharmacy: Nicholas DaSilva, Kenneth Rose and Benjamin Barlock.
– Additional reporting by Liwen-Edison Fu and Thierry Heles