Every day, Global University Venturing rounds up the smaller investments from across the university innovation ecosystem in its deal net.
Yuanbao Tech, a China-based cybersecurity insurance provider, has raised more than RMB100m ($15.5m) in a series B round featuring Tsinghua University-aligned TusStar, according to China Banking and Insurance News. The round was led by Citic Capital and also included engineering group China Communications Construction, electric vehicle manufacturer Nio’s Future Capital affiliate, Landstone Capital and Turing Ventures. Yuanbao closed a series A round sized at tens of millions of yuan (RMB10m = $1.5m) in August 2020 backed by TusStar, led by Hillhouse Capital Group’s GL Ventures unit and also including Raymond AMC. The August deal came seven months after a round of similar size backed by TusStar, Zhongguancun Development Edge Enterprise Investment Fund, 100Partner Ventures, Landstone Capital and KunYuan Asset Management.
IpiNovyx Bio, a US-based biopharmaceutical company focused on autoimmune and inflammatory diseases, closed a $10m seed round yesterday backed by Orange Grove Bio, the commercialisation firm that established the business to advance research conducted at Cornell University and its hospital affiliate Hospital for Special Surgery’s Research Institute. The round was led by Viva BioInnovator, a unit of drug discovery company Viva Biotech, and also included pharmaceutical firm Eli Lilly and Alexandria Venture Investments, on behalf of life sciences real estate investment trust Alexandria Real Estate Equities, as well as hedge fund Opaleye Management. The money will allow IpiNovyx to advance its lead assets towards clinical trials.
WarpSpace, a Japan-based satellite data technology developer spun out of University of Tsukuba, has closed its series A round, taking its total funding to ¥1bn ($9m). SBI Investment and Mizuho Capital, respective subsidiaries of financial services firms SBI and Mizuho Bank, backed the extension. The spinout received $3.7m in a first series A tranche featuring SMBC Venture Capital, a vehicle for financial services firm Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, as well as Sparx Group’s Space Frontier Fund and KSK Angel Fund in April 2021. Tsukuba Bank’s Tsukuba Regional Revitalisation Fund had supplied an undisclosed amount in July 2019.
Rendered.ai, a US-based synthetic data platform, has raised $6m in a seed round backed by University of California-aligned Congruent Ventures, according to TechCrunch. The round was led by Space Capital and also included Tectonic Ventures, Union Labs and Uncorrelated Ventures. Rendered.ai’s platform produces simulated, physics-based data sets that allows early-stage space companies to prove their technology works – solving a chicken and egg problem of such companies not having the resources to deploy products but needing to do just that to get funding.
Mindful Care, a US-based same-day psychiatric care provider, has completed a $2.7m series A round backed by University of Chicago. The round was led by Sopris Capital and also included Caruso Foundation, Venkon Group and unnamed others. Originally known as Mindful Urgent Care, the company obtained $1.5m in a family and friends round last year, it revealed in conjunction with the series A announcement.
Habitual, a UK-based healthcare technology developer focused on type 2 diabetes, has raised $2.3m in a seed round featuring Oxford Seed Fund, a vehicle operated by the Enterpreneurship Centre at University of Oxford’s Saïd Business School, according to TechCrunch. The round was led by Atlantic Food Labs and also included Seedcamp and MMC Ventures. The latter two had supplied $435,000 in funding in November 2020, adding to $325,000 provided by angel investors in December 2019.
Equal1 Laboratories, an Ireland-based silicon quantum computing spinout of University College Dublin, has raised several million euro (€1m = $1.2m) in a funding round featuring Atlantic Bridge, Btov Industrial Technologies, 808 Ventures and Enterprise Ireland. Equal1 is a portfolio company of Atlantic Bridge’s University Bridge Fund and the spinout has now raised more than $11.7m altogether.
BioMAdvanced, a France-based molecular diagnostic and biomarker test developer, has been spun out of University Hospital Nantes and the Centre for Research in Transplantation and Immunology, a joint institute of University of Nantes and Inserm. The spinout is focused on tests that help understand a patient’s immune response. It will initially focus on kidney and lung transplants and determining the best drug therapy for patients with ulcerative colitis.
– Additional reporting by Liwen-Edison Fu