A daily newsletter summarizing recent activity & interesting startups in the energy storage sector globally

RECENT NOTABLE ACTIVITY – BIOENERGY

• Fulcrum Bioenergy, the producer of bioethanol and jet fuel, secures $30M equity investment from BP and signs jet fuel offtake agreement. Link
• Edeniq, a cellulosic and biorefining technology company, raises $7M in equity funding from Flint Hills Resources, Angeleno Group, I2BF Global Ventures, Cyrus Capital and Trinity Capital Investment. Link
• BTS Biogas, a global biogas and organic fertilizer technology developer, raises over $2M funding from Virtual Equity Partners. Link
• Worrell Harvesting, a woodchip and biomass feedstock producer, raises $1.6M to expand its biomass business. Link
• Solix Algredients, a supplier of algae-based natural ingredients for nutrition, personal care and biofuels market secures $1.33M debt funding as per SEC filing. Link
• Planet Found, producer of electricity and heat from poultry litter, raises an extra $88K as a part of $675k funding as per SEC filing. Link
• Manta Biofuel, the producer of biofuels from algae biomass, raises $100k seed investment from Tedco. Link
• Glucan Bio, a technology developer of furfuryl alcohol and derivatives, raises $100k seed investment from The Yield Lab. Link

SOME INTERESTING STARTUPS FOUND

EnMass Energy (2015, Atlanta) – Converts crop waste into clean and sustainable electricity that operates as a micro-utility, focused on generating baseload energy for industrial and commercial bulk purchasers.

LEADER BOARD – BIOENERGY

Production – Horizontal
Sapphire Energy (2007, San Diego, $290M) – Produces a renewable source of crude oil from algae biomass and operates an algae-to-energy facility. Backed by ARCH Venture Partners, Wellcome Trust, Arrowpoint Partners, Venrock and Department of Energy.
Joule Unlimited (2007, Bedford, $190M) – Technology developer to produce drop-in fuels using waste carbon dioxide (CO2) feedstock and waste brackish water. Backed by Flagship Ventures.
Sundrop Fuels (2008, Longmont, $155M) – Proprietary bio reforming system to transform cellulosic biomass into clean, affordable, renewable gasoline, jet and diesel fuels. Backed by Chesapeake Energy Corporation and Oak Investment Partners.

Production – Biodiesel
Renewable Energy Group (1996, Ames, IPO) – Advanced biodiesel producer and developer of renewable chemicals. Went Public in January 2012.
Amyris (2003, Emeryville, IPO) – Partnered with Total Oil to produce biodiesel. Backed by KPCB, TGP Growth, Khosla Ventures and DAG Ventures. Went Public in September 2010.

Production – Bioalcohol – Bioethanol
Fulcrum Bioenergy (2007, Pleasanton, $302M) – Manufactures bioethanol from MSW. Backed by Rustic Canyon Partners and US Renewables Group.
Enerkem (2000, Montreal, $284M) – Manufactures bioethanol from MSW. Backed by Braemar Energy Ventures, Rho Capital Partners and BDR Capital.

Production – Bioalcohol – Biobutanol
Cobalt Technologies (2005, Mountain View, $89M) – Manufactures drop-in-fuel biobutanol. Backed by Pinnacle Ventures, VantagePoint Capital Partners and Malaysian Life Sciences Capital Fund.

Production – Biogas
Stormfisher (2006, Toronto, $350M) – Builds, owns and operates biogas plants. Backed by Denham Capital.

Technology Developer – Horizontal
Virent Energy (2002, Madison, $103M, Acq.) – Technology developer and manufacturer for biofuels and biochemicals. Backed by Royal Dutch Shell, Cargill, Stark Investments and Venture Investors. Acquired by Tesoro in September 2016.

Technology Developer – Biodiesel
Aurora Biofuels (2006, Hayward, $102M) – Technology developer for production of biodiesel from algae. Backed by OAK Investment Partners, Gabriel Venture Partners and Noventi Ventures.

Technology Developer – Bioalcohol – Bioethanol
Mascoma (2006, New Hampshire, $138M, Acq.) – Technology provider and licensor for Bioethanol production. Backed by   Atlas Venture, Khosla Ventures, KPCB, General Catalyst Partners, Pinnacle Ventures, Flagship Ventures, GM Ventures, VantagePoint Capital Partners etc. Acquired by Lallemand in November 2014.

Technology Developer – Biomass
Renmatix (2007, Kennesaw, $152.5M) – Technology developer and manufacturer for cellulosic sugar. Backed by KPCB, Total Ventures and BASF Venture Capital.

Technology Developer – Catalyst
Rive Technology (2006, Monmouth Junction, $67M) – Catalyst technology developer for petroleum and renewable industry. Backed by Charles River Ventures, Advanced Technology Ventures and Nth Power.

Feedstock – Oilseeds
SG Biofuels (2007, Encinitas, $37M) – Biomass and plant oils manufacturer and supplier. Backed by Flint Hills Resources, McNerney & Partners and Finstere Ventures.

Leaderboard includes all the top funded, IPO and successfully running bootstrapped companies along with their location, founding year and funding amount.

For latest updates visit Bioenergy feed.

IoT connectivity and increasing consumer adoption of high-bandwidth devices and apps is expected to drive up demand for high-speed data in the next decade. To address this growing appetite for data, network operators are expected to make a commercial rollout of 5G technology by 2020.

5G technology promises data speeds of up to 1Gbps, low latency, lower power consumption and higher spectrum efficiency. At present, US and Asian carriers (AT&T, Verizon, SK Telecom, China Mobile etc.) are testing and defining the 5G standard, and actively collaborating with the big equipment OEMs (Ericsson, Nokia Networks, Cisco).

In 2016, investments in SDN (Software Defined Networking) companies hit an all-time peak, with $350M invested over 18 rounds. Investments in SDN-WAN companies rose by almost 50% ($133M vs. $69.5M), due to its growing popularity among enterprise networking and telecom industries. The largest VC rounds in 2016 were secured by Viptela ($75M, Series C), which provides SDN-WAN solutions, Barefoot Networks ($57M, Series C), which provides SDN programmable switches, and Big Switch Networks ($49M, Series C) a provider of SDN controllers.

As far as exits are concerned, there were no IPO listings in 2016, and only two acquisitions were made in this space. Riverbed acquired Ocedo, which provides an integrated software defined networking system, in early 2016. CenturyLink acquired Active Broadband Networks, which provides SDN and NFV Solutions for service providers, in June 2016.

Tracxn’s 5G Enablers report covers five key technologies driving the next generation of wireless communication. Companies working on SON (Self-Organized Network), MEC (Mobile Edge Computing), C-RAN (Centralized Radio Access Network), SDN (Software Defined Networking), and NFV (Network Function Virtualization) are covered in the report.

Note: You can download the part view of the report here. The full version of this report is available for our paid subscribers. Should you want to access the complete report and explore the Tracxn platform, drop us a note on bd@tracxn.com

Download the Tracxn Industry Report on 5G Enablers

The year 2016 turned out to be a deja vu of sorts for the retail sector in terms of acquisition activity, as 31 buyout deals dotted the sector landscape. (31 acquisitions in 2015)

Companies in the payments (8) and analytics (7) space accounted for half of the reported deals. US-based shopper analytics data provider Shopper Trak’s acquisition by Tyco (for $175M) emerged as the biggest buyout of the year in this space in terms of deal value. Other prominent acquisitions include include US-based ZoomSystems by Swyft, TAGSYS by Invengo, Predictix by Infor, VendScreen by USA Technologies, Orchestro by e2Open, Star Mount by Infor, Channel IQ by Market Track, EasyPOS by Zopper, and Roximity by Verve Mobile. The deal value of most of the acquisitions were undisclosed.

After two (2014 & 15) of $1B+ years for the sector, 2016 was a relative dip in terms of total funding. But the sector still managed to rake in a commendable $663M. Despite the dip in overall funding, some of the sub-sectors in the retail tech landscape did register a YoY spike in funding activity.

Companies that create and manage loyalty programs for customer engagement saw a nearly 9X spurt in YoY total funding (from $11.7M to $100.77M). Likewise, companies that provide sensor-based in-store video & image analytics also saw a 14X YoY rise in total funding (from $3.21M to $44.45M).

In terms of geography specific funding activity, retail tech startups in the Latin American region are witnessing impressive growth with a CAGR of 160% since 2013, with 2016 witnessing the maximum investment of $26.5M.

Plug and Play Tech Center, Techstars, 500 Startups, Y Combinator and Wayra emerged as the most active investors in the retail tech landscape. Techstars (14) and Y Combinator (12) were the most active at the seed stage while First Round Capital (4) Founder Collective (4) and Khosla Ventures (4) had the most number of investments at the Series A stage. Likewise, Sequoia Capital (4), DCM Ventures (3) and KPCB (3) were the most active funds at the Series B stage while Goldman Sachs (4), Battery Ventures (3) and KPCB (3) had the most number of investments at the late stage.

Note: You can download the part view of the report here. The full version of this report is available for our paid subscribers. Should you want to access the complete report and explore the Tracxn platform, drop us a note on bd@tracxn.com

Download the Tracxn Industry Report on Retail Tech

A daily newsletter summarizing recent activity & interesting start-ups globally

RECENT NOTABLE ACTIVITY – INDUSTRIAL IOT

• Uptake, Provider of domain specific data analytics solutions for industries raised $40M in Series C round of funding at a reported valuation of $2B. Link
• Farmlogs, developer of tools for managing farms using multi spectral satellite imagery raised $22M in Series C roung of funding. Link
• Roambee, developer of shipment monitoring and tracking service raised $4M in Series B round of funding. Link
• Sencrop, developer of integrated solution for management of farms raised $1.5M in seed investment. Link
• Semiotic Labs, developer of predictive maintenance solutions for industries raised $630K in seed investment. Link
• Zion Research has published report predicting Global IoT sensors market to reach $17.8B by 2020. Link

SOME INTERESTING STARTUPS FOUND

ScoutIoT (2016, Greensboro, $25K) – Developing connected devices for collecting and analyzing industrial data. Alumni of New Ventures Startup accelerator.

LEADER BOARD – INDUSTRIAL IOT

HEALTH CARE
Medication Adherence
Proteus Digital Health (2001, Redwood City, $404M) – Technology provider to hospitals and care givers to monitor medication intake and adherence. Backed by Silicon Valley Bank, Oxford Finance, Asset Management Ventures, Oracle, Novartis.
Propeller Health (2010, Madison, $42M) – Mobile platform and sensor for respiratory health management and medication adherence. Backed by Kapor Capital, S23P, California HealthCare Foundation, Safeguard Scientifics, 3M, SR One, Social Capital and Hikma Ventures.

Vital Sign Monitoring
iRhythm Technologies (2006, SF, IPO) – Solutions to gather data for diagnosis and treatment decisions. Went public in 2016.
Orthosensor (2006, Fort Lauderdale, $88M) – Developer of sensor based intelligent orthopaedic device. Backed by  Ziegler Meditech Equity Partners, Tullis, Ziegler, Dignity Health, IMM Investment, Meditech Advisors.

RETAIL
Instore Marketing
Swirl Networks (2011, Boston, $32M) – Proximity based mobile marketing platform provider for retailers. Backed by Softbank, Longworth Venture Partners, Hearst Ventures, Twitter Ventures, General Catalyst Partners.
Lisnr (2012, Cincinnati, $14M) – Audio based marketing and content distribution platform. Backed by Intel Capital, Mercury Fund, R/GA, Cincy Tech, Jump Capital, Progress Ventures, Serra Ventures.

Instore Analytics
RetailNext (2007, San Jose, $190M) – Real time in store analytics using Wifi and bluetooth sensors. Backed by August Capital, Commerce Ventures, StarVest Partners, Amex Ventures, Nokia Growth Partners, Qualcomm Ventures, Activant Capital, Pereg Ventures, Tyco.
Euclid (2010, Palo Alto, $44M) – Actionable shopper insights by tracking metrics like engagement. Backed by NEA, Benchmark, XG Ventures, Ulu Ventures, Triple Point Capital, Harrison Metal, Cox Enterprises.

AGRICULTURE
Farm Monitoring & Management
Farmers Edge (2005, Winnipeg, $44M) – Provider of precision agriculture and data management solutions. Backed by KPCB, Mitsui.
Farmlogs (2012, Ann Arbor, $38M) – Tools for managing farms using multi spectral satellite imagery. Backed by Huron River Ventures, Hyde Park Venture Partners, Y Combinator, Drive Capital, Hyde Park Angels, SV Angel.

Bovine Monitoring
Vital Herd (2012, Austin, $798KM) – Animal monitoring solution for livestock farmers. Backed by New York Angels.
Herddogg (2015, Ashland, $750K) – Integrated hardware and software solution for livestock monitoring, part of Rogue Rovers. Backed by Serra Ventures & Sierra Ventures.

Multi Industries
Asset Monitoring & Tracking
Perpetuum (2004, South Hampton, $20M) -Vibration harvesting micro-generator for gathering large amounts of information from wireless sensor nodes. Backed by  ETF Partners, Quester, Spark Venture Management.
Beep Networks (2012, SF, $4M) – Developer of sensors and wireless sensor networks. Backed by   Y Combinator, Western Technology Investment, Betaworks, Maiden Lane, NEST, Dolby Family Ventures, Technicolor Ventures, QueensBridge Venture Partners.

Worksite Monitoring
Precyse Technologies (2004, Atlanta, $12M) – Real time asset visibility and management. Backed by Spencer Trask Ventures.
Lightship Works (2015, Kamloops) – Application to integrate sensor data to track assets.

Workforce Wearables
Atheer (2011, Mountain View, $28M) – 3D augmented reality platform to assist workforce. Backed by Streamline Ventures, Signature Capital, Rona Holdings, Funders Club, Shanda Group, Fang Group, Flextronics Lab, Mindful Investors.
Daqri (2010, LA, $17M) – Smart helmets for industrial environments. Backed by Tarsadia Investments.

Analytics
OSI Soft (1980, San Leandro, $140M) – Platform to capture, store, process and analyze sensor data. Backed by Technology Crossover Ventures, KPCB.
Uptake (2014, Palo Alto, $85M) – Provider of domain specific data analytics solutions for industries. Backed by NEA, Lightbank, Caterpillar, Peterson Partners, General Purpose Vehicles.

Manufacturing
Augury (2012, Haifa, $7M) – Predictive machine diagnostics technology. Backed by Lerer Hippeau, First Round Capital, Formation 8, Pritzker Group.
SightMachine (2012, SF, $24.5M) – Analyses images from industrial cameras, data from sensors and information from factory systems to improve efficiency. Backed by Orfin Ventures, Huron River Ventures, Funders Club, Mercury Fund, Michigan eLab, O’Reily Alpha Tech Ventures, IA Ventures.

SMART BUILDINGS
Viewglass (2007, Milpitas, $436M) – Smart window glass for buildings. Backed by Khosla Ventures, Sigma Partners, DBL Investors, Nano Dimension, Navitas Capital, Westly Group, GE Capital, NZ Superfund, Corning.
Enlighted (2009, Sunny Vale, $83M) – Sensor based smart lighting optimization. Backed by Intel Capital, DFJ, KPCB, Draper Nexus, Rockport Capital Partners.
Digital Lumens (2008, Boston, $54M) – Intelligent LED based lighting solutions. Backed by Flybridge Capital Partners, Nokia Growth Partners, Blackcoral Capital, Goldman Sachs, Aster Capital.

Leaderboard includes all the top funded, IPO and successfully running bootstrapped companies along with their location, founding year and funding amount.

For latest updates visit Industrial IoT feed. 

A daily newsletter summarizing recent activity & interesting start-ups globally

RECENT NOTABLE ACTIVITY – BLOCKCHAIN APPLICATIONS

• BitFury, the Bitcoin and private Blockchain infrastructure provider, secured $30M funding from Credit China Holdings. Link
• BitPesa, a Bitcoin-based remittance services provider, secured $2.5M funding in Series A round led by Draper Associates, with participation from Greycroft Partners, Blockchain Capital, BnkToTheFuture.com, Digital Currency Group, Pantera Capital, Zephyr Management. Link
• Neufund, a Blockchain-based ICO offering platform for startups, secured €2M ($2.13M) funding from Atlantic Labs, Klaas Kersting and a group of superangels. Link
• Cambridge Blockchain, a Blockchain-based technology solutions provider, secured $2M funding in convertible debt notes from Partech Ventures and Digital Currency Group. Link
• Microsoft and blockchain startup Tierion partner on digital identity initiative. Link
• The National Bank of Abu Dhabi has introduced real-time cross-border payments on a blockchain by integrating technology from industry firm Ripple. Link
• American Express has joined Hyperledger Project, a collaborative cross-industry effort created to advance blockchain technology. Link
• Three large technology companies, Cisco, Bosch, and Foxconn have teamed up to create the IoT blockchain consortium. Link
• Commonwealth Bank of Australia has issued a cryptobond for Queensland Treasury Corporation in the first trial run of the bank’s private, permissioned blockchain platform for the end-to-end issuance of bonds. Link
• Swiss banking giant UBS bank has partnered with German energy company Innogy and automobile manufacturing company ZF to provide a blockchain-backed Car eWallet that enables charging of electric cars. Link
• The Postal Savings Bank of China (PSBC) has announced the launch of its blockchain-based asset custody system, in partnership with IBM. Link
• New York’s Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC) has announced plans to build post-trade distributed ledger framework for derivatives. Link
• Seven of Europe’s biggest banks have announced partnership on the development of Blockchain platform for SMEs. Link
• The research arm of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) – India’s central bank – has tested blockchain solutions for core banking processes in the country. Link

SOME INTERESTING STARTUPS FOUND

Neufund (2016, Barcelona, $2.13M) – Blockchain-based venture capital fund. It offers Initial Coin Offering to new startups. Backed by Atlantic Labs.
Signatura (2015, Buenos Aires) – Digital signatures and document notarization on the blockchain.

LEADER BOARD – BLOCKCHAIN APPLICATIONS

Financial Services
Circle (2013, Boston, $136M) – Digital currency wallet and international money transfer service provider. Backed by Accel Partners, Goldman Sachs, Baidu, General Catalyst Partners, IDG Capital Partners, Oak Investment Partners, CICC, CreditEase, China Everbright, Fenway Summer, Breyer Capital, Pantera Capital, Wanxiang America, Digital Currency Group.
Ripple (2012, SF, $90.5M) – Open source payment protocol. Backed by Standard Chartered, AME Cloud Ventures, Seagate, CME Group, IDG Capital Partners, RRE Ventures, Venture 51, Core VC, ChinaRock Capital Management, SBI Holdings, Route 66 Ventures, Camp One Ventures, Blockchain Capital, Santander InnoVentures, Digital Currency Group, Tusk Ventures, CRCM Venture Capital, SCB Digital Ventures.
Digital Asset Holdings (2014, NYC, $67M) – Blockchain-based trade settlement solution provider. Backed Accenture, IBM, Goldman Sachs, Broadridge Financial Solutions, Citigroup, J.P. Morgan, CME Group, BNP Paribas, ABN AMRO Bank, Australian Securities Exchange, PNC Financial Services Group, Deutsche, DTCC, ICAP, FinTech Innovation Lab, Santander InnoVentures.

Enterprise
Filament Networks (2012, Reno, $21M) – A decentralized Internet of Things stack. Backed by Techstars, Crosslink Capital, Resonant Venture Partners, Samsung Venture Investment, Pantera Capital, Bullpen Capital, Verizon Ventures, Digital Currency Group, Working Lab Capital, Zenstone Venture Capital, VTF Capital.
Keybase (2013, NYC, $11M) – Identity mapping service via a public key encryption tool. Backed by Andreessen Horowitz, Corazon Capital.

Technology
Blockstream (2014, SF, $76M) – Provides sidechain solutions to improve blockchain. Backed by Khosla Ventures, AME Cloud Ventures, Innovation Endeavors, Data Collective, Horizons Ventures, Ribbit Capital, Real Ventures, Digital Garage, DG Incubation, SK Ventures, Future Perfect Ventures, Maiden Lane, Mosaic Ventures, Blockchain Capital, Digital Currency Group, AXA Strategic Ventures, Seven Seas Partners.
BitFury (2012, SF, $95M) – Full-service blockchain technology company. Backed by Credit China Holdings, DRW, Investment Fund, Crypto Currency Partners, Binary Financial, ZAD, Blockchain Capital, QueensBridge Venture Partners, iTech Capital.
Chain (2014, SF, $44M) – Provider of blockchain networks and applications to businesses. Backed by Capital One, VISA, Nasdaq, SV Angel, Khosla Ventures, Thrive Capital, RRE Ventures, Betaworks, Homebrew, Fiserv, Orange, Firestartr, Pantera Capital, Citi Ventures, Blockchain Capital, Digital Currency Group, BoxGroup.

Consumer
FirstBlood Technologies (2016, Boston, $5.5M) – Blockchain-based eSports platform.
Augur Project (2014, SF, $5M) – Decentralized prediction market based on Blockchain.

Leaderboard includes all the top funded, IPO and successfully running bootstrapped companies along with their location, founding year and funding amount.

For latest update, visit Blockchain Applications feed.

A daily newsletter summarizing recent activity & interesting start-ups globally

RECENT NOTABLE ACTIVITY – ALTERNATIVE LENDING

• Kountable, a San Francisco, CA-based provider of trade-finance to SMEs in growing economies around the world, will receive an up to $150M credit line. Link
• Spotcap, a Berlin based credit lines provider receives $20M funding from Heartland Bank (New Zealand). Link
• Better Mortgage, a New York based housing mortgages provider, secures $15M In Series B funding from Kleiner Perkins, Goldman Sachs and Pine Brook. Link
• Credifi, a big data platform serving the CRE finance market, has secured $13M in Series B funding led by Liberty Israel Venture Fund, and participation from 31 Ventures Global Innovation Fund, Battery Ventures, Carmel Ventures, OurCrowd and Stax Link
• Credible Labs, a San Franciso based student loan financing platform, garners $10M Series B  funding from Regal Funds Management, Ron Suber and Carthona Capital. Link
• SparkFund, a Washington-based energy efficiency projects financer, raises $7M Series B funding from Energy Impact Partners and Vision Ridge Partners. Link
• Capital Float, a Bangalore based small business lending platform, raises $2.53M debt funding from IFMR Capital. Link
• NeoGrowth, a Mumbai-based working capital loans platform, receives convertible debt financing from existing investor shareholders Omidyar Networks, Aspada Investment Company, Khosla Impact and Accion Frontier Inclusion Fund, Mauritius. Link
• SoFi, a US-based online lending company, buys mobile-banking startup Zenbanx for about $100M. Link
• Klarna, a Swedish purchase financing platform, acquires German online payment company BillPay from Wonga, accelerating its growth in the region. Link

SOME INTERESTING STARTUPS FOUND

Huddle Capital (2016, Leeds) – A peer-to-peer business lending and education platform.
Peer Technology (2016, Marlborough) – A KYC management services provider for P2P lending businesses.

LEADER BOARD – ALTERNATIVE LENDING

Consumer Loans
Lending Club (2007, SF, IPO) – P2P online lending marketplace. Backed by Canaan Partners, Norwest Venture Partners, Morgenthaler Ventures, Foundation Capital. Went public in 2014.
SoFi (2011, SF, $1.5B) – Marketplace lender and provider of student loan refinancing. Backed by SoftBank, Third Point Ventures, Renren, Discovery Capital, Baseline Ventures.
Prosper (2005, SF, $353M) – P2P lending marketplace. Backed by Credit Suisse, Sequoia Capital, Francisco Partners, Draper Fisher Jurvetson.
Avant (2012, Chicago, $655M) – Online lending platform. Backed by Tiger Global Management, Victory Park Capital, August Capital.
Affirm (2012, SF, $420M) – Provides instant point-of-sale financing for online purchases. Backed by Spark Capital, Andreessen Horowitz, Khosla Ventures, Lightspeed Venture Partners.
GreenSky (2006, Atlanta, $410M) – A consumer finance marketplace, specializing in providing support services for consumer credit in the home improvement, retail, and healthcare industries. Backed by QED Investors, TPG, Fifth Third Bancorp.
Klarna (2005, Stockholm, $290M) – Platform providing e-commerce payment solutions for merchants and shoppers. Backed by General Atlantic, Sequoia Capital, QED Investors, DST Global.

Business Loans
OnDeck (2007, NY, IPO) – Technology-enabled financial platform that provides loans to small and medium-sized businesses. Backed by Tiger Global Management, Google Ventures, RRE Ventures. Went public in 2014.
IOU Financial (2006, Kennesaw, IPO) – Working capital loan provider to small businesses. Went public in 2014.
Funding Circle (2010, London, $375M) – P2P marketplace for business loans. Backed by Accel Partners, Index Ventures, Union Square Ventures, DST Global, Temasek, Ribbit Capital, Baillie Gifford, Rocket Internet, Sands Capital, Montage Ventures, Endurance Companies.
Kabbage (2009, Atlanta, $241M) – Provider of working capital loans for small businesses. Backed by Reverence Capital Partners, SoftBank Capital, Mohr Davidow Ventures, BlueRun Ventures.
Behalf (2011, NY, $156M) – Lending platform which offers financing for small businesses. Backed by Sequoia Capital, Viola Group, Spark Capital, Vintage Partners, Western Technology Investment, Victory Park Capital, MissionOG, Maverick Ventures.
LendInvest (2013, London, $117M) – P2P lending marketplace for mortgage loans. Backed by Atomico, Kunlun, Macquarie Group.
BlueVine (2013, Redwood City, $113M) – An online invice factoring company. Backed by Lightspeed Venture Partners, Menlo Ventures, 83North, and Citi Ventures.
AbleLending (2014, Texas, $111M) – A collaborative lending platform for small businesses. Backed by Community Investment Management.
LendingHome (2013, SF, $109M) – Online mortgage marketplace for real estate loan. Backed by Foundation Capital, Renren, Ribbit Capital.
Fundbox (2012, SF, $107.5M) – An invoice discounting service provider. Backed by Spark Capital, General Catalyst Partners, Khosla Ventures.

Enablers
Think Finance (2001, Fort Worth, $60M) – Analytics and technology services for lenders. Backed by Sequoia Capital, TCV, Victory Park Capital.
Zest Finance (2009, LA, $54M) – Deploys machine learning to provide lenders with borrowers’ credit score. Backed by Lightspeed Venture Partners, Matrix Partners, Kensington Capital, Northgate Capital, Baidu.
Orchard (2013, NYC, $45M) – An investment and analytics platform that supports the lending marketplaces by providing technical and operational efficiency to help institutional investors and loan originators connect and transact. Backed by Canaan Partners, Spark Capital, QED Investors, Thrive Capital, Thomvest Ventures, Victory Park Capital, Conversion Capital, Tom Glocer, Brooklyn Bridge Ventures, Nyca Partners, Social Leverage.
FactorTrust (2006, Atlanta, $43.6M) – Provider of consumer data, analytics and risk scoring solutions on those underserved by traditional banking channels. Backed by  ABS Capital Partners, MissionOG, Archbrook.
Insikt (2012, SF, $24M) – White label platform for online lending. Backed by Accelerator Ventures, Investment AB Kinnevik, FirstMark Capital, Atalaya Capital.

Leader board includes all the top funded, IPO and successfully running bootstrapped companies along with their location, founding year and funding amount.

For the latest update, visit Alternative Lending feed.

A daily newsletter summarizing recent activity & interesting start-ups globally

RECENT NOTABLE ACTIVITY – ENERGY EFFICIENCY

• Smart dynamic glass maker View, raises $100M Series G funding from TIAA Investments to bring the valuation more than $1B. Link
• Kinestral Technologies, the developer of smart tinting glass, raises $65M in Series C funding led by AGC Asahi Glass (AGC), 5AM Ventures and others. Link
• Energy efficiency project financing company SparkFund raises $7M in a Series B investment led by Energy Impact Partners. Link
• Energy renovation services provider Cozynergy raises $4.8M to develop a web-based platform. Link
• Energiency, a cloud-based platform for optimizing industrial energy efficiency, raises $3.4M Series A round led by Isai, Go Capital, West Web Valley, InnoEnergy and others. Link
• Renewable energy platform QOS Energy secures $3.2M funding from ETF Partners and Go Capital. Link
• Zenatix, an energy management platform for retail chains and banks, raises $1.2M pre-Series A funding from pi Ventures and Blume Ventures. Link
• Camfridge, a developer of energy-efficient cooling technology crowdfunded $803k on  SyndicateRoom. Link
• Nuuka Solutions, a building energy management platform provider, closed financing round that was joined by Cleantech Invest and several other investors. Link

SOME INTERESTING STARTUPS FOUND

Zero Breeze (2016, Post Falls) – Portable energy efficient multifunctional air conditioner that also includes a Bluetooth speaker, LED light and power bank. Capable of cooling a 50 square feet room down to 44℉.
LightFi  (2016, London) – LightFi develops smart controllers for connected lighting. The device senses room occupancy and manages the connected lighting within 50 m.

LEADER BOARD – ENERGY EFFICIENCY

Products – Lighting – LED – Material & Component Manufacturers
Bridgelux (2002, Sunnyvale, $219M, Acq.) – LED chip manufacturing company. Backed by El Dorado Ventures, VantagePoint Capital Partners, Craton Equity Partners and Passport Capital. Acquired by China Electronics Corporation in 2015.

Products – Lighting – LED – Finished Products
Lighting Science Group (2004, Melbourne, IPO) – Manufactures different shapes of LED bulbs and invented biologically corrected lighting. Backed by Riverwood Capital and Pegasus Capital. Went public in 2008.
Cree (1987, Durham, IPO) – Manufactures LED components, and semiconductor products for power and radio-frequency (RF) applications. Went Public in 1993.

Products – Lighting – OLED – Finished Products
Novaled (2003, Dresden, $35M, Acq.) – Provides organic materials and complementary technologies for organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) in display and lighting. Acquired by Samsung in 2013.

Products – Thermal Energy – Insulation
Aerogel (2001, Northborough, IPO) – Provides thermal management and energy conservation insulation solutions. Backed by Mount Royal Ventures, Arcapita Ventures, Lehman Brothers, RockPort Capital Partners, Reservoir Capital Group, Tenaya Capital.

Products – Thermal Energy – HVACR – Heating
Thermondo (2012, Berlin, $32M) – Energy efficient residential heating system provider. Backed by Holtzbrinck Ventures, E.on, IBB, Global Founders Capital, Rocket Internet.

Products – Thermal Energy – HVACR – Cooling
TAS Energy (1999, Houston, $60M) – TAS Energy manufactures energy efficient chilling and cooling systems. Backed by KPCB and Element Partners.

Products – Construction – Pre-Fabricated
View Dynamic Glass (2007, Milpitas, $546M) – Smartglass on which tint level can be modified by the user using smartphone to admit only light and reject glare. Backed by Khosla Ventures, DBL Investors, Sigma Partners, Navitas Capital, The Westly Group.

Energy Management Systems – BEMS
GridPoint (2003, Arlington, $294M, Acq.) – Energy management systems using big data analytics to monitor and manage energy-consuming assets, such as HVAC and lighting systems. Backed by Goldman Sachs, Skypoint Capital, Advantage Capital Partners, Craton Equity Partners. Acquired by TFC Utilities in 2015.
Distech Controls (1995, Brossard, $37M, Acq.) – Building energy management system that provides integration of HVAC, lighting, access control, CCTV, energy management, and other building systems. Backed by Export Development Canada, Enertech Capital. Acquired by Acuity Brands in 2015.

Energy Management Systems – IEMS
Energy and Power Solutions (2001, Costa Mesa, $50M, Acq.) – Energy Management System with real-time information collected at the equipment level, across a customer’s entire enterprise. Backed by NGEN, Robeco, Altira Group. Acquired by Ameresco in 2011.

Energy Management Systems – HEMS – AC Management
Nest Labs (2010, Palo Alto, $80M, Acq.) – Provides thermostats for monitoring home energy consumption. Backed by KPCB, Google Ventures, Lightspeed Venture Partners and Shasta Ventures. Acquired by Google in 2014.
Tado (2011, Munich, $57M) – Smart AC management devices for homes. Backed by Target Partners, Shortcut Ventures, BayBG, Siemens.

Energy Management Systems – HVAC Management
Optimum Energy (2005, Seattle, $36M) – Provides data-driven cooling and heating optimization solutions for enterprise facilities.Backed by Columbia Pacific Advisors.

Energy Management Systems – Lighting Control Systems – BLCS
Enlighted (2009, Sunnyvale, $83M) – Provides network platform with wireless sensor to collect and analyze data to intelligently adapt the lighting level. Backed by Intel Capital, KPCB, RockPort Capital Partners.
Sensity Systems (2010, Sunnyvale, $74M, Acq.) – Offers a high-speed, sensor-based, open networking platform to connect lighting systems for improving the experience. Backed by Mohr Davidow Ventures, Cisco Investments, Acuity Brands and Simon Venture Group. Acquired by Verizon in Sep, 2016.

Energy Management Systems – Lighting Control Systems – SLCS
Petra Systems (2006, South Plainfield, $40M) – Advanced street lighting solutions based on solar power and wireless networking capabilities. Backed by ES Ventures, Element Partners, OnPoint Technologies, Arsenal Venture Partners and Craton Equity Partners.

Energy Management Systems – Power Management Systems
SynapSense (2006, Folsom, $46M, Acq.) – Wireless cooling and data center asset monitoring solution. Backed by  Sequoia Capital, Crosslink Capital, Frontier Venture Capital, Aeris Capital, Nth Power, Robert Bosch Venture Capital and American River Ventures. Acquired by Panduit in 2014.

Data Analytics – Energy Data Management
Opower (2007, Arlington, $65.5M, Acq.) – Cloud-based software comprising energy reports and demand response programs. Backed by New Cycle Capital, Accel Partners and KPCB. Acquired by Oracle Corporation in May 2015.
FirstFuel (2011, Lexington, $44M) – Offers building wide energy analytics that helps in managing energy consumption. Backed by Battery Ventures, Nth Power and RockPort Capital Partners.

Data Analytics – Meter Monitoring
Bidgely (2010, Sunnyvale, $25M) – Home energy management up to appliance level without using any plug-level monitors. Backed by Khosla Ventures, Plug and Play Tech Center, E.on, RWE Global and  Constellation Technology Ventures.
Sense (2013, Cambridge, $19M) – Device to monitor appliances and track energy usages using electronic signatures. Backed by  Charles River Ventures, Capricorn, Bolt, Shell Global, Prelude Ventures and Energy Impact Partners.

Leader board includes all the top funded, IPO and successfully running bootstrapped companies along with their location, founding year and funding amount.

For latest update, visit Energy Efficiency feed.

A daily newsletter summarizing recent activity & interesting start-ups globally

RECENT NOTABLE ACTIVITY – SMART HOMES

• Ring Labs, developer of connected video doorbells and connected cameras raised $109M in Series D round of funding. Link
• Vivint, developer of home automation systems raised $72M in late stage venture funding from Goldman Sachs. Vivint was acquired by Blackstone in 2012 for $2B. Link
• Viva Labs, developer of a range of home automation & security solutions raised $1.3M in Series A investment from Danish Solar. Link
• Switchee, developer of connected thermostats for home has raised £480k in seed funding. Link
• Samsung acquired Perch Technologies, developer of an app to convert old phones into a surveillance camera. Link
• Electrolux acquired Anova Culinary, developer of sous vide cooker for $250M. Link
• Deutsche Telekom has released its white label product portfolio for smart homes. Link

SOME INTERESTING STARTUPS FOUND

Noria (2016, Philadelphia) – Connected ACs that fit at the bottom of the window, has managed to raise $1.3M in crowdfunding on Kickstarter.

LEADER BOARD – SMART HOMES

SMART HOME SUITE
Alarm (2000, Vienna, IPO) – Home and business security by leveraging wireless, web and mobile technologies, all built on Alarm.com’s hosted services platform. Went public in June 2015.
Nest Labs (2010, Palo Alto, $80M, Acq.) – Hardware and software for monitoring home energy consumption. Acquired by Google for $3.2B in 2014. Backed by Google Ventures, LSVP, KPCB, Shasta Ventures, Generation Investment Management.

HOME AUTOMATION
Device Management
Control4 (2003, Saltlake City, IPO) – Wired and wireless home automation products. Went public in August 2013 thus becoming first home automation company to do so.
Savant (2005, Barnstable, $90M) – App and hub for connected device management. Backed by PE firm KKR.

Monitoring Systems
Leeo (2013, Palo Alto, $38M) – Plugin devices that alert user when their smoke alarm sound. Recently laid off 30% of its employees. Backed by Formation 8, Visionnaire Ventures, EON.
Hello (2012, SF, $32M) – Sleep behavior tracking by providing data on environmental conditions of room. Backed by Temasek Holdings.
Bidgely (2010, Sunnyvale, $25M) – Enables consumers to monitor and manage their household energy use. Backed by Khosla Ventures, Constellation Technology Ventures, E.ON, RWE Group.

HVAC Control
Tado (2011, Munich, $57M) – Smart AC management device for homes and businesses. Backed by Target Partners, Shortcut Ventures, BayBG, Siemens.
Ecobee (2007, Toronto, $51M) – Apple homekit compatible digital programmable thermostat. Backed by Tech Capital Partners, Relay Ventures, Investco Capital, Ontario Emerging Technologies Fund & Amazon Alexa Fund.

Wireless Switches & Plugs
Broadlink (2013, Hangzhou, $21M) – Developer of connected power strips. Backed by Qualcomm, Sequoia Capital, Innovation Works, Qihoo 360 & China Merchants Group.
Deako (2015, Seattle, $9M) – Developer of connected switches for homes. Backed by Y Combinator & other undisclosed investors.
ThinkEco (2008, NYC, $7M) – Modern outlet that monitors and regulates power consumed by appliances.

Home Lighting
Lifx (2012, Melbourne, $13M) – Wifi enabled LED lights. Backed by Sequoia Capital, Qualcomm Ventures.
MyQubic (2014, Beijing, $11M) – Connected lighting solution for homes. Backed by Plum Ventures & Hwazing Capital.

Smart Kitchen
Juicero (2013, SF, $90M) – Developer of internet connected juicers. Backed by KPCB, Thrive Capital, GV, Interplay Ventures, Vast Ventures, Two Sigma Ventures, Double Bottom Line Investors, Mindfull Investors, ARTIS Ventures, Campbell Soup Co, First Beverage Group, DBL Partners, and ICH Group.
Innit (2013, SF, $43M) – Development phase sensors to manage and connect food information. Backed by group of strategic investors.
June (2013, SF, $29.5M) – Smart counter top oven. Backed by Foundry Group, Founders Fund, First Round Capital, Lerer Hippeau, Upside Partnership.

Gardening
Hydropoint (2002, Petaluma, $68M) – Develops smart water management solutions for landscape irrigation applications. Also provides site specific weather data to agencies and corporations. Backed by Rockport Capital, Firelake Capital, Chrysalis Ventures, Monitor Ventures, J.F. Shea Co.
Rachio (2012, Denver, $10M) – Platform for remote sprinkler management. Backed by FG Angels.

HOME SECURITY
Locks
August (2013, SF, $48M) – Smart lock and access systems. Backed by Qualcomm Ventures, Bessemer Venture Partners, Comcast Ventures, Maveron, Cowboy Ventures, Industry Ventures, Rho Ventures, Softtech VC.
Latch (2014, NYC, $17M) – Smart locks for homes, offices and apartment buildings. Backed by Primary Venture Partners, Corigin Venture Partners, Expansion Ventures, PCH, Camber Creek, Third Prime Capital, R/GA, Techstars and a number real estate developers.

Video Monitoring & Alerts
Ring Labs (2012, Santa Monica, $204M) – Developer of connected doorbell. Backed by KPCB, American Family Insurance, J.F. Shea, True Ventures, Upfront Ventures, First Round, Queens Bridge Ventures, Charles River VC,Sky Daton.
Canary (2012, NYC, $41M) – Device with video camera and safety sensors for home. Backed by Khosla Ventures, Western Technology Investment, Two Sigma Ventures, New York Angels, Flextronics, Brooklyn Bridge Ventures, Cota Capital, MetaProp NYC, Walden Riverwood Ventures.

Home Network Security
Luma (2014, Atlanta, $23M) – Developer of device for creating smart and secure wifi network at home. Backed by Accel Partners, Amazon, Andreessen Horowitz, 500 Startups, Felicis Ventures, GV, Webb Investment Network, Relay Ventures, Base Ventures & BIP Capital.

Leaderboard includes all the top funded, IPO and successfully running bootstrapped companies along with their location, founding year and funding amount.

For latest updates visit Smart Homes feed.

A daily newsletter summarizing recent activity & interesting start-ups globally

RECENT NOTABLE ACTIVITY – GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION SYSTEM

• Canadian company MDA is in talks to acquire Digital Globe Link
• HERE and Pioneer partner on global map solutions and location-based services. Link
• Digital Globe partners with a Japanese company to expand elevation data use. Link
• Surrey to provide navigation for NASA’s OCO-3 mission.Link
• DARPA develops “GPS-like” undersea drone connectivity. Link
• Map my India to partner with Bhuvan for collaborative mapping applications. Link
• TomTom launches traffic data sharing tool for cities and mobility stakeholders. Link
• India launches 88 earth imaging satellite from Planet Labs. Link
• Mapmyindia aims 5-fold jump in revenue to INR 1000cr by 2023. Link

SOME INTERESTING STARTUPS FOUND

Point one Navigation (2016, SF) – GPS augmentation for precise locations.
Focal Point Positioning (2015, Cambridge) – Technology developer for accurate positioning of smartphones.
Acquila Space (2015, Moffett Field) – Provider of satellite-based high-resolution Earth imagery.

LEADER BOARD – GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION SYSTEM

Imaging Solutions
Imaging Solutions – Satellite Based
DigitalGlobe (1993, Longmont, IPO) – Provider of satellite-based geospatial data. Backed by Wavemaker Partners. Went public in 2009.
Planet Labs (2010, SF, $183M) – Microsatellite network to map Earth to provide universal access to information. Backed by First Round Capital, O’Reilly AlphaTech Ventures, IFC, AME Cloud Ventures etc.
Spire (2012, SF, $66.5M) – Satellite powered data company. Backed by Bessemer Venture Partners, Qualcomm Ventures, Shasta Ventures etc.

Imaging Solutions – Aerial Imagery
Surveying and Mapping (1994, Austin, $37M) –  Geospatial Data solutions provider. Backed by Austin Ventures and Comerica.
Airphrame (2012, SF, $4.2M) – Fleet of drones for aerial mapping. Backed by Floodgate, August Capital, and American Family Ventures.
Interatlas (1997, Paris, $2.7M) – Aerial orthophoto solutions provider. Backed by IDF Capital and OTC Asset Management.

Imaging Solutions – Camera Based Crowdsourcing
Mapillary (2013, Malmo, $9.5M) – Crowdsourced Photomapping services. Backed by Sequoia Capital, Atomico, Wellington Partners, Playfair Capital, LDV Capital, NFX Guild and zeroth.ai.

Platform Providers
Platform Providers – Data Storage, Integration and Visualization.
TerraGo (2005, Atlanta, $25M) – Mobile based data collection and Geospatial collaboration software provider. Backed by In-Q-Tel, Clark Enterprises, Hitachi Solutions, RedShift Ventures, and  In-Q-Tel.
GeoIQ (2005, Arlington, $11.5M, Acq.) – Web-based location analysis platform. Backed by New Markets Venture Partners, Steven Walker Donkor, Chart Venture Partners and In-Q-Tel. Acquired by Esri in 2012.

Mapping Platforms
Mapping Platforms – 2D
DeCarta (1996, San Jose, $66M, Acq.) – 2D mapping platform and navigation services provider. Backed by Norwest Venture Partners, TransLink Capital, Cardinal Venture Capital, and Mobius Venture Capital. Acquired by Uber in 2015.
Mapbox (2010, Washington DC, $63M) – Tools provider for building custom maps. Backed by Foundry Group, Draper Fisher Jurvetson, Thrive Capital etc.

Mapping Platforms – 3D
GeoDigital (2005, Hamilton, $18M) – Provides 3D data of real world, remote sensing, and spatial intelligence technology. Backed by EnerTech Capital, Emerald Technology Ventures, NGP Energy Technology Partners and North Sky Capital.
eeGeo (2010, Dundee, $12M) – The company has developed a 3D mapping platform. Backed by NEA, Initial Capital, and NetSol Tech.

Maps
Maps – Offline Maps
triposo (2010, Berlin, $8M) – Provides a travel guide mobile app with offline maps. Backed by Lowercase Capital and InterWest Partners.

Maps – Online Maps
Aisle411 (2008, St.Louis, $10M) – Provides maps for retail navigation and social shopping. Backed by Plug and Play Tech Center, Capital Innovators, Cultivation Capital, Angelsoft, and St Louis Arch Angels.

Positioning and Navigation
Positioning and Navigation – Positioning
NextNav (2008, Sunnyvale, $150M) – Urban and Indoor location enabling technology provider. Backed by NEA, Goldman Sachs, Columbia Capital, and Oak Investment Partners.
IndoorAtlas (2012, Mountain View, $18M) – Indoor positioning system to locate objects inside buildings. Backed by the European Union, Baidu, Plug and Play Tech Center, SK Planet, Mobility Ventures and KoppiCatch.

Positioning and Navigation – Navigation
Insiteo (2009, Colomiers, $5M) – Indoor navigation technology provider. Backed by Emertec Gestion, Innovacom, and Creathor Venture.
Navigine (2011, Moscow, $400k) –  Enterprise Indoor positioning and navigation services platform provider. Backed by Starta Capital and Innovestor.

Location Analytics
Location Analytics – Horizontal Suite
Digital Map Products (2000, Irvine, $43M) – Mapping platform and location-based analytics. Backed by Keiretsu Forum and Silversmith Capital.
Orbital Insight (2013, Palo Alto, $30M) – Provides an understanding global trends through image processing and deep learning. Backed by Sequoia Capital, GV, CME Group, Lux Capital, Bloomberg Beta, In-Q-Tel and Citizen.
StreetLight Data (2010, SF, $14M) – Location-based analytics for retail and transportation industries. Backed by Western Technology Investment, Osage Partners, Vision Ridge Partners, Engie and Telekom Capital.

Location Analytics – Transportation
Inrix (2004, Kirkland, $133M) – Transportation information and analytics provider. Backed by Bain Capital Ventures, KPCB, Intel Capital, Venrock, August Capital, Fontinalis Partners, ORIX, Angeleno Group, Porsche, and Pharus Capital Management.
HawkEye 360 (2015, Herndon, $14M) – Tracks and monitors global transportation networks. Backed by Allied Minds, Invesco Perpetual, Razor’s Edge Venture, and Woodford Investment Management.

Location Analytics – Agriculture
The Climate Corporation (2006, SF, $109M, Acq.) – Integrated platform that provides farm and weather data analytics.Backed by First Round Capital, NEA, Index Ventures, Khosla Ventures, Atomico etc. Acquired by Monsanto in 2013 for $930M.
Farmlogs (2012, Ann Arbor, $38M) – Tool for managing farms using multi-spectral satellite imagery. Backed by Y Combinator, Andreessen Horowitz, SV Angel etc.
Mavrx (2012, SF, $12M) – Real-time data-driven drone imagery and geo-analytics for Agriculture. Backed by Shasta Ventures, Bloomberg Beta etc.

Leaderboard includes all the top funded, IPO and successfully running bootstrapped companies along with their location, founding year and funding amount.

For latest updates, visit Geographic Information System feed.

A daily newsletter summarizing recent activity & interesting start-ups globally

RECENT NOTABLE ACTIVITY – PAYMENTS

• TIO Networks, a multi-channel bill payment processor, was acquired by PayPal for $232M. Link
• UniRush, a general purpose prepaid card issuer, was acquired by GreenDot for $167M. Link
• Paycorp, a merchant acquirer processor and payment solutions provider, was acquired by MYOB for $48M. Link
• TechProcess Payment Services, an India-based payment gateway provider, was acquired by Ingenico. Link
  
• Payline, a payment processing solutions provider, secured $5M funding from Recurring Capital Partners and other investors. Link
• Swyp, a multi-card storage solutions provider, secured $5M in Series A funding round led by Khosla Ventures. Link
• Zwipe, a fingerprint authentication based contactless card solution provider, secured $4.3M funding. Link
• LatiPay, a cross-border payment gateway provider, secured $3M in Series A funding round led by Jubilee Capital Management, with participation from Tuhua Fund and Zino Fund. Link
• Rippleshot, a card-fraud protection company, secured $2.6M funding from KDWC, with participation from CMFG Ventures. Link
• Amex will launch the B2B platform in India to help businesses pay their suppliers on time while still extending their capital float. Link
• IBM and Visa join forces to turn billions of connected devices into points of sale. Link
• DigixGlobal, an Ethereum tokenization startup, has partnered with Monolith to produce a new version of the world’s first gold-backed Blockchain debit card. Link
• Santander has become the first bank in the UK to launch voice-powered payments services. Link

SOME INTERESTING STARTUPS FOUND

Oblingo (2016, Jerusalem) – An AI-based micropayment platform for digital content.

LEADER BOARD – PAYMENTS

Payment Gateway
Safecharge (2006, British Virgin Islands, IPO) – A customized payment acceptance portal for merchants. Went public in 2014.
Stripe (2010, SF, $466M) – A merchant acquirer and a payment gateway API provider for web and mobile payments. Backed by Y Combinator, American Express, VISA, Redpoint Ventures, Andreessen Horowitz, Salesforce, Morgan Stanley, Sequoia Capital, SV Angel, Khosla Ventures, Goldman Sachs, Founders Fund, KPCB, General Catalyst Partners, Thrive Capital, Lowercase Capital, Allen & Company, JPMorgan Chase & Co., Alven Capital, TrueBridge Capital Partners, Entree Capital, Square Peg Capital, Golden Gate Ventures, Playfair Capital, Barclays, Designer Fund, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group, Darwin Ventures, BoxGroup, Google Capital.
Clear2Pay (2001, Brussels, $127M, Acq.) – Provider of payment solutions to financial institutions. Also provides white label remittance services. Acquired by Fidelity Information Services in September 2014 for $493M.

Acquirer Processor
First Data Corporation (1971, Atlanta, Acq, IPO) – A global payments service provider specializing in merchant transaction processing, private label cards and e-check acceptance services. Was acquired by KKR in 2007 for $27.5B. Went public in October 2015.
Vantiv (1971, Cincinnati, IPO) – An electronic payment processor, payment gateway API and PoS solutions provider. Went public in 2012.
WorldPay (1993, London, IPO) – A London-based payment processing company offering gateway and PoS services. Went public in October 2015.
Total System Services (1982, Columbus (Georgia), IPO) – A merchant acquirer and white label prepaid card solutions provider. Went public in 1983.
Adyen (2006, Amsterdam, $266M) – An internet-first merchant acquirer and omnichannel payment solutions provider. Backed by General Atlantic, Index Ventures, Felicis Ventures, Temasek, Iconiq Capital.

Payment Network
VISA (1958, Foster City, IPO) – An association of banks and other financial institutions, which facilitates card payment transactions. Went public in 2008.
MasterCard (1966, Purchase, IPO) – An interbank association facilitating card payments. Went public in 2006.
Vocalink (2007, Rickmansworth, $114M, Acq.) – A UK-based ATM switching platform and interbank network. Aquired by MasterCard for £700M ($926M) in July 2016.
Ripple (2012, SF, $90.5M) – An open source, decentralized protocol to provide real time cross border payments and settlements. Backed by Standard Chartered, AME Cloud Ventures, Seagate, CME Group, IDG Capital Partners, RRE Ventures, Venture 51, Core VC, ChinaRock Capital Management, SBI Holdings, Route 66 Ventures, Camp One Ventures, Blockchain Capital, Santander InnoVentures, Digital Currency Group, SCB Digital Ventures.

PoS Suite
VeriFone (1981, San Jose, IPO) – Provides all kinds of PoS devices, along with a payment gateway. Went public in 2005.
Ingenico Group (1980, Paris, IPO) – A payment processing service provider specializing in NFC enabled PoS terminals, gateways and cross-border e-commerce solutions. Went public in 1985.

Wallet
PayPal (1998, San Jose, Acq., IPO) – An online payment and money transfer service, offering payment gateway, merchant accounts and wallet solutions. Acquired by eBay in July 2002 for $1.5B. Went public in July 2015.
Mozido (2008, Austin, $288.5M) – A white label web and mobile wallet solutions provider. Backed by MasterCard, TomorrowVentures, Atlanticus, Brentwood Associates, Wellington Management, Quabbin Capital.
Dashlane (2009, NYC, $52.5M) – A fully-featured password manager and secure digital wallet app. Backed by Bessemer Venture Partners, FirstMark Capital, Rho Ventures, TransUnion, FinTech Innovation Lab.
Xapo (2012, Palo Alto, $40M) – A bitcoin wallet provider with cold storage facility. Backed by Greylock Partners, Index Ventures, Benchmark, Fortress Investment Group, Ribbit Capital.

Alternate Payment Methods
PayNearMe (2009, Sunnyvale (CA), $90M) – Provides offline payment services for online solutions. Backed by Khosla Ventures, Maveron, True Ventures, GSV Capital, Kapor Capital, Bullpen Capital, Floodgate, August Capital, Fenwick & West, Endeavour Partners.
TrialPay (2006, Mountain View, $56M, Acq.) – Enables merchants to offer free action based rewards to their customers. Acquired by VISA in February 2015 for an undisclosed amount.

Security
Kount (2007, Boise, $80M) – A SAAS based fraud prevention service provider for card-not-present transactions. Backed by CVC Capital Partners.
ThreatMetrix (2005, San Jose, $92M) – A payment fraud prevention service and context-based authentication solution provider. Backed by US Venture Partners, Silicon Valley Bank, Adams Street Partners, Tenaya Capital, August Capital, Technology Venture Partners, In-Q-Tel, Talu Ventures.
Ethoca (2005, Toronto, $45M) – A secure network for card issuers and merchants to connect and work outside the payment network. Backed by Spectrum Equity.

Enablers
Fidelity Information Services (1968, Jacksnville, IPO) – PCI Compliance, technology outsourcing and other payment security and back-end solutions for businesses and Financial Institutions. Went public in June 2001.
Trustwave (1995, Chicago, $60M, Acq.) – Provides cloud-based enterprise security solutions for threat detection, prevention & risk mitigation, including PCI compliance. Acquired by Singtel in September 2015 for $770M.

B2B Payments
GlobalCollect (1994, Netherlands, Acq.) – An international B2B money transfer and payment gateway service provider. Acquired by Ingenico in September 2014 for $1.1B.
Viewpost (2012, Maitland, $79M) – e-Invoice exchange and electronic payment solutions provider. Backed by Western Technology Investment.

Payment Cards
Green Dot Corporation (1999, Monrovia (CA), IPO) – Reloadable prepaid card provider. Went public in 2010.
BlackHawk Network (2001, Pleasanton (CA), IPO) – Provider of white-label solutions for merchants and corporates. Also provides a marketplace for branded retail gift cards and reloading services for third-party prepaid cards. Went public in 2013.
Nubank Brasil (2013, Sao Paulo, $178M) – A MasterCard flagged credit card with mobile app. Backed by Sequoia Capital, Goldman Sachs, Founders Fund, QED Investors, Tiger Global Management, DST Global, Kaszek Ventures.

Leaderboard includes all the top funded, IPO and successfully running bootstrapped companies along with their location, founding year and funding amount.

For latest updates visit Payments feed.

Investors continued to pour money into the consumer healthtech space, as total dollars invested ($4B) climbed to a peak in 2016. The year saw seed stage deal volume drop by around 14%, while early (11%) and late stage activity (15%) registered modest growth rates. A similar curve was seen in the total dollars invested, at the seed (-10.3%), early (17.6) and late stage (28.5%).  Interestingly, the average ticket sizes for Series A and Series B rounds seem to be converging, judging by chart trends over the past three years.

In 2016, there were nine funding rounds above $100M, six of which went to Chinese companies, and three to US companies. The above chart also explains the bump in average Series A ticket sizes, owing to a $500M Series A round raised by Shenzhen-based telemedicine platform Ping An Good Doctor.

Online platforms enabling access to doctors was the top-funded business model in this sector, accounting for $1.2B in 2016. Telemedicine solutions attracted a majority of this amount ($988.6M), as the widespread adoption of connected devices for health monitoring, smartphones and mobile apps have increased the scope and reach of this use case. Some medical illnesses related to mental health and sexual disorders are associated with social stigma. Telemedicine platforms help patients to seek care from the comfort of home with anonymity. Apart from Ping An Good Doctor, some of the newly funded rising stars in telemedicine include Jakarta-based Halodoc ($13M, Series A), Minneapolis-based Zipnosis ($17M, Series A), and San Francisco-based Go Lantern ($17M, Series A).

Apps and devices to monitor women’s fertility received $189.2M in funding in 2016, the highest ever for the sector. Xiamen-based Meet You ($151M, Series E), Berlin-based Clue ($20M, Series B), and Zurich-based Ava ($10M, Series A) bagged the largest rounds in this segment.

Shenzhen-based Doctor160 (NEEQ: 834750) was the sole IPO listing in 2016. The top exits via acquisitions, where deal values were disclosed were Everyday Health (acq. by Ziff Davis, $465M), Withings (acq. by Nokia, $191M), and HealthiestYou (acq. by Teladoc, $125M).

500 Startups, Y Combinator, and Rock Health are the most active early stage investors in the consumer healthtech sector. At the Series A and B stage, Sequoia Capital, Khosla Ventures, and Accel Partners are the most active. Notable investors at the late stage Sequoia Capital, Goldman Sachs, Matrix Partners China, NEA, and Tencent.

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A daily newsletter summarizing recent activity & interesting startups globally

RECENT NOTABLE ACTIVITY – LIFE SCIENCE – SOFTWARE

• Comprehend Systems which provides clinical data reporting and visualization tools for the pharmaceutical industry to optimize quality and speed across a portfolio of clinical trials has raised $15 million in Series C financing round led by Eminence Capital, with participation from Sequoia Capital and Lightspeed Venture Partners in February 2017. Link
• MyTomorrows, a platform which allows patient and clinicians to get access to clinical trial and early access programs has raised $10.5 million in a funding round lead by EQT Ventures, and Octopus Ventures, with participation from existing backers Balderton Capital, and Sofinnova Partners in January 2017.Kees Koolen a booking.com former executive alod invested in personal capacity. Link
• Karomi Technology, a provider of workflow management solutions for pharmaceutical and CPG industry has raised $494 k in a seed funding round from Ideaspring Capital in March 2017. Link
• Monocl which offers market intelligence software and consulting services to life sciences industry has raised $560 k in January 2017. Link
• Signal Path which provides a platform for clinical research management has raised $5 million in an equity financing round in January 2017. Link
• Mobilemd, which offers clinical trial project management systems, pharmaco-vigilance system and clinical trial result stochastic system has $ 14 million is a Series C funding round led by Genesis Capital with participation from Matrix Partners China, Northern Light Venture Capital and Shenzhen Cowin Venture Capital Investments Ltd in January 2017. Link
• Doctrina, an integrated platform for transfer of knowledge between pharmaceutical companies and pharmacies has raised $1.1 million in a Series A funding round in January 2017. Link
• Spiral Genetics, a provider of software to analyse next generation sequencing data and variant analysis has been acquired by Omicia, a provider of of clinical genomic data analysis and reporting software in January 2017. Link
• Genospace, a provider is a comprehensive platform for precision medicine to enable interpretation, analysis, reporting and collaboration on high-dimensional genomic and other biomedical data has merged with Sarah Cannon. the Cancer Institute of Hospital Corporation of America (HCA). Genospace now acts as a wholly owned subsidiary of Sarah Cannon and they will together use molecular profiling data to more effectively match cancer patients to therapies in clinical trials. Link
• OmicSoft, a provider of bioinformatics software data management, visualization, analysis and benchmarking has been acquired by Qiagen in January 2017. Link

SOME INTERESTING STARTUPS FOUND

Phosphorus (2016, New York) – Recombine Diagnostics spinoff developing diagnostics tools for clinicians and researchers.
Sanworks (2016, New York) – Develops automated systems for neuroscience research to connect brain function with behavior.
CytoReason (2016, Haifa) – CytoReason is focussed on discovering new drugs and biomarkers using its proprietary platform of scientific and experimental data to stimulate the immune system.

LEADER BOARD – LIFE SCIENCE – SOFTWARE

Bioinformatics
Metabolon (2000, Durham, $92.42M) provides platforms and informatics systems for biomarker discoveries and diagnostic tests and also offers metabolomics research services. Backed by Aurora Funds, Sevin Rosen Funds, Camden Partners Holdings, Essex Woodlands, HHVC, Sumitomo Corp, Syngenta, Alexandria Real Estate Equities, ATEL Capital Group, Fletcher Spaght, The Trelys Funds, Fulcrum Financial Group, Crossroads Capital.
BioNano Genomics (2003, San Diego, $101.4M) has developed a platform for imaging single molecules of DNA at megabase lengths, allowing the mapping of large chunks of the genome at great resolution.Backed by   National Institutes of Health, Ben Franklin Technology Partners, Legend Capital, KT Venture, 21Ventures, Domain Associates, Innovation Valley Partners, Battelle Ventures, NCI, NHGRI, Novartis Venture Fund, and Monashee Investment.
Pacific Biosciences (2004, Menlo Park, Public) has developed a Single Molecule Real Time (SMRT) sequencing platform that utilizes the company’s two proprietary technologies – Zero-Mode Waveguides (ZMW) and phospholinked nucleotides for single molecule sequencing.Backed by Morgan Stanley, Mohr Davidow Ventures, KPCB, DAG Ventures, Maverick Capital, AllianceBernstein, Sutter Hill Ventures, Alloy Ventures, Deerfield Capital Management, Deerfield, and Gen-Probe.
Simulations Plus (1996, Lancaster, Public) develops absorption, distribution, metabolism, excretion, and toxicity (ADMET) modeling & simulation software for cheminformatics and drug discovery and provides consulting services.
Benevolent AI (2013, London, $87.7M) is an Artificial Intelligence company focussed on pharmaceutical R&D and drug discovery. The company has organised itself into two wholly owned, integrated and complementary subsidiaries: ‘BenevolentBio’ (formerly Stratified Medical) – will continue to focus on applying BenevolentAI’s technology in human health and the exploration of further bioscience applications such as veterinary medicine, and ‘BenevolentTech’ – will continue to refine and develop the AI engine that is driving the discoveries in bioscience and in future will look to replicate this success across wider applications and industries.
Inpharmatica (1998, Saffron Walden, $75M, Acq) offers predictive informatics solutions and services for medicinal chemistry and ADME to help improve the speed and productivity of drug discovery. It is also involved in research of drugs and biomarkers. Backed by Vertex Ventures, Advent Venture Partners, Gimv, Gilde, 3i Group, Abingworth, Unibio, and REV. Acquired by Galapagos in Dec 2006.
Schrodinger (1990, New York, $52M) develops software solutions for computational chemistry, research and drug discovery. Backed by Cascade Investment.

Imaging Solutions
Aperio Technologies (1999, California, $47.6M, Acq) offers digital pathology solutions including image management, sharing and analysis solutions. Backed by BlackRock, Advanced Technology Ventures, HLM Venture Partners, and Galen Partners. Acquired by Leica Microsystems in Aug 2012.
inviCRO (2008, Boston, $45.8M) provides advanced data analysis services and software in the field of preclinical imaging research.
Median Technologies (2002, Valbonne, $53.66M, Public) offers medical imaging software and services for oncology clinical trials, cancer screening, and clinical practice. Backed by NEA, Draper Fisher Jurvetson, Auriga Partners, Abingworth, Omega Funds, Idinvest Partners, National Technology Enterprises Company, Kuwait Life Sciences Company (KLSC), and AGF Private Equity.

Clinical Trial Solutions
Medidata (1999, New York, $66.18 M, Public) provides cloud based solutions for clinical trial management and analytics. Backed by Insight Venture Partners, Milestone Venture Partners, Stonehenge Growth Equity, Silicon Alley Venture Partners, The Lambda Funds, State Street, and Alpha Venture Partners and went public in June, 2009.
Parexel (1983, Massachusetts, Public) is a clinical research organization which offers clinical trial management solutions and services. Backed by Capvis.
Datatrak International (1991, Cleveland, Public) offers clinical enterprise solutions which include tools for electronic data capture, trial design, trial supply management and project management.
Comprehend (2010, Palo Alto, $30.8M) provides clinical data reporting and  visualization tools for clinical trials. Backed by Y Combinator, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Sequoia Capital, SV Angel, Menlo Ventures, Crosslink Capital, Quotidian Ventures, Ulu Ventures, Life Sciences Angel Network, and Easton Capital.
Go Balto (2008, San Fransisco, $38.1M) provides cloud-based electronic solutions for clinical trial design, data capture analysis. Backed by Qualcomm, Aberdare Ventures, Mitsui Global Investment, EDBI, West Health, and Dolby Family Ventures.

GRC Solutions
Metric Stream (1999, Palo Alto, $150M) provides solutions for quality management, regulatory compliance, risk management, and corporate governance. Backed by Goldman Sachs, KPCB, Integral Capital Partners, Gold Hill Capital, Sageview Capital, Saints Capital, Kaiser Permanente Ventures, Blade Ventures, Montage Capital, and The Camelot Group.
Virtify (2004, Lexington, $23.5M) provides enterprise content and compliance management solutions for the life sciences industry. Backed by Tudor Growth Equity, Blue Cloud Ventures, and Spring Lake Equity Partners.
Qumas (1994, Cork, $10M, Acq) provides Compliance and Quality Management Software for Life Sciences including solutions for document management, process management and submission management. Backed by  General Catalyst Partners, Fidelity Ventures, Delta Partners, ACT Venture Capital, Fidelity Growth Partners Europe, Kernel Capital, and Eight Roads Ventures. Acquired by Accelrys in Dec, 2013.

Automation Solutions
Emerald Therapeutics (2010, San Francisco, $34M) has developed Emerald Cloud Laboratory that scientists can remotely access via the internet and can perform experiments using automated robotics. Backed by Founders Fund, Western Technology Investment, and Schooner Capital.
Quartzy (2009, Palo Alto, $28.8M) offers web-based platform for lab management and supports collaboration, inventory and order management. It also hosts catalogs from vendors for lab consumables. Backed by  Y Combinator, Lerer Hippeau Ventures, SV Angel, Khosla Ventures, Washington U., Silicon Badia, Reinmkr Satsang, A Capital, Life Science Angels, Science House, Accelerator Tech, Lerer Hippeau Ventures, and Eminence Capital.

Market Intelligence
IMS Health (1954, Danbury, Merged) offers a suite of market intelligence products and services which are aimed at improving productivity and healthcare delivery of healthcare organizations.
CitiusTech (2005, Princeton, $112 M) offers Business Intelligence and healthcare analytics platform. Backed by General Atlantic.
SHYFT Analytics (2005, Waltham, $39M), formerly Trinity Pharma Solutions, provides cloud-based analytics and data management platform for customer engagement and revenue analytics. Backed by Milestone Venture Partners, Health Enterprise Partners, Medidata, and McKesson Ventures.
Zephyr Health (2011, San Francisco, $33.5 M) offers Zephyr Illuminate, an Insights-as-a-Service platform designed to help companies improve product life cycle performance with customer and market insights and can be used for collaboration, targeting and segmentation, and planning. Backed by KPCB, Jafco Ventures, and Icon Ventures.

Sales and Marketing
Veeva Systems (2007, San Francisco, $ 4 M, Public) offers Content Management, Customer Relationship Management, Customer Master data management and related software and services to the life sciences industry. Backed by  Lead Edge Capital, and Emergence Capital. Went public in October 2013.
Aktana (2008, San Francisco, $25 M) offers sales force solutions and customer relationship management solutions for life sciences industry. Backed by Safeguard Scientifics, and Starfish Ventures.

Operations Management and Supply Chain
Tracelink (2009, Woburn, $77 M) offers an online platform for global distribution, visibility and traceability of pharmaceuticals to limit the sale of counterfeit drugs. Backed by FirstMark Capital, Goldman Sachs, Volition Capital, and F-Prime Capital Partners.
Bluechiip (2003, Scoresby, Public) provides wireless tracking solutions for bio samples and other products. Went public in Oct, 2010 via a reverse takeover by Sofcom Limited.

Leaderboard includes all the top funded, IPO and successfully running bootstrapped companies along with their location, founding year and funding amount.

For latest updates, visit Life Sciences – Software feed.

A daily newsletter summarizing recent activity & interesting start-ups globally

RECENT NOTABLE ACTIVITY – BLOCKCHAIN APPLICATIONS

• ChronoBank, a Blockchain-based Labour-backed currency system, secured $5.4M in a combination of ICO and strategic investment from AXL Strategic Partners. Link
• Storj, a distributed, shared and incentivised cloud storage, secured $3M funding in a Seed round. Link
• Wirex, a Blockchain-based personal banking platform, secured $3M funding in Series A round from SBI Holdings. Link
• Coinfirm, a Blockchain AML/KYC risk and compliance platform, secured $747k funding in Seed round from Lumia Ventures. Link
• Maersk Line, the world’s largest ocean container shipper, has partnered with IBM to create a supply chain using blockchain technology. Link
• Internet of Coins has launched an inter-systemic and cross-blockchain token called a ‘hybrid asset’. Link
• 47 Japanese Banks have completed money transfer pilot using Ripple, a blockchain-based cross border payment solution provider. Link
• Northern Trust and IBM have developed a platform using Hyperledger’s Fabric code base, running the world`s first functioning private equities blockchain. Link
• DigixGlobal, an Ethereum tokenization startup, has partnered with Monolith to produce a new version of the world’s first gold-backed Blockchain debit card. Link
• World’s first bitcoin dedicated bank called Bitcoin-Bank, has opened in Vienna, owned by a Berlin-based blockchain startup, Bit Trust Services. Link

SOME INTERESTING STARTUPS FOUND

Babb App (2016, London) – A bank based on a “permissioned” blockchain implementation of a distributed ledger using Ethereum Smart Contracts.
Electron (2015, London, $505k) – Ethereum blockchain platform for smart grid.

LEADER BOARD – BLOCKCHAIN APPLICATIONS

Financial Services
Circle (2013, Boston, $136M) – Digital currency wallet and international money transfer service provider. Backed by Accel Partners, Goldman Sachs, Baidu, General Catalyst Partners, IDG Capital Partners, Oak Investment Partners, CICC, CreditEase, China Everbright, Fenway Summer, Breyer Capital, Pantera Capital, Wanxiang America, Digital Currency Group.
Ripple (2012, SF, $90.5M) – Open source payment protocol. Backed by Standard Chartered, AME Cloud Ventures, Seagate, CME Group, IDG Capital Partners, RRE Ventures, Venture 51, Core VC, ChinaRock Capital Management, SBI Holdings, Route 66 Ventures, Camp One Ventures, Blockchain Capital, Santander InnoVentures, Digital Currency Group, Tusk Ventures, CRCM Venture Capital, SCB Digital Ventures.
Digital Asset Holdings (2014, NYC, $67M) – Blockchain-based trade settlement solution provider. Backed Accenture, IBM, Goldman Sachs, Broadridge Financial Solutions, Citigroup, J.P. Morgan, CME Group, BNP Paribas, ABN AMRO Bank, Australian Securities Exchange, PNC Financial Services Group, Deutsche, DTCC, ICAP, FinTech Innovation Lab, Santander InnoVentures.

Enterprise
Filament Networks (2012, Reno, $21M) – A decentralized Internet of Things stack. Backed by Techstars, Crosslink Capital, Resonant Venture Partners, Samsung Venture Investment, Pantera Capital, Bullpen Capital, Verizon Ventures, Digital Currency Group, Working Lab Capital, Zenstone Venture Capital, VTF Capital.
Keybase (2013, NYC, $11M) – Identity mapping service via a public key encryption tool. Backed by Andreessen Horowitz, Corazon Capital.

Technology
Blockstream (2014, SF, $76M) – Provides sidechain solutions to improve blockchain. Backed by Khosla Ventures, AME Cloud Ventures, Innovation Endeavors, Data Collective, Horizons Ventures, Ribbit Capital, Real Ventures, Digital Garage, DG Incubation, SK Ventures, Future Perfect Ventures, Maiden Lane, Mosaic Ventures, Blockchain Capital, Digital Currency Group, AXA Strategic Ventures, Seven Seas Partners.
BitFury (2012, SF, $95M) – Full-service blockchain technology company. Backed by Credit China Holdings, DRW, Investment Fund, Crypto Currency Partners, Binary Financial, ZAD, Blockchain Capital, QueensBridge Venture Partners, iTech Capital.
Chain (2014, SF, $44M) – Provider of blockchain networks and applications to businesses. Backed by Capital One, VISA, Nasdaq, SV Angel, Khosla Ventures, Thrive Capital, RRE Ventures, Betaworks, Homebrew, Fiserv, Orange, Firestartr, Pantera Capital, Citi Ventures, Blockchain Capital, Digital Currency Group, BoxGroup.

Consumer
FirstBlood Technologies (2016, Boston, $5.5M) – Blockchain-based eSports platform.
Augur Project (2014, SF, $5M) – Decentralized prediction market based on Blockchain.

Leaderboard includes all the top funded, IPO and successfully running bootstrapped companies along with their location, founding year and funding amount.

For latest update, visit Blockchain Applications feed.

A daily newsletter summarizing recent activity & interesting start-ups globally

RECENT NOTABLE ACTIVITY – INDUSTRIAL ROBOTICS

• Xenex, developer of disinfection robots for hospitals, raised $38M in a Series C round led by Essex Woodlands. Link
• Medrobotics, developer of flexible surgical robots, raised $20M in a Series H round, participated by existing investors. Link
• Moon Express, developer of robots for lunar exploration, raised $20M in Series B-1 round. Link
• Starship Technologies, developer of self-delivery robots, raised $17M in a Seed round participated by Daimler, Shasta Ventures, Matrix Partners, Grishin Robotics and others. Link
• Neurala, developer of SDK for robotic vision, received $14M in a Series A round participated by Pelion Venture Partners, Sherpa Capital, Motorola and others. Link
• XACT Robotics, developer of robotic technology for minimally invasive surgery, raised $5M in a Series A round by MEDX Ventures Group. Link
• Cosy, developer of beacon-free robot navigation technology, raised $2.3M in a Seed round participated by Intel, GreatPoint Ventures, Safeguard Scientifics and Ben Franklin Technology Partners. Link
• OttoRobotics, developer of robots for the cooking sector, raised $1.5M Seed investment from Draper Associates and Vulcan Capital. Link
• BluHaptics, developer of telerobotics solutions, raised $1.4M in a Series A round by Seattle Angel Fund and Alliance of Angels. Link
• iFuture Robotics, developer of robotic warehouse automation solutions, received a $100k design prize awarded by Qualcomm. Link
• QuickFeel Tech, developer of vision based navigation for robots, raised an undisclosed amount in a Series A round from Tusstar, WI Harper Group and Saif Partners. Link
• Adlatus, developer of commercial cleaning robots, raised an undisclosed amount in a Seed round from High-Tech Gründerfonds and Seedfonds BW. Link
• Aquajet Systems, developer of hydro-demolition robots, got acquired by Brokk, which provides robotic construction demolition and renovation solution. Link

The Energy storage sector saw a 300% YoY increase in funding dollars from $1.1B (2015) to $3.3B (2016). Late-stage funding saw a sharp spike, attracting $1.6B in 2016 – a 375% increase from $336M in 2015.

2016 saw some high-value investments including $700M in Swiss grid-scale energy storage solution provider, Alevo in March and a $450M Series G investment in BYD by Samsung to improve and scale up its battery manufacturing in July. SmallVille Financial Advisor invested $133M in a Series B investment round in BAK Battery in October and Envision Energy led a $85M Series D investment in Sonnen in October.

Energy storage systems, comprising both grid storage and behind-the-meter storage units received the highest funding of almost $1.8B this year, with grid storage receiving the highest funding $1.2B and integrated providers with $525M. 2016 saw the rise of large and small scale energy storage players with commercial products in the market.

There has been a massive spike in investments for Behind-the-meter energy storage solutions. Funding for this business model rose from $27M in 2015 to almost $100M in 2016 – almost a four-fold rise on YoY basis. Behind-the-meter storage solutions are gaining focus due to rise in the number of distributed power solutions, an energy storage unit coupled with rooftop solar solutions effectively allows the user complete autonomy in terms of energy usage. Due to declining costs of lithium based batteries, owning an energy storage system at home it is becoming increasingly favourable. Consumers can harness and store the extra power generated during the day from solar panels to be used at night or during evening peak – effectively flat lining the power demand curve. Energy storage systems as a whole received the highest amount of investments in 2016, amounting to nearly $1.8B.

Another sector which has noticed a funding updraft is wireless charging, that received around $115M of funding due to increased focus on wireless charging infrastructure. With rumours of Apple including wireless charging in their mobile phones after debuting them in the Airpods, wireless charging is being touted to be a game-changer. Even in terms of charging of electric vehicles, the interest has been renewed due to availability and improvement of infrastructure to charge EVs at near similar speeds as plug-in charging.

There have been a total of 12 acquisitions in 2016, with a major focus on batteries of various types. Most of these companies are manufacturers of batteries using lithium-ion chemistry with Saft being the highest value acquisition by Total in May 2016 for $1B. One company filed for IPO in 2016, Alelion Energy Systems in June 2016.

Energy Storage business is still primarily a research driven business due to which we have seen a lot of investments by the US DoE. Only Government funding amounts to 50 in number by the DOE, ARPA and NYSERDA. Apart from them, the other Venture investors are Intel Capital, Climate-KIC, Conduit Ventures, In-Q-Tel, Khosla Ventures, KPCB, etc.

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A daily newsletter summarizing recent activity & interesting start-ups globally

RECENT NOTABLE ACTIVITY – ENERGY EFFICIENCY

• Renovate America, a home-improvement financing provider in US, closes $200M credit financing from Bank of America. Link
• Smart OES, a building energy management system provider, raises $600k additional funding as a part of $1.2M funding round according to Sec-D filing. Link
• Enersize, a compressed air efficiency management solutions for industries and plants, receives an undisclosed investment from Scania Growth Capital. Link
• Load disaggregation software outfit Onzo secures an undisclosed amount from Eneco Group. Link
• European Union to provide $10.6M to support renewable generation and energy efficiency in Algeria. Link
• Osram completes LEDvance sale to Chinese consortium for $530M. Link
• LSI Industries acquires LED lighting manufacturer Atlas Lighting. Link

SOME INTERESTING STARTUPS FOUND

Sally R (2016, Vasteras) – Patent pending climate control system similar to the International Space Station and merging it with standard HVAC systems for real estate buildings. Aims to reduce energy consumption in buildings while increasing the indoor air quality.
PurrMetrix (2015, Cambridge) – PurrMetrix provides a cloud-based analytics web service platform for real-time heat mapping in commercial buildings. The system assists energy managers to identify when and where energy is wasted in the building.

LEADER BOARD – ENERGY EFFICIENCY

Products – Lighting – LED – Material & Component Manufacturers
Bridgelux (2002, Sunnyvale, $219M, Acq.) – LED chip manufacturing company. Backed by El Dorado Ventures, VantagePoint Capital Partners, Craton Equity Partners and Passport Capital. Acquired by China Electronics Corporation in 2015.

Products – Lighting – LED – Finished Products
Lighting Science Group (2004, Melbourne, IPO) – Manufactures different shapes of LED bulbs and invented biologically corrected lighting. Backed by Riverwood Capital and Pegasus Capital. Went public in 2008.
Cree (1987, Durham, IPO) – Manufactures LED components, and semiconductor products for power and radio-frequency (RF) applications. Went Public in 1993.

Products – Lighting – OLED – Finished Products
Novaled (2003, Dresden, $35M, Acq.) – Provides organic materials and complementary technologies for organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) in display and lighting. Acquired by Samsung in 2013.

Products – Thermal Energy – Insulation
Aerogel (2001, Northborough, IPO) – Provides thermal management and energy conservation insulation solutions. Backed by Mount Royal Ventures, Arcapita Ventures, Lehman Brothers, RockPort Capital Partners, Reservoir Capital Group, Tenaya Capital.

Products – Thermal Energy – HVACR – Heating
Thermondo (2012, Berlin, $32M) – Energy efficient residential heating system provider. Backed by Holtzbrinck Ventures, E.on, IBB, Global Founders Capital, Rocket Internet.

Products – Thermal Energy – HVACR – Cooling
TAS Energy (1999, Houston, $60M) – TAS Energy manufactures energy efficient chilling and cooling systems. Backed by KPCB and Element Partners.

Products – Construction – Pre-Fabricated
View Dynamic Glass (2007, Milpitas, $546M) – Smartglass on which tint level can be modified by the user using smartphone to admit only light and reject glare. Backed by Khosla Ventures, DBL Investors, Sigma Partners, Navitas Capital, The Westly Group.

Energy Management Systems – BEMS
GridPoint (2003, Arlington, $294M, Acq.) – Energy management systems using big data analytics to monitor and manage energy-consuming assets, such as HVAC and lighting systems. Backed by Goldman Sachs, Skypoint Capital, Advantage Capital Partners, Craton Equity Partners. Acquired by TFC Utilities in 2015.
Distech Controls (1995, Brossard, $37M, Acq.) – Building energy management system that provides integration of HVAC, lighting, access control, CCTV, energy management, and other building systems. Backed by Export Development Canada, Enertech Capital. Acquired by Acuity Brands in 2015.

Energy Management Systems – IEMS
Energy and Power Solutions (2001, Costa Mesa, $50M, Acq.) – Energy Management System with real-time information collected at the equipment level, across a customer’s entire enterprise. Backed by NGEN, Robeco, Altira Group. Acquired by Ameresco in 2011.

Energy Management Systems – HEMS – AC Management
Nest Labs (2010, Palo Alto, $80M, Acq.) – Provides thermostats for monitoring home energy consumption. Backed by KPCB, Google Ventures, Lightspeed Venture Partners and Shasta Ventures. Acquired by Google in 2014.
Tado (2011, Munich, $57M) – Smart AC management devices for homes. Backed by Target Partners, Shortcut Ventures, BayBG, Siemens.

Energy Management Systems – HVAC Management
Optimum Energy (2005, Seattle, $36M) – Provides data-driven cooling and heating optimization solutions for enterprise facilities.Backed by Columbia Pacific Advisors.

Energy Management Systems – Lighting Control Systems – BLCS
Enlighted (2009, Sunnyvale, $83M) – Provides network platform with wireless sensor to collect and analyze data to intelligently adapt the lighting level. Backed by Intel Capital, KPCB, RockPort Capital Partners.
Sensity Systems (2010, Sunnyvale, $74M, Acq.) – Offers a high-speed, sensor-based, open networking platform to connect lighting systems for improving the experience. Backed by Mohr Davidow Ventures, Cisco Investments, Acuity Brands and Simon Venture Group. Acquired by Verizon in Sep, 2016.

Energy Management Systems – Lighting Control Systems – SLCS
Petra Systems (2006, South Plainfield, $40M) – Advanced street lighting solutions based on solar  power and wireless networking capabilities. Backed by ES Ventures, Element Partners, OnPoint Technologies, Arsenal Venture Partners and Craton Equity Partners.

Energy Management Systems – Power Management Systems
SynapSense (2006, Folsom, $46M, Acq.) – Wireless cooling and data center asset monitoring solution. Backed by  Sequoia Capital, Crosslink Capital, Frontier Venture Capital, Aeris Capital, Nth Power, Robert Bosch Venture Capital and American River Ventures. Acquired by Panduit in 2014.

Data Analytics – Energy Data Management
Opower (2007, Arlington, $65.5M, Acq.) – Cloud-based software comprising energy reports and demand response programs. Backed by New Cycle Capital, Accel Partners and KPCB. Acquired by Oracle Corporation in May 2015.
FirstFuel (2011, Lexington, $44M) – Offers building wide energy analytics that helps in managing energy consumption. Backed by Battery Ventures, Nth Power and RockPort Capital Partners.

Data Analytics – Meter Monitoring
Bidgely (2010, Sunnyvale, $25M) – Home energy management up to appliance level without using any plug-level monitors. Backed by Khosla Ventures, Plug and Play Tech Center, E.on, RWE Global and  Constellation Technology Ventures.
Sense (2013, Cambridge, $19M) – Device to monitor appliances and track energy usages using electronic signatures. Backed by  Charles River Ventures, Capricorn, Bolt, Shell Global, Prelude Ventures and Energy Impact Partners.

Leader board includes all the top funded, IPO and successfully running bootstrapped companies along with their location, founding year and funding amount.

For latest update, visit Energy Efficiency feed.

A daily newsletter summarizing recent activity & interesting start-ups globally

RECENT NOTABLE ACTIVITY – MOBILE PAYMENTS

• iZettle, a Stockholm-based mPoS solution provider, raised €60M in equity funding from Intel Capital and Zouk Capital, and debt funding from Victory Park Capital. Link
• Revel Systems, a SanFrancisco-based, an iPad PoS software provider, received an undisclosed capital investment from private equity firm Welsh, Carson, Anderson & Stowe (WCAS). Link
• Toss, a Seoul-based P2P money transfer app, raised $48M in Series C round led by VC Goodwater Capital and joined by Bessemer Venture Partners, Altos Ventures, Partech Ventures and PayPal. Link
• VendHQ, an Auckland-based retail PoS solution provider, raised $9M in Series D round led by Movac, Square Peg Capital, and Jasmine Investments. Link
• Zoona, a Lusaka-based mobile money platform, received $1M from the IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, and The MasterCard Foundation to increase financial inclusion in Zambia. Link
• Gastrofix, a Berlin-based cloud PoS solution provider, raised €8M in Series B round from Radeberger Gruppe. Link
• Coiney, a Tokyo-based mPoS solution provider, raised $7.1M in Series B round from Innovation Network Corporation of Japan, SBI Holdings, Dentsu Digital Holdings. Link
• Dream Payments, a Toronto-based mPoS solution provider, raised $10M in Series A round led by FairVentures. Link
• Moka, a Jakarta-based retail point of sale software provider, raised $2M led by Mandiri Capital along with participation from existing investors Convergence Ventures, East Ventures, Fenox, and Northstar Group. Link
• The OMA Emirates acquired Mumbai-based mobile PoS solution provider MobiSwipe for an undisclosed amount. Link   
• Indian consumers can now make QR code-based mobile payments using BharatQR, an Indian government-backed and developed by Mastercard, Visa and National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI). Link
• Paytm, a Noida-based mobile wallet and e-commerce platform launched its service in Canada. Link
• Starbucks launched its mobile payment services in India. The service is being rolled out in a joint venture between Starbucks and Tata Global Beverages. Link
• Kenyan banks roll out P2P mobile payment platform called PesaLink. Link 

SOME INTERESTING STARTUPS FOUND

Handbe (2016, Madrid) – A palm authentication solution for cashless payment for customers allowing them to pay for their purchase at POS.

LEADER BOARD – MOBILE PAYMENTS

mPoS
Square (2009, SF, IPO) – PoS system for iPhone, iPad, and Android devices. Backed by Victory Part Capital, Colchis Capital, Sequoia. Went public in 2015.
iZettle (2010, Stockholm, $196M) – m-PoS solution provider, provides app and card readers. Backed by Intel Capital, Zouk Capital, Greylock.
Revel Systems (2010, SF, $127M) – iPad PoS solution for retail chains. Backed by DCM, Rothenberg Ventures, Roth Capital Partners.
Lighspeed POS (2005, Montreal, $126M) – a cloud-based iPad point of sale software service provider. Backed by Accel Partners, iNovia Capital, Investissement Québec and CPDQ Partners.

Wallets
Paytm (2010, Noida, $760M) –  A mobile wallet provider with e-commerce service. Also, has a payment bank license. Backed by Alibaba Group, Saif Partners, Intel Capital, Reliance Capital.
Mozido (2008, Austin, $288.5M) – Provides white-label wallets, mobile payment, shopping, and marketing solutions. Backed by Brentwood Associates, Wellington Management.
Mobikwik (2009, Gurgaon, $127M) – A mobile wallet for bill payments and P2P money transfer. Backed by American Express, Sequoia Capital, Cisco Investments, GMO Venture Partners, Tree Line Investment Management, MediaTek and Net1 UEPS Technologies.
LevelUp (2011, Boston, $65M) – Provides mobile payment using QR code, NFC, iBeacon and white label wallet solutions. Backed by Google Ventures and Highland Capital.

Wallets – P2P Money Transfer
Toss (2011, Seoul, $77M) – A P2P money transfer app that sends money directly to the receivers’ bank account. Backed by PayPal, Bessemer Venture Partners, Qualcomm Ventures, Partech Ventures, KTB Network, Goodwater Capital, Altos Ventures.
Venmo (2009, NYC, $1.3M, Acq.) – Wallet based money transfer among friends and families. Backed by Accel, Greycroft Partners. Acquired by Braintree Payments for $26M in August 2012.

Carrier Billing
Bango (1999, Cambridge, IPO) – Allows payment collection for online purchases using carrier billing. Went public in 2005.
Boku (2009, SF, $91M) – Provides carrier billing for online shopping. Backed by Andreessen Horowitz and Khosla Ventures.
Fortumo (2007, Tartu, $10M) – Provides mobile operator billing service. Backed by Intel Capital and Greycroft Partners.

Wearables
Nymi (2013, Toronto, $15M) – Heart-wave sensing wristbands for authentication.
Sling (2013, Tel Aviv, $1.1M, Acq.) – Enabling contactless payments using Sling wristbands. Acquired by Avante for $10M in July 2016.

Technology
Mobeam (2010, SF, $41M) – Mobeam is a payment technology enabler, that allows laser/barcode scanners to read barcode from the mobile wallet. Backed by Yet2Ventures, Draper Athena, Samsung Ventures and Mitsui & Co.
Mobeewave (2012, Montreal, $5M) – Provides solutions for accepting NFC payments. Backed by SBT Venture Capital.

m-Payment Gateway
Judo Payments (2012, London, $14M) – Provides secure in-app payments, web payments, virtual terminals, and IVR solutions. Backed by Route 66 Ventures.

Leader board includes all the top funded, IPO and successfully running bootstrapped companies along with their location, founding year and funding amount.

A daily newsletter summarizing recent activity & interesting start-ups globally 

RECENT NOTABLE ACTIVITY – AgriTech

• Provider of collateral and loans against the harvested farm produce, Produce Pay raises $7M Series A funding led by CoVenture and an additional $70M debt financing. Link
• Provider of precision agriculture decision support and farmer-to-farmer networking platform, Farmers Business Network raises $40M Series C funding led by GV and DBL Partners. Link
• Provider of technology for converting biomass into green fuels using a thermo-mechanical process and a biocatalyst, CoolPlanet raises $19.3M Series F funding from BP and GV. Link
• Provider of a technology platform to develop crop traits, Benson Hill BioSystems raises $18M PE funding. Link
• Provider of an online weather forecasting platform for agriculture and other industries, Weather Analytics raises $17M Series B funding from Tokio Marine HCC and W. R. Berkley Corporation. Link
• Provider of satellite imagery for precision agriculture decision support, Astro Digital raises $16.65M Series A funding. Link
• Provider of an m-commerce platform to farmers for procurement of seeds, AgroStar raises $10M Series B funding led by Accel Partners. Link
• Integrated aeroponic fruits & vegetables grower and supplier, Bowery Farming raises $7.5M Series A funding led by First Round Capital. Link
• Provider of an online grain trading platform, FarmLead raises $6.5M Series A funding led by Monsanto Growth Ventures. Link
• Indian agri-finance loan intermediary, Sammunati Finance raises $4.5M Series A funding led by Accel Partners. Link
• Developer of biological crop protection chemicals, AgroSavfe raises $3.4M Series B funding from Saffinova Partners. Link
• Startup involved in the development of an epigenetic technology platform for the develop crop traits, Epicrop raises $3.2M Series A funding led by TechAccel. Link
• Provider of a digital platform for B2B farm equipment, HarvestPort raises $2.5M Series A funding led by Cultivian Sandbox. Link
• Startup involved in the breeding technology research for cannabis crops, FrontRange BioScienes raises $1.5M seed funding. Link
• Integrated cattle breeding startup, Kunoa Cattle raises $300k seed funding. Link
• Provider of a livestock farm management software, Fodjan raises undisclosed Series A funding from TGFS and HTGF. Link
• Provider of a big data analytics platform for precision agriculture decision support, Aerial Intelligence raises undisclosed seed funding from Mindset Ventures. Link
• Provider of a digital platform for peer-to-peer farm equipment rental, Farmart raises undisclosed seed funding from Indian Angel Network. Link
• P2P marketplace for crop insurance, WorldCover raises undisclosed seed funding from CreditEase. Link
• Online B2C grocery retail platform, Paalak.in raises undisclosed seed funding. Link

SOME INTERESTING STARTUPS FOUND

Yofumo (2016, Denver): Autonomous post-harvest storage system for cannabis crops.
Mesur.io (2016, North): Integrated sensor and software platform for real-time farm monitoring and data analytics.
FreezeM (2016, Tel Aviv): Cryogenic technology solution for packing insect larvae.

LEADER BOARD – AgriTech

Precision Ag
Farm Data and Analytics – Integrated Platforms
The Climate Corporation (2006, SF, $109M, Acq.) – Hardware and software solutions provider for hyper-local weather and farm data with predictive analysis for insurance products. Sold off its insurance business to AmTrust North America in July 2015. Acquired by Monsanto in 2013.
Farmers Edge (2005, Winnipeg, $44M) – Hardware and software solution provider for continuous monitoring of farm fields and predictive analysis for management decision support.

Farm Data and Analytics – Software Platforms
FarmLink (2004, Kansas, $101M) – Yield benchmarking tool for farmers to assess the impact of inputs. Backed by Open Air Equity Partners.
Farmers Business Network (2014, Davenport, $88M) – Precision agriculture solutions through big data analysis of data gathered from farmers and agriculture machinery. Backed by Kleiner Perkins, DBL Partners, and GV.

Field Operations
AutoAgronom (1988, Yokneam Illit, $180M) – Sensor based measurement of physical and chemical changes in root zone supplemented with computerized analysis and fuzzy control algorithms to automatically activate irrigation and fertilization.
Novariant (1994, Fremont, $60.5M) – Sensor based auto steering hardware solutions for GPS-based navigation through tablets. Backed by Sierra Ventures, Ridgewood Capital, Clearstone.
Blue River Tech (2011, Sunnyvale, $30M) – Develops automated technology solutions which use computer vision for identification and selective killing of unwanted weed. Backed by Khosla Ventures, DCVC, Innovation Endeavors, Pontifax Agtech.
Harvest Automation (2007, Billerica, $28M) – Developer of robotic machinery for farming operations. Backed by Founder Collective, Entree Capital, Cultivian, MassVentures.
Feedlogic (2002, Wilmar, $678k) – Automated feeding machines along with data recording platform for livestock farmers in the USA. Backed by unknown private investors.

BioTech
Farm Inputs – Seeds
Monsanto (1901, St. Louis, IPO) – Developer of genetically modified (GM) seedlings to mitigate risks associated with biotic and abiotic stresses in crops. Went public in 2000.
Syngenta (2000, Basel) – Developer of genetically modified crops and biological agrochemicals apart from engaging in genomic research.
DuPont Pioneer (1926, Des Moines) – Developer of hybrid (non-GM) and GM seeds to mitigate risks against insects, pests and other diseases.

Farm Inputs – Biologicals
Indigo (2013, Cambridge, $163.5M) – Earlier known as Symbiota, it is building technology for delivery of selective plant microbes through seed coatings.
AgBiome (2012, Raleigh, $52M) – Developer of biological agrochemicals for crop protection against soil-borne diseases. Backed by Gates Foundation, Monsanto Growth Ventures, Syngenta Ventures, ARCH Venture Partners, UTIMCO, Polaris Partners, Pontifax Agtech, Harris+Harris Group.
Agrivida (2002, Medford, $61M) – Specially engineered enzymes for the nutrition of livestock animals. Backed by KPCB, Middleland Capital, ARCH Venture Partners, Cultivian, DAG Ventures, Bright Capital, Northgate, Prairie Gold.
Zymergen (2013, Emeryville, $174M) – Combination of synthetic biology and machine learning to engineer industry relevant microbes to manufacture chemicals and new materials. Backed by Softbank, Data Collective Venture Capital, True Ventures, AME Cloud Ventures, Iconiq Capital, DFJ, Innovation Endeavours, Two Sigma Ventures, Prelude Ventures, Tao Capital.

Infrastructure
Advanced Animal Diagnostics (2001, Morrisville, $36M) – Diagnostic infrastructure provider for real-time animal health monitoring through white blood cell levels in animals. Backed by Middleland Capital, Cultivian, Kansas Bioscience Authority, LabCorp, Intersouth Partners, Novartis Venture Fund.

Tech Platforms
Kaiima (2006, Lower Galilee, $91M) – Tech platform to enhance inherent productivity and resource usage efficiency in food and feed crops. Backed by KPCB, DFJ, Horizons Ventures, Tamir Fishman.

Waste Management
Cool Planet (2009, Camarillo, $143M) – Utilizes patented process to convert non-food biomass to gasoline and organic soil nutrients. Backed by Northbridge, UBS, Google Ventures, Energy Technology Ventures, Concord Energy, Sustainable Conversion Ventures, British Petroleum.
Wiserg (2010, Issaquah, $32.5M) – Devices to convert grocery waste into a nutrient rich liquid which can be used as fertilizer for agriculture.

Cellular Ag
Impossible Foods (2011, Redwood City, $183M) – Beef-substitute made from a protein called Heme extracted from plants. Backed by Khosla Ventures, Google Ventures, UBS, Horizon Ventures, Viking Global.

Breeding Tech
Prairie Plant (1988, Saskatoon,$6.4M) – Plant breeding research to produce berry and other fruit plants for orchards. Backed by WestCap.

Genetically Modified Organisms (GMO)
Oxitec (2002, Abingdon, $20M) – Develops genetically modified pests which act as anti-pests to suppress the population of disease-causing pests in crops. Backed by Oxford Capital, East Hill.

Farm Business Management
Field Crops – Field Management
Granular (2014, SF, $23M) – Farm management software for collection and analysis of data related to farm business processes and planning of resources. Backed by A16Z, Google Ventures, Khosla Ventures, Tao Capital, Fall Line Capital, Emory Investment Management.

Field Crops – Multipurpose
Conservis (2009, Minneapolis, $13.6M) – Cloud-based software platform for single or multi-farm management. Backed by Cultivian Sandbox, Middleland Capital, and Heartland Farms.

Agribusiness
Cultivation – Algae
Sapphire Energy (2007, San Diego, $290M) – Cultivation of algae and using it as a biomass source for production of crude oil. Backed by Monsanto Growth Ventures, ARCH Venture Partners.

Infrastructure
Irrigation
Netafim (1965, Tel Aviv) – Manufactures components for drip irrigation and develops smart irrigation systems. Backed by Permira and Tene Investment Fund.

Aquaculture – Full Stack System
GFA Advanced Systems (2008, Kadima, $5M) – Developer of zero discharge intensive aquaculture system. Backed by Linnaeus Capital.

Market Linkages
Farm Inputs
CloudFarm (2013, Beijing, $26M) – Online retailer of Agri inputs including seeds, fertilizers, agrochemicals, farm equipment, etc.

Farm Produce
Meicai (2014, Beijing, $253M) – B2B mCommerce for fruits and vegetables. Backed by Zhen Fund, Blue Lake Capital.

Finance
ProducePay (2014, Los Angeles, $9.5M) – Digital Platform for real-time tracking of produce movement and arrangement of collateral and loans. Backed by CoVenture, Menlo Ventures, Arena Ventures, Red Bear Angels, Social Leverage, and ELab.

Indoor Agriculture
AgriBusiness – Cultivation
Sundrop Farms (2009, London, $100M) – Hydroponics cultivation of fruits and vegetables while using renewable energy resources in greenhouses. Backed by KKR.
AeroFarms (2004, NYC, $20.5M) – Cultivation of leafy greens in soil-less growth medium using aeroponics. Backed by Middleland Capital, Wheatsheaf, GSR Ventures, Mission Point Capital.

Infrastructure – Hydroponics
GrowLife (1987, Seattle, IPO) – Provides urban hydroponic / soil-less farming systems, components and cultivation supply products. Went public in 2011.
Grodan (1969, Milton) – Vegetative and steerable substrates for indoor cultivation of horticultural crops.

Infrastructure – Lighting
Illumitex (2005, Austin, $67M) – Developer of LED lighting solutions for horticulture, industrial and other use. Backed by NEA, Morgan Creek, Apex, WPG, Syngenta Ventures.

Technology Providers – Data Collection and Analysis
Agrilyst (2015, NYC, $1M) – Software platform for farm data and analytics in indoor farms. Backed by Brooklyn Bridge Ventures, Metamorphic Ventures.

Leader board includes all the top funded, IPO and successfully running bootstrapped companies along with their location, founding year and funding amount.

For latest updates visit AgriTech feed.

A daily newsletter summarizing recent activity & interesting start-ups globally

RECENT NOTABLE ACTIVITY – HR TECH

• Visier, a people analytics and strategy platform raises $45M in Series D round funding led by Sorenson Capital with participation from existing investors Foundation Capital, Summit Partners, and Adams Street Partners. Link
• JobToday, a Luxembourg-based blue-collar sourcing platform closes $35M media for equity deal with  RTL Germany, German Media Pool and Spain’s Atresmedia. Link
• Jelly Vision, a provider of employee benefits platform raises $20M funding from Updata Partners. Link
• WorkJam, a workforce management platform for hourly workers raises $12M strategic investment round from Lerer Hippeau Ventures, Blumberg Capital, Founder Collective and NovelTMT. Link
• Belong, a passive candidate sourcing platform raises $10M funding from Sequoia Capital India and participation from existing investors. Link
• Text Recruit, an intelligent text messaging platform for recruiters, raises $3M in Series A led by San Francisco-based firm Signal Fire. Link
• Purple Squirrel, a referral platform for recruitment raises $2.7M in seed funding led by CrossCut Ventures. Link
• MomentSnap, an Arlington-based employee engagement solution raises $2.3M in a seed round led by Bowery Capital and The Entrepreneurs’ Fund. Link
• Fairygodboss, a NY-based marketplace for women professionals to meet employers raises $1M in a seed round led by Mr. William Greenblatt, Chairman and founder of Sterling Talent Solutions. Link
• JobZology, a career management solution raises $750k seed funding led by Gary Comer, Inc. (GCI) based out of Chicago and included Syven Capital LP from Delaware and the Pinnacle Enterprise Fund of North Carolina. Link
• Tydy, an employee onboarding and engagement solution raises $275k from angel investors. Link
• Talmetrix, a Cincinnati-based employee engagement solution raises an undisclosed investment from Cleveland-based venture development organisation JumpStart. Link
• Ascentis, a human capital management solutions provider raises an undisclosed growth equity financing from Summit Partners. Link
• Asurint, a provider of background screening solutions raises an undisclosed investment from North Bridge Growth Equity. Link
• Venteny, a Philippines-based employee perks and benefits platform raises an undisclosed amount in seed funding round led by KK Fund. Link
• PMaps, a candidate assessment platform raises an undisclosed funding led by angel investor Shubhangi Jadhav. Link
• Stutern, a Nigeria-based internship platform raises seed funding from Remita Seed Fund. Link
• Candidate.Guru, a solution predicting culture-fit between companies and job candidates raises an undisclosed amount from The Florida Institute for the Commercialization of Public Research. Link
• PIXID, a temporary and flexible workforce management portal, acquires The Internet Corp, an applicant tracking system. Link
• Sage, an integrated accounting and payments software provider acquires Fairsail, a cloud-based HRMS solution for mid-sized organisations. Link
• Genesys, a provider of omnichannel customer experience and contact centre solutions acquires Silver Linings Solution Ltd., a provider of employee performance optimisation software. Link
• Saba Software, a SaaS-based talent management solutions provider, acquires Halogen software, a performance management solutions provider. Link

A daily newsletter summarizing recent activity & interesting start-ups globally

RECENT NOTABLE ACTIVITY – SOCIAL PLATFORMS

• PatientsLikeMe, a health-based community platform, has closed a funding of $100M+ from iCarbonX. Link 
• Zhihu, also known as China’s Quora, has closed a $100M Series D round of funding from Tencent, Sogou,and Qiming Venture Partners. Link  
• Kitty Live, an entertainment video live streaming platform operating in Southeast Asia has closed its Series A funding round of $21M from a group of investors led by NewBornTown. Link 
• Supernova Inc., a social mobile creation, discovery, and sharing company, has closed its Series B funding round of $12M from Battery Ventures, Goldman Sachs, Khosla Ventures, New Enterprise Associates, Inc.Link 
• Lamabang, mom’s e-commerce and social platform, has closed its series D funding round for an undisclosed amount, from a group of investors led by Suning Commerce Group Link 
• Bigo Live, Singapore-based social video streaming app, has closed its series C funding round for an undisclosed amount, from a group of investors led by Ping An Overseas Holdings. Link 
• MeetMe, a fellow social discovery network formerly known as myYearbook, acquires Tagged & Hi5, platforms that enabled users to connect with new people, for $60M Link 
• Wix acquires DevianArt, an online art community for $36M Link
• Pinterest, a visual social bookmarking service, acquires Twitter Co-Founder’s start-up Jelly, an app that let people ask questions and get crowdsourced replies from their friends and friends of friends, for an undisclosed amount Link
• OneParish, an app for the catholic community, acquires Everygive, a platform for mission-driven communities, for an undisclosed amount in December 2016.Link
• Toutiao, a news reading application, acquires Flipagram, a photo & video stories creation and sharing application for an undisclosed amount Link
• Dating application Tinder acquires Wheel, a social video sharing platform, for an undisclosed amount.Link
• ABC Cooking, a Japan-based firm that operates cooking schools across Asia, acquires Kitchenbowl, a social recipe sharing application, for an undisclosed amount.Link
• Answer Corp, owner of Answers.com and Multiply, files for Bankruptcy to cut $471 milion in debt Link
• Social Networking platform Facebook signs soccer live-streaming deal with MLS, Univision Link
• Microblogging platform Twitter partners with ESL and Dreamhack  to stream live e-sports Link