uThis weekly feature from Dynamic Business runs down the week’s top funding rounds from Australia, India and the US. Check out last week’s biggest funding rounds here.
Shaype bags $33m Series C
Regal Funds Management led a $33 million Series C investment for fintech Shaype. Payments, tokenization, dynamic authorisation, KYC, real-time AML, CTF, and fraud monitoring are all handled by the platform.
Splend secures A$15m from MA Growth Ventures
Splend, a leading vehicle subscription provider for rideshare and delivery drivers, has secured a A$15m asset-backed corporate facility with MA Financial Group’s growth capital team, MA Growth Ventures.
Launched in 2015, Splend is a tech-enabled vehicle subscription platform that offers all-inclusive products to on-demand rideshare and delivery drivers.
Travello raises $10m in Series B
Travello, a youth travel experience startup, has raised AUD$10 million in a Series B round headed by Queensland Investment Corporation (QIC), with additional investment from Paspalis Innovation Investment Fund.
The funds will be used to cement Travello’s position in Australia as the leading tour, and travel experiences brand for millennials and position the company to capture the pent-up demand for travel experiences as the world recovers from the COVID-19 pandemic.
$110m Regional Investment Activation Fund is now open
The $110 million Regional Investment Activation Fund is currently accepting applications to generate catalytic investment in important industries and priority sites across regional NSW.
The Regional Investment Activation Fund will co-invest in catalytic projects with eligible enterprises that will provide significant economic, social, and environmental benefits to a priority industry or area. Projects must be headquartered in regional NSW, provide long-term job prospects, and be finished by May 30, 2025.
Applications are now being accepted from businesses all around Australia and the world interested in developing or establishing themselves in regional NSW.
US
Amazon to Invest $150m in funds that provide underrepresented entrepreneurs with access to capital
Amazon Catalytic Capital is a new initiative to invest $150m in venture capital (VC) funds, accelerators, incubators, and venture studios that provide funding to entrepreneurs from underrepresented backgrounds. Amazon expects to support more than 10 funds and over 200 companies through the next year.
Alleva Raises $12m in Series A Funding
Alleva, a Laguna Niguel, CA-based company, raised $12m in Series A funding. The round was led by Ankona Capital, with participation from existing investors Dealer Socket Founder Jonathan Ord. The company intends to use the funds to accelerate its upward growth trajectory.
Clearspeed Raises $27m in Series C Funding
Clearspeed raised $27m in Series C financing, bringing total funds raised to $50m. Investors Ian McKinnon, founder of Sandia Holdings, and Thomas O’Malley Jr., founder of PilotRock Investments, led by King Philanthropies. The company intends to use the funds for the rapid commercial expansion and delivery of its customer experience.
SMA Technologies receives growth investment from Thoma Bravo
SMA Technologies received a growth investment from Thoma Bravo. The amount of the deal was not disclosed. The company intends to use the funds to expand its offering of automation solutions for its clients. The current majority investor, ParkerGale Capital, will retain a minority position in the business.
India
GIC backs Indian EV startup Euler Motors in $60m funding
Euler Motors, an Indian startup that designs and manufactures commercial electric vehicles, has raised $60 million in a fresh fundraising round to expand its production capacity and expand its product lines. GIC, Singapore’s sovereign fund, led the Series C funding for the New Delhi-based firm. In addition to Blume Ventures, Athera Venture Partners, QRG, ADB Ventures, and Moglix, the funding valued Euler Motors at $200 million.
Indian startups are facing a two-year funding freeze
Private equity and venture capital (PE/VC) firms with an emphasis on India have billions of dollars in cash on hand, but a full-fledged funding revival in the world’s third-largest startup ecosystem is unlikely in the next 12-18 months as investors tread cautiously in an increasingly challenging macro environment.
According to Venture Intelligence data, PE/VC firms focused on India raised around $9 billion between September 2021 and August 2022, up from $5 billion the previous year.
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