INTERESTING COMPANIES FOUND

Chimeron Bio (2015, New York) – Developing personalised nucleic acid-based vaccines for the treatment of cancer and using Nanoparticle-sized virus like particles for vaccine delivery.

HIGHLIGHTS OF THE DAY

• Bioverativ acquires rare disease biotech, True North Therapeutics for $825M. Read More
• TP Therapeutics Closes $45M Series C for resistant cancers. Read More
• CANbridge Lifesciences raises $25M Series B for cancer clinical trials. Read More
• Neurocrine’s mid-stage study for Ingrezza in Tourette syndrome flops. Read More
• Merck’s Keytruda gets another FDA nod, this time for rare MSI-H cancer. Read More

INTERESTING COMPANIES FOUND

Sigora International (2015, SF) – Develops smart microgrid management system enabled with smart meters for rural households and microgrids. The company offers proprietary pre-pay enabled smart meters and cloud-based network system for demand control with secure RF communications.
Trispectra Innovation (2015, Fredericton) – Offers an integrated communications platform for distribution automation. The system uses sensors to detect faults in power lines.

INTERESTING COMPANIES FOUND

Vic.ai (2017, New York City) – Provides software that automates the process of bookkeeping by the implementation of artificial intelligence. The software also provides insights about the financial data of the company. The software can be used by accountants and SMEs. Currently, Vic is operating in the beta stage.
Ntwist (2017, Hyderabad) – Offers a machine learning based business process improvement and data analytics platform that helps business to automate decision making processes and workflows.

INTERESTING COMPANIES FOUND

Interesting Startups

A daily newsletter summarizing recent activity & interesting startups globally

RECENT NOTABLE ACTIVITY – FITNESS AND WELLNESS

• 51Yund, a fitness app to track running, raised $14.5M in a Series C funding round led by Nokia Growth Partners and Xiaomi. Link
• SunPig, an online platform to book gym services, has raised $5M in a Series A financing round led by 1898 Venture Capital, Kay Letter Capital, and Fire Orange Capital. Link
• Simple Habit, a mobile-based meditation app, has raised $2.5M in a seed funding round led by New Enterprise Associates, FJ Labs, Foundation Capital, Dropbox CEO Drew Houston, and  Gusto CEO Joshua Reeves. Link
• Glofox, a company offering gym and studio management software, has raised $2.2M in a Series A funding round led by Notion Capital, Tribal VC, Enterprise Ireland, and Partech Ventures. Link
• Yunmai which offers smart weighing scale has closed a Series B funding round of $1.5M led by Future Capital and Xinwen Capital. Link
• Nutrifix, an app which recommends healthy recipes and locates healthy meals at nearby locations, has raised $187K in equity crowdfunding on Crowdcube. Link
• Apple acquired Beddit, a maker of sleep-tracking hardware and software. Link
• Adidas released the beta version of All Day, an app focussed towards fitness, nutrition, and mental wellness. Link
• Apple becomes world’s top wearable company overtaking Fitbit, according to a report by Strategy Analytics. Link
• GOQii takes over Xiaomi to become largest vendor in the Indian wearables market in Q4 2016, according to a recent report by research firm IDC. Link

SOME INTERESTING STARTUPS FOUND

NanoRun (2016, Tel Aviv) – NanoRun is developing an aerobic exercise device with embedded movement sensors. The product is in the development stage as of May 2017.
HyFit (2016, Tel Aviv) –  HyFit is wearable gym device for suspension workout training and tracking which tracks burnt calories, heart rate, and exercises repetition count.

LEADER BOARD – FITNESS AND WELLNESS

Physical Fitness – Tracking & Monitoring
Jawbone (SF,1999, $1B) – Fitness wristband with an algorithm for activity and sleep tracking. Backed by KPCB, Andreessen Horowitz, Khosla Ventures, Sequoia Capital and 21 other investors.
Codoon (Chengdu, 2011, $90M) – Smart Wearables and fitness social network for users. Backed by Shenzhen Capital Group, SIG China, SBCVC, CITIC Capital, Focus Media, FountainVest Partners and Shanda Group.
Fitbit (SF, 2007, IPO) – Wireless wearable sensors to track person’s activities. Went public in 2015.

Physical Fitness – Fitness Services
ClassPass  (NYC, 2011, $84M) – Membership programs for fitness classes across multiple gyms. Backed by SV Angel, Mayfield, Charles River Ventures and 18 other investors.
Quancheng Relian (Beijing, 2014, $17M) – O2O mobile app for booking of gyms and fitness centers with subscription passes. Backed by Legend Capital and Matrix Partners China.
KFit (Kuala Lumpur, 2015, $15M) – Membership pass for various gyms and fitness studios. Backed by   Sequoia Capital, 500 Startups, SIG, Mavcap, Asia Venture Group, SXE Ventures, InnoVen Capital, SEGNEL Ventures, Intres Capital, and Venturra Capital.

Physical Fitness – Training & Planning
Keep (Beijing, 2014, $37M) – Video-based workout guide and progress monitoring tool. Backed by GGV Capital, Morningside Group, Ventech China, and Bertelsmann Asia Investment Fund.
Hotbody (Beijing, 2014, $27M) – Fitness community and an app to remotely consult professional coaches. Backed by Hupu, Meridian Capital China, Greenwoods Investments and The Arena Capital.
Grokker (San Jose, 2012, $22.5M) – On-demand fitness, yoga, meditation, and healthy cooking videos. Backed by First Round Capital, SV Angel, Khosla Ventures, Correlation Ventures, InterWest Partners, Comcast Venture and Aspect Ventures.

Physical Fitness – Exercising Solutions
Peloton Cycle (NYC, 2012, $119M) – Fitness bike with access to live and on-demand classes. Backed by Tugboat Ventures, Tiger Global Management, True Ventures, Grace Beauty, Brand Foundry Ventures, and Catterton.
Zwift (London, 2014, $45M) – Indoor cycling workouts with gamification. Backed by Shasta Ventures, COLOPL, Samchuly, Waypoint, and Novator Partners.
Interactive Fitness (Sunnyvale, 2009, $41M) – Bikes for indoor cycling with gamification. Backed by Silicon Valley Bank, Sierra Ventures, Physic Ventures and Enterprise Partners Venture Capital.

Physical Fitness – Social Platform
Strava (SF, 2009, $35M) – Strava is the social network for athletes. Backed by Sequoia Capital, Sigma Partners, Jackson Square Ventures and Go4It.
Joyrun (Guangzhou, 2014, $18M) – Social networking application for jogging. Backed by Innovation Works, Qihoo 360 and The Arena Capital.

Content Platforms
Healthination (NYC, 2005, $14M) – Health and wellness video provider. Backed by Intel Capital and MK Capital.
Greatist (NYC, 2011, $8M) – Digital media company publishing health & fitness content. Backed by  StartUp Health, Floodgate, Vayner RSE, and Riverpark Funds.

Tools for Fitness Professionals
Mindbody (San Luis Obispo, 2001, IPO) – Marketplace booking and business management SaaS for wellness centers. Went public in 2015.
Netpulse (SF, 2009, $52M) – Member engagement SaaS platform for fitness clubs. Backed by Javelin Venture Partners, Nokia Growth Partners, August Capital, Frontier Venture Capital, Bally Fitness, DOCOMO Innovations, Javelin Venture Partners, and DFJ Frontier.

Commerce
Nu3  (Berlin, 2011, $7M) – An online retail platform for health & fitness related products. Backed by Lakestar, Project A Ventures, Alternative Strategic Investments and Black River Ventures.

Mind & Body Wellness- Sleep Management
Hello (SF, 2012, $32M) – Sleep behaviour tracking. Backed by Temasek and Forward Partners.

Mind & Body Wellness – Stress Management
Happify (NYC, 2011, $14M) – Platform for improved mental & emotional health through gamification. Backed by Founder Collective, b-to-v Partners, Mangrove Capital Partners, TA Ventures, and Bridge Builders Collaborative.

Mind & Body Wellness – Mindfulness & Meditation
Headspace (LA, 2010, $39M) – Guided meditation sessions and mindfulness training. Backed by Allen & Company, WME Entertainment, Advancit Capital, Broadway Video, Deerfield, Breyer Capital, and Refactor Capital.
Interaxon (Toronto, 2009, $18M) – Brain Sensing headband ‘Muse’ to help in meditation. Backed by Felicis Ventures, ff Venture Capital, Horizons Ventures, A-Grade Investments, OMERS Ventures, Build Ventures, Mindfull Investors, TownsgateMedia, and Flextronics Lab IX.

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 Fitness and Wellness feed.

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

RECENT NOTABLE ACTIVITY – APPLICATION TESTING

• QASymphony, a provider of quality assurance and testing tools for test management raised $40M Series C funding from Insight Venture Partners. Link
• Synack, a provider of crowdsourced vulnerability discovery platform raised $21.5M  Series C funding led by Microsoft Ventures. Link
• Francisco Partners acquired SmartBear software, a provider of sotware testing tools for web, mobile, and desktop applications for $410M. Link  
• Akamai acquired Soasta, a provider of web performance optimization and testing software in an all-cash transaction. Link
• WalkMe acquires Jaco, a provider of usability testing platform based on data analytics. Link
• InVision acquires TrackDuck, a provider of tools that help in visual feedback and issue tracking to further enchance its digital development process. Link

SOME INTERESTING STARTUPS FOUND

Samuranium (2017, Cordoba) – Provides automated testing platform to detects bugs and issues.

LEADER BOARD – APPLICATION TESTING

FullStack
Soasta (2006, California, $78M, Acq.) – Builds software products for testing, monitoring websites and mobile apps in the cloud. Backed by Tennenbaum Capital Partners, Entrepreneurs Fund, Pelion Venture Partners, Formative Ventures and Canaan Partners. Acquired by Akamai in 2017.
SmartBear (2003, Massachusetts, Acq.) – Provides tools to build, test and monitor software applications on the desktop, mobile and in the cloud. Acquired by Francisco Partners in 2017.

Automated Testing Tools
Smartesting (2005, Besancon, $8.5M) – Provides platforms for model based testing and to optimize existing test cases. Backed by Groupe Siparex and iSource Gestion.
Confirmiq (1998, California, $8M) – Provides platforms for model based testing and end-to-end test automation products. Backed by Nexit Ventures and Finnish Industry Investment Ltd.

Performance Testing
Gomez (1997, Lexington, $66M, Acq.) – Provides web performance monitoring solutions to optimize the performance, availability and quality of web & mobile applications. Backed by AdAstra, Dolphin Equity Partners and BancBoston Ventures. Acquired by Compuware in 2009.
Apica (2005, Stockholm, $12M) – Provides cloud based web monitoring and load testing solutions. Backed by SEB Venture Capital, Industrifonden, Almi Invest and KTH Chalmers Capital.

Security Testing
Veracode (2006, Burlington, $114M, Acq.) – Cloud based platform to govern and mitigate software security risks across a single application or enterprise portfolio. Backed by Wellington Management. Acquired by CA in 2017.
Checkmarx (2006, Ramat Gan, $98.5M) – Provides static application security, mobile security and open source analysis products for enterprises and developers. Backed by Insight Venture Partners, XT Ventures and Salesforce.

Visual Testing
Applitools (2013, Tel Aviv, $2.5M) – Cloud based testing tool to validate visual aspects of web, mobile and native apps. Backed by Magma Venture Partners.

Usability Testing
User Testing (2007, California, $48.5M) – Platform to get feedback from users for apps and websites. Backed by Accel and Kern Whelan Capital.
UserZoom (2007, California, $36.5M) – Provides tools for online user experience research and remote usability testing. Backed by TC Growth Partners, Trident Capital and StepStone Group.

Emulator Testing
Sauce Labs (2008, SF, $96M) – Cloud based emulator platform for web and mobile application. Backed by Toba Capital, Triage Ventures and The Contrarian Group.
Genymotion (2011, Paris, $10M) – Android emulator that helps developers to test and view apps running on different combinations of large and small devices. Backed by Alven Capital and Bpifrance.

Device Lab
Perfecto Mobile (2006, Massachusetts, $83M) – Provides cloud based testing, automation and monitoring solutions for mobile applications and websites. Backed by Technology Crossover Ventures, Globespan Capital Partners, FTV Capital, Carmel Ventures and Vertex Ventures.
Xamarin (2011, SF, $82M, Acq.) – Provides test cloud platform to run automated UI tests for iOS and Android apps across real devices. Backed by Insight Venture Partners, Floodgate, Charles River Ventures, Lead Edge Capital and Ignition Partners. Acquired by Microsoft in 2016.

Crowd sourced Testing
Applause (2007, Massachusetts, $116M) – Provides crowd sourced testing for functional testing and digital testing along with mobile beta management and mobile sentiment analysis. Backed by Goldman Sachs, QuestMark Partners, Scale Venture Partners, Longworth Venture Partners, Mass Ventures, Egan-Managed Capital and Mesco Ltd.
Bugcrowd (2012, SF, $23M) – Provides a market place to testers for security testing on web and mobile applications. Backed by Industry Ventures, Salesforce Ventures, Blackbird Ventures, Palladin Capital Group, Costanoa Venture Capital and Rally Ventures.

Test Management
QASymphony (2011, Atlanta, $47.5M) – Provides quality assurance and testing tools that integrate with workflow management. Backed by Insight Venture Partners, Fulcrum Equity Partners, BIP Capital, Poplar Ventures and KMS Technology.

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 Application Testing feed. 

INTERESTING COMPANIES FOUND

NanoPhagix (2015, Philadelphia) – Developing nanoparticle-rapamycin formulations to treat inflammation in atherosclerosis. The drug delivery system reaches the blood vessel walls to treat the heart attack-causing plaques.

HIGHLIGHTS OF THE DAY

• Takeda and NEA back $39M series A for GI biotech OrphoMed. Read More
• The FDA refuses to lift a clinical hold on Cel-Sci’s PhIII drug, shares down 33% premarket. Read More
• Inovio’s NIH-backed HIV vaccine shows near 100% immune response rate in early test. Read More
• Pierre Fabre Pharmaceuticals acquires immuno-oncology from Igenica Biotherapeutics. Read More
• Puma Biotech defies odds, wins FDA backing for Breast Cancer drug. Read More

INTERESTING COMPANIES FOUND

Alsen (2016, Merced) – Developer of AI-based HVAC management system. The system uses machine learning models to predict occupancy and comfort requirements for controlling HVAC units.
Sindesy (2016, Beersheba) – Develops connected water heating systems. The sensor-based patented technology monitors and manages the heating systems in real-time to provide information such as failure alerts and energy efficiency degradation.

INTERESTING COMPANIES FOUND

Jones (2016, New York City) – A mobile based on-demand liability insurance platform for businesses. It lets businesses to get coverage on a project-basis.
EquityX (2016, Tel Aviv) – Marketplace for startups and expert service providers focussed on the use of equity used as currency. It allows startups to receive investments that will be converted to stock options at the next funding round and allows them to use their pool money to buy services in micro transactions.

A daily newsletter summarizing interesting Indian startups and recent activity both in India & globally.

INTERESTING STARTUPS

Cingulariti (2016, Mumbai), customer interaction analytics platform. Founder is ex- Exponentia Data DataLabs and alumnus of ISB. Local comparable is Dartboard (2016, Delhi). Global comparable is Glassbox Digital (2010, London).

INDIA INTERESTING NEWS

Aye Finance (2013, Delhi), MSME lending platform in North India, raises $8M in funding from Blue Orchard. Link

Genext Students (2011, Mumbai), hybrid tutoring and digital content platform, raises $580k in pre Series A round of funding from undisclosed investors. Link

Ebix (1976, Atlanta), software and e-commerce solutions provider to the insurance & healthcare industry, acquires 80% stake in ItzCash (2006, Mumbai), provider of prepaid payment cards, for $123M. Link

Razorpay (2014, Bangalore), payment gateway solutions provider, partners with Telegram (2013, St. Petersburg), open source messaging platform, for chatbot payments. Link

Niki.ai (2015, Bangalore), AI based automated order taking app for concierge services, partners with BookMyShow (2007, Mumbai), online ticketing portal for movies, concerts and entertainment events, to provide smart movie booking experience to its users. Link

Snapbizz (2013, Bangalore), technology solutions provider for offline retailers, enters into Andhra Pradesh & Telangana. Link

Pi Ventures, Bangalore-based early stage fund focused on investing on disruptive ideas leveraging machine learning, AI and IoT, raises $3M from International Finance Corporation (IFC). Link

GLOBAL ROUNDUP

Peloton (2012, NYC), on-demand streaming platform to attend live bike fitness classes, raises $325M in Series E round of funding led by Wellington Management, Fidelity Investments, Kleiner Perkins and True Ventures with participation from Comcast NBCUniversal, GGV Capital, Balyasny and QuestMark. Link

99 (2012, Sao Paulo), taxi-booking app, raises $100M in funding from SoftBank of Japan. Link

Smartsheet (2005, Bellevue), online project management platform, raises $52M in Series F round of funding led by Insight Venture Partners with participation from Madrona Venture Group, Sutter Hill Ventures and Summit Partners. Link

OrphoMed (2014, SF), clinical stage biopharmaceutical company developing dimer therapies, raises  $39M in Series A round of funding led by New Enterprise Associates, Takeda Ventures with participation from Pappas Capital and others. Link

Medrio (2005, SF), integrated eclinical SaaS platform, raises $30M in funding from Questa Capital Management. Link

PolicyGenius (2014, NYC), online insurance shopping platform, raises $30M in Series C round of funding led by Norwest Venture Partners with participation from Revolution Ventures, Karlin Ventures and others. Link

G2 Crowd (2012, Highland Park), crowd-sourced business software & services review, raises $30M in funding led by Accel with participation from LinkedIn and Pritzker Group Venture Capital. Link

Microsoft (1974, Redmond), multinational computer software company, acquires Hexadite (2014, Tel Aviv), provider of automated cyber incidence response solution, for $100M. Link

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

RECENT NOTABLE ACTIVITY – SALES FORCE AUTOMATION

• Zilliant – Pricing optimization platform for businesses raises $30M from Goldman Sacchs – Link
• OutReach – Cloud-based lead engagement solutions for sales teams raises $30M Series C funding led by DFJ Growth along with existing investors Mayfield, MHS Capital, Microsoft Ventures and Trinity Ventures – Link
• PandaDoc – Cloud-based CPQ suite for businesses raises $15M Series B funding led by Rembrandt Venture Partners. Microsoft Ventures, HubSpot, EBRD along with existing investor Altos Ventures – Link
• Affinity  – Relationship intelligence tool for enterprises raises $13.5M funding led by 8VC along with participation from Sway Ventures, Pear Ventures, Great Oak Venture Capital, Western Technology Investment and angels like Charlie Songhurst – Link
• Mintigo – Cloud-based lead scoring & account based marketing platform raises $10M in a round led by Gilot Venture Partners along with participation from Sequoia Capital IL, Adam Street Partners, Giza Venture Capital, Maverick Ventures and Vintage Investment Partners – Link
• Iconixx – Cloud-based sales performance & incentive management tool raises $4.2M from Ballast Point Ventures, Harbert Growth Partners and S3 Ventures – Link 
• Growlabs – AI-based outbound sales automation platform raises $2.2M from a group of Angels – Link
• OppSource – Cloud-based lead nurturing platform for SDRs raises $1.2M in a round led by Next Frontier Capital – Link
• SalesWhale – Cloud-based lead nurturing solution for sales reps raises $1.2M seed round from Monk’s Hill Ventures, Gree Ventures, Wavemaker Partners and a group of angels – Link 
• Hickup, a guided selling platform for sales teams has been acquired by Showpad, a sales enablement platform for an undisclosed amount – Link
• JesterCom, an order management & presentation app for sales reps has been acquired by Ackmann & Dickenson for an undisclosed amount – Link
• Zyme, a channel data management platform for enterprises has been acquired by Insight Venture Partners for over $100M – Link

SOME INTERESTING STARTUPS FOUND

MySalesbeat (2016, Austria) – Lead intelligence solution for enterprises.

LEADER BOARD – SALES FORCE AUTOMATION

CRM – Enterprise
SalesForce (1999, SF, IPO) – Comprehensive CRM and Sales enablement solutions provider. Revolutionized the cloud based enterprise software market. Backed by CS First Boston, WR Hambrecht and angels from Oracle, KLA Tencor and CNET. Went Public in 2004.
SAP (1972, Walldorf, IPO) – Provides end to end business management application software for enterprises. Went Public in 1998.
Oracle (1977, Redwood City, IPO) – Provides business management applications for enterprises. Entered the CRM market following its acquisition of Siebel Systems in September 2005. Went Public in 1986.

CRM – Small Businesses
InfusionSoft (2001, Chandler, $134M) – Provides sales and marketing automation software for small businesses that combines CRM, email marketing and e-commerce. Backed by Goldman Sachs, Bain Capital, Arthur Ventures and Allure Ventures.

CRM – Industry Verticals
Vlocity (2014, SF, $93M) – Provides sales and marketing automation software for businesses in specific industry verticals. Backed by Salesforce Ventures, Sutter Hill Ventures, Accenture, Newyork Life Insurance.

CRM – Lead Management – Lead Scoring
InsideSales (2004, Provo, $199M) – Provides a predictive lead scoring and management platform along with sales acceleration tools. Backed by Polaris, SalesForce Ventures, USVP, KPCB, HWVP and Microsoft.
Radius (2009, SF, $133M) – Predictive Sales and Marketing platform powered by a data science engine that fuses and analyses customer data with business signals. Backed by Formation8, BlueRun Ventures, American Express, Glynn Capital and Founders Fund.
Everstring (2012, San Mateo, $79M) – Offers a platform for sales and marketing teams to leverage public and in-house data for predictive lead scoring. Backed by Lightspeed, IDG, Sequoia, Lakestar, China Capital and Microsoft.

CRM – Lead Management – Lead Nurturing
Five9 (2001, San Ramon, IPO) – Helps enterprises manage inbound, outbound, blended, or multi-channel contact centers for sales and marketing. Backed by Sapphire, HWVP, Adam Street Partners, Fifth Street Technology Partners, Partech Ventures and Mosaic Capital. Went Public in 2014.
Yesware (2010, Boston, $33M) – Offers a lead engagement and prospect tracking solution for sales teams. Backed by Google Ventures, Foundry Group, IDG Ventures, Battery Ventures.

CRM – Demo Tools
ClearSlide (2009, SF, $89M) – Provides prospect engagement and demo platform for sales teams. Backed by Greylock Partners, Bessemer Venture Partners, Silicon Valley Bank, Toba Capital, Comcast Ventures, Social Capital, Inventures Group.

CRM – Sales Pipeline Management & Forecasting
Clari (2009, SF, $26M) – Provides predictive forecasting & pipeline management solution for sales teams. Backed by Bain Capital, Sequioa Cap, North Gate Capital.

CRM – Field Sales Management
Spring Mobile Solutions (2001, Seattle, $78M) – Provides mobile apps for field workforce management. Backed by Goldman Sachs, NEA and Sapphire Ventures.
Handshake (2010, New York, $23.5M) – Order & Catalog app for channel sales reps. Backed by Point Nine Capital, Boldstart Ventures, MHS Capital, Primary Ventures, Emergence Capital Partners and SoftTech VC.

CRM – Channel Sales
ChannelInsight (2009, Denver, $21M, Acq.) – Channel data management platform. Got acquired by Model N in 2015.
360 Insights (2008, Whitby, $47.65M) – Cloud-based loyalty platform for channel partners. Backed by Sageview Capital, OMERS Ventures, Klass Capital, EDAC – ACDE, Round 13 Capital and Leaders Fund.

CRM – Configure – Price – Quote
Selectica (1996, San Mateo, IPO) – Provides enterprise contract management and CPQ solutions. Went Public in 2000.
Apttus (2006, San Mateo, $274M) – Provides Configure-Price-Quote (CPQ), Contract Management, Renewals and Revenue Management solutions. Backed by Kuwait Investment Authority, SalesForce Ventures, Iconiq Capital and K1 Investment Management.

Lead Generation
Relationship Science (2010, NYC, $121M) – A business development tool that provides information on decision makers along with analytical tools and reporting dashboards. Backed by TABLE Holdings, MacAndrews, Hearst and RIT Capital Partners.
InsideView (2005, SF, $89M) – Provides market intelligence for sales and marketing teams. Backed by Emergence Capital, Rembrandt Ventures, SplitRock, Foundation Capital and Spring Lake Equity partners.

Performance Management
XactlyCorp (2005, San Jose, IPO) – Provides cloud based incentive compensation and performance management solutions for enterprises. Backed by Alloy Ventures, Illuminate Ventures, Rembrandt Ventures and Bay Partners. Went Public in 2015.
Badgeville (2010, Redwood City, $40M) – Sales Gamification and Social Engagement platform for enterprises. Backed by Interwest, Trinity, Norvest VP, Webb Investment Network and El Dorado Ventures.

Content Management Systems
Savo Group (1999, Chicago, $79M) – Provides collaborative sales enablement and content management solutions. Backed by Goldman Sachs, Sapphire Ventures, NXT Capital and Sterling Partners.
Seismic (2011, Solana Beach, $64.5M) – Offers mobile first enterprise content management and sales enablement solutions. Backed by JMI Equity and SigmaWest.

Analytics
FirstRain (2000, San Mateo, $79M) – Business intelligence for structured and unstructured data. Backed by Diamondhead Ventures, Oak Investment Partners, Ampersand Capital Partners, Allegra Partners, Myriad Investments and St.Paul Venture Capital.
InsightSquared (2010, Cambridge, $27M) – Provides sales and marketing analytics platform for SMBs. Backed by Atlas Ventures, Next View Partners, GrandBanks Capital, Converge Venture Partners, Salesforce Ventures, BVP, DFJ Capital and Two Sigma 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 Sales Force Automation feed.

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

RECENT NOTABLE ACTIVITY – INSURANCE TECH

• Clover Health, a San Francisco based health insurtech startup, has raised $130M in venture capital funding. Link
• Singapore Life, a Singapore based Internet first life insurance provider, has raised $50M in Series A funding round. Link
• Acko, a Mumbai based general insurance carrier, set up by Coverfox founder Varun Dua, has raised $30M in seed round. Link
• Next Insurance, a Palo Alto based insurance platform for small businesses, has raised $29M in funding to create customized policies for small businesses. Link
• One, Inc., a Rancho Cordova based provider of cloud-based software and payment solutions for insurance industry, has raised $15.5M in funding. Link
• Carpe Data, a Santa Barbara based startup that provides next generation data products to the insurance industry, has raised $6.6M in Series A funding led by Aquiline Technology Growth (ATG), with participation from Carpe Data’s existing investors. Link
• Bunker, a San Francisco based digital business insurance platform, has raised $6M in Series A funding led by Omidyar Network, with participation from Comcast Ventures and Route 66 Ventures. Link
• Vericred, a New York City based healthcare data services company, has raised $5.5M in Series A funding round led by Nashville-based FCA Venture Partners, with participation from existing and new investors. Link
• Canadian property/casualty insurer Intact Financial Corp. has announced it will buy Bermuda based OneBeacon Insurance Group for $1.7B. Link
• Disruptive Capital Investments has acquired a majority stake in REG, an online counterparty risk management platform for the UK general insurance industry. Link
• Zurich Insurance is deploying artificial intelligence (AI) in deciding personal injury claims after trials cut the processing time from an hour to just seconds. Link
• Zenefits introduces level-funded insurance plans in partnership with Aetna. Link

SOME INTERESTING STARTUPS FOUND

Flink (2017, St. Gallen) – An online platform that provides household and private liability insurance to users on a monthly basis. It claims to use 70% of the premium to cover the damages and remaining 30% to develop products and cover additional costs.
Paladin Data Insurance (2016, San Francisco) – A cyber security insurance provider that insures customer’s data. To assess the risk and calculate premium, it collects cyber security controls information from companies and validates that information during cyber security audit.

LEADER BOARD – INSURANCE TECH

Internet-first Insurers
Oscar (2012, NYC, $727.5M) – An internet-first health insurer that rewards users with Amazon gift cards on successful completion of pre-defined milestones. Backed by Google Capital, Founders Fund, Wellington Fund, Thrive Capital, Formation 8, General Catalyst Partners, Khosla Venture, Breyer Capital, Redswan Ventures, BoxGroup.
Clover Health (2014, SF, $425M) – A data-driven health insurance provider for senior citizens. Backed by First Round Capital, Nexus Venture Partners, Sequoia Capital, AME Cloud Ventures, Spark Capital, GV, Floodgate, Casdin Capital, Athyrium Capital Management, Greenoaks, Grape Arbor, Refactor Capital, Arena Ventures, Wildcat Venture Partners, CSC Venture Capital, Brainchild.

Employer Insurance
Zenefits (2013, SF, $584M) – An employer insurance broker that offers free HR, payroll, and benefits management software to organizations of every size. Backed by Backed by Fidelity Investments, TPG, Institutional Venture Partners, Andreessen Horowitz, Founders Fund, Khosla Ventures, SV Angel, Maverick Enterprises and Venrock.
Gusto (2011, SF, $176M) – A SaaS-based HR and benefits administration software provider. Backed by Y Combinator, Google Ventures, Salesforce, Sherpalo, General Catalyst Partners, Kleiner Perkins, Google Capital, Emergence Capital Partners, Ribbit Capital.
Namely (2012, NYC, $158M) – A Cloud-based HR management  and benefits platform. Backed by Sequoia Capital, True Ventures, Matrix Partners, Bullpen Capital, Four Rivers Group, Scale Venture Partners, Altimeter Capital, Greenspring Associates, Bullpen Capital, Vayner RSE, Lerer Hippeau Ventures.

P2P Insurance
Friendsurance (2010, Berlin, $15M) – A P2P insurance platform which rewards small groups of customers with a cashback bonus each year if their group remains claimless. Backed by Horizons Ventures, Eventures, German Startups Group, Infinity Ventures, Vantage Investment Advisory Limited.
TongJuBao (2014, Shanghai, $13M) – A Peer to Peer (P2P) risk sharing platform. insurance platform. Backed by SOSV.

Distribution Platforms
eHealth (1997, Mountain View, IPO) – An online marketplace for health insurance plans for small businesses, individuals, and families. Also provides Medicare quotes and purchasing options. Went public in 2006.
Insplanet (1999, Stockholm, IPO) – An online insurance comparison and shopping platform featuring quotes from providers across Sweden. Went public in 2006.
Trov (2012, Danville, $90M) – An on-demand insurance platform for personal items such as laptop, camera or bicycle etc. Backed by Anthemis Group, Guidewire Software, Hartford Steam Boiler, Suncorp, Oak HC/FT, Pivot Investment Partners, Clark Enterprises.
Goji (2007, Boston, $90M) – An online comparison and purchasing platform for property and casualty insurance. Backed by Village Ventures, Five Elms Capital, Thayer Street Partners and Spark Capital.
PolicyBazaar (2008, Gurgaon, $83M) – An online aggregator which offers insurance comparison and purchasing services. Backed by Intel Capital, Info Edge India, Inventus Capital Partners, Tiger Global, Ribbit Capital and Premji Invest.

Enablers
Guidewire (2001, San Mateo, IPO) – A web-based technology solutions provider to the property & casualty and workers’ compensation insurance industry. Went public in 2012.
iPipeline (1995, Exton, $105M, Acq.) – A sales distribution software suite provider. Acquired by Thoma Bravo in August 2015.
GreenRoad (2006, San Jose, $84M) – A telematics for auto insurance using web apps. Backed by Amadeus Capital Partners, Virgin Green Fund, Benchmark, Balderton Capital, DAG Ventures, Generation Investment Management, Israel Growth Partners and Balderton Capital.

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 Insurance Tech feed.

INTERESTING COMPANIES FOUND

RoverMed Biosciences (2016, Minnetonka) – Developing therapeutics for solid cancers using its Crystalline Ultra-Small Particle (CUSP) technology. Its CUSP technology can deliver the drugs into the cell nucleus regardless of cell’s location.

HIGHLIGHTS OF THE DAY

• Mystery biotech Emmaus grabs groundbreaking FDA panel backing for sickle cell drug — after quietly scrapping $225M deal. Read More
• Harpoon Therapeutics raises $45M Series B for taking Immuno-Onco drug to trials. Read More
• NEJM paper buoys GW Pharma as it eyes FDA filing for cannabis drug Epidiolex. Read More
• Promising Glaucoma trial results push Aerie Pharma 39% higher. Read More
• Merck moves from amyloid to Tau, in-licenses Teijin Pharma’s antibody candidate. Read More

INTERESTING COMPANIES FOUND

Cycleboard (2015, Costa Mesa) – Developer of electric personal transport equipment with an intuitive lean-to-steer system.
Fritts (2015, Utrecht) – Online solar panel installer review and comparison. Also provide quotes from the installers in nearby area.

INTERESTING COMPANIES FOUND

RightIndem (2015, London, $17k) – SaaS platform that uses machine learning algorithms for insurance claims settlement, repair solutions, and real-time fraud scoring.
Spaceship (2016, Sydney) – App based Super Fund with the focus on technological companies. The app upon signing up can find and transfer all super accounts of the customer and transfer them to Spaceship account.

Funding in the real estate tech sector has climbed steadily from 2015 to 2017 YTD. Early and late stage funding went up significantly during this time, with the average series B ticket size going from $ 32.5M to $48.7M.

Beijing-based Lianjia had two of the biggest rounds in the space, netting a total of $1.3B between April 2016 and January 2017 from Tencent, Baidu and Sunac China. WeWork from NYC also received $560M over two rounds between October 2016 and March 2017 from SoftBank and Jin Jiang Hotels. 2016 and 2017 YTD have seen eight acquisitions apiece, deal sizes of none of which were disclosed.

Online platforms that enhance and enable buying, selling, renting and leasing of residential real estate properties continue to remain the most favoured business model, netting $2B in 2016 across 103 rounds, against 2015’s $1.6B across 134 rounds. Thrive Capital (10) and Canaan Partners (7) were the most active investors in the space.

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 Real Estate Tech

Smart homes space in 2016 saw an 87% leap in total funding dollars with fundraising rounds plunging by 15%. By stage, fundraising rounds climbed only for late investments by a whopping 350% whereas, for early and seed, it dove by 8% and 28% respectively.

By stage, funding soared across the board-late stage dollars experienced the most pronounced climb from $15M to $324M; early stage dollars grew by 2.5% and seed by 13%.

Average ticket size climbed for both seed (75%) and Series A (66%) whereas for Series B, it dipped by a minuscule 0.5%.

Top investments in this space last year include Ring Labs’ Series D round of $109M led by Goldman Sachs among others and Vivint’s PE round of $100M.

Plug and Play Tech Centre with 18 investments in its kitty and Techstars and Y Combinator each with 11 emerged the most active investors in this sector. 11 acquisitions marked this space with electroluxgroup.com buying Anova Culinary for $250M being the highest disclosed deal value.

By stage of entry, Y Combinator with 11 investments led the tally for seed, Bpifrance with 3 in its portfolio led for Series A and KPCB led for Series B and beyond with 6 investments.

Historically, companies offering Home Automation solutions have been the most investment friendly with $1.2B having been infused here till date. Under Home Automation, devices management business model have amassed the highest funding ($402M) till date.

256 companies have been funded in the Smart Homes sector in the last five years with $856M invested between 2016-17 YTD.

Note: You can download the full-version of this report here.

Download the Tracxn Industry Report on Smart Homes

In 2016, both fundraising rounds and funding dollars saw a marginal dip from the previous year, plummeting by 3% and 16% respectively. Funding rounds fell for seed stage by 24%, surged for early stage by 16%, and remained the same for late stage.

By stage, funding dollars climbed only for late stage (24%) with Seed and Series A plunging by 8% and 5% respectively. Average ticket size picked up for both Seed (17%) and Series A(1%) and fell sharply for Series B (40%).

Top investments in the last year include Stackpath’s Series A round of $180M and Cylance’s Series D round of $100M.

Top investors in this sector include Intel Capital and Sequoia Capital with 48 and 38 investments in their portfolio respectively. By stage of entry, Y Combinator emerged as the most active investor for seed with 21 investments, Sequoia led for Series A and later with 16 and 26 investments respectively and Intel Capital led for Series B with 20 investments.

The past year was marked by 16 acquisitions with Symantec buying LifeLock for $2.3B being the biggest disclosed deal value.

$4.9 B was injected into this space between 2016-17 YTD. Network Security has historically been the most funded business model ($4.4B) followed by BYOD security ($4.3B) in this space with 1010 companies being funded in the last 5 years.

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 Enterprise Security

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

RECENT NOTABLE ACTIVITY – ENERGY STORAGE

• Wärtsilä acquires energy storage software and analytics company Greensmith. Link
• Ceres Power signs an agreement to develop its steel-based fuel cell technology for use in the housing market. Link
• Xiaodian, a mobile phone charging network provider, raises $50M in Series B from Sequoia China, Banyan Capital, Tencent, CDH Investments, Kunzhong Capital. Link
• Wibotic, provider of wireless power and battery intelligence solutions for the robotic industry, raises $2.5M in seed financing. Link
• Anode-free Li-ion battery developer SolidEnergy raises $5M from undisclosed investors. Link
• ChargePoint raises additional $24M to support European expansion of its electric vehicle charging network. Link

SOME INTERESTING STARTUPS FOUND

Micropower Labs (Macul, 2015) – Micropower Labs is a technology developer supported by Start-up Chile and NEST I/O. The company has developed their first product called Flash Pack, which they claim to be the world’s fastest charging power bank that holds a charge of 5000mAh and can be completely charged in 15 minutes. They claim to have another product in development called ‘Cooly’, that is the world’s first solar-powered wearable cooling device.

LEADER BOARD – ENERGY STORAGE

Batteries
Energizer (1896, St.Louis, IPO) – Energizer is the oldest battery manufacturer in the world. The company has launched multiple product lines, one of them being the Inductive Charger to the world’s first AA battery made with 4% recycled batteries. The different types of battery manufactured are AAA,AA,D,9V, Photo batteries, Hearing Aid batteries etc. Two major brands are Energizer and Eveready. Went public in June, 2015.
Boston Power (2005, Westborough, $638M) – Boston-Power develops and manufactures batteries which charges faster, lasts longer, performs better and is safer than what’s currently on the market. The technology can be used in electronic devices like  laptops, PDAs and mobile phones. Backed by GSR Ventures, Oak Investment Partners, Foundations Asset Management, Venrock, GGV Capital and Gabriel Venture Partners.

Energy Storage Systems
BYD (1996, Shenzhen, IPO) – BYD is a tech enterprise in China specializing in IT, automobile, and new energy. They are the largest supplier of rechargeable batteries in the globe, and has the largest market share for Nickel-cadmium batteries, handset Li-ion batteries, cell-phone chargers and keypads worldwide. Went public in August, 2002.
Alevo (2009, Martigny-Ville, $1.7B) – Alevo provides energy storage systems for grid scale storage. The “GridBank” is comprised of Lithium Ion cells which have 50000 recharge cycles. These cells are combined together to create large battery banks which can be positioned anywhere across the grid. Backed by SA Framtak.

Fuel Cell
Ballard Power Systems (1979, Burnaby, IPO) – Ballard Power Systems designs, develops and manufactures hydrogen fuel cell products for residential co-generation, back-up power, and heavy duty applications. The company operates in three segments Power Generation, Automotive, and Material Products. Went public in November, 1995
Bloom Energy (2001, Sunnyvale, $1.2B) – Bloom Energy builds solid oxide fuel cell technology to convert natural gas into electricity. The company offers distributed generation, energy server service (each Bloom Energy server provides 200kW of power) and energy server architecture. Backed by KPCB, NEA, Goldman Sachs among others.

Component Developer
Manz (1987, Reutlingen, IPO) – Manz is a leading provider of production equipment for lithium-ion battery cells, battery systems, super-capacitors and capacitors. The products manufactured by the company are production solutions for lithium-ion batteries and capacitors in e-mobility and stationary energy storage Went public in September, 2006.
Nexeon (2006, Abingdon, $167M) – Nexeon is a battery materials and licensing company with a unique silicon anode technology. Their technology unlocks the potential of silicon to deliver increased capacity without compromising lithium-ion battery cycle life, and  provides lighter batteries with more power and longer lifetime between charges. Backed by Imperial Innovations and Invesco Perpetual.

Charging Solutions
CyberPower Systems (1997, Shakopee, IPO) – CyberPower Systems designs and manufactures uninterruptible power supply (UPS) systems, power distribution units (PDUs), surge protectors, mobile charging devices, connectivity devices and Fiber-to-the-Premise (FTTx) backup power solutions. Went public in January, 2010.
ChargePoint (2007, Campbell, $279M) – Chargepoint is an electric vehicle infrastructure company that offers a network of public charging stations. ChargePoint operates EV charging network and also designs, builds, and supports the technology that powers it.

Battery Management
Younicos (2006, Berlin, $50M) – Younicos offers battery parks which are 3,000 times faster than conventional power plants enabling them to balance fluctuations in the grid much more precisely and efficiently. The company offers hybrid batteries and battery technology which make batteries intelligent and efficient. They provide micro grid system in remote areas with renewable energy supply and storage technology. Backed by First Solar and Grupoecos.

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 Energy Storage feed.