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

INTERESTING STARTUPS

Slonkit (2015, Mumbai), prepaid card and digital wallet provider for teenagers & students. Founder is an  ex-executive from Bain & Co and is an alumnus of Fuqua School of Business. Local comparable includes Spenwise (2015, Kochi). Global comparables include Osper (2013, London, $11.2M) and goHenry (2011, London, $5.75M).

INDIA INTERESTING NEWS

BHIVE Workspace (2014, Bengaluru), coworking space provider, raises $1.2M in funding led by Blume Ventures, along with marquee investors Ramesh Aravind, Meera Reddy and other high net-worth individuals. Link

Spinny (2015, Gurgaon), online marketplace for pre-owned cars, raises $1M in a Seed round of funding from Blume Ventures, Indian Angel Network & others. Link

Ftcash (2015, Mumbai), mobile payments platform for retailers, raises an undisclosed amount in pre-Series A round of funding from 500 Startups. Link

MaxMyWealth (2015, Jaipur), savings and investment platform provider, raises an undisclosed amount in funding from two UK-based firms. Link

GyanDhan (2015, Delhi), education financing marketplace, raises an undisclosed amount in funding from Sundaram Finance Holdings. Link

Aasaanjobs (2013, Mumbai), online marketplace for entry level jobs, acquires mHire (2013, Delhi), online marketplace for blue-collared hiring through vendors, in an undisclosed cash-and-stocks deal. Link

Alibaba Pictures, the entertainment arm of Alibaba Group,  acquires majority stake in TicketNew (2007, Chennai), online platform to book tickets for entertainment events, for an undisclosed amount. Link

Trifecta Capital overshoots Rs 300 crore target for its maiden investment vehicle. Link

Myntra (2007, Bangalore), online retail store for fashion and lifestyle products, inks deals with two women’s wear brands – Chemistry (2005, Mumbai), a western wear brand for women, and AKS, women ethnic wear brand. Link

Airtel (1995, Delhi) launches new digital platform to aid the development of SMBs and startups in the country. Link

GLOBAL ROUNDUP

Riversand Technologies (2001, Houston), master data management , product information management and data quality solutions provider, raises $35M in Series A round of funding led by Crestline Investors. Link

Comhear (2013, San Diego), audio technology company, raises $12M in Series A round of funding from undisclosed investors. Link

PlaySight (2010, Kfar Saba), video automated smart court system provider for sports analytics, raises $11M in a Series C round of funding from Verizon Ventures and golfer Greg Norman. Link

Clustree (2013, Paris), talent management and internal employee mobility tool, raises $7.9M in a Series A round of funding led by Creandum with participation from Idinvest Partners and Alven Capital. Link

Yogome  (2012, San Francisco), STEM focussed mini mobile games for 6-12 age kids, raises $6.6M in a Series A round of funding from Seaya Ventures, Variv Capital, and Endeavor Catalyst. Link

Beanworks (2012,Vancouver), accounts payable automation software provider, raises $4.5M in a Series A funding led by Vancouver Founder Fund and Timia Capital. Link

Brightree (2002, Lawrenceville), cloud-based solutions provider for the home care industry, acquires Conduit Technology (2012, Pennsylvania), documentation and workflow solutions provider, for an undisclosed amount. Link

It’s the 208th anniversary of Sweden National Day today and although Swedes are not known for displaying their national pride, to commemorate this occasion, Tracxn has compiled a list of top 25 Swedish startups that have created a dent in the startup space with their disruptive innovations. To know about Swedish VCs who are driving innovation across the globe, click here.

Download this Infographic

Here’s a more detailed look at the startups:

Company	Founding Year	Location	Total funding (in $)	Description	Key investors
	2005	Stockholm	335.79M	Provides purchase financing and late payment options.	Sequoia Capital, General Atlantic, Atomico, QED Investors, Institutional Venture Partners, DST Global, Creandum, Northzone, Lakestar, GP Bullhound, Oresund Investments, Tengelmann Ventures
	2010	Stockholm	195.56M	Mobile Point of Sale solution provider.	Greylock Partners, American Express, Index Ventures
	2010	Stockholm	82.20M	Provider of mobile-delivered insurance in emerging markets	Kinnevik AB, Digicel Group, Axiata, LeapFrog Investments, Millicom
	2011	Gothenburg	65M	Creates online classifieds websites in developing countries	Kinnevik AB, Hillhouse Capital, Brummer Orthodontics
	2010	Angelholm	46M	Airflow control devices to reduce airborne hospital infections and allergies	Industrifonden, SEB
	2013	Malmo	38.8M	Online doctor consultation via text, voice and video	EQT Ventures, Jonas Nordlander, Christian W. Jansson, Filip Engelbert
	2013	Stockholm	32.9M	Spotify-based music streaming subscriptions for businesses	Spotify, Balderton Capital, Creandum, Northzone, Wellington Partners, TeliaSonera, PlayNetwork, Nordic Venture, Telia Company, Stefan Blom
	2012	Stockholm	32.36M	DIY freemium Storefront	Balderton Capital, Thrive Capital, Creandum, Western Technology Investment, Red Swan Ventures, Project A Ventures, German Startups Group, Scott Belsky, Acton Capital Partners, BGF Ventures
	2013	Stockholm	32M	Provider of ASIC chips, software and services for Bitcoin mining	Accel Partners, Creandum, GP Bullhound, Gullspang Inves
	2011	Stockholm	30.15M	Social gift giving service	Greylock Partners, American Express, Klarna, Atomico, Qualcomm Ventures, Creandum, H&M, Nordea
	2012	Malmo	27.44M	Smart water recycling shower	Swedish Energy Agency, Rosengard Invest, afjochnickfoundation.nl, Dendera, Niklas Zennstrom
	2012	Stockholm	23.19M	Premium Mobile Ad Network	Kreos Capital, Northzone, Industrifonden
	2012	Stockholm	19M	Platform to read digital magazines	Zouk Capital, Channel 4, Hermes GPE, Aggregate Media
	2013	Stockholm	18.70M	OBD-based device for fleet management & vehicle tracking	Salesforce, SaaStr, Point Nine Capital, Dawn Capital, Niklas Zennstrom
	2015	Gothenburg	17.02M	Online fashion retailer	Northzone, eEquity
	2014	Stockholm	17M	On-demand direct sales force	Salesforce, Northzone, Moor Capital, Eight Roads Ventures
	2010	Gothenburg	15M	Mobile social network for fishers	Seedcamp, Northzone, Industrifonden, GP Bullhound, Recruit Strategic Partners, Active Venture Partners, Almi, Edastra, Recruit Holdings, Maiden Lane, FJ Labs, Industrifonden
	2012	Stockholm	14.80M	Personal finance management application	Sunstone, SEB, ABN AMRO Bank, Creades
	2011	Stockholm	14.10M	Regenerative 3D printed orthopedic implants for craniofacial bone defects and trauma	SEB, Almi, Fouriertransform, Karolinska Development
	2013	Stockholm	12M	Communications API provider	Index Ventures, Balderton Capital
	2012	Linkoping	11.61M	Camera and app for searchable and shareable photographic memory.	Khosla Ventures, True Ventures, Creandum, Passion Capital, Faber Ventures, LDV Capital
	2012	Stockholm	11.25M	Fluid control and management for a broad range of brain pathologies, CNS therapeutic applications and procedures	Invest Stockholm, Serendipity Innovations
	2010	Linkoping	11.10M	Quantified MRI for R&D, Clinical and Big Data applications	Industrifonden, Pfizer, Novo A/S, Industrifonden
	2013	Stockholm	10M	Multi-Currency matching platform	Northzone, White Star Capital, SparkLabs Global Ventures, Isomer Capital
	2012	Stockholm	5M	Crowdsourced wi-fi hotspot network provider	Balderton Capital, Creandum, Swisscom, GP Bullhound, Moor Capital, Draper Associates

Happy Sweden National Day!

To mark the occasion of the 208th anniversary of Sweden National Day, here’s a round-up of Top 10 Swedish VCs based both inside and outside of Sweden, driving innovation by giving startups a leg-up with their dollars and vote of confidence. To know which startups are creating waves in Sweden, click here.

Download this Infographic

Johan Brenner @johanbrenner: Johan is an experienced entrepreneur and investor in technology and growth companies. Currently, Johan is a General Partner with Creandum in Stockholm. His prior experience includes time at Balderton Capital (previously Benchmark Europe) working with investments such as LiveBookings, Habbo Hotel, Rebtel, Zopa and others.Prior to joining Balderton, Johan has been involved in building several successful companies as an entrepreneur, investor and board member, such as Jobline, E*Trade Nordic, DIBS and Tradera.

Pär-Jörgen Pärson: Pär-Jörgen who is general partner at Northzone joined in 2004. His primary areas of focus are disruptive businesses in consumer internet, media, and fintech.  His portfolio includes Spotify, Widespace, Bloglovin, Sourcepoint Qapital, Play Dots, Cryex, SoundtrackYourBrand, and Jukely. He has over the years also invested in Avito, Pricerunner, Jasper, Videoplaza, and many others. Although you are most likely to meet Pär-Jörgen in a business situation, you may also encounter this multi-talented investor as part of a heavy metal band who likes bending the strings of one of many vintage guitars from his private collection.

Daniel Blomquist @d_blomquist: As Creandum’s Operating Partner, Daniel focuses on SaaS and game-related stuff and has a special passion for analytics. Before joining Creandum in 2007, Daniel was a Vice President at Ascade – a VC-backed startup that at the time was one of Europe’s fastest-growing enterprise software companies.

Fredrik Cassel @_fredrik: At Creandum, as general partner, Fredrik has led the first institutional rounds of financing in several companies that have grown to dominate their respective markets, among others Cint, Spotify and Videoplaza. Focusing on b2b- and b2c companies disrupting large markets, often with marketplace models, he also leads Creandum’s work with Xeneta, Kahoot!, Soundtrack Your Brand, Kry and depop. His previous engagements include 13th Lab (exited to Facebook) and Autobutler (exited to PSA Group).

Hans Otterling @HansOtterling: Hans Otterling who is general partner in Northzone joined in 2006. His primary areas of focus are e-commerce, fintech, internet security, enterprise software and related SaaS models. His current portfolio includes Tobii, Klarna, Fyndiq, Footway, Fishbrain, Matsmart, Outfittery, Lesara and Universal Avenue. Hans holds an MBA from Stockholm School of Economics and University of Massachusetts (Fulbright scholar).

Bjørn Stray: Bjørn Stray co-founded Northzone in 1996.  His primary areas of focus are ecommerce, consumer internet, infrastructure, and SaaS, and he spearheads the firm’s efforts in e-recruitment, gaming, and telecom services. His portfolio includes Behaviosec, Supponor, iZettle, Brave New Talent, Boomlagoon, TracID, Sqore, Soundrop, and PlayRaven. Bjørn has over the years also invested in Stepstone, Nextgentel, MCP.

Tellef Thorleifsson @tellefthor: Tellef co-founded Northzone in 1996.  His primary areas of focus are fintech, infrastructure and SaaS.  His portfolio includes Kahoot, Fusetools, mCASH, and Distribusion. Tellef has over the years also invested in LastMinute.com, Mamut Software and Trolltech. Some of Tellef’s exited investments include Lastminute.com, Mamut, Resfeber, Skiinfo.com, and Trolltech.Tellef is also a co-founder and active board member of The Voxtra Foundation which is making targeted investments and grants in developing countries.

Marten Steen: Dr. Steen, partner at HealthCap, previously worked with global business development at Merck Serono, focusing on both product and technology licensing. Dr. Steen is a Medical Doctor trained at Lund University. He has pursued research in the field of protein chemistry and coagulation at Lund University and Novo Nordisk, rendering him a Ph.D. in Clinical Chemistry in 2003. He is the author of 16 scientific papers and published in peer-reviewed journals. He also has a BSc degree in Business Administration from the Lund University School of Economics and Management.In addition to Wilson Therapeutics AB, Dr. Steen also serves on the board of BioClin Therapeutics Inc, Ultragenyx Inc, Immune Targeting Systems Ltd, and deputy member of the board of Nordic Nanovector.

Staffan Helgesson @shelgesson:  As a general partner at Creandum, Staffan works with investments in all of Creandum’s focus areas, with a particular focus on enterprise products and services, as well as helping Creandum’s portfolio companies expand to the US. Before founding Creandum in 2003 he was a Founder and the Managing Partner at Startupfactory, the first venture investor globally exclusively focused on investments in mobile internet startups. In addition Staffan has extensive management experience from IKEA, Procter & Gamble and McKinsey & Company.

Hadar Cars @HadarHCars: Hadar came to the Industrial Development Fund in 2011 and works primarily with technology companies in the fields of telecom, software and internet. He has experience from some 10 company boards and is currently a member of, among other things Netadmin Systems.

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

RECENT NOTABLE ACTIVITY – FIELD FORCE AUTOMATION

• Crew, a collaboration tool focused primarily on mobile workforce to manage their work-related communications which includes messages, shifts details, time-off and more has raised $15M Series B funding from Greylock Partners Link
• Zinc, a collaboration platform provider for field workforce for use across field service, construction, hospitality, and healthcare, raised $11M in Series D funding from GE ventures, Hearst Venture, Emergence Capital and CRV. Link
• Kony, cloud based mobile enterprise application development platform (MADP) provider, rasied $5M in series E funding from undislosed source. Link
• Proftoforms, a field data collection tools providing automated forms for safety management, inspection & audit, installation & maintenance announced $4.5M private placement financing from Beacon Securities Limited and PI Financial Corp by private placement financing. Link
• Worldapp, a field data collection and business optimization tool, that streamline data, automates form driven operation and perform data analysis has raised undisclosed amount from Bay Capital Investment Partners Link

 SOME INTERESTING STARTUPS FOUND

Smartvid (2015, Cambridge, $3.4M) –  Provides media management, collaboration and analytics solution to industial sector, uses advance technologies like machine-learning, image and speech recognition to identify safety, productivity, quality and efficiency improvements on the job site using images and videos collected by field workforce.

LEADER BOARD – FIELD FORCE AUTOMATION

Maintenance Services Management
Astea (1979, Horsham, IPO) – Provides applications for lead generation, project quotation, service and billing, and asset retirement services for specific businesses requirements like campaigns, depot repair, field service, logistics, projects, field sales. It also offers infrastructure tools and services, went Public in 1995.
ServiceMax (2007, Pleasanton, $202M, Acq.) – A complete on-demand field service cloud-based solution built on the Salesforce1 platform, to manage post-sales service, field service supply chain. Acquired by GE Digital. Backed by Salesforce, Mayfield, Emergence Capital, KPCB, Trinity Ventures, Meritech Capital, Crosslink Capital, Adams Street Partners, Questmark Partners, Woodside Fund, Cross Creek Advisors, PTC, GE Ventures, Cloud Apps Capital Partners, Sozo Ventures.

Home Services Management
ServiceTitan (2012, Glendale, $98M) – Provides service and sales management software for services businesses. includes CRM, scheduling, dispatch, reporting, marketing management tools, mobile connectivity for field techs, GPS, Quickbooks integration and more. Backed by Bessemer Venture Partners, Iconiq Capital, Mucker Capital.

Construction
Procore Technologies (2003, Carpinteria, $181M) – SaaS based tool for construction project management, provides a mobile app for bidding, document management, budgeting, creating RFIs and managing contracts. Backed by Bessemer Venture Partners, Lead Edge Capital, Iconiq Capital, Lumia Capital, Tech Coast Angels, Persistence Partners, TenOneTen, MicroVenture Marketplace, O’Connor Ventures, Greater Pacific Capital.

Field Data Collection
ProntoForms (2001, Ottawa, IPO) – Platform for field personnel to help in data collection, surveys, inspections with features for customization, work orders etc. Backed by   Skypoint Capital, BDC Capital, CANARIE, Wesley Clover, Venture Coaches. Went Public on Canadian Venture Exchange in 2005.

Collaboration – Images & Video
Zinc (2013, San Francisco, $31.5M) – Provides an interface to facilitate communication between workforce which includes onsite and offshore workforce. Provides features secure message interface, broadcast support, media sharing which include audio and video, file & location sharing, report generation and analytics solution and others. Backed by Charles River Ventures, Emergence Capital, Hearst, GE Ventures.
UpSkill (formerly APX Labs) (2010, Herndon, $29M) – Provides software platform Skylight SDK that companies use to create smart glasses applications.Used to sell optical wearable technologies to the military for applications ranging from connecting soldiers to unmanned aerial vehicles for medics in the field; before it focused on industrial applications. Backed by Salesforce, GE Ventures, NextGen Angels.

Oil & Gas Field Services
LiquidFrameworks (2001, Houston, $5M) – Provides field management solutions for energy and environmental industry, streamlining processes between operations, field personnel, and accounting reducing DSO (Days Sales Outstanding). Features include sales quotes, equipment and personnel tracking, scheduling and dispatching, service tickets, domain specific functionality for oilfield, industrial and environmental operator and services companies. Backed by Houston Ventures.

Sales Force Management -> Sales Enablement
Tactile (2012, Redwood City, $30M) – Mobile app for sales personnel which enables sales managers and sales reps to get data from different platforms and let them take action. Backed by Accel Partners, Microsoft Ventures, Redpoint Ventures.

Sales Force Management -> Order Management
Spring Mobile Solutions (2001, Seattle, 84.73M) – Provides field service management solutions for sales, marketing and distribution teams. Provides tools to capture and gather field data, plan routes for sales and delivery, messaging and collaboration, sales materials, monitoring, surveys, invoicing, payments integration, territory management and more. Backed by NEA, Goldman Sachs, Intel Capital, Industry Ventures, Hercules Capital, Darby Overseas Investments, Ideiasnet, Sapphire Ventures, Bregal Sagemount.

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 Field Force Automation feed.

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

INTERESTING STARTUPS

Ati Motors (2017, Bangalore), autonomous electric cargo vehicle provider. Founders are ex-executives from RazorFish Neev and Robert Bosch and are alumni of IIT BHU and IISC. Local comparable includes AutoNxt (2016, Mumbai). Global comparables include Navya Technology (2014, Paris, $38.5M) and Varden Labs (2015, Waterloo, $4.62M).

INDIA INTERESTING NEWS

wayForward (2015, Gurgaon), emotional wellness and anxiety management app, raises $1M in angel funding from Harsh Mahajan,Farhan Naqvi and Sreepathy Viswanathan. Link

Growfitter (2016, Mumbai), online marketplace for fitness centers and gyms, raises $600k in a Pre-Series A round of funding from San Francisco-based VC SQUE Capital. Link

Market Pulse (2015, Mumbai), real-time MCX data & market intelligence provider, raises an undisclosed amount in Seed funding from Lead Angels Network and Chatur Ideas platform. Link

Hungry Foal (2016, Gurgaon), private label brand for nutritional snacks, raises an undisclosed amount in debt funding from SBI under the Stand up India Scheme. Link

Berger Paints (1923, Kolkata), manufacturer & supplier of decorative paints, acquires Saboo Coatings (2005, Chandigarh), specialty liquid coatings manufacturer, for an undisclosed amount. Link

Princeton Growth secures up to $300M backing from Warburg Pincus. Link

Mihup (2016, Kolkata), AI enabled personal chat based assistant app, halts operations. Link

Freshdesk (2010, Chennai), cloud-based customer helpdesk solutions provider, has created a new umbrella brand, Freshworks, bringing together the company’s suite of business software including their flagship product Freshdesk. Link

GLOBAL ROUNDUP

Cadre (2014, New York City), real estate investment platform, raises $65M in Series C round of funding led by Andreessen Horowitz. Link

Plume (2015, Palo Alto), self-optimizing adaptive Wi-Fi system provider, raises $37.5M in Series B round of funding from Comcast, Samsung Venture Investment, Presidio Ventures, Jackson Square Ventures and Liberty Global. Link

Armis (2015, Palo Alto), wireless security platform focused on BYOD security, raises $17M in undisclosed round of funding from Sequoia Capital, Tenaya Capital, Zohar Zisapel, René Bonvanie, and Mickey Boodaei. Link

Fishpeople Seafood (2012, United States), shelf-stable gourmet seafood meals provider, raises $12M in Series B round of funding led by Advantage Capital Agribusiness Partners with participation from 3×5 Partners, S2G Ventures, Encourage Capital, Blueberry Ventures and Collaborative Fund. Link

Autopilot (2011, San Francisco), marketing automation platform for personalized multichannel engagement, raises $12M in Series D round of funding from Blackbird Ventures and Salesforce Ventures among others. Link

Tractable (2014, London), visual analysis solutions provider for multiple industries, raises $8M in Series A round of funding led by Ignition Partners with participation from Zetta Venture Partners and others. Link

Ascensus (1980, Dresher), insurance service and technology provider, acquires Kravitz, Inc (2009, California), retirement administration firm, for an undisclosed amount. Link

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

RECENT NOTABLE ACTIVITY – ELECRTIC VEHICLES

• Microvast Power Systems raises $400M in a funding round from CITIC Securities, CDH Investment and National Venture Capital. Link
• Alta Motors raises $27M in a combined Series B and Series C round to boost production of electric motorcycles. Link
• ChargePoint raises additional $24M to support European expansion of its electric vehicle charging network. Link
• SeaBubbles raises $10.9M from the MAIF Avenir investment fund to develop eco-friendly boats for urban transit. Link
• Fastned, a network of electric vehicle charging stations raises $8.7M in debt. Link
• Unu, a developer of smart electric scooters, raises $8M in a funding round led by Capnamic Ventures and Iris Capital. Link
• Fallbrook Technologies, a developer of transmission systems for vehicles, secures $8M in debt financing. Link
• Ubco, a developer of electric farm bikes, raises $3.95M in funding. Link
• Twenty Two Motors, an electric scooter developer, raises $1.6M in pre-series A round funding. Link
• Riversimple, a hydrogen fuel cell car maker, announces the closure of its first crowdfunding round at $1.4M. Link
• Free Form Factory, a developer of electric watercraft, raises $500k in seed financing. Link
• Zunum Aero, a hybrid electric airplane developer, receives investment from JetBlue & Boeing. Link
• Suzuki, Toshiba and Denso to invest $18.7M to set up factory for producing automotive lithium-ion battery packs in India. Link
• Scottish Government announces a further $3.75M for green buses roll-out in the country. Link

SOME INTERESTING STARTUPS FOUND

EcoG (2017, Munich) – EcoG is working on developing a cloud-based solution to enable charging control, shared revenue streams and value-added services in electric vehicle fast charging. The company claims to be working on a combined charging system control stack which will combine data from the vehicle, the local user, the grid and the operator.

LEADER BOARD – ELECRTIC VEHICLES

Automaker – Horizontal
Polaris Industries (1954, Medina, IPO) – Designs and manufactures on-road electric/hybrid vehicles, snowmobiles, off-road vehicles and all-terrain vehicles (ATVs). Went Public in September 1987.
FDG Electric Vehicles (1990, Hong Kong, IPO) – Manufactures electric vehicles for passenger and commercial use. Also manufactures battery packs and accessories. Went Public in November 2005.

Automaker – Cars
Tesla (2003, Palo Alto, IPO) – Designs and manufactures electric cars and residential energy storage products. Backed by Google, DFJ, VantagePoint Capital Partners, Compass Technology partners, Capricorn Invest Group, Daimler, Panasonic, Larry Page and Sergey Brin. Went Public in July 2010.
NIO (2014, Shanghai, $1.1B) – Develops electric supercars. Backed by Baidu, Tencent, Sequoia Capital, IDG Capital Partners, Lenovo, Joy Capital, Hillhouse Capital.

Automaker – Commercial Vehicles
Proterra (2004, Greenville, $345M) – Designs and manufactures heavy-duty drive, vehicle control systems and complete transit buses. Backed by KPCB, Hennessey Capital, General Motors Ventures, Constellation Ventures, 88 Green Ventures, Middle East Venture Partners.

Automaker – Scooters
Vmoto (2002, Perth, IPO) – Designs and manufactures two-wheeled electric vehicles. Went Public in February 2002.
Gogoro (2011, Taipei, $180M) – Develops electric scooters and battery swapping infrastructure for electric two-wheelers. Backed by Panasonic, National Development Fund of Taiwan.

Automaker – Motorcycles
Zero Motorcycles (2006, Scotts Valley, $134M) – Designs and manufactures high performance electric motorcycles. Backed by Invus Group, California Energy Commission.

Automaker – Nontraditional
Segway (1999, Bedford, $102M, Acq.) – Designs and manufactures personal transportation two-wheeled self-balancing electric vehicles. Acquired by Ninebot in April 2015. Backed by KPCB, Intel, Masdar CleanTech Fund.

Charging Solutions – Charging Network
Volta Charging (2010, SF, $24M) – Develops network of free-to-use charging stations at retail locations. Backed by 500 Startups, Riverwood Capital, EPIC Ventures, Three Bridge Venture Partners.
The New Motion (2009, Amsterdam, $18M) – Develops network of electric vehicle charging station across Europe. Backed by Entrepreneurs Fund, Stichting DOEN.

Charging Solutions – Plug-in Charging
ChargePoint (2007, Campbell, $279M) – Provides electric vehicle charging stations and develops network of public charging stations. Backed by KPCB, Braemar Energy Ventures, Voyager Capital, Rho Ventures.

Charging Solutions – Wireless Charging
Evatran (2009, Wytheville, $16M) – Develops wireless electric vehicle charging solutions. Backed by New Richmond Ventures, US DOE, Zhejiang VIE Science & Technology.

Components – Electric Drive Systems
Protean Electric (2009, Troy, $154M) – Develops in-wheel electric drive system for hybrid and electric light-duty vehicles. Backed by Oak Investment Partners, GSR Ventures, Tianjin THSG Corporation.

Components – Batteries
Boston Power (2005, Westborough, $638M) – Develops fast charging Li-ion batteries. Backed by GSR Ventures, Oak Investment Partners, Foundations Asset Management, GGV Capital, Venrock.

Components – Motors
UQM Technologies (1967, Longmont, IPO) – Manufactures electric motors, generators and power electronic controllers for transportation industry. Backed by US Department of Energy. Went Public in May 1992.

Leaderboard 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 – ROBO  ADVISORS

• Additiv, a Zurich-based provider of solutions for financial institutions and banks, raised $21.3M from core investors including BZ Bank and investment vehicle Patinex. Link
  
• BinckBank, a Dutch online Bank has acquired Pritle, an Amsterdam-based online wealth management platform for $14.09M. Link
  
• Liqid, a Berlin-based wealth management platform raised $5.07M from Project A Ventures, the Family Office of Harald Quandt family, HQ Trust, Dieter von Holtzbrinck (DvH Ventures) and Berliner Volksbank Ventures. Link
  
• National Bank of Canada invested $4.46M in NestWealth, a Toronto-based Robo Advisor platform and will license the company’s wealth management platform. Link
  
• StashAway, a Singapore-based digital wealth advisor raised $2.15M in pre-series A round from Rozario family. Link
  
• OpenInvest, a social impact investing platform, raised $3.25M in seed funding round led by Andreessen Horowitz with participation from Abstract Ventures, Wireframe Ventures, and SV2. Link
  
• Stockspot, an Automated investment adviser and fund manager, raised $3M in Series B round led by Graham Tuckwell with participation from fellow Rich Lister and trading entrepreneur Danny Bhandari and existing Stockspot shareholders Toby and Ben Heap from H2 Ventures. Link
  
• AdvisorEngine, a wealth management platform for financial advisors, has acquired Kredible, an Atlanta-based technology-enabled firm and also raised $5M from WisdomTree. Link
  
• Mylo, a Montreal-based micro-investing platform, raised $1.25M in a pre-seed financing round led by Ferst Capital Partners (FCP) with the participation of leading FinTech angel investors. Link

SOME INTERESTING STARTUPS FOUND

AgentRisk– (2016, SF) – A hybrid automated investment platform using algorithms and machine learning, and deploying non-speculative strategies to choose and build portfolios to fit the investment profile of customers.
Bankit – (2016, London) – An automatic spare change investment application. The mobile app can be linked with payment cards and accounts, wherein the regular expenses amount are rounded up and invested into various portfolios.

LEADER BOARD – ROBO ADVISORS

Execution Platform – Full Stack Investing Platform
Betterment (2008, NYC, $205M) – Fully automated investment service with a focus on goal-based investment. Also offers a B2B service for RIAs. Backed by Bessemer Venture Partners, Francisco Partners, Citi, Menlo Ventures, Globespan Capital Partners, Red Swan Ventures, Anthemis Group, Kinnevik AB, Northwestern Mutual Life and Northwestern Mutual Capital.
Wealthfront (2008, Palo Alto, $129.5M) – Fully automated investment service. Backed by Greylock Partners, Index Ventures, Spark Capital, DAG Ventures, Ribbit Capital, Homebrew, SK Ventures, Maven Ventures and Social Capital.

Execution Platform – Full Stack Investing Platform – Micro Investing
Acorns (2012, Irvine, $76M) – Micro investment app for investing spare change into a portfolio of ETFs. Backed by PayPal, Greycroft Partners, Rakuten, e.ventures, Great Oaks Venture Capital, Steelpoint Capital Partners, Garland Capital Group, JAM Equity Partners, Point72 Asset Management, Cruttenden Partners, GroundSwell Inc, Math Venture Partners and Sound Ventures.
Stash (2015, NYC, $39M) – A small amount investment platform. Backed by Entree Capital, Breyer Capital, Valar Ventures, Goodwater Capital.

Execution Platform – Full Stack Investing Platform – Retirement Planning
Blooom (2013, Overland Park, $18M) – A wealth management platform focused on retirement accounts like 401k or 403b. Backed by QED Investors, Industry Ventures, Commerce Ventures, TTV Capital, Hyde Park Venture Partners, Nationwide Mutual Capital, Allianz Life, DST Systems, UMB Bank, Launch, KCRise Fund.
ForUsAll (2013, SF, $13.5M) – Platform for managing 401(K) accounts. Backed by Foundation Capital.

Execution Platform – Full Stack Investing Platform – P2P Loans Investment
LendingRobot (2012, Bellevue, $3M) – Automation tools for strategy optimization and systematic execution of investments in P2P loans. Backed by Runa Capital.

Execution Platform – Full Stack Investing Platform – Impact Investing
OpenInvest (2015, Alameda, $3.4M) –  A Robo Advisor platform offering investment planning into socially responsible portfolios. Backed by Y Combinator.
Ethic (2015, SF, $125K) – A full-stack automated investment platform focused on ethics based impact investing. Backed by 500 Startups, Kima Ventures.

Execution Platform – Full Stack Investing Platform – Thematic Investing
Motif Investing (2010, San Mateo, $126M) –  An online investment platform that enables users to create a basket (called a motif) of stocks and ETFs. Backed by Norwest Venture Partners, Balderton Capital, Goldman Sachs, Foundation Capital, Ignition Partners, JPMorgan Chase & Co., Renren.
Folio (2015, Tokyo, $19M) – An automated investment platform with thematic investment strategy. Backed by Rakuten, Draper Associates, DCM Ventures, Draper Nexus, JAFCO, Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Venture Capital, Monex Ventures.

Execution Platform – Full Stack Investing Platform – Tax Saving Investment Platform
Wealthy (2015, Bangalore, $237K) – Automated advisor for tax saving investments. Backed by Investopad, TracxnLabs, Venture Highway.

Execution Platform – Advisor-Assisted Platform
PersonalCapital (2009, Redwood City, $177M) – Financial advice platform that provides human interaction as well as a digital tool to clients. Backed by Institutional Venture Partners, Venrock, Correlation Ventures, Crosslink Capital, BlackRock, Jump Capital Partners, USAA, BBVA Ventures, Corsair Capital, IGM Financial, Jump Capital and Propel Venture Partners.
WealthSimple (2014, Toronto, $74M) –  Wealthsimple is an advisor-assisted trading platform where customers start by filling out a questionnaire and are then paired with a certified investment advisor. Investments are made in low-cost ETFs. Backed by Power Financial and Impression Ventures.

Enablers – Portfolio Management
Vestmark (2001, Boston, $52.5M) – Wealth management technology platform for broker-dealers and financial institutions. Backed by Summit Partners, Blue Chip Venture, and Hub Angels Investment Group.

Enablers – White Label Platform
AdvisorEngine (2014, NYC, $29M) –  A digital private-label wealth management platform for financial advisors. Backed by WisdomTree.
Additiv (1998, Zurich, $21.18M) – A digital solution provider for FIs and banks. Backed by BZ Bank and Patinex.

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 Robo-Advisors feed.

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

RECENT NOTABLE ACTIVITY – ED TECH

• Yogome, a provider of STEM-focused mini mobile games for 6-12 age kids, has raised $6.6M in Series A from Seaya Ventures, Variv Capital and Endeavor. Link
• Zzish, a platform that assists developers to create educational apps, has raised $1.7M in Equity Crowdfunding from Crowncube and $231K in Seed funding from Leaf Investments. Link
• Yuanfudao, an online test preparation platform for K-12 students, has raised $120M in Series E from Warburg Pincus and Tencent.Link
• Snapask, a marketplace to connect K-12 students to tutors, has raised $5M in Series A from Kejora Ventures and Low-light venture.Link
• Gnowbe, an interactive learning app for professionals, has raised $1.7M in Seed funding from Coent Venture Partners and 500 Startups. Link
• Epic, an eBooks platform for kids, has raised $8M in Series C funding led by Reach Capital, TransLink Capital, Rakuten, Menlo Ventures, WI Harper Group, Brighteye Ventures and Innovation Endeavors. Link
• Freshsworld, an online job portal with a key focus on freshers, has raised an undisclosed amount in Series A from TeamLease. Link
• GoMaster, a social networking and learning platform for hobbyists, has raised an undisclosed amount in Seed funding from Panlin Capital. Link
• Paragon One, a career coaching and internship matching platform, has raised $1.9M in Seed funding from Y Combinator, Foundation Capital, Learn Capital, University Ventures, Li Yuan Ventures, Altair Capital, Jeff Xiong and Jimmy Lai. Link
• Buka TV, an online live-streaming technology for educational institutions, has raised $1.5M in Series A from DT Capital Partners. Link
• GeNextStudents, a hybrid tutoring and digital content platform, has raised $580K in Seed funding from undisclosed investors. Link
• KidPass, a children’s Activity Subscription Service, has raised $5.1M in Series A led by Javelin Venture Partners, Coventure, Y Combinator, Thought into Action Ventures, Bionic Solution, CoCoon Ignite Ventures and FJ Labs. Link
• Brit + Co, a platform for creative do-it-yourself courses and tools, has raised $15M in Series B funding from Verizon Ventures. Link
• Marbotic, a provider of interactive wooden toys for tablets, has raised $1.5M in Seed funding from Marguerite Fournié and Michelin North America. Link
• CreativeLive, an online platform that broadcasts live classes, has raised $25M in Series C from GSV Acceleration, REV, Greylock Partners, Social Capital, Richard Branson and Creative Artists Agency. Link
• WiseNoze, a cloud-based platform for schools, has raised $1.4M in Seed funding from undisclosed investors. Link
• CodeMao, an online programming learning tool for K-12 students, has raised $1.4M in Series A from  Beijing Shengtong Printing Co.Link
• CareerFrog, a training platform for students to get jobs, has raised an undisclosed amount in Series B funding from Huatu Capital.Link
• Fourth Ambit, a professional networking site enabling users to create credible identities, has raised $600K in Equity Crowdfunding from iCrowd. Link
• Grammarly, SaaS tools for English grammar learning and auditing, has raised $110M in Private Equity funding from General Catalyst Partners, Institutional Venture Partners and Spark Capital. Link
• Revolution Prep, a test prep and tutoring platform, has raised $4M in Series A from Kennet Partners, Jeffrey Cohen and Scott Kirkpatrick. Link

SOME INTERESTING STARTUPS FOUND

GitEdge (2016, NYC) –  a software which provides feedback and metrics to developers on their code.
Musicmuni Labs (2016, Bangalore) – a platform providing singing exercises with technology-enabled feedback.

LEADER BOARD – ED TECH

Pre-K
Huivo (2011, Beijing, $47.3M) – Interactive teaching system, smart classes and a teaching app that aims to provide education solutions for kindergartens. Backed by TAL Education Group, YY and Fosun Kinzon Capital.
51110 (2011, Fuzhou, $30M) – Online platform which helps parents in monitoring their child in kindergarten schools. Backed by China equity.
Fancy Education (2014, Shanghai, $28.5M) – Educational products, which includes teaching management, handheld devices, kindergarten libraries. Backed by Amoeba Capital.
SavvySource (2008, SF, $28.4M) – Online community for parents of Pre-K kids, Backed by undisclosed investors.
Speakaboos (2008, NYC, $25.2M) – Subscription-based interactive storybooks, Backed by Advancit Capital, 212Media, KYOWON, KYOWON creative and Wellington Management.

K-12
EverFi (2008, Washington D.C., $251M) – Platform for teaching and certifying programs on critical skills. Backed by NEA, TomorrowVentures, Silicon Valley Bank, Allen & Company, Advance, Bezos Expeditions, Greenspring Associates, TPG, Rethink Education, Seavest Investment Group, Main Street Advisors, Rethink Impact and The Rise Fund.
Yuanfudao (2012, Beijing, $244.2M) – Online test preparation platform for K-12 students, Backed by IDG Capital Partners, Tencent, New Horizon Capital, K12, Matrix Partners China, Warburg Pincus and China Media Capital.
Xuele Yunpingtai (2006, Hangzhou, $221.4M) – Cloud-based teaching platform. Backed by GSR Ventures, Haitong International Securities Group and Shenzhen GTJA Investment Group.
Byju’s Classes (2008, Bangalore, $204M) – Hybrid test preparation & learning platform. Backed by Lightspeed Venture Partners, Sequoia Capital, IFC, Times Internet, Sofina, Aarin Capital, InnoVen Capital and Chan Zuckerberg Initiative.
Knewton (2008, NYC, $157.3M) – Personalized adaptive learning platform. Backed by Accel Partners, First Round Capital, Bessemer Venture Partners, FirstMark Capital, Atomico, Founders Fund, Silicon Valley Bank, GSV Capital, Sofina, EDBI, Pearson, TAL Education Group and Mosaic Ventures.

Test Preparation
Huatu (2001, Beijing, IPO) – Tutoring platform having offline delivery centres. Backed by Fortune Venture capital.
Zhan (2010, Shanghai, $113M) – Online courses for students applying to overseas universities. Backed by Shunwei, GGVC, MCM China, Baifund, VKC Partners and Sequoia Capital.
Princeton Review (1981, NYC, $87M) – Online test preparation for higher education. Backed by Bain Capital Ventures, Reservoir Capital & Olympus Partners.
Varsity Tutors (2007, Washington D.C., $57M) – Offline and local tutoring and test preparation service. Backed by Technology Crossover Ventures.
Koolearn (2000, Beijing, $48.7M) – Online classes and training for various subjects. Backed by Tencent.

Higher Education
Blackboard (1997, Washington D.C., IPO, Acq.) – Learning management system for educators, corporates and public sectors. Went public in 2004. Acquired by Providence Equity Partners in 2011 for $1.64B.
2U (2008, Annapolis, IPO) – Virtual classroom platform provider for colleges and universities. Went public in 2014.
Instructure (2008, Salt Lake City, IPO) – Cloud-based learning management system for K-12 schools, universities and corporates. Went public in 2015.
Chegg (2005, Santa Clara, IPO) – Online tutoring and textbook rental company. Backed by Floodgate, Primera Capital, Insight Partners, KPCB, Foundation Capital, Lucasvg, Acegroup, Gabriel venture partners and GSV cap.
HotChalk (2004, Campbell, $235M) – Virtual classroom platform for universities. Backed by Bertelsmann and Peacock Equity.

Corporate Learning
Kaltura (2006, NYC, $160M) – Open source online video platform that allows companies to simplify the creation of video experiences via video management, publishing, and monetization tools. Backed by Nexus Venture Partners, 406 Ventures, Goldman Sachs, Intel Capital, Silicon Valley Bank, Nokia Growth Partners, Avalon Ventures, Mitsui Global Investment, ORIX, Commonfund, Gera Venture Capital, Luminari Capital and Sapphire Ventures.
Echo360 (2007, Dulles, $89.5M) – Online platform for the schools to upload their live lectures for free with full and unbound access to the students via multi-platform replay. Backed by Revolution, Court Square Ventures, Clark Enterprises, SCP Partners, Duchossois Capital Partners and Swan & Legend Venture Partners.
Grovo (2010, NYC, $62M) – SaaS-based learning management system for employee training. Backed by Accel Partners, Lead Edge Capital, SoftTech VC, Western Technology Investment, Costanoa Venture Capital, Red Swan Ventures, Industry Ventures, Milestone Venture Partners, Social Starts, Vayner/RSE, Lerer Hippeau Ventures and BoxGroup.
Panopto (2007, Pittsburgh, $46.8M) – Digital media recording and content management company. Backed by Runa Capital, SaaS Capital, Sterling Partners, Square 1 Bank and Saturn Partners.
Mzinga (2007, Burlington, $42.5M) – Enterprise learning management and social engagement solutions for customer support. Backed by W Capital Partners, Saints Capital, Bluecrest Capital Finance, GE Equity and Acadia.

Continued Learning
Tedu (2002, Beijing, IPO) – Job-oriented live distance education, classroom-based tutoring and online learning courses for IT professional training. Went public in 2014.
Lynda (1995, Carpinteria, $289M, Acq.) – Online video courses in software, creative and business skills. Backed by Accel Partners, Spectrum Equity, Meritech Capital Partners and TPG Capital. Acquired by LinkedIn in 2015 for $1.5B.
Pluralsight (2004, Cedar Valley, $205.4M) – Online video courses in programming and creative learning. Backed by Insight Venture Partners, Iconiq Capital, Felicis Ventures and Sorenson Capital.
Udemy (2010, SF, $173M) – Marketplace for online courses. Backed by 500 startups, MHS capital, Light Bank, Learn Capital, Insight Partners, New Venture Partners, Stripes Group and Naspers.
General Assembly (2011, NYC, $173M) – Online and offline courses in technology, business and design streams. Backed by Advance Publications, Wellington Capital Management, IVP, Learn Capital, Maveron, Rethink Education and GSV Capital.

Language Learning
51Talk (2011, Beijing, IPO) – Online English language learning platform providing one-to-one foreign language teacher service. Backed by DCM Ventures, Shunwei, Sequoia Capital, and Zhenfund. Went public in 2016.
TutorGroup (2004, Taiwan, $315M) – Online tutoring platform for learning English. Backed by Alibaba, Qiming Ventures, Temasek, Goldman Sachs, GIC, Russia-China Investment Fund, Silverlink Capital and Softbank Finance Group.
Hujiang (2001, Shanghai, $257M) – Language learning platform focussed on China. Backed by Baidu, Anhui new media, Marseille Fund, Softbank China, Pantheon Ventures and Hina.
VIPKID (2013, Beijing, $125M) – Online English tutoring platform. Backed by Sequoia Capital, Sinovation Ventures, YF Capital, Matrix Partners China, Northern Light Venture Capital and Bryent Stibel.
Open English (2006, Miami, $118M) – Online platform providing live English classes, Backed by Insight Venture Partners, Redpoint Ventures, Technology Crossover Ventures, Flybridge Capital Partners, Kaszek Ventures and Ideasy 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 the EdTech feed.

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

RECENT NOTABLE ACTIVITY – SPORTS TECH

• WinView, a social sports betting platform, raised $12M in Series B funding round led by Discovery Communications, Ted Leonsis, and Graham Holdings. Link
• Playsight, an Israel-based sports activity analysis provider, raised $11M in Series C funding round led by Verizon Ventures. Link
• Tribe, a London-based natural sports nutrition brand, raised $2.2M in equity crowdfunding via Crowdcube platform. Link
• Boom Fantasy, a Daily Fantasy Sports platform, raised $2M in Seed funding round led by Founders Fund. Link 
• RotoQL, a New York-based sports data and analytics company, raised $1.2M in Seed funding round led by Boston Seed Capital. Link
• Full Swing Golf, a golf simulator technology developer, raised an undisclosed amount in a private equity round led by North Castle Partners, and Topgolf. Link
• Bluestarsports, Dallas-based sports management software developer acquired New York-based sports film breakdown and statistics tools developer Krossover Intelligence. Link

SOME INTERESTING STARTUPS FOUND

Eval Genius (2016, Power Springs) – SaaS solutions for youth sports recruitment and league management.
Enatics Sports (2016, Gothenburg) – Smart table tennis equipment manufacturer.

LEADER BOARD – SPORTS TECH

Online Sports Platforms
E-Commerce
Fanatics (1995, Jacksonville, $620M, Acq.) – Licensed sports merchandise retailer. Backed by Silver Lake Partners, Alibaba, Temasek Holdings, Bank of America and Insight Venture Partners. Acquired by Kynetic in 2011.
NetShoes (2000, Sao Paulo, $427M, IPO) – Online retailer of sporting goods, services in Brazil, Argentina, and Mexico. Backed by Tiger Global Management and GIC.

Social Platforms
Sportlobster (2012, London, $16M) – Sports social network for news, blogs, scores, and predictions. Backed by Daman Investments, MBM Capital, and Wychwood Capital Partners.
Tok TV (2012, Palo Alto, $8M) – Voice-enabled social platform enabling users to talk to their friends while watching live events. Backed by Angel Labs, XG Ventures, and TEEC Angel Fund.

Online Sports Media
LeSports (2014, Beijing, $1.35B) – Online sports video streaming website. Backed by HNA Group, Dalian Wanda Group and celebrity investors Sun Honglei, Jia Nailiang and Liu Tao.
The Players’Tribune (2014, NYC, $58M) – Athlete-driven online sports media platform. Backed by NEA, Institutional Venture Partners, GV, Kobe Bryant, Legendary Entertainment.

Stock Simulation
Fantex (2012, SF, $110M) – Online platform to buy and sell investments tied to athlete income. Backed by Kita Capital.

Fantasy Sports
DraftKings (2012, Boston, $696M) – Offers daily leagues for fantasy sports. Acquired StarStreet and DraftStreet in 2014. Backed by 21st Century Fox, Atlas Venture, The Raine Group and Redpoint Ventures.
FanDuel (2009, NYC, $416M) – Fantasy sports gaming company. Acquired AlphaDraft, Numberfire, and Kotikan in 2015. Backed by KKR, Piton Capital, and Shamrock Capital Advisors.

Sports Betting
Winview Games (2008, Redwood City, $19M) – Social sports betting platform. Backed by Discovery Communications, Ted Leonsis, and Graham Holdings.
8Win (2010, Beijing, $10M) – Online Sports lottery and betting platform. Backed by Le Sports.

Ticketing
Gametime (2012, SF, $38M) – Last minute sports ticket sales app. Backed by Accel Partners.

Booking platforms
Quyundong (2014, Guangzhou, $13M) – A mobile platform to book sports arena and venue. Backed by Banyan Capital.

Sports Management Tech
Team and Event Management
Active Network (1999, Dallas, $355M, Acq.) – Cloud-based solution provider for outdoor events. Backed by ESPN, North Bridge Venture Partners, Performance Equity Management, Acquired by Vista Equity Partners in 2013 for $1.1B.
Bluestarsports (2015, Frisco, $100M) – Sports management software solution provider. Backed by Providence Equity Partners.
XOS Digital (1999, Lake Mary, $86M, Acq.) – Provides software for managing digital media assets for sports teams. Backed by Blue Chip Venture, Comcast Ventures, Dorchester Capital, Beechtree Capital, Liberty Media. Acquired by Catapult Sports in 2016.

Venue Management
Appetize (2011, Santa Monica, $20M) – Location-based food ordering app for sports venues. Backed by Shamrock Capital Advisors, Dodgers Accelerator, OakView Group.

Sports Analytics
Sportradar (2001, St. Gallen, $98M) – Sports data provider. Backed by Revolution, EQT Partners.
Hudl (2006, Lincoln, $77M) – Video analytics based training tool for athletes and coaches. Acquired Ubersense in 2014. Backed by Accel and Nelnet.
Krossover (2009, NYC, $29M) – Web-based video indexing and analytics platform. Backed by Active Angels, Jarcap, and Baltimore Angels.

Sports Marketing
Whistle Sports (2009, NYC, $80.5M) – Sports content provider and multi-channel entertainment network. Backed by Tegna, Sky, Emil Capital Partners, NBC Sports, Liberty Global.
Sportvision (1998, Chicago, $50M) – Develops sports entertainment media product. Backed by Motorola Solutions, Austin Ventures, Bay Partners, Escalate Capital, Lake Street Capital.

Sporting Products
Sports Equipment
Mission Athletacare (2008, NYC, $35M) – Develops products specific to athletes. Backed by Breakaway, Falconhead Capital.
Golfzon Simulator (2000, Seoul, $20M) – Indoor golf equipment that enables users to play golf indoors. Backed by STIC Investments.

Wearables
Whoop (2012, Boston, $24M) – Wearable activity tracker for athletes and trainers. Backed by Two Sigma Ventures.
Vicis (2014, Seattle, $32M) – Advanced protective wear helmet for footballers. Backed by Alliance of Angels, Washington Research Foundation, W Fund, Trilogy Equity Partners.

VR/AR Devices
NextVR (2009, Laguna Beach, $115.5M) – Live and on demand VR streaming for Sports and concerts. Backed by Time Warner, Toba Capital, Comcast Ventures, RSE Ventures.
Voke VR (2004, Santa Clara, $25M, Acq.) – Platform for on-demand streaming in VR. Backed by Intel Capital, A+E Networks, Nautilus Ventures.

Sports nutrition
Body Armour Nutrition (2011, Beverly Hills, $35M) – Manufactures and distributes premium sports nutrition drink. Backed by Dr. Pepper Snapple group.

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 Sports Tech feed.

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

RECENT NOTABLE ACTIVITY – WEARABLE TECHNOLOGY

• Vital Connect, a company that develops a wearable patch for monitoring body vitals has raised $33M in a Series C funding round. Link
• Tile, a company that develops Bluetooth-based item tracking tags has raised $25M. Link
• Nymi, a company that develops heartbeat sensing wristband raised $15M in a Series B funding round. Link
• Aira, a company that develops remote assistance platform for visually impaired using wearable technology raised $12M in a Series B funding round. Link
• Vitls, a company that develops wearable health trackers raised an undisclosed amount of funding from a group of angel investors. Link
• SmartCap Technologies, a company that develops wearable fatigue monitoring devices for mine worker has partnered with Newtrax Technologies for developing mine safety solutions. Link
• Sensoria, a company that develops sensor equipped garments was named as the “Best Start-Up Company” by Future Textile Awards. Link
• Oxitone, a company that develops wrist-based pulse oximetry health monitor has received FDA approval for its device. Link

SOME INTERESTING STARTUPS FOUND

AirHunt (2016, Minsk) – Develops wearable device for monitoring air quality.
Ensleepio (2016, Piatra Neamt) – Stealth mode startup developing sleep-tracking headband with smart alarm feature.

LEADER BOARD – WEARABLE TECHNOLOGY

Fitness
Jawbone (1999, SF, $1B) – Fitness wristbands with an algorithm for tracking steps, logging runs and measure sleep. Backed by Khosla Ventures, JP Morgan, Andreessen Horowitz.
Fitbit (2007, SF, IPO) – Wireless wearable fitness trackers to track person’s activities. Went public in 2015. Backed by True Ventures, Felicis Ventures, Softbank.
Codoon (2011, Chengdu, $90M) – Smart Wearables and fitness social network for users. Backed by Fountain Investment, Focus Media, SB China Capital, Susquehanna International Group, Shenzhen Capital Group & Citic Capital.
Athos (2012, Redwood City, $51M) – Developer of smart fitness apparel. Backed by Social Capital, True Ventures, DCM, MAS Holdings.

Smart Watches
Basis (2010, SF, $32M, Acq) – Fitness wristbands with an algorithm for tracking steps, logging runs and measure sleep. Acquired by Intel in March 2014.
Pebble (2009, Palo Alto, $15M, Acq.) – Smart internet-connected watch with apps. Acquired by Fitbit in Dec 2016.
Vector Watch (2014, London, $12M) – Smart connected watches with traditional analogue watch look. Backed by 3TS Capital Partners, GECAD.

Wellness Devices
Chrono Therapeutics (2004, Waltham, $78M) – Providing trans-dermal drug delivery by adjusting the amount of nicotine. Backed by Canaan Partners, Mayo Clinic, Rock Health, Kaiser Permanente Ventures, Endeavour Vision, 5AM Ventures, Emergent Medical Partners, NCI, Fountain Healthcare Partners, Mission Bay Capital, GE Ventures, Labuan IBFC, Cota Capital, Xeraya Capital, Mayo Clinic Ventures, Hikma Ventures.
MUSE (2009, Toronto, $18M) – Headband developed by Interaxon that helps in relaxing the brain. Backed by  Felicis Ventures, ff Venture Capital, Horizons Ventures, A-Grade Investments, OMERS Ventures, Build Ventures, Mindfull Investors.
SwipeSense (2012, Evanston, $16M) – Connected hand hygiene system with a wearable device. Backed by  Pritzker Group, OCA Ventures, Healthbox, Texo Ventures, New Ground Ventures, Jumpstart Ventures, Eclipse VC.

Healthcare
Senseonics (1996, Germantown, $124M) – Making Continuous Glucose Monitoring devices using proprietary technology. Backed by Delphi Ventures.
iRhythm Technologies (2006, SF, $96M) – Providing solutions for Cardiac arrhythmias with a huge database for heartbeat analysis. Backed by Mohr Davidow Ventures.
MC10 (2008, Cambridge, $66M) – Miniaturised embedded sensors for remote patient monitoring, wellness, cosmetics, industrial and defense purposes. Backed by North Bridge Venture Partners, Medtronic.
Scanadu (2011, Mountain View, $54M) – All-in-one device measuring temperature, B.P., Heart Rate, HRV, ECG, Oximetry, protein, leukocytes, nitrates concentration. Backed by Tencent, Relay Ventures.
Echo Therapeutics (1989, Franklin, IPO) – Provides a glucose sensor for continuous and non-invasive glucose monitoring. Went public in 2011.

Safety and Tracking
Tile (2012, San Mateo, $59M) – Tags to locate and track items. Backed by  Bessemer Venture Partners, Khosla Ventures, AME Cloud Ventures, GGV Capital, Rothenberg Ventures, Tandem, Tencent.
Pixie Technology (2011, Herzliya, $27M) – Connected tags for locating and tracking objects. Backed by OurCrowd, Spark Capital, Cedar Fund.

Sports
Whoop (2012, Boston, $24M) – Wearable activity tracker for athletes and trainers. Backed by  Infosys, Founder Collective, Promus Ventures, Collaborative Fund, Resolute Ventures, Next View Ventures, Two Sigma Ventures, Valley Oak Investments, Accomplice, Atlas Venture.
Zepp Labs (2011, San Jose, $20M) – Devices with sensors to track and analyse the hand or body movement while training for various sports. Backed by  GGV Capital, Legend Capital, Unity Ventures, Bertelsmann Asia Investment Fund, The Arena Capital.

Controller
Nod (2013, Mountain View, $16M) – Makes gesture recognition and motion tracking hardware.Backed by Nautilus Ventures, Point guard Ventures and Atlantic Bridge Capital.

Petcare
Whistle (2012, SF, $21M, Acq.) – Intelligent monitoring system for dogs. Acquired by Mars in Feb 2016.

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 Wearable Technology feed.

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

INTERESTING STARTUPS

QzIP (2017, Noida), blockchain solution for the management of agricultural supply chain. Founder is an ex-executive from Oracle and Sun Microsystems. Local comparable includes Sofocle Technologies (2016, Noida). Global comparable includes InstaSupply (2014, London, $1.5M).

INDIA INTERESTING NEWS

ZipLoan (2015, Delhi), lending platform for small businesses, raises $650k in pre Series A round of funding led by WaterBridge Ventures. Link

Healthbuds (2014, Kolkata), online appointment booking platform for healthcare services, raises an undisclosed amount in funding from Arun Patodia and Bharat Kedia. Link

Multiplier Solutions (2011, Hyderabad), healthcare marketing analytics service provider and ABI Health (2007, Bangalore), suite of healthcare solutions and services, raises $1.5M each from Norwest Venture Partners and the anticipated merger of both B2B ventures is expected to take place over the next 12-18 months. Link

Roofpik (2005, Gurgaon), online platform for property and broker reviews, acquires Shoppist (2015, Delhi), mobile app only product discovery platform for fashion, for an undisclosed amount. Link

Indus OS (2008, Mumbai), android-based mobile OS provider in Indian languages, partners with Digital Turbine (2011, Austin), mobile app advertising and recommendation company, for publishing ads on Indus OS supported devices. Link

NetApp (1992, Sunnyvale), enterprise information management and storage solutions provider, announces the launch of the NetApp Accelerator programme in Bangalore. Link

Myntra (2007, Bangalore), online retail store for fashion and lifestyle products, appoints former Amazon and Snapdeal executive Jeyandran Venugopal as its chief technology officer (CTO). Link

Amazon Transportation Services (ATS), the logistics arm of online marketplace Amazon India, received $32.1M from Amazon Corporate Holdings Singapore and Amazon Malaysia. Link

IDG Ventures India Advisors, Bangalore-based VC firm, has launched Innovation Program, an initiative to invest up to $500k-$5M in Indian tech startups, in partnership with Unilever Ventures and Amazon AWS. Link

GLOBAL ROUNDUP

Illumio (2013, Sunnyvale), adaptive security platform based data center security for workloads, raises $125M in Series D round of funding led by by J.P. Morgan Asset Management with participation from Andreessen Horowitz, General Catalyst and others. Link

Coursera (2012, Mountain View), massive open online courses (MOOC) provider, raises $64M in Series D round of funding from GSV Asset Management, New Enterprise Associates, Kleiner Perkins Caufield Byers, Learn Capital and The Lampert Foundation. Link

Yubico (2007, Palo Alto), 2-factor authentication provider to networks and services, raises $30M in funding from New Enterprise Associates, the Valley Fund and others. Link

Plynk (2015, Dublin), money messaging app, raises $28M in Series A round of funding led by Swiss Privee. Link

Alta Motors (2010, SF), designer and manufacturer of lightweight electric motorcycles for both off-road and on-road usage, raises $27M in funding led by Grassy Creek Ventures with participation from Mountain Nazca and Bob Fox. Link

Scout RFP (2013, SF), cloud-based sourcing platform, raises $15.5M in Series B round of funding led by Menlo Ventures with participation from New Enterprise Associates. Link

WeWork (2010, NYC), coworking workspace community, acquires Fieldlens (2011, NYC), construction field management app, for an undisclosed amount. Link

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

RECENT NOTABLE ACTIVITY – BLOCKCHAIN APPLICATIONS

• Proof of Existence, a startup focused on decentralized ledgers for storing proof of existence of documents, has been acquired by Bitcoin mining manufacturer Canaan for an undisclosed amount. Link
• Stem Disintermedia, a digital media rights platform, has raised $8M from Evolution Media, Aspect Ventures, Red Light Management, ROAR, and WndrCo. Link
• OpenBazaar, a peer to peer digital marketplace, has raised an additional $200k from Digital Currency Group. This brings their total funding to $4.2M. Link
• R3, a consortium of banks working on digital ledger technology, has raised $107M from investors that include Intel, HSBC and Bank of America Merryl Lynch. The round is one of the largest in the ecosystem. Link
• LedgerX, an institutional trading and clearings platform, has raised $11M from MIAX Options and Huiyin Blockchain Ventures. Link
• RSK Labs, a smart-contract and side chain implementation platform, has raised $3.5M in seed funding. Link
• Coins.ph, a Bitcoin wallet focused company in the Philippines, has raised $5M from Naspers. Link
• Peernova, a cryptographic development platform, has raised $7M from unknown investors. Link
• Basic Attention Token, a cryptocurrency focused on digital content, raised $36 M in under 10 minutes through an initial coin offering. Link
• Patientory, a blockchain based patient storage system, raised $7.2M from 1728 investors through an initial coin offering. Link
• Aragon, a blockchain based solution for organizational management, has raised $25M in 15 minutes from its initial coin offering. Link

SOME INTERESTING STARTUPS FOUND

PocketBits (2017, Nashik) – Indian Bitcoin exchange offering AML/KYC and trade processing in under 60 minutes.
Prism (2017, Zug) – Decentralised cryptocurrency exchange built with smart contract on Ethereum.

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, $36M) – A decentralized Internet of Things stack. Backed by Intel Capital, CME Group, Techstars, Crosslink Capital, Bullpen Capital, Resonant Venture Partners, Amherst Fund, Samsung Venture Investment, Pantera Capital, Detroit Innovate, Bullpen Capital, Verizon Ventures, Flex technology accelerator program Lab IX, Digital Currency Group, Working Lab Capital, Zenstone Venture Capital, VTF Capital, JetBlue Technology Ventures, Backstage Capital, Tappan Hill Ventures, Samsung NEXT.
Stem Disintermedia (2015, Los Angeles, $12.5M) – A digital media rights platform.  Upfront Ventures, Ludlow Ventures, Three Six Zero Group, Red Light Management, ROAR, Third Wave Digital, Aspect Ventures, Evolution Media, Vayner RSE, Blockchain Capital, Third Wave Digital, WndrCo.

Technology
R3 (2013, New York, $107M) – Consortium of financial enterprises aiming to create digital ledger technology.  HSBC Group, UBS, Wells Fargo, Intel Capital, Barclays, Itau BBA, Natixis, Bank of America Merrill Lynch, SBI Group, Banco Bradesco, Temasek Holdings.
Bitfury (2012, San Francisco, $95M) – Provider for Bitcoin mining hardware.   Credit China Holdings, DRW Trading Group, Investment Fund, Crypto Currency Partners, Binary Financial, ZAD, Blockchain Capital, QueensBridge Venture Partners, iTech Capital
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.

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

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

RECENT NOTABLE ACTIVITY – SOLAR ENERGY

• Mera Gao Power has raised $2.5M in equity funding from the Insitor Seed, the ENGIE Rassembleurs d’Energies Initiative and the Electrification Financing Initiative with the support of Impact Investment Exchange. Link
• Namasté Solar raises $3.1M from more than 91 investors, including two institutional funds. Link
• Sunlight Financial secures $500M financing from Tech CU for 20,000 residential solar loans. Link
• Sunsystem Technology has secured $5M in growth capital from Royalty North Partners for growth in its national O&M and EPC branches. Link
• Solaris Offgrid has raised more than $1M to fund R&D initiatives in Solar Energy. Link
• Solar energy firm Xago Africa raises funding from USTDA to build a utility scale solar power plant in Siaya County. Link
• Siva Power raises $25M to continue developing low‑cost solar module technology. Link
• Vivint Solar has secured tax equity commitments totaling $100M from two repeat investors. Link
• Canadian Solar announces investment in eNow, a solar-based power management system developer for commercial transportation. Link
• Mercedes-Benz Energy and Vivint Solar team up to bring home energy storage system to the U.S. Link

SOME INTERESTING STARTUPS FOUND

Solar Labs (Mandi, 2017) – Solar Labs is currently developing an image recognition technology that would make the automatic quote generation process easier and adaptable at a mass scale. They are also working on a 3D Modelling technology that would ultimately enable shading analysis. The company is planning on operating a marketplace model to bring forth these two technologies for easier project development, where the installers can meet potential customers.

LEADER BOARD – SOLAR ENERGY

Hardware Developer
SunPower (1985, Athens, IPO) – Designs and manufactures high-efficiency silicon solar cells and solar panels based on an all-back contact cell having all-black appearance. Went public in November, 2005.
BrightSource Energy (2004, Oakland, $805M) – Designs and builds large scale solar plants that deliver solar energy in the form of steam and/or electricity. Backed by Google, Morgan Stanley, DFJ among others.

Independent Power Producer
Silicon Ranch (2011, Nashville, $288M) – Integrated solar service provider focusing on developing utility-scale solar plants and offering turnkey Solar EPC services. Backed by Partners Group and Greystone.
Nippon Renewable Energy (2013, Tokyo, $250M) – Solar energy developer which manages and operates solar power facilities from the development and construction stages through to the operational stage. Backed by Equis Capital Partners and Partners Group.

Project Developers
Solairedirect (2006, Paris, $341M, Acq.) – Owns and operates solar farms as well as undertakes solar EPC contracts. The company has presence in France, India, America, Latin America among other countries. Backed by IADB, Capital Stage, Blackrock, Demeter Partners among other.
Brite Energy (2014, Romeoville, $264M) – Brite Energy offers solar installation services to residential and commercial spaces. The company is backed by Protection 1 (USA’s full-service security company) and co-owned by GTCR

Solar-as-a-service
SolarCity (2006, San Mateo, IPO, Acq.) – Full-service solar provider for homeowners, businesses and government organizations. Backed by Bank of America, DFJ, SilverLake Partners etc., among others. IPO-ed in December 2012.
Sunnova (2010, Houston, $1.1B) – Integrated solar installation, finance, and solar leasing services. Backed by Triangle Peak Partners, Franklin Square Capital Partners etc., among others.

Solar Products
Envision Solar (2006, San Diego, IPO) – Designs and builds solar trees and solar powered parking structures. Went public in May 2010.
Petra Systems (2006, South Plainfield, $40M) –  Company offers smart light controller, solar power generator, wireless networking, support for surveillance & sensor networks, network gateways and battery backup. Backed by ES Ventures, Element Partners etc., among others.

Solar Financing
Solarbao (2014, Shanghai, $40M) – Solarbao gives regular retail investors a chance to make low risk investments in solar power stations. Investors buy solar panels, lease them to solarbao.com.hk. When they sign the entrusted financial lease contract, the panels are installed in power stations, and fixed monthly returns are paid to the investors.

Software Solutions
Fat Spaniel (2003, San Jose, $28M, Acq.) – Independent provider of critical monitoring and reporting services for the renewable energy industry. The company’s solutions are utilized by solar power producers, financiers, system integrators, and OEMs

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 Solar Energy feed.

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

RECENT NOTABLE ACTIVITY – CONSUMER ROBOTICS

• Humatics, developer of control systems for enabling collaborative behavior in robots, raised $16.5M in a Series A round. Link
• Dobot, consumer focussed 4-axis robot arm, raised $10M in a Series A round from Shenzhen Capital Group. Link
• Screamtec, developer of robotic exoskeletons, raised $4.3M in a Seed round from Bojang Capital Management. Link
• LuxRobo, developer of opensource robot for education, raised $3.5M in a Series A round from Kakao Investment and Kakao Brain. Link
• WiBotic, developer of wireless charging solution for robots, raised $2.5M in a Seed round involving Tsing Capital, Comet Labs, Washington Research Foundation and others. Link
• Catalia Health, personal robot for medical adherence, raised $2.5M in a Seed round from Khosla Ventures. Link
• Mech-Mind, developer of intelligence for robots, raised an undisclosed amount in a Series A round from China Growth Capital. Link
• OhmniLabs, developer of telepresence robot for the elderly, raised an undisclosed amount in a Seed round from Monk’s Hill Ventures. Link

SOME INTERESTING STARTUPS FOUND

Titanobots (2016, Bangalore) – Stealth mode company developing a robotic device for learning programming and fostering creativity in kids.

LEADER BOARD – CONSUMER ROBOTICS

Domestic Tasks
Laundroid (1957, Tokyo, $72M) – Develops an autonomous robot that folds laundry. Backed by Panasonic, Daiwa House, University of Tokyo Edge Capital, Shinsei Bank and others.
Neato Robotics (2005, Newark, $44M) – Develops robotic vacuum cleaning devices. Backed by Noventi Ventures, Vorwerk Direct Selling Ventures.
Petnet (2012, Pasadena, $21M) – Smart pet feeder robot that enables custom feeding and keeps the pet busy. Backed by Grishin Robotics, Kima Ventures, SparkLabs Global Ventures, Launch Capital and iRobot.
Evolution Robotics (2001, Pasadena, $14M, Acq.) – Robotic household cleaning devices such as vacuum cleaner. Acquired by iRobot for $74M in 2012.
iRobot (1990, New Bedford, IPO) – Robotic household appliances such as vacuum cleaner, floor scrubbing robots and gutter cleaning robots. Went public in 2005.
Kiwi666 (2011, Beijing, $9M) – Developer of smart housekeeping and security robots. Backed by Sequoia Capital.

Personal
UBTech Robotics (2012, Shenzhen, $123M) – Programmable intelligent humanoid robots for consumers. Backed by CDH Fund, Qiming Venture Capital and Citic Securities.
Roobo (2014, Beijing, $100M) – Company developing intelligent home robots. Backed by iFlyTek.
Jibo (2012, Boston, $68M) – Personal social robot that can recognize speech and interact. Backed by Charles River Ventures, Fairhaven Capital Partners, Osage Ventures, RRE Ventures, Flybridge Capital Partners, Formation 8 Partners, Samsung Venture Investment Corporation, KDDI Corporation, Netposa Technologies, Dentsu Ventures and  Fenox Venture Capital.
A.I.Nemo (2014, Beijing, $30M) – Develops a smart robotic companion with telepresence capabilities. Backed by Innovation Works, Lightspeed Venture Partners and Foxconn.
Aldebaran Robotics (2005, Paris, $20M, Acq.) – Develops humanoid robots for personal use. Acquired by Softbank Group for $100M in 2012.

Entertainment
Anki (2010, SF, $157M) – AI based robotic cars used in racing games. Backed by Andreessen Horowitz, Index Ventures, Two Sigma Ventures and JP Morgan.
Sphero (2010, Boulder, $100.5M) – Smartphone controlled robotic gaming ball. Backed by Foundry Group, Highway12 Ventures, Mercato Partners, Grishin Robotics, and Walt Disney Interactive.

Healthcare
Artificial Life Source (2007, Singapore, $54M) – Develops teddy bear shaped personal robot and glove shaped remote interface device. Backed by DB Capital Partners.
Bionik Laboratories (2009, Toronto, IPO) – Develops lower body exoskeleton that enables wheelchair ridden people to regain ability to walking. Went public in 2015.
ReWalk Robotics (2001, Yokneam Illit, IPO) – Exoskeleton that helps in regaining the ability to walk. Went public in 2014.
Ekso Bionics (2005, Richmond, IPO) – Develops bionic exoskeletons for people with paralysis. Went public in 2014.
AlterG (2005, Fremont, $23M) – Develops anti-gravity treadmill and wearable bionic leg for rehabilitation purposes. Backed by Oxford Finance, Versant Ventures, Silicon Valley Bank, Astrolabe Ventures and Funk Ventures.

Educational
littleBits (2011, NYC, $60M) – Develops robotic kits which can be snapped together to form interesting creations. Backed by Khosla Ventures, True Ventures, Foundry Group, Two Sigma Ventures and others.
Wonder Workshop (2012, San Mateo, $37M) – Develops robots named Dash and Dot which help in learning robotics. Backed by Charles River Ventures, Madrona Venture Group, GV, WI Harper Group and Maven Ventures.
Makeblock (2011, Shenzhen, $35M) – Open source robot construction and electronic block kits. Backed by Sequoia Capital, Northern Light Venture Capital, Cloud Angel Fund, SOSV and HAX.
Dobot (2014, Guangdong, $13M) – Developer of robotic arms for learning and experimentation. Backed by Shenzhen Capital Group.
RoboRobo (2000, Seoul, $12M) – Develops robot kits and learning courses based on robots. Backed by Zhen Fund and New Oriental.
Vincross (2014, Beijing, $7M) – Develops a multi-legged hexapod robot modelled on a spider. Backed by GGV Capital and ZhenFund.

Tech Enablers
CloudMinds (2015, Shenzhen, $130M) – Develops cloud computing and AI for robotics. Backed by Foxconn, Walden International, SB China Capital and Kaixuan Capital.
Humatics (2002, Cambridge, $16.5M) – Developer of technology for making robots collaborative through microlocation.
ThynkWare Innovation (2013, Mountain View, $10M) – Develops a brain-computer interface for electronic devices and robot control.
Robart (2009, Linz, $4.1M) – Develops autonomous technology used in household robots. Backed by Robert Bosch Venture Capital, Innovacom and Groupe SEB.
RoboCV (2012, Moscow, $3.5M) – Develops a universal navigation system called ‘Autopilot’, for mobile robots. Backed by VTB Capital Investment Management, LETA Capital, I2BF Global Ventures, Columbus Nova Technology Partners and Almaz Capital.

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 Consumer Robotics feed

A daily newsletter summarizing recent activity & interesting startups globally

RECENT NOTABLE ACTIVITY – MEDICAL DEVICES

• Royal Philips inked a deal to acquire RespirTech, a developer of airway clearance solutions, for an undisclosed amount. Link
• Novanta, a developer of photonic and motion control technologies, has agreed to acquire the German World of Medicine (WOM) for €115M. Link
• OSI Systems has agreed to acquire the global explosive trace detection (ETD) business from Smiths Group for $75.5M. Link
• BarioSurg, a developer of gastric vests for the treatment of obesity, was acquired by EnteroMedics in pre-market trading. Link
• Finesse Medical, a developer of wound care products, was acquired by Avery Dennison, for an undisclosed amount. Link
• MedicaMetrix, a developer of POC devices for the assessment of PSA density, is to be acquired by Cardiff International. Link
• Earlens Corporation, a developer of light driven hearing aids, raised $118M – $73M in a Series C financing round, and an establishment of a debt facility with CRG LP for up to $45M. Link
• Intrinsic Therapeutics, a developer of Barricaid Anular Closure Device, used in spinal surgeries to remove a herniated disc, raised $49M in equity and debt rounds.  Link
• Impulse Dynamics, a developer of Optimizer implant which enhances the heart’s ability to contract, treating chronic heart failure, raised $45M in an equity round. Link
• Senseonics, a developer of Eversense, an implantable continuous glucose monitoring system, raised $41M supported by New Enterprise Associates and Roche. Link
• Ethicon, a J&J company, received FDA approval for its Surgicel Powder Absorbable Hemostat. Link
• Boston Scientific received FDA approval for its Resonate line of implantable cardioverter defibrillators (ICD) and cardiac resynchronization therapy defibrillators (CRT-D). Link
• Soterix Medical received FDA 510(k) clearance for its IontoDC device, designed to use direct current to infuse ions of soluble salts and other drugs into the body. Link
• Claret Medical received FDA de novo clearance for its Sentinel TAVR filter, designed to trap blood clots before they reach the brain during heart valve replacement procedures. Link
• Shockwave Medical received CE mark for its Coronary Lithoplasty System, which facilitates in placing stents into coronary arteries in patients with calcified plaque. Link
• Stimwave Technologies received the CE Mark for its SandShark, a percutaneous injectable anchor system, for the treatment of chronic pain. Link

SOME INTERESTING STARTUPS FOUND

SafeHeal (Unfunded, Paris, 2015) – A flexible bypass sheath for anastomosis protection
KE2 Technologies (Unfunded, Greater Sudbury, 2015) – Portable and non-invasive hemodynamic monitoring devices

LEADER BOARD – MEDICAL DEVICES

Cardiovascular
TriVascular (1998, Santa Rosa, IPO) – Medical devices for endovascular aortic repair. Backed by NEA, Pinnacle Ventures, Greenspring Associates, Kaiser Permanente Ventures, ABS Ventures, MPM Capital, Delphi Ventures, Kearny Venture Partners, De Novo Ventures, Deerfield Capital Management, Helix Ventures, Deerfield, Permal, Pinnacle Ventures, and Rock Springs Capital. Went public in 2014.
Cardiovascular Systems (1989, Saint Paul, IPO) – Devices treating peripheral and coronary vascular disease. Backed by Silicon Valley Bank, Mitsui Global Investment, TPG, Healthcare Ventures, Lumira Capital, and Partners for Growth. Went public in 2006.

Orthopedics
ConforMIS (2004, Bedford, IPO) – Personalized, partial knee resurfacing implants to treat knee osteoarthritis. Backed by Aeris Capital, and Centurion. Went public in 2015.
Amedica (1996, Salt Lake City, IPO) – Spinal implants based on silicon nitride ceramic technology platform. Backed by Morningside Ventures, Zions Bank, Oxford Finance, venBio Partners, Hillhouse Capital, Epidarex Capital, and AJU IB Investment U.S. Went public in 2014.

Ophthalmology
Glaukos (2001, Laguna Hills, IPO) – Developed Micro-Invasive Glaucoma Surgery implant to treat glaucoma. Backed by Orbimed, Meritech Capital, InterWest Partners, Frazier Healthcare Partners, Versant Ventures, Novo A/S, Domain Associates, Fjord Ventures, and Montreux Equity Partners. Went public in 2015.
Ocular Therapeutix (2006, Bedford, IPO) – Develops Ophthalmic therapeutic products by using hydrogel technology. Backed by  Polaris Partners, Ascension Ventures, Versant Ventures, SV Life Sciences, Baxter, Pinnacle Ventures, and Ascension Ventures. Went public in 2014.

Diabetes Mellitus
Senseonics (1996, Germantown, IPO) – Implantable system for continuous glucose monitoring. Backed by NEA, Rho Capital Partners, Greenspring Associates, Rho Ventures, Anthem Capital Management, Abingworth, Delphi Ventures, Healthcare Ventures, and Anthem Capital. Went public in 2016.
Tandem Diabetes (2008, San Diego, IPO) – Device for continuous glucose monitoring and manual insulin delivery. Backed by TPG, HLM Venture Partners, Domain Associates, Delphi Ventures, and Kearny Venture Partners. Went public in 2013.

Oncology
ViewRay (2004, Oakwood, IPO) – MRI-guided radiation therapy technology for cancer. Backed by  Fidelity Investments, Orbimed, Siemens, ITOCHU Technology Ventures, Fidelity Growth Partners Europe, HTGC, Fidelity Biosciences, Kearny Venture Partners, Aisling Capital, Montrose Capital Partners, Xeraya Capital, CRG, and F-Prime Capital Partners. Went public in 2015.
GeneNews (1998, Markham, IPO) – Blood-based molecular diagnostics. Went public in 2001.

Neurology
Nexstim (2000, Helsinki, IPO) – Noninvasive brain stimulation for rehabilitating stroke patients. Backed by Capricorn Venture Partners, Suomen Teollisuussijoitus, Life Sciences Partners, Lundbeckfond Ventures, Healthcap, Finnish Industry Investment, Lundbeckfonden, and Healthcap. Went public in 2014.
Vycor Medical (2005, Boca Raton, IPO) – Minimally-invasive surgical devices & therapies for neurological disease. Went public in 2009.

Women’s Health
Bovie Medical (1970, Clearwater, IPO) – Manufactures electrosurgical products for gynecologic applications. Backed by Great Point Partners. Went public in 2000.
Viveve Medical (2005, Sunnyvale, IPO) – RF therapy for vaginal laxity.  Bridge Bank, 5AM Ventures, GBS Venture Partners, Wexford Capital, Square 1 Bank, RTW Investments, and Stone Pine Capital LLC. Went public in 2016.

Pulmonology
Inogen (2001, Goleta, IPO) – Portable Oxygen Concentrator for Oxygen Therapy. Backed by Western Technology Investment, Avalon Ventures, Versant Ventures, Novo A/S, Arboretum Ventures, and Accuitive Medical Ventures. Went public in 2014.
Aerogen (2000, Galway, IPO) – Develops Aerosol drug delivery devices. Backed by J.P. Morgan, US Venture Partners, InterWest Partners, Western Technology Investment, Invesco, Wheatley Partners, Viridian Investment Partners, Western Development Commission, and Healthcap. Went public in 2000.

Gastroenterology
EndoChoice (2008, Alpharetta, IPO) – Device for gastrointestinal conditions. Backed by Sequoia Capital, Silicon Valley Bank, Accelmed, Council Capital, MidCap Financial, Deerfield, River Cities Capital Funds, Agate Medical investments, Rock Springs Capital, and Envest Private Equity. Went public in 2015.
Mauna Kea Tech (2000, Paris, IPO) – Endomicroscopy devices for Gastrointestinal and Respiratory tracts. Backed by Seventure Partners, Psilos, and Finadvance. Went public in 2011.

Dental & Maxillofacial
Align Technology (1997, San Jose, IPO) – Develops Invisalign clear aligners and other dental products. Backed by  KPCB, Questmark Partners, ABS Ventures, Oak Hill Capital Partners, The Carlyle Group, and Tekla Capital Management. Went public in 2001.
Biolase (1987, Irvine, IPO) – Develops Dental lasers and scanning devices. Backed by Oracle Investment Management. Went public in 2003.

ENT
Entellus Medical (2006, Plymouth, IPO) – Suite of products for treating chronic sinusitis. Backed by Greenspring Associates, Split Rock Partners, Essex Woodlands, SV Life Sciences, Covidien and Oxford Finance. Went public in 2015.
Intersect ENT (2003, Menlo Park, IPO) – Develops drug-releasing implant for sinusitis. Backed by Norwest Venture Partners, KPCB, and US Venture Partners. Went public in 2014.

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 the Medical Devices feed.

In 2016 total funding dollars in the mobile app distribution sector maintained a steady decline from 2015 diving by 16% with overall funding rounds also dipping by 68%.

Fundraising count took a hit across the board-late stage falling by 50%, early by 87% and seed by 83%. Investment plunged for all three stages-10% in late, 92% in early and 25% in seed.

Top investments were few and far between with only two investments-Maple Media’s Series A round of $30M and Apptopia’s seed round of $3M taking place YTD. The acquisition scenario was marked by only three investments with alibabagroup.com picking up Wandoujia for $0.2B in 2016 being the highest disclosed deal value.

By stage of entry, 500 Startups came out top investor for seed, Accel Partners for Series A and B and Institutional Partners for later stage.

Historically, distribution platforms have amassed the highest investment ($737M) till date with app recommendation accounting for 43% of total dollars invested in this business model. Most active investors in this space include 500 Startups, Felicis Ventures, Accel Partners and Altos Ventures.

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

Download the Tracxn Industry Report on Mobile App Distribution

The consumer robotics space showed steady growth in 2016 in terms of total funding dollars as it soared by 59% with total funding rounds climbing to 51.

By stage, funding round count climbed across the board-late by 200%, early by a marginal 5% and seed by 8%. Funding dollars by stage soared too-late showed a 240% growth, early climbed by 39% and seed by 284%.

Average ticket sizes showed an upward trend for seed by 385%, 38% for Series A and 4% for Series B.

By stage of entry, Techstars led the tally of top investor for seed, Foundry Group for Series A and B and a16z for later stage.

24 investments have marked this space till date with CloudMinds’ and Roobo’s Series A rounds of $100M each constituting top investments. Only one acquisition took place in the past year-Acutronic Robotics picking up Erle Robotics for an undisclosed amount.

Personal robots have been favoured the most in terms of investments historically; racking up dollars to the tune of $394M followed by robots developed for entertainment. Most active investors in this space include SOSV, Grishin Robotics and National Science Foundation.

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Payments sector saw a climb in 2016 by a whopping 332% in terms of total funding dollars as funding round count touched 157.

By stage, funding rounds soared for both late and early by 12% and 4% respectively whereas for seed it fell by 29%.

Funding dollars showed a steady increase from previous year across the board-11% in late, 13% in early and 2% in seed.

Average ticket size fell only for Series B (30%) whereas, for seed and Series A, it soared by 40% and 59% respectively.

The last year was rife with 40 investments as top ones included China Union Pay’s Series A round of $295M and Stripe’s Series D round of $150M. 16 acquisitions have marked this space till date with mastercard.com snapping up VocaLink for $920M being the highest among the disclosed deal values.

Historically, acquirer processor has drawn the most investments ($4.3B) with payment gateway following a close second ($2.4B). Dollars to the tune of $1.74B have been invested in this space YTD.

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

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The Smart grid sector which includes companies that use digital communications technology and IoT to deliver its solutions in 2016, saw a dip in the total funding dollars by 30% as total funding rounds climbed to 76.

Funding round count followed a flat trend for early whereas for late, it fell by 20% and for seed, it rose by 26%.

Funding dollars fell for both late and early by 62% and 17% respectively while they grew for seed by 66%.

Average ticket size fell sharply for Series B by 57% while it remained the same for seed and grew by 30% for Series A. 40 investments have marked this space till date as top ones include Gentrack’s PE round of $25M and Stem’s Series C round of $23M. 13 companies got acquired till date with xylem.com picking up Sensus for $1.7B being the highest among the disclosed deal values.

By stage of entry, SURGE Ventures emerged as the top investor for seed, Nth power for Series A, EnerTech Capital for Series B and beyond.

Companies offering energy management solutions have drawn the most investment till date ($954B). Most active investors in this space include Enertech Capital, GE Ventures and Nth Power.

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

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

INTERESTING STARTUPS

Delited (2016, Bangalore)­, tool for publishers to create interactiv­e content. Founders are ex-executives from Akamai, Wipro, Intel, and Grabhouse, and is an alumnus of IIM Bangalore. No Local comparable­s. Global comparable­s include PlayBuzz (2012, Tel Aviv, $34.80M) and ThingLink (2010, Helsinki, $4.3M).

INDIA INTERESTING NEWS

Stockal (2014, Chennai), search engine provider for stock investors with social media insights, raises $350k in angel round of funding from Mohan Alexander and RNT capital Advisors COO & CFO R. Natarajan. Link

Guiddoo (2013, Mumbai), applicatio­n based travel guide and tour planner, raises $300k in pre Series A round of funding from Pawan Borle, Nirmal Singh, Manish Prasad, Vineet Varma, Nick Haulkoury and Abhai S. Rao. Link

Stratfit (2013, Hyderabad)­, online fitness training platform, raises $232k in funding from Hyderabad-based Bodhtree Consulting Services. Link

JustCode (2014, NYC), online coding interview preparatio­n platform, acquires online recruitmen­t platform Jobspire (2014, Manipal), curated marketplac­e for recruitmen­t, for an undisclose­d amount. Link

Srei Infrastruc­ture Finance (1989, Kolkata), infrastruc­ture finance and infrastruc­ture equipment finance company, signs a memorandum of understand­ing with Vneshecono­mbank (2007, Moscow), Russian state developmen­t institutio­n to create a $200M IT and Innovation Fund. Link

Jindal Stainless (1970, New Delhi), stainless steel manufactur­er and Future Venture Capital Company (1998, Kyoto), early-stage venture capital fund, ties up to incubate agri-tech start-ups. Link
14 tech startups from Microsoft Accelerato­r’s 10th cohort graduated at the Summer 2017 edition of ‘Think Next’. Link

GLOBAL ROUNDUP

AvidXchang­e (2000, Charlotte)­, accounts payable and on-demand invoice management solutions provider, raises $300M in funding from Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec (CDPQ), Mastercard­, Temasek and Peter Thiel. Link

Addepar (2009, Mountain View), portfolio tracker for investors and advisors, raises $140M in Series D round of funding led by Valor Equity Partners, 8VC and QuantRes founder Harald McPike. Link

Algolia (2012, SF), hosted search engine API provider, raises $53M in Series B round of funding led by Accel with participat­ion from Alven Capital, Point Nine Capital, Storm Ventures and others. Link

IL MAKIAGE (1972, New York), a profession­al makeup brand, raises $29M in funding from L Catterton. Link

Eloxx Pharmaceut­icals (2013, Herzliya), provider of small molecule drugs for genetic diseases caused by nonsense mutations, raises $24M in Series C round of funding led by Pontifax with participat­ion from Quark Venture and GF Securities­’ Global Health Science Fund. Link

ivWatch (2010, Williamsbu­rg), medical device manufactur­er for IV therapy, raises $14.8M in funding from undisclose­d investors. Link

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