Professional Documents
Culture Documents
December 19 , 2016
Bi-monthly Highlights
Global Trends
The holiday season seems to have given virtual reality a reality check
Virtual reality makes for an amazing demo. But good demos dont equal good purchases. With largely high
prices and no real killer app, its still hard to consider VR more than a fun, somewhat excessive tool for a
smattering of games and experiences. And as this chart from Statista shows, it doesnt look like Thanksgiving
weekend boosted VRs momentum. According to video game market research firm SuperData, shipments for
VR headsets in 2016 are now estimated to be lower than the already meager forecasts they had before the
biggest shopping weekend of the year. Sonys PlayStation VR has gotten the biggest downgrade, thanks to
what SuperData characterizes as modest marketing and supply inconsistencies. That said, those original
forecasts seem optimistic
December 19 , 2016
Asia Pacific
China
South Korea
December 19 , 2016
South Korean- based startup, Olive Union, has launched an Indiegogo campaign for stylish hearing aids.
Dubbed Olive, the little gizmo looks more like a wireless headphone which appeals to its younger target
audience. The Bluetooth buds are not just amplifiers they have directional microphones and noise
cancellation. The battery in the Olive hearing aid is also reminiscent of a set of wireless headphones which
has a downside. The startup estimates battery life at just four hours. As to conventional hearing-aids which
online surveys state have average battery lives of 82 hours. However, it recharges quickly within the case
provided. The stylish design is now selling to global shoppers on Indiegogo for US$69, with the thing shipping
out December 2017. The regular retail price will be US$100. The price tag is way below the usual hundreds of
bucks or even thousands of old-school hearing aids.
Japan
Japanese edtech startup Arcterus scores $1m funding for Southeast Asia expansion
Startup Arcterus has raised a US$1 million in series B funding from its new business partners. The team has
forged an alliance with distance learning company Z-Kai and Japans second-largest national newspaper
company, Asahi, for premium content on its Clear app. Clear allows users to view, share, and rate their class
notes. Students simply snap a photo of their notebooks, add stickers and highlights, and upload it for the
community. Someone studying the same subject or using the same textbook can review the notes and follow
note-takers they like. So far, Clear has 1.2 million users in Japan, Thailand, Taiwan, and China. Arcterus will
use the funding from its partners to further develop its product and expand in Southeast Asia. We are planning
to enter Vietnam, Indonesia, and Philippines in 2017 and 2018, says CEO Arai.
Laundry folding robot from Japan bags $60m funding ahead of 2017 launch
Laundroid has landed a US$60 million in funding from Panasonic, Japans SBI and real estate company
Daiwa. This will allow Laundroid to likely launch next year, when the appliance goes on sale in Japan. Its set
to arrive in other countries sometime 2018. Theres no price tag yet for the huge gizmo, which uses robotics,
AI, and image recognition to grapple your garb into respectable shape. It then stacks the folded items on the
shelves inside its refrigerator-sized chest. However, Laundroid requires a large amount of space and most
likely will carry a plus-sized price tag as well. It might have more of a future at businesses that need to fold a
ton of stuff, like a clothing store or a hotel.
December 19 , 2016
Singapore
PatSnap raises series C from Sequoia to help businesses manage their intellectual property
PatSnap, an online intellectual property intelligence service for businesses, announced today it has closed a
series C round of funding. The round is led by Sequoia Capital China and is joined by Shunwei Capital and
Qualgro. The funding amount is undisclosed, but SVP of corporate development and strategy Ray Chohan
tells Tech in Asia its in the tens of millions of dollars. The startup claims its platform can handle a business
research and development IP needs from idea generation to commercialization. PatSnap uses machine
learning and artificial intelligence to go through datasets like patent and trademark registrations all over the
world. The startup claims to serve over 3,000 customers, including NASA, Vodafone, MIT and further claims
the company has been growing at a revenue rate of 120 percent year-on year. The startup will use the funding
to boost research and development on new products. These include an IP management service thats focused
on material science and pharmaceuticals.
India
A virtual shopping buddy just raised $1m. An ex-Huawei prez bought into the idea
ShopsUp, a startup from Bangalore has raised US$1 million in seed funding. Yang Shu, a former Huawei
president and CEO of Taojinjia, and Anand Sankeshwar of transportation company VRL Logistics are its
mentors and investors. Shopsup says it wants to bridge the gap between online and offline shopping by
becoming a virtual shopping companion to millennials. It offers exclusive offers and discounts from their
favorite brands and stores, and instant gratification via rewards that they collect through walk-ins and
purchases in-store. The rewards can be instantly redeemed for useable like free movie tickets, cab rides, spas,
or gift vouchers. ShopsUp has partnered with Uber to help young buyers with their shopping runs. Shopsup is
currently a free Android app with an iOS version coming soon. The plan is to use the smartphone to help brand
and retail partners with data on a consumers decision-making habits, and incentivizing the shopper to buy
more offline.
December 19 , 2016
Fashion startup Koov raises $16m from Indias Times Group, other investors
Fashion store Koovs has raised US$16 million from Indias largest media house, the Times of India Group and
other investors. The firm said the fundraising is part of a three-year program to secure US$43.3 million,
planned since 2015. With the latest tranche the company has raised US$38.4 million to date. The investment
from The Times Group gives the ecommerce firm easy access to advertise across TV, outdoor and digital
platforms in addition to print and radio. The Indian ecommerce market is undergoing exceptional growth driven
by the internet connected middle class in urban centers. This investment puts Koovs is in a strong position to
lead in this rapidly growing new ecommerce market, said Koovs CEO Mary Turner. Indias online shopping
market is set to be worth US$23 billion this year.
Vietnam
Thailand
Pakistan
Pakistan-based lockscreen app closes $3.6m series A from South Korean investor
Pakistan based startup Slide, has announced that it has closed its series A funding round worth US$3.6
million. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. The round was led by Songhyn Investments, which raises Slides
total fundraising to US$4.6 million to date. Slide is similar to apps like Candy and Popslide. It incentivizes
users to read content that pops up every time they unlock their phones. Readers accumulate points for each
click which they can then exchange for mobile phone top-ups. Slide has blown past their 1 million download
target and claims to have 5 million downloads already. CEO Junaid Malik states the newly received funds will
be used to further strengthen the companys presence in Pakistan and develop more products.
December 19 , 2016
Malaysia
Israel
Israeli startup Kang Health gets $3.3 million seed round for better search on medical questions
Kang Health has landed a respectable $3.3 million seed round with a few lead investors, including: Bessemer
Venture Partners, Comcast Ventures, Mangrove Capital, Lerer Hippeau Ventures, Primary Ventures, and
Taboola CEO Adam Singolda who is joining their board. Kang Healths software takes an AI approach to
diagnosing symptoms, that will at one time facilitate a conversation with a user about his or her symptoms
while simultaneously drawing crowd-sourced data from others who reported similar symptoms. From
there, Kangs platform would draw diagnostic and treatment suggestions. But there are large risks involved in
self-diagnosis which has shown a decrease in WebMD searches. However, investors seem to have faith in a
diagnosis-suggesting website or platform might be rekindled with more accurate results, which seems to be
what investors are banking on with such a high seed round.
December 19 , 2016
United States
App intelligence startup Apptopia raises $2.7 million from Ashton Kutcher, Mark Cuban, others
Apptopia, an app intelligence startup based in Boston, has raised a $2.7 million seed round of funding from
Ashton Kutchers and Guy Osearys Sound Ventures VC firm, existing investor Mark Cuban, 500 Startups, and
a handful of other VC firms. Founded in 2011, Apptopia serves up what it calls the most accurate downloads,
revenue numbers, and SDK data across all mobile app and publishers in the world. Apptopia claims some big
name clients, including Google, Pinterest, Facebook, NBC Universal, Deloitte, and more. The company says
that it will use its fresh cash injection to make better products with more intelligence to create the next
generation platform, according to a press release. Weve seen tremendous growth over last year, tripling
annual recurring revenue since the beginning of 2016, said Apptopia CEO Eliran Sapir. App analytics and
intelligence is big business, with a number of notable players in the space, including App Annie, which has
raised a whopping $157 million in equity funding, and which has snapped up rivals, such as Distimo.
Gay dating app Hornet raises $8 million, its first institutional funding
Hornet, a dating app that touts itself as the worlds second largest gay social network, announced that it has
raised $8 million in its first round of institutional financing. The Series A round was led by Shanghai-based VC
firm Ventech China, and adds to the $500,000 angel round Hornet raised back in 2012. Hornet serves to
strengthen the gay community by providing quality social interactions with more ways to meet and engage in
local gay communities, the company says. It recently made its first acquisition, snapping up gay city guide
Vespa for an undisclosed amount, with Vespas places and events data integrated into Hornet in a major
refresh earlier this month. Vespa says that its now the top gay social network in some markets, including
Russia, Brazil, France, and Taiwan, with three million active users each month across the board. Hornet says
that its cash influx will be used to support rapid business growth and user adoption around the world.
Helpshift pulls Cisco into $25 million round for in-app customer support
Cisco is joining as an investor into Helpshifts previously announced $25 million funding round. Cisco adds just
a couple of million dollars to the previously announced round. Other investors in the round include Intel Capital,
Microsoft Ventures, and Salesforce Ventures. Helpshift has been able to reduce customer support costs for a
wide swath of clients by building robust customer support directly into apps. It provides answers for frequently
asked questions (FAQs) and improves search in help queries so that users can perform more self-service in
getting help with their apps. Helpshifts customers include Zynga, Virgin Media, Microsoft, Western Union,
Flipboard, Shyp, WordPress, and thousands of other industry-leading brands, startups, and developers.
Helpshift is installed on 2 billion devices worldwide, and it serves more 400 million mobile customers
monthly. The company further states the additional funding from Cisco Investments will be used to help
the entire contact center industry transition from being reactive to proactive while driving higher customer
satisfaction and lowering cost.
December 19 , 2016
Yewno raises $6.5 million more to help publishers digest long form content
Yewno has raised an additional $6.5 million for its content analytics solution, the Redwood, Calif.-based startup
announced. The investment, led by entrepreneur Desmond Shum, brings Yewnos series A funding round to
$16.5 million. Yewnos technology mimics the human brain to analyze and give context to long form content.
And, much like the brain, Yewnos algorithm learns page by page, extracts content, and develops knowledge,
making it not only a search engine, but also a discovery platform. The investment, Gramatica said, will power
Yewnos entrance into the publishing industry in China where it expects to open offices soon. We are
experiencing strong traction of the new Yewno for Education inference engine among leading universities
around the world, and were preparing to expand into additional vertical markets, said Gramatica.
BetterUp raises $12.9 million and launches platform that connects employees with professional
coaches
BetterUp, a new startup that serves to open career coaching to anyone, has official launched and announced
$12.9 million in funding from Draper Fisher Jurvetson (DFJ), Social Capital, Freestyle, Crosslink, SV Angel,
and Vista Venture Partners. The overall funding constitutes a $2.9 million seed round and $10 million Series A
round. Based in San Francisco, BetterUp connects employees with certified, executive-level coaching, with
members meeting their mentors for weekly 30-minute sessions over video-chat or phone. Between meetings,
coaches give employees activities and exercises, along with resources such as videos, podcasts, and readings
to aid their professional development, while on-demand support is also available by text. Through the platform,
BetterUp provides analytics to track progress across areas such as leadership effectiveness, happiness, and
productivity. The company claims to have already nabbed some notable clients during its stealth phase,
including Logitech, Capital One, and Deloitte.
Cogito raises $15 million to help call center staff detect customers mood from their voice
Artificial intelligence company Cogito raised $15 million in its latest funding round. The $15 million funding
round was led by OpenView and included Romulus Capital and Salesforce Ventures. Cogito combines
behavioral science and artificial intelligence to detect a persons emotional state and determine if their mood
has changed and how conversations are going all in real time. With the use of Cogito, customer satisfaction
at some companies grew by more than 20 percent, while agent engagement grew by more than 50 percent,
Cogito said in a statement shared with VentureBeat. Cogito is also being used outside of customer
service. Cogito is working with the Department of Veterans Affairs to assist veterans with Post Traumatic
Stress Disorder (PTSD). Cogito worked with Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), the
investment arm of the Department of Defense, from 2007 to 2011.
Security firm Optiv files for IPO, seeks to raise $100 million
Cybersecurity company Optiv Security, majority owned by Blackstone Group, filed with U.S. regulators for an
initial public offering of its common stock on Friday. The company set a nominal fundraising target of $100
million in its filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Optiv was created when cyber security
companies Accuvant and FishNet Security merged in 2015. Blackstone made a majority investment in
Accuvant in 2014. Denver, Colorado-based Optiv intends to list its common stock on the New York Stock
Exchange under the symbol OPTV.
December 19 , 2016
explore its options. Symantec was advised by Citigroup and JP Morgan, along with Bank of America, Barclays
Plc, and Wells Fargo. LifeLock was advised by Goldman Sachs.
API market place RapidAPI raises $3.5 million, led by Andreessen Horowitz
RapidAPI, startup from San Francisco has developed a marketplace through which developers can easily
discover, test, and start using publicly available application programming interfaces (APIs), is announcing
today that it has raised a $3.5 million seed round led by Andreessen Horowitz. SV Angel also invested in the
startup. The service supports more than 100 APIs, and it has a backlog of 300 that users have requested, Gino
said. Around 20,000 developers are using the free version of the service, and a few companies are paying for
an enterprise tier that can be deployed in companies on-premises data centers to manage internal APIs, Gino
said.
Europe
Swiss fertility tracking startup Ava closes $10 million Series A round
Ava a Swiss medical technology company focused on innovations in womens health, has raised $9.7 million in
a strategic Series A round led by European VC firm Polytech Ecosystem Ventures. The Ava bracelet uses a
patented big data approach to precisely detect a womans entire fertile window in real time. The company is
working on clinical studies to expand its algorithms for use in both pregnancy recognition, pregnancy
monitoring, and possible use as a non-hormonal contraceptive device. The funds will fuel further product
development and clinical research, scale production and support expansion into Europe and other new
markets.
Frances Wynd raises $31.7 million for international expansion of its retail platform
Paris-based Wynd announced today that it has raised $31.7 million as it seeks to take its point-of-sale solution
beyond the borders of its native country. Inestors in this Series B round included Sodexo Ventures, Orange
Digital Ventures, and Bpifrance. Wynd had raised $7.4 million last year in a round led by Alven Capital, and
had brought in a seed round of $1.9 million the year before that. Wynd offers a points-of-sale product to let
large retail chains create a single digital system for their customers information and purchases, both in-store
and online. The firm has been growing aggressively in France, where it now has about 70 employees. CEO
Ismal Ould has stated the company will be opening offices in the UK and Dubai soon.
Chinas Ctrip.com acquiring travel search website Skyscanner for $1.74 billion
Ctrip.com International Ltd, Chinas biggest online travel company, has agreed to acquire travel search website
Skyscanner Holdings Ltd in a deal valuing the Scotland-based company at about 1.4 billion pounds. ($1.74
billion). Skyscanner enables users to compare prices from different travel sites when searching for flights,
hotels, and rental cars. The website currently serves 60 million monthly active users and is available in over 30
languages. The company was valued at $1.6 billion in a funding round in January, when it raised 128 million
pounds from a group of investors that included Malaysias sovereign fund, Khazanah Nasional, and Yahoo
Japan Corp. However, Skyscanners current management team will continue to manage its operations
independently after the close of the deal by the end of 2016, Ctrip said. Ctrips shares were up 9.2 percent at
$44.75 in extended trading.
Frances Sigfox raises $160 million to expand its IoT network to 60 countries
French IoT startup Sigfox announced today that it has raised $160 million as it continues to build out its
communication network for connected objects. the latest round for Sigfox ranks among the largest ever in
France. Investors include Salesforce, Total, Parrot cofounder Henri Seydoux, Alto Invest, Swen CP, and
Tamer Group. Previous investors also participated in the round, including Bpifrance, Elliott, Intel Capital, Air
Liquide, Idinvest Partners, and IXO. Launched five years ago, Sigfox is building a dedicated communications
network that allows connected devices to send short messages over long distances. The network allows the
devices to run on low power, meaning they can be installed in large numbers at low cost and dont require
additional charging or batteries for years or decades. Sigfox has now raised a total of almost $300 million in
venture capital, and its network is operating in 26 countries.
SparkLabs Global Ventures (http://www.sparklabsglobal.com) is a global seed-stage fund with partners in
Silicon Valley, Chicago, London Tel Aviv, Singapore, and Seoul.
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December 19 , 2016
Female fertility app Clue raises $20 million in round led by Nokia Growth Partners
Berlin-based Clue announced that it has raised a $20 million round to extend the global reach of its fertility
tracking app. The round was led by Nokia Growth Partners and was officially confirmed today on stage at
Slush, the tech conference happening this week in Helsinki, Finland. Other investors in the round include
Union Square Ventures and Mosaic Ventures. Clue states that it has more than 5 million women use the app,
which allows them to track their menstrual cycle to know when they may be ovulating. Clue will use the money
to continue hiring at its Berlin offices and for marketing the app in new markets.