Accredify secures funding from Okta Ventures to extend Series A round
Accredify, a Singapore-headquartered outfit that assists organizations in creating, issuing, and managing verifiable credentials, has secured an undisclosed amount of funding from Okta Ventures as part of its Series A extension.
Okta Ventures is notably the investment arm of Okta, one of the world’s leading platforms for independent identity management. The investor’s portfolio primarily consists of companies developing innovative products and services related to digital identity.
According to Accredify’s statement, it will be integrating Okta’s digital identity management solutions into its offerings.
“Okta Ventures is excited by Accredify due to its successful history of commercial use cases where it deployed verifiable credentials and identities across multiple industry verticals such as education, healthcare, corporate services, and defense—a differentiator from most verifiable credential providers who focus solely on one industry,“ said Austin Arensberg, senior director at Okta Ventures.
Accredify last raised funding in April 2023, when it secured USD 7 million. That investment was jointly led by iGlobe Partners and SIG Venture Capital, with participation from returning investors Pavilion Capital and Qualgro.
With the global surge in deepfake technology facilitating falsified identities and credentials, businesses face mounting challenges in verifying the authenticity of transactions. Companies like Accredify can provide robust mechanisms to address this issue, employing verifiable credentials to ensure secure operations amid declining trust in the digital realm.
Nvidia invests in cloud gaming technology company Ubitus
Ubitus KK, a provider of cloud gaming technology and solutions, has bagged an undisclosed amount of funding from global chip giant Nvidia.
Before this investment, Ubitus had been collaborating with Nvidia to develop its GPU cloud infrastructure.
The company has also been spearheading the adoption of generative artificial intelligence solutions across multiple industries, such as gaming, media, entertainment, and retail. It provides a range of solutions, including UbiGPT, a custom gaming-focused large language model (LLM), UbiArt, an AI-based graphic and video diffusion service, and Ubi-chan, a personalized avatar platform designed for gamers and creators.
Tokenize Xchange secures USD 11.5 million
Tokenize Xchange, a Singapore-based digital asset exchange, has secured an additional USD 11.5 million in the second phase of its Series A funding round. The investors include Trive and undisclosed high-net-worth individuals (HNWIs).
This investment brings Tokenize’s total funds raised at the Series A stage to USD 23 million, following Trive’s lead in the first phase of the round in 2022 with a USD 11.5 million investment.
Tokenize aims to finalize the round with a total of USD 33 million by year-end. The company stated ongoing interest from institutional and accredited investors, without disclosing specific parties currently under discussion.
NMKR secures funding from Emurgo
NMKR, a provider of management tools for non-fungible token (NFT) and tokenization projects, has secured an undisclosed amount of funding from blockchain technology company Emurgo.
As part of this deal, NMKR and Emurgo have launched a marketing campaign aimed at leveraging NMKR’s platform and the Cardano blockchain to issue “exclusive attendance tokenized bundles” to attendees of blockchain-related events across the US, Germany, Japan, Singapore, and Vietnam, among other territories. The company also stated that this investment will enable it to scale its business by enhancing its tools and features, expanding its team, and more.
“Emurgo is excited to deepen our partnership with NMKR through this investment. This reflects our strong belief in NMKR’s core vision to bring Web3 to the masses by making it simple for businesses and individuals to create NFTs of various asset types,” said Ken Kodama, CEO of Emurgo.
Cisco completes acquisition of Splunk
Cisco, a global leader in digital communication technology, has finalized its acquisition of software company Splunk to provide “unparalleled visibility and insights across an organization’s entire digital footprint.”
In its statement, Cisco emphasized the significance of safeguarding against cybersecurity threats in the digital age. The acquisition, according to Cisco, positions the company to assist teams in proactively defending critical infrastructure, preventing outages, and optimizing the network experience. Splunk is renowned for its proprietary security and observability platform, which indexes vast quantities of machine data from diverse sources to provide observability insights.
“The combination of Cisco and Splunk will provide truly comprehensive visibility and insights across an organization’s entire digital footprint, delivering an unprecedented level of resilience through the most extensive and powerful security and observability product portfolio on the market,” said Gary Steele, general manager and executive vice president of Splunk.
Sensor Tower acquires Data.ai
Sensor Tower, a provider of market intelligence and insights, has acquired its rival platform Data.ai for an undisclosed amount.
According to Sensor Tower’s statement, this acquisition will expand its customer base to include major brands such as Microsoft, Sky, and Bandai Namco, all of which are existing users of Data.ai’s mobile app intelligence tools. Sensor Tower anticipates enhancements in data accuracy, global coverage, and the expansion of its product offerings by integrating Data.ai’s capabilities.
Recent deals completed in China:
- Deepthink.ai, a Beijing-based provider of AI-based night vision solutions, has raised an eight-figure RMB sum in a Series A+ funding round from King Tower Capital. It will utilize the funds for R&D and market expansion. —36Kr
- Yuling New Energy, a Shanghai-based supplier of high-performance lithium battery anode materials, has raised an eight-figure RMB sum in a Series A+ round of financing led by Hisun. Yuling will allocate the newly raised capital toward company operations and market expansion. —36Kr
- Core Sigma, an AI infrastructure provider, has completed its angel funding round, securing an eight-figure RMB sum. The round was led by Oriza Seed, with follow-on investments from Shang Capital, CASVC, Mount Morning Capital, and Baidu Ventures. The funds from this round will fuel Core Sigma’s product development and company operations. —36Kr
- Chengdu New Radiomedicine Technology, an enterprise specializing in the research, production, and sale of medical isotopes and radiopharmaceuticals, has banked over RMB 300 million (USD 41.6 million) in a Series C funding round. This round witnessed the participation of Chengdu Capital Group, a fund managed by Chengdu Tianfu International Bio-town Development Group, Sichuan Venture Capital (SCVC), Huaxing Kangping, Neovision Capital, and Star Capital. —36Kr
Latest funding deals in India:
- HCIN Networks, a Bengaluru-based provider of networking and connectivity solutions, has secured USD 1.5 million in a funding round led by Swastika Investmart. The round also saw participation from Ankit Mittal, Vijay Khetan (Param Capital), Ageless Capital, MSB E-Trade Securities, and undisclosed HNWIs. The funds will be used to enhance its technological capabilities. —VCCircle
- Beatoven.ai, an AI-based music startup, has secured USD 1.3 million in a pre-Series A funding round led by existing investor Capital 2B. The round also saw participation from existing shareholder Entrepreneur First and new investors IvyCap Ventures, Upsparks Capital, Rukam Capital, along with undisclosed angel investors. The proceeds will be allocated toward user experience enhancements and the development of a scalable go-to-market strategy. —VCCircle
- Qurex, a health tech startup, has raised USD 250,000 in a pre-seed funding round jointly led by 7Square Ventures and PointOne Capital. The funds will support its expansion across geographies and product development efforts. —VCCircle
- BNZ Green, a blockchain-based climate tech startup, has raised USD 100,000 in a pre-seed funding round from Climate Detox and undisclosed angel investors. The capital will be utilized for platform development and marketing initiatives. —VCCircle
- The Good Glamm Group, a “content-to-commerce” company, has raised INR 2.45 billion (USD 29.5 million) in a bridge funding round from existing investors via a rights issue. Warburg Pincus led the round, with participation from Prosus, Bessemer India, and Accel Partners. The funds will be utilized to meet the company’s working capital requirements. —Entrackr
- Jumbotail, a B2B food and grocery platform, has raised INR 1.51 billion (USD 18.1 million) in a Series C3 funding round led by Artal Asia. The round also saw participation from Heron Rock, Sabre Investment, Arkam Ventures, Jarvis Reserve Fund, Reaction Global, VII Ventures, and other investors. —Entrackr
- Vobble, an audio content platform for children, has raised USD 1 million in a seed funding round led by Lumikai. Blume Founders Fund and angel investors also participated in this round. The newly raised capital will be utilized for product and team development, enhancing user retention, and improving its net promoter score (NPS). —Inc42
Tencent, Mitsubishi, Virtus Health, and more led yesterday’s headlines:
- Tencent established a new subsidiary called Saros Network Technology, reportedly formed through the acquisition and merger of Shenzhen Gravity Studio and Jiangnan Studio, two gaming studios previously under ByteDance.
- Mitsubishi Corporation announced a strategic investment in Tier IV, an autonomous driving systems developer, through a third-party allotment of shares. The investment amount was not disclosed.
- Virtus Health, a provider of assisted reproductive services, has backed early-stage healthcare startups NeoGenix Biosciences and 23Strands, investing AUD 100,000 and AUD 300,000 in the two startups, respectively.
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