Increased Funding for Startups
Fetch Robotics
The San Jose, California-based robot- making startup, Fetch Robotics, has raised 20 million dollars to boost automation of warehouses. Softbank led the round of funding last June 17 with collaboration from investors O’Reilly Alphatech Ventures and Shasta Ventures. The company creates robots that are designed for independent work, such as logistic and repetitive tasks in automate warehouses and fulfillment centers. At present, Fetch Robotics has raised a total of 23 million dollars, which they aim to use for expanding their market and addressing the increasing needs for warehouse robots.
Indix
Nokia Growth Partners led a round of funding amounting to 15 million dollars to boost the ecommerce of Indix, a product analytics startup company. Indix creates software for businesses to enhance their products and customer service. It focuses on the organization, analysis, and visualization of product information for the improvement of the world’s product intelligence and product-related apps. Nexus Venture Partners and Avalon Ventures also contributed to the fund, which will be used in hiring data scientists and engineers. The company recorded a 250 percent revenue increase with the first quarter of 2015 as its strongest quarter to date.
SoloPro
SoloPro has closed 1.1 million dollars of investment in a seed round led by Oxpoint Investments and Buchanan Ventures. The funding, which was also participated by Blue Capital, Arnold Capital, and angel investors, was announced by the real estate startup company during the annual RealogyFWD summit. SoloPro is a community platform that provides 3% rebate to home buyers. Through connecting them with real estate agents, who offer unbundled services and charge minimal fees, SoloPro give home buyers better control and value for their transactions. At the same time, it offers a better means for real estate agents to earn a living.
CropX
Innovation Endeavors, the venture capital firm of Google CEO’s Eric Schmidt, has made a 9 million dollar investment on CropX, a smart irrigation system startup. The ag-analytics company, CropX, which is one of the latest agricultural technologies, announced the investment last June 22. GreenSoil Investments and Finistere Ventures also collaborated in the funding. CropX is an app that provides the world’s most advanced adaptive irrigation solution services. It determines the precise amount of water needed in a particular field by gathering data on a farm’s topography, moisture levels, and soil structure through the use of sensors. This technology effectively increases crop yield, lessens water and energy consumption, and produces healthier food.
Mapbox
Mapbox, a platform for customizable maps, has closed 52.55 million dollars in a round of funding last June 17. The investment, which is one of the biggest in the history of mapping startups, was led by DFJ Growth and also participated by Foundry Group, DBL Partners, Thrive Capital, Pritzker Group, and Promus Ventures. It has grown extensively in the past two years and has raised 62.05 million dollars to date.
Mapbox is an open source company that provides developers tools for integrating maps and locations into their applications. Users have the choice and control in building their maps which are mostly based from open data sources such as NASA, OpenStreetMAp, and the US Geological Survey.
LeadPages
Drive Capital spearheaded a grant of 27 Million dollars to LeadPages in a round of funding last June 17. It was also participated by Foundry Group and Arthur Ventures. LeadPages is a sales optimization startup from Minneapolis that allow users to build a simple, customizable, and integrated landing page for their website needs. Its platform is applicable to iPhones, iPads, and Android devices.
