Shopware AG (Shopware), a digital commerce software solutions provider in the DACH region, has raised USD100 million in growth capital from global investment firm, Carlyle (NASDAQ: CG), and PayPal (NASDAQ: PYPL), the global payments and commerce platform. Founders Sebastian and Stefan Hamann will retain a significant majority stake in the business and remain co-CEOs of the company. Carlyle and PayPal’s growth capital will help drive Shopware’s international expansion and the development of new products.    Equity for the transaction will be provided by Carlyle Europe Technology Partners (CETP) IV, a EUR1.35 billion fund that invests in small and mid-market technology-focused

NaaS, one of China’s leading new energy operations and technology providers, has successfully raised RMB500 million in Series A financing from Real Fund, CICC Capital, GSR United Capital, and Sino Pacific Capital. Established in 2019, NaaS is China’s leading comprehensive EV charging service platform and is servicing China’s No1 fast charger network with over 175,000 fast chargers.  NaaS also offers hardware, software, and technology services and solutions to charger operators and works with all members of the EV charging value chain. 

Modumetal, a provider of nanolamination coating technologies, has raised USD14 Million in Series A-2 funding led by Atlas Innovate and Rotor Capital. Modumetal also added two independent members to its Board of Directors: Tushar Porwal, an automotive industry leader and current Head of Manufacturing for BrightDrop, GM’s brand of electric commercial vehicles; and Robert Workman, an oil and gas industry executive and current CEO and Director of PSS Industrial Group. Modumetal will use the funding to further accelerate commercialisation of its oil and gas coating solutions, scale its operations, and expand its customer base in new key industries that include

Aleo, a leading platform for building private blockchain-based applications, has raised USD200 million in a Series B funding round led by Kora Management and SoftBank Vision Fund 2. Tiger Global, Sea Capital, Slow Ventures, Samsung Next, and Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), also participated culminating in a valuation of the company at USD1.45 billion.  Following the company’s USD28 million Series A, which was led by a16z in April of 2021, Aleo’s Series B represents the largest fundraising round ever in the zero-knowledge industry.

Clyde Munro Dental Group has been given a further GBP25 million war chest for acquisitions – after getting the green light from its biggest backer for a new funding package. Already Scotland’s biggest independent dental group, the firm will now embark on a period of further growth through acquisition, with the additional funding package from international banking and wealth management firm, Investec.   Since it was created in 2015, founder Jim Hall has steered Clyde Munro from seven practices to 54 across Scotland, with more than 200 dentists, 400 staff and 460,000 patients.   The funding package also includes an

HIG Capital (HIG) portfolio company, Concord USA (Concord), has acquired SwiftWIN Solutions (SwiftWIN). Headquartered in the US with offshore development centres in India, SwiftWIN provides technology consulting and digital services, specialising in customer experience, ecommerce, digital marketing, data analytics, and cloud applications.

NPIF – Maven Equity Finance, managed by Maven Capital Partners (Maven) and part of the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund (NPIF), invested a total of GBP17 million in 14 dynamic, high growth businesses in 2021. In addition to the direct investments, NPIF – Maven has also successfully leveraged an additional GBP34 million in private sector finance for local businesses creating 402 new jobs last year alone. Appointed by the British Business Bank in February 2017, Maven manages GBP96 million worth of equity finance after being allocated an additional GBP15 million to invest in businesses until the end of 2023 for the

m3ter, a metering and pricing engine for SaaS companies, has launched from stealth with USD17.5 million in funding from Kindred Capital, Union Square Ventures and Insight Partners. m3ter’s early traction corresponds with a rapid increase in the number of SaaS businesses switching to usage-based pricing (UBP), a pricing model becoming popular because charging customers for what they consume allows for easier adoption, costless upsell, better margin control, and greater customer satisfaction.  The funding will help the company to build on its early traction and meet growing global demand for its product with new hires in Europe and the US. 

Rocky Robots, a digital coaching startup designed to guide and motivate young professionals, has closed a GBP300,000 pre-seed investment from Jenson Funding Partners alongside other investors.   The company is the developer of Rocky.AI, an app with an interactive sparring partner, powered by Artificial Intelligence, that encourages self-improvement and reflection to help ambitious workers build a growth mindset.  The pre-seed investment will be used to scale Rocky Robots and build on the existing customers across the core UK and North American markets, while continuing to enhance the product further. 

Apprenticeship training provider, Apprentify, has secured a GBP5 million investment from the UK’s most active growth capital investor, BGF. Alderley Park-headquartered Apprentify specialises in digital marketing, social media and tech courses, enabling employers to recruit and train apprentices skilled ‘for the jobs of tomorrow’.   The investment, alongside debt funding from OakNorth, has allowed the business to acquire West Midlands based Netcom Training, a digital training provider for adults seeking to up or reskill, whilst also positioning the group to execute an ambitious buy and build strategy in the apprenticeship and adult education market.