PriyoShop raises USD 5 million in pre-Series A round

PriyoShop, a B2B retail marketplace for micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in Bangladesh, has completed its pre-Series A funding round, raising USD 5 million. The round was led by Century Oak Ventures, with participation from Evolution Ventures, Iterative, SOSV (Orbit Startups), GFR Fund, BonBillo, Accelerating Asia, South Asia Tech Partners, and Voltity.

Through an asset-light marketplace model, PriyoShop assists small businesses in sourcing goods at consistent, competitive prices and ensures timely delivery through next-day deliveries. Additionally, the company offers a range of complementary solutions, including tailored credit facilities and supply chain financing services through its partnership with the digital financing platform LankaBangla Financing.

PriyoShop intends to utilize the newly raised capital to enhance its technology infrastructure, expand its geographical reach, and enter new markets.

Xalts acquires Contour Network to expand trade finance platform

Xalts, a financial infrastructure platform, has acquired Contour Network from a consortium of global banks to expedite its digitization in trade and supply chain finance. The company did not disclose the specifics of this transaction.

Contour was introduced in 2017 as a pilot project by eight banks, including HSBC, Standard Chartered, and BNP, with a focus on digitizing trade. Currently, over 22 banks and at least a hundred international businesses, such as Tata Group and Rio Tinto, utilize Contour’s trade finance solutions.

Xalts, which supports institutions in developing multi-party applications for digitization and tokenization, aims to leverage Contour’s capabilities to facilitate communication and transactions between businesses and financial institutions in the network. With this acquisition, its primary focus will be to provide integrated solutions, enabling banks, logistics companies, and tech firms to access trade and supply chain finance solutions through a unified platform.

Mask’s Bonfire Union hits USD 100 million milestone, launching second fund

Mask Network (also known for short as Mask), a decentralized social network protocol, has secured a total of USD 100 million in commitments for its Bonfire Union venture arm, culminating in the launch of a second fund.

According to a statement by Mask, the goal of Bonfire Union is to invest in decentralized social networks and infrastructure. Mask claims to have attracted over 120 projects to join its ecosystem through Bonfire Union, including Web3 projects such as RSS3, Lens, and Scroll.

“Mask Network has been actively contributing to and supporting the decentralized social network community through a series of grants and donations,” said Suji Yan, founder of Mask Network. “With the new fund, more initiatives can receive our support.”

Recent deals completed in China:

• Evopoint Biosciences, a Suzhou-based biopharmaceutical company, has secured RMB 700 million (USD 97.2 million) in a Series E funding round jointly led by Tencent Investment and Guoxin Investment, with continued support from Loyal Valley Capital. The company will utilize the capital to advance its domestic and international clinical trials across multiple pipelines, enhance its solutions, supplement production operations, and strengthen its commercialization team to expedite its product launches. —36Kr
• Urevo, a Chuzhou-registered producer of treadmills and fitness equipment, has completed a Series A+ round of financing, securing an eight-figure RMB sum. Vision Knight Capital exclusively invested in this round. —36Kr
• Yulian Network, a Bengbu-based logistics company focused on providing road freight solutions, has closed a RMB 100 million (USD 13.8 million) pre-Series A funding round. The funds will be used primarily to expand its market share, diversify its business types, enhance R&D capabilities, and strengthen the company’s talent pool. The investor details were not disclosed for this round. —36Kr
• Burgeon Therapeutics, a novel drug development company, has announced the completion of the first phase of its Series A funding round. This round of financing saw the participation of Ningbo Fuzang Venture Capital Fund and unnamed individual investors. —36Kr
• Moonshot AI, an artificial intelligence startup specializing in the development of large models, has recently completed a new round of funding, bagging over USD 1 billion. The round was backed by investors including HongShan, Xiaohongshu, Meituan, and Alibaba Group, alongside follow-up investments from existing shareholders. Moonshot AI’s valuation has reached approximately USD 2.5 billion post this financing round. —36Kr
• Yotai Digital Energy Technology, a Shenzhen-based developer of energy storage and utilization systems, has completed a Series A funding round. The round saw joint investments from Benefit Capital, Z&Y Capital, Lushan Investment Holding Group, among others. —36Kr

Latest deals in India:

• RailYatri, a Bengaluru-based train ticketing platform, has secured USD 3.44 million in a round constituting a mix of debt and equity funding. The round was led by Mirabilis Investment Trust. Additionally, NRJN Family Trust, Omidyar Network, and Blacksoil participated in this round. The company plans to utilize the funds to further enhance its platform’s services. —Entrackr
• Pratech Brands, a digital-first retailer and parent entity of health and wellness company HyugaLife, has raised USD 6.3 million in a seed funding round jointly led by Spring Marketing Capital and Stride Ventures. Surge Ventures (by Peak XV Partners) participated in this round, alongside other undisclosed investors. The capital will be used to support the company’s expansion efforts and enhance its infrastructure. —Entrackr
• VVDN Technologies, a product and software engineering firm, has secured an undisclosed sum from Applied Ventures, the corporate venture capital arm of Applied Materials. The funding from Applied Ventures is expected to facilitate VVDN’s R&D initiatives, enabling the company to broaden its market reach and technological capabilities. —VCCircle
• Pure EV, a Hyderabad-based electric two-wheeler manufacturer, has raised USD 8 million from various investors including Bennett Coleman and Company, Hindustan Times Media Ventures, Ushodaya Enterprises, and undisclosed high-net-worth individuals. The capital will fuel Pure EV’s expansion plans and further strengthen its position in the electric vehicle market. —VCCircle
• Quid, a supply chain-focused fintech startup, has secured INR 50 million (USD 602,690) in a pre-seed funding round from Mint Cap Enterprises, Stone Park Capital, as well as angel investors including Sushant Kumar (Omidyar Network). The funds will be utilized to enhance the company’s infrastructure and deepen its engagement with clients and partner lenders. —VCCircle
• Basil, a consumer homeware brand, has raised INR 36 million (USD 433,930) in a seed funding round jointly led by IIMA Ventures and Appreciate Capital. The round also saw participation from angel investors including Mohit Sadaani, Aprameya Radhakrishna, Abhishek Goyal, Malini Adapureddy, and Brij Bhushan. The funds will be allocated toward expanding Basil’s product portfolio, enhancing its reach through e-commerce channels, and investing in R&D initiatives. —VCCircle
• Beyoung, an Udaipur-based apparel brand, has secured an undisclosed amount in a strategic funding round from the Royal Office of Sheikh Tahnoon Bin Saeed Bin Tahnoon Al Nahyan of Abu Dhabi. The funding will be utilized to expand the company’s presence across different geographies through both offline and online channels. —VCCircle

KWAP, Secondlifeasia, Hatch, and more led yesterday’s headlines:

• Kumpulan Wang Persaraan (KWAP), Malaysia’s public service retirement fund, announced the first batch of investments it has made under its MYR 500 million Dana Perintis Strategy, comprising capital infusions into Bateriku and Lapasar, and funding commitments to Lynn Capital and Antler. The investments total MYR 100 million.
• Secondlifeasia, a Malaysia-based device repair company, established a joint venture with Appidea, making an initial investment of USD 250,000 to facilitate its expansion into the Thailand market.
• Hatch, a Sydney-based recruitment startup, raised AUD 7 million in a funding round led by Rampersand. The round saw participation from several Australian investors including Alberts Impact Ventures, Aura Ventures, Investible, Jelix Ventures, as well as existing private investors like Ahmed Fahour.

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