Investment Round: KRY, Bibblio, Lazada, Tide

Investment Round is our weekly update on which firms have secured new funding, which areas are seeing the most financing, and who is putting up the cash that enables these companies to keep pushing the capabilities of mobile marketing further.

KRY prescribed €20m of funding
Swedish digital health startup KRY has closed a €20m Series A funding round for its telemedicine app offering, which enables patients to book appointments and have video consultations with a doctor, with any prescribed medication or tests delivered to the patient’s home.
The funding round was led by global venture capital firm Accel, with participation from Index Ventures, which led KRY’s Seed round last year, plus Creandum and Project A.
KRY says it will use the funding to “deepen penetration in current markets, launch in new markets, and reach its goal of providing sustainable healthcare with equal access for everyone in Europe”.
Its app is currently available in Sweden, Norway and Spain.

Bibblio plants a $1.5m Seed
Bibblio has raised $1.5m in Seed funding for its content recommendation platform, which differentiates itself from the Outbrains and Taboolas of the world by only showing content from within the same site or app.
The Seed round was led by 01 Ventures.
“Bibblio is not building a single homogenous ‘recommendation’, but rather a dynamic recommendation that can be customised by the publishers and perhaps even the user soon,” said Eeswaran Navaratnam, an investor at 01 Ventures. “In a world of fake news, filter bubbles, ad driven content, and politically polarised content; we’ve bought into their vision.”

Alibaba ups stake in Lazada
Alibaba is investing approximately $1bn to increase its stake in Southeast Asian eCommerce platform Lazada, from 51 per cent to 83 per cent.
Alibaba took a majority stake in Lazada last April, again at a cost of $1bn. That’s reflective of the increase in the company’s valuation in the interim, now standing at $3.2bn.
“As a market leader, Lazada has demonstrated its ability to execute and further lead the region in products and services with the best consumer experience in Southeast Asia while growing a strong ecosystem that supports small businesses going online,” said Daniel Zhang, CEO of Alibaba Group. “The eCommerce markets in the region are still relatively untapped, and we see a very positive upward trajectory ahead of us. We will continue to put our resources to work in Southeast Asia through Lazada to capture these growth opportunities.”

Tide comes in with $14m
Tide, a UK mobile-first bank aimed at small businesses, has raised $14m in a Series A round, building on a $2m Seed stage last July.
The round was led by Anthemis and Creandum, a Swedish VC fund notable for backing Spotify in its early days, as well as Passion Capital and LocalGlobe.
The funding will be used to expand the features it offers, including support for multiple users and different currencies, and double its headcount, which currently stands at 35 in London.