Software Procurement Plays Favorites With B2B Investors

Cybersecurity is likely to remain a favorite among B2B investors into the foreseeable future, so it’s no surprise that the industry landed on the board more than once this week. Also enjoying a busy investment week were the logistics and on-demand coworking space industries, particularly in Asia. However, it was a B2B software procurement platform that raised the most money — $55 million — in this week’s B2B venture capital roundup.

G2 Crowd

Operating a B2B eCommerce platform for software procurement, G2 Crowd has secured $55 million in Series C funding from IVP, Emergence Capital, Accel and Pritzker Group Venture Capital, according to Demand Gen Report this week. G2 Crowd offers other businesses a platform on which they can see reviews of business solutions, as well as buy and sell those solutions. The investment will be used to focus on growth and increase staff levels fivefold, the firm said.

Mission Secure

Cybersecurity startup Mission Secure raised funds in a Series A funding round, the company announced this week, though it did not divulge on how much it raised. The company targets the energy, defense and transportation industries with its technology. Energy Innovation Capital and Chevron Technology Ventures led the funding, while R/GA Ventures and Macquarie Capital also came on board as new investors. Existing backers Blue Bear Capital, Felton Group and the University of Virginia Seed Fund also participated. Mission Secure will use the investment to focus on growth across its existing target industries.

StrongKey

Cybersecurity investors made another appearance this week with the funding of StrongKey, a California-based company targeting businesses and government agencies. The company raised $10 million in Series A funding late last year, though it did not reveal that investment until now. The funding, provided by Systena America, will be used to continue product development and business expansion as the firm offers data security solutions to clients across a range of industries.

Loadsmart

In the logistics space, Loadsmart announced a $21.6 million Series A round led by Maersk Growth, Connor Capital SB and Chromo Invest. A press release issued this week said Loadsmart, which deploys artificial intelligence (AI) to automate truckload bookings in the U.S., will use the investment to focus on product and engineering, and to expand its team. The company offers businesses a platform with price quotes for shippers to secure trucking space, as well as an application programming interface (API) solution to automate the booking process.

Shipwell

With $10 million in Series A funding, Shipwell plans to expand its marketing initiatives, grow its team and further develop its product that provides businesses with an online, ground freight-shipping solution. Shipwell offers instant price quotes and online booking for businesses that need to transport goods. Once a booking is confirmed, users can track that shipment in real time, while managing all freights across carriers in a single place and consolidating their documents and data. Fifth Wall Ventures led the funding round, while Global Founders Capital, Aspect Ventures, First Round Capital, Base10 and Village Global also participated.

GoWork

Indonesia’s GoWork secured $10 million in new funding for its coworking space, reports revealed. Gobi Partners and The Paradise Group led the funding round for GoWork, which currently operates 16 shared working spaces. The company said the new funding will help it invest in more real estate as it focuses on growth within Indonesia with both large and small business customers.

Innov8

Coworking across Asia is clearly a hot topic for investors, with India’s Innov8 also securing funding this week. The company raised $4 million in Pre-Series A funding, led by Credence Family Office, BusinessWorld reported. Innov8 will consolidate its leadership roles and focus on the geographic expansion of its coworking space offering. In addition to physical work space, the company will use the investment to develop technology platforms for businesses, though details on its exact product plans are scarce.

WeWork

While nothing is yet confirmed, SoftBank is reportedly considering a majority stake in U.S. coworking space sharing firm WeWork. SoftBank, based in Japan, may invest several billion dollars in the company, in addition to the $4.4 billion that the bank and its Vision Fund placed in the company last year, according to an unnamed source in The Wall Street Journal. The report said the investment could reach as high as $20 billion. Sources told the publication, however, that talks are “fluid” with no guarantee of a deal.