Every day, Global University Venturing rounds up the smaller investments from across the university innovation ecosystem in its deal net.
Japan-based intellectual property (IP) evaluation platform AI Samurai has collected ¥470m ($4.4m) in a series B-plus round backed by Osaka University Venture Capital (OUVC), the institution’s investment arm. Regional bank Nanto Bank also supplied funding, as did IP services providers NGB Corporation and Hatsumei-Tsushin. Yokohama Capital, SMBC Venture Capital and Kiraboshi Capital – respective corporate venturing subsidiaries of financial services firms Yokohama Bank, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation and Tokyo Kiraboshi Financial – also contributed together with Sansei Capital, part of insurer Taiju Life Insurance, Elite Network and Venture Labo Investment. AI Samurai offers a web-based platform that employs artificial intelligence to conduct patent searches and scrutinise the patentability of a given concept. OUVC led the company’s $3.7m series B round at an undisclosed date with participation from seven other unnamed venture capital and corporate investors, following AI Samurai’s $1.2m series A round with unnamed backers in March 2017.
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