Every day, Global University Venturing rounds up the smaller investments from across the university innovation ecosystem in its deal net.

Tellus You Care, a US-based elderly care device developer, has raised ¥730m ($6.9m) in a series A round led by University of Tokyo’s venture fund University of Tokyo Edge Capital (Utec), which invested alongside DG Daiwa Ventures and NTT Docomo Ventures, the corporate venturing vehicles for internet company Digital Garage and mobile network operator NTT Docomo, as well as VC firm Energy and Environment Investment, AI-focused startup studio All Turtles and assorted private investors. Tellus You Care previously raised $2.8m in June 2020 from Utec, NTT Docomo Ventures, Digital Garage, All Turtles and Miyako Capital, managers of Kyoto University’s second venture fund, though it is unclear whether that was a separate transaction or the first tranche of the company’s series A round. Panda AI, a US-based enterprise artificial intelligence (AI) software developer spun out from Allen Institute for AI (AI2)’s incubator, has secured $3.3m in seed funding from investors including AI2’s seed fund. The deal was led by Pioneer Square Labs’s PSL Ventures led the round, which also featured Ascend VC and angel investors including Court Lorenzini and Eric Browne. Panda AI will exploit advanced natural language processing technology to underpin enterprise document management and communication tools. Mike Galgon, managing director of PSL Ventures, has joined the board of directors, although it was unclear how Panda AI planned to utilise the seed funding. Northfork, the Sweden-based operator of subscription-based grocery delivery platform Gastrofy, has raised SEK10m ($1.1m) in a funding round led by venture capital firm J12 Ventures. The company, a portfolio member of Chalmers University of Technology’s incubation arm Chalmers Ventures, uses personalisation algorithms to suggest produce to the user based on their prior purchases. The platform can also adjust recommendations to help the consumer avoid food waste and prioritise organic products. – Additional reporting by Liwen-Edison Fu

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