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

ActiTrexx, a Germany-based developer of activated regulatory T cells to prevent organ rejection in transplant patients and excessive immune responses in autoimmune conditions, has closed a €3.5m ($4.2m) series A round led by LBBW Venture Capital, the investment arm of financial services firm Landesbank Baden-Württemberg. The round also attracted public-private partnership High-Tech Gründerfonds, state-owned development bank Investitions- und Strukturbank Rheinland-Pfalz and venture capital firm MediVentures. ActiTrexx is a spinout of University Medical Center Mainz and it will use the money to further develop its cell therapy as it looks at entering clinical studies.
Obniz, a Japan-based firmwareless internet-of-things technology developer, has received ¥210m ($2m) in series A funding from University of Tokyo Edge Capital Partners (Utec), Mitsubishi UFJ Capital and Seibu Shinkin Capital, respective vehicles for University of Tokyo and financial services firms Mitsubishi UFJ and Seibu Shinkin. Utec provided $800,000 in seed funding to the company – then known as CambrianRobotics – in November 2018.
ePlane Company, an India-based aerial urban mobility company co-founded by IIT Madras faculty, has raised $1m in seed funding co-led by Speciale Invest and private investor Naval Ravikant, with participation from IIM-Ahmedabad’s Centre for Innovation Incubation and Entrepreneurship (CIIE), Java Capital, and FirstChecque.vc, according to VCCircle. The company previously announced an undisclosed amount of seed financing in December 2020 led by Speciale Invest, with participation from CIIE and angel investor Farid Ahsan.
ZealCare, a US-based healthcare spinout of Duke University, secured $120,000 in funding towards a $1m target, the Triangle Business Journal reported yesterday citing a regulatory filing. ZealCare remains in stealth mode but is seemingly focused on helping patients living with complex chronic conditions. It was co-founded by chancellor emeritus Ralph Snyderman, based on research at the Duke Center for Personalized Health Care.
– Additional reporting by Liwen-Edison Fu

Thierry Heles

Thierry Heles is the editor of Global University Venturing, host of the Beyond the Breakthrough interview podcast and responsible for the monthly GUV Gazette (sign up here for free).