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

Animal Dynamics, a UK-based unmanned aerial vehicle developer spun out from University of Oxford, has completed a £6m ($7.7m) series A round led by university venture fund Oxford Sciences Innovation that included existing investor Kindred Capital and investment firm Tanarra Capital. Animal Dynamics is working on unmanned aerial drones with aerodynamics which replicate the motion of animal creatures for applications such as humanitarian aid, medical logistics, agriculture and defence. The funding will help Animal Dynamics scale up its business with an eye on expanding its product pipeline. Chowagiken, a Japan-based artificial intelligence technology developer spun out of Hokkaido University’s Harmo Lab, has collected ¥300m ($2.8m) from consultancy Cresco, marketing firm Fusion, liquid glass developer Nikko, as well as Hokuyo SDGs Promotion Fund, which is sponsored by financial services firm North Pacific Bank and its Hokkaido Research Institute for the Twenty-first Century subsidiary. Recess, a US-based brand sponsorship marketplace, has received an undisclosed sum from Indiana University Angel Network, marking the latter’s first investment, Inside Indiana Business reported on Friday. Recess runs a marketplace connecting brands such as food and nutrition product maker Nestlé and on-demand ride hailing platform Lyft to a range of live and digital events seeking financial sponsorship. The business previously raised $3.7m at an undisclosed date from Founder Equity, Quake Capital, Full Tilt Capital and assorted business angels including Mark Cuban, Ashish Patel and Marc Simmons, the report said. – Additional reporting by Liwen-Edison Fu

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