Startups Investment Recap – December 29

Eneba has raised an $8M round of funding

Eneba, a marketplace for gamers that sells games and other products, has raised an $8 million round of funding led by Practica Capital and InReach Ventures. The funding is described as a “combination” of a seed and Series A round. The round also included investments from FJ Labs and a group of angel investors, including Mantas Mikuckas, COO of Vinted. Eneba says it has attracted 26 million unique users because of its security features, “one-click to buy” gamer experience and fingerprinting technology. The site also optimizes its localized gaming experiences to show locally trending gaming products. Eneba’s platform is designed to reduce risky transactions, simplify the refunding process and deal with fraud threats.

Hudle has raised an undisclosed amount in pre-Series A round funding

Delhi based sports tech startup, Hudle has raised an undisclosed amount in pre-Series A round funding. The new funding round was led by Survam Partners, the family office of Suman Kant and saw the participation of multiple angel investors including the founder of The Sherpas, Amandeep. Founded in 2016, Hudle uses enables players to discover & book sports activities on their B2C platform while helping sports facility owners streamline their operations through their B2B partner solutions. It has partnered with over 350 sports venues across various regions in India with more than 50,000 players using it to plan games. In October this year, Hudle signed Indian test cricket vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane as its brand ambassador.

Surrogate.tv announced that it has closed a $2.5M seed round

Surrogate.tv announced that it has closed a $2.5 million seed round. The funding was led by Supernode Global and saw participation from PROfounders, Brighteye Ventures and Business Finland. The latest sum joins a $2 million pre-seed announced by the company last year. The company’s big play is an ultra-low-latency streaming and robotics bundle that lets users remotely control real-world objects in the manner of a streaming gaming service. Another recent example is a partnership with Ubisoft, where users raised miniature Viking ships against strongman Hafþór Björnsson, for some reason. It seems clear that Surrogate.tv is looking to expand beyond its own entertainment site, offering up its teleoperation technology to interested third-parties.

Kairos has pumped $1.35M into the development of its app and software

Kairos, a Belfast sports tech firm headed by former rugby star Andrew Trimble has pumped £1m into the development of its app and software. Its investment is supported by economic development agency Invest NI. The company was founded by former Irish and Ulster rugby professional Andrew and Gareth Quinn, founder of Digital DNA, currently runs an app that helps elite sports clubs and atheletes manage schedules, training and more. Clients include the Scottish national football team, Stoke City and more. Kairos will direct the new funds towards the software’s functionality and “gather data on athlete performance and health, allowing the creation of individually tailored training programmes”.

Rec Room has closed a $20M Series C

Rec Room has closed a $20 million Series C led by Madrona Venture Group . Existing investors, including First Round Capital, Index, Sequoia and DAG, also participated in the round. They’ve raised just shy of $50 million to date. The platform has been around for years serving as a social hub and gaming platform for virtual reality users. In recent years, the company has tried to scale its capabilities to meet its young user base. One of the company’s big aims heading into the new year is scaling their creation tools, which allow players to build their own experiences inside the game. More than 1 million of the platform’s 10 million registered users have engaged with creator tools, building 4 million distinct rooms on the platform.