Sonantic, a London, U.K.-based provider of expressive and realistic artificial voices for the game and entertainment industry, raised €2.3m in funding.

The round was led by the EQT Ventures fund, with participation from existing investors Entrepreneur First, AME Cloud Ventures, and Bart Swanson of Horizons Ventures.

Founded in London 2018 by two technologists that specialize in speech, Zeena Qureshi (CEO) and John Flynn (CTO), Sonantic provides a professional tool that enables game developers to access expressive, realistic voice acting on-demand.

By fitting into games studios’ voice workflow, executives can evaluate the fit of a story to a game early on and make changes to a script faster.

The company already has R&D partnerships underway with more than 10 AAA game studios, with plans to expand its offering to more games studios globally. | To read full story, visit https://startuparound.com/read/1583229606.9901047/Sonantic-Secures-€2.3M-in-Funding?ref=audio_experience

New Delhi-based smart bus startup gogoBus has raised an undisclosed amount of funding in a round led by AI-based travel app ixigo.

With this investment, gogoBus has launched operations on multiple routes in North India and will be expanding its product and technology team.

Generally, travellers end up planning a last-minute inter-city bus trip due to the lack of availability on trains and high flight fares.

gogoBus offers standardised buses, self-operated lounge, pre-defined pickup points, and a in-house tech platform for booking, tracking and in-bus safety features.

Amit Gupta, Co-founder, gogoBus, said,“Our aim is to set new standards when it comes to comfort and safety in bus travel. | To read full story, visit https://startuparound.com/read/1583227805.7170014/[Funding-alert]-Intercity-transport-startup-gogoBus-raises-investment-from-ixigo,-others?ref=audio_experience

During the meeting, Son reiterated that he will start “listening more” to independent directors and shareholders.

Son further reiterated that the company’s ambitious Vision Fund 2 would be scaled down going forward.

However, he expects 2020 and 2021 to be the “best vintage” for the Vision Fund.

Related Article: Masayoshi Son Is Ready For SoftBank Vision Fund IISoftBank Regretting Investments?

For the nine months ended December 31, 2019, the firm said that it had an unrealised loss on valuation of ¥7.27 Bn ($6.6 Bn) from investments held by SoftBank Vision Fund. | To read full story, visit https://startuparound.com/read/1583226014.488588/No-More-Investments-In-Similar-Business:-SoftBank-CEO-Masayoshi-Son?ref=audio_experience

Lightspeed is looking to close the fund within the next quarterUS-based venture capital firm Lightspeed Venture Partners is looking to close its third India focussed fund at around $250 Mn to $300 Mn.

For this fund, Lightspeed started contacting to its previous backers including limited partners (LPs) and other VC funds last year.

A source told TOI that even though there will be high demand for the fund, Lightspeed is unlikely to raise more than $300 Mn for this fund.

Lightspeed Bullish On Indian StartupsLightspeed has been investing in the country since 2004 via Lightspeed India.

Besides these two funds, Lightspeed has also invested in Indian startups from its global fund to participate in bigger funding rounds of these companies. | To read full story, visit https://startuparound.com/read/1583224206.0748694/Lightspeed-Venture-Partners-Could-Close-Third-India-Fund-At-$300-Mn?ref=audio_experience

Also, they have been widely deployed to help in controlling the flow of water in our homes.

Discussed below are some of the merits of using these valves:Easy to installOne great benefit of using valves for controlling the flow of fluids is how easy they are to install.

Thanks to control valves, you get to control the opening and closing of fluids carrying pipes automatically.

This is largely attributed to the fact that upon successful proper implementation, these valves work flawlessly promoting the conservation of resources.

With the help of control valves, you can now proudly be at the forefront of conserving the environment and being mindful of natural resource use. | To read full story, visit https://startuparound.com/read/1583222407.1748207/Why-You-Need-Quality-Valves-For-Effective-Flow-Management?ref=audio_experience

iPrice Group, which helps comparison shoppers in Southeast Asia by pulling together prices from different e-commerce platforms, has closed a $10 million Series B.

iPrice began by collecting coupons and discount codes when it launched, before expanding into price aggregation to help consumers navigate the growing roster of e-commerce platforms in Southeast Asia, such as Zalora, Shoppee and Lazada.

The platform is divided into verticals, including electronics and appliances, fashion and automotive, and now claims to aggregate more than 1.5 billion products from more than 1,500 e-commerce partners.

In a press statement, ACA Investments chief investment officer Tomohiro Fujita said, “The e-commerce industry in Southeast Asia is at its emerging stage and we see huge potential.

iPrice Group will play an important role, especially with its comprehensive coverage of markets in Southeast Asia. | To read full story, visit https://startuparound.com/read/1583220607.9158974/iPrice,-a-platform-for-comparison-shopping-in-Southeast-Asia,-raises-$10-million-Series-B-–-TechCrunch?ref=audio_experience

Chqbook is planning to add more fintech products to its portfolio with the fundsGurugram-based fintech startup Chqbook, on Tuesday (March 3), announced that it has raised $5 Mn in its Series A funding round led by Aavishkaar Group’s equity investment arm Aavishkaar Capital.

With the recently raised capital, Chqbook is planning to add more fintech products to its portfolio.

Chqbook said it would invest in enhancing its proprietary artificial intelligence (AI)-based lending and insurance platform.

So when Chqbook customers are approved for loans and other products, they also net rewards and discount coupons from partner brands.

Last month, while Mumbai-based fintech startup SuperMoney raised $1 Mn in pre-Series A funding from early-stage investor Unitus Ventures, serial entrepreneur Shailaz Nag’s new venture Dot raised $8 Mn in seed funding. | To read full story, visit https://startuparound.com/read/1583218805.991566/Chqbook-Bags-$5-Mn-Funding-To-Broaden-Fintech-Play-Beyond-Lending?ref=audio_experience

Popular music app publisher MWM has raised a $55.9 million (€50 million) funding round.

The company has slowly expanded to cover more grounds in the music space, from production to learning, gaming and utilities.

Up next, MWM wants to expand beyond music and tackle new verticals in the creative space.

And the company seems well-positioned to reproduce some of its successes as MWM has attracted over 400 million app downloads over the years.

It has attracted $67 million (€60 million) of funding in total. | To read full story, visit https://startuparound.com/read/1583217006.8405764/MWM-raises-$55.9-million-after-generating-400-million-music-app-downloads-–-TechCrunch?ref=audio_experience

Bengaluru-based scooter sharing startup Bounce has raised $6.5 million in debt funding from existing investor InnoVen Capital.

This marks InnoVen Capital’s third investment in Bounce, in a span of 18 months, taking the total debt investment to $12 million, exclusively from the firm.

Ankit Agarwal, Director, InnoVen Capital India, said,“InnoVen has been associated with Bounce since early days and impressed by the phenomenal progress they have made in a relatively short period of time."

Bounce recently raised $105 million as part of its Series D funding round, led by Accel Partners and B Capital Group, taking the total capital raised to over $200 million.

Started in 2008 as the first dedicated venture debt provider in India, InnoVen Capital India has done over 250 transactions with more than 170+ startups across various stages, including Swiggy, Byjus, Oyo Rooms, CureFit, Myntra, DailyHunt, FirstCry, Blackbuck, Rivigo, Ather Energy and Yatra. | To read full story, visit https://startuparound.com/read/1583215205.5828488/[Funding-alert]-Scooter-sharing-startup-Bounce-raises-$6.5M-from-InnoVen-Capital?ref=audio_experience

The Karnataka government is planning to develop a nano park in its capital Bengaluru, and also plans to come out with a new science and technology policy.

In his inaugural address to the eleventh edition of Bengaluru India Nano 2020, Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa said the proposed park would be in collaboration with the Government of India.

The Government, the Chief Minister said, proposed to develop a nano park in collaboration with the Government of India.

The Chief Minister called upon scientists and engineers to come up with innovative nanotechnology based solutions for food and energy security, water purification, healthcare, waste management, and to combat environmental hazards.

He also said the government plans to come out with a new Science and Technology policy to promote Research and Development and related industries. | To read full story, visit https://startuparound.com/read/1583213405.5595825/Karnataka-to-set-up-nanotechnology-park,-to-come-out-with-new-S&T-policy?ref=audio_experience