This week’s family investment deals

The Drake Group, an investment office owned by retail billionaire Nicolas Ibañez Scott, has backed Glover, which allows customers to track their deliveries in real time. The Drake Group was one of four investors in a Series D round worth $169 million for the Spain-based venture.

La Famiglia (The Family) – a venture group owned by a number of prominent European business families including the family owners connected to the giant appliance maker Miele; members of the Siemens family; the Viessmann family, behind the eponymous German family business; the family behind the Austrian luxury group Swarovski, and family owners of the Belgian chemical group, Solvay – has helped seed a US startup called Deel, an international payments group. La Famiglia was one of five investors committing an unspecified amount to Deel.

La Famiglia was also behind a Series B round for a French venture called FretLink, a SaaS marketplace platform connecting transportation companies with customers. La Famiglia was one of nine investors committing €25 million in a Series B round for FretLink.  

Thrive Capital, an investment group owned by Joshua Kushner, has invested in Lattice, an online enterprise platform. Thrive was one of four investors in a Series B round worth $15 million for the US-based group.

Dagmar Dolby, the widow of Ray Dolby, the inventor of the Dolby noise reduction system, who is linked to two family investment groups, Dolby Family Ventures and the Ray and Dagmar Dolby Family Fund, has seeded MemoryWell, a online educational platform. Dagmar was one of four investors backing the US startup with $1 million.

Wu Capital, a Beijing-based family office owned by Yajan Wu, a prominent China-based real estate developer, has invested in Cassia Networks, which makes Bluetooth routers. Wu Capital backed the US group in a Series B round worth $10 million.

French investor Michael Benabou and his investment office Financial Saint James has backed WeMaintain, a B2B platform linking skilled technicians and professional customers. Four investors backed the group in a Series A round worth €7 million. Also backing the French startup was Spice Capital/OTEO Investment, a London-based family office believed to be owned by a French family, and Raise Ventures, which was founded by Gonzague de Blignières, a French businessman, and Clara Gaymard.

Emil Capital Partners, a US-based investment group linked to the Haub family, which own one of Germany’s biggest holding groups the Tengelmann Group, has invested in milk + honey spa, a spa treatment group. Also investing in the US group was Keller Capital, the family office of Gary Keller.

Pritzker Group Venture Capital, which is owned by J.B. Pritzker, has invested in  Specright, a web-based packaging specification system. Pritzker lead the Series A round with three other investors, which was worth $8.8 million for the US group.

Godrej family office, which is owned by the Indian-based Godrej family, has seeded an Indian startup called ZunRoof with $1.2 million in capital.

Thorney Investment Group, which is owned by Alex Waislitz, a Melbourne-based businessman, has backed an Australian edtech startup called Cluey Learning. Thorney was one of two investors in a Series A round worth A$20 million.

Alexandria Venture Investments, the private investment vehicle of Joel Marcus, has backed Vividion Therapeutics, a biotech group. Alexandria was one of 12 investors in a Series B round worth $82 million for the US group.