Large tech corporations are showing a growing interest in backing consumer gadgets despite the inherent risks in this category.
In September, Global Corporate Venturing tracked 27 startup fund raises in the consumer sector with backing from corporate investors. A majority of these deals were in Asia, with consumer electronics startups in particular drawing funding from technology groups.
Chip designer Qualcomm’s venture arm led Ultrahuman’s $70m round, computer-peripherals maker Logitech backed games-console maker Nex and PC maker Lenovo’s venture arm backed China’s Violoop.
Ultrahuman triples its valuation, but can it outrun Oura in America?
Corporate investors: Laboratory Corporation of America, Qualcomm Ventures
Bengaluru-based smart-ring maker Ultrahuman has raised $70m, split into $65m of primary equity and $5m of debt, in a round led by Qualcomm Ventures, the venture arm of chip designer Qualcomm. The round is estimated to value Ultrahuman at $365m, about three times its $120m valuation in 2023. It follows a $35m series B and a $17.5m series A.
The funding comes as Ultrahuman looks for ways to enter the US market, after a patent dispute with Oura has kept its Ring Air out of the market for most of the past year. Ultrahuman has now completed a redesign that may get it around the patent violation claims and is countersuing Oura in India. Most of Oura’s other rivals have opted to settle or go for licencing deals with the Finnish company rather than risking a long courtroom drama, but Ultrahuman looks like it has more stomach for a fight.
Ultrahuman and its backers may need deep pockets, however, as Oura is now heading for a listing that could give it a market cap of $14.1bn.
Can a camera-only console keep a million families paying once the novelty fades?
Corporate investors BAI Capital, Logitech and NBA Investments
Nex, maker of the controller-free Nex Playground console, has raised more than $150m of debt and equity in a series E round co-led by BAI Capital, the China-based fund affiliated with German media company Bertelsmann. Computer-peripherals maker Logitech and the NBA’s investment arm also participated. No valuation was disclosed, and Nex has not said how much of the $150m is debt.
California-headquartered Nex’s console is the latest take on motion gaming, with a camera to tracking players’ bodies, so games are played by moving rather than pressing buttons. The company has sold more than 1m units to date, with a subscriber base growing seven-fold in the past 18 months. The latest funding will go towards expansion in the US, Canada, UK, Ireland and Germany, as well as rest of Europe and Asia.
Nex’s timing is good, as both parents and legislators are increasingly looking to limit the time children spend looking at screens. However, motion gaming has been here before: Nintendo’s Wii and Microsoft’s Kinect both sold in volume and both faded once families stopped standing up. Nex’s answer is the subscription. If a million households are happy to keep paying $89 a year to access a library of games, this is a media business, not a hardware one.
Alongside the technology deals, there were several across other consumer areas, including the beauty sector, with cosmetics group Amorepacific investing in Korea’s Makemake, Unilever Ventures backing Arey and beauty retailer Nykaa funding Earth Rhythm.
The Indian drinks industry also saw alcoholic beverage company Tilaknagar Industries expand its footprint across new drinks categories.
Owner of Imperial Blue whisky bets on the rising popularity of tequila in India
Corporate investor: Tilaknagar Industries
Imperial Blue whisky maker Tilaknagar Industries is paying ₹22 crore (approximatey $2.3m) for a 30% stake in Mumbai-based Black Tiger Distilleries, which is focused on bringing Mexican tequila to the Indian market. This is Tilaknagar’s third strategic investment in an emerging beverage business and its first foray into agave.
Black Tiger owns the brand, not the still. Its Bodega Suprema No. 5, a 100% Blue Weber agave tequila, is produced in Jalisco, Mexico, by Productos Finos de Agave and sold in India at ₹4,200–₹5,500 ($43 to $57) a bottle.
The minority investment is small compared to the $500m Tilaknagar paid to buy the Imperial Blue brand from Pernod Ricard last year 2025. But it gives the company an option in a fast-growing drinks category in the Indian market. Consumption volumes of tequila in India grew at around 60% a year between 2020 and 2025, making it the fastest-growing major market for the drink.
Recent consumer sector startup funding rounds with corporate backing.
Track all the recent funding rounds in The CVC Funding Round Database
