A round up of all the latest news on www.globalcorporateventuring.com for our subscribers.
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Corporate venturing deal net: 29 January-2 February 2018
Each Friday the Global Corporate Venturing Deal Net rounds up the week’s smaller deals and tracks the emerging companies accessing corporate funds.
Fundraising
Baidu Ventures bands together $318m
The coprorate venturing unit’s third fund, its second in renminbi, will make investments in artificial intelligence and big data-oriented companies.
V2 hits $10m target for seed fund
Game developer V2 Games has changed tack to become a game-focused investment firm, with Victory Square Technologies as an LP.
Corporates to star in Stellaris fund
Venture capital firm Stellaris Venture Partners is targeting $100m for its first fund and has attracted Cisco, SAP and Infosys as limited partners.
Spiral Japan reaches $64m close
Asics, Seino Holdings, Mori Trust and Tosho Printing have chipped in to help venture capital fund Spiral Ventures Japan close its fund.
SoftBank is among the limited partners that have contributed to the artificial intelligence-focused incubator and venture capital fund.
3one4 Capital accesses Reliance for second fund
A Reliance Industries subsidiary has contributed to the Indian venture firm’s $39.3m 3one4 Capital Fund II, which will invest up to $2m per deal.
Playtika to put up to $400m into corporate venturing
The social game developer will invest in growth-stage digital entertainment and consumer internet companies through its Playtika Growth Investments fund.
Exits
American Express books Mezi acquisition
Personal travel assistant developer Mezi had raised $9m in an American Express Ventures-backed series A round 18 months ago.
Red Hat collects CoreOS for $250m
Infrastructure automation technology developer CoreOS, which had raised $48m from investors including GV and Intel Capital, has agreed to an acquistion by Red Hat.
Restorbio realises IPO ambitions
The respiratory tract infection therapy developer, which counts Novartis and PureTech Health as investors, has closed its IPO at $97.8m.
Armo protects bottom line with $128m IPO
The immuno-oncology drug developer, which is backed by Celgene and GV, floated above its range and has since seen its share price rise 75%.
Menlo Therapeutics meets public markets with $137m
The pruritus treatment developer, which counts Novo and Merck & Co as shareholders, has closed its initial public offering, its shares having almost doubled in price.
Solid Biosciences hardens profile with flotation
The Biogen-backed Duchenne muscular dystrophy drug developer saw its share price rise sharply after securing approximately $125m in its IPO.
Bioceres prepares to plant itself in public markets
The seed and fertliliser producer, which counts Monsanto as an investor, has set the range for an initial public offering that could net up to $142m.
IT
Bespin Global revolves to $27m
ST Telemedia led the Hyosung ITX-backed cloud services and software provider’s latest round, which included existing investor Legend Capital.
BehavioSec bets on corporates for series B
Cisco and ABN Amro have signed up to a $17.5m round for the authentication technology technology that will fund its move to the US.
BehavioSec bets on corporates for series B
Cisco and ABN Amro have signed up to a $17.5m round for the authentication technology technology that will fund its move to the US.
Mnubo connects with HSB in series B round
Munich Re’s HSB Group led the $13.4m round as part of a strategic partnership agreement with the internet-of-things data software provider.
Comcast and SAP have both backed the data protection compliance software developer months ahead of the launch of the EU’s GDPR data protection laws.
Deutsche Börse, Ericsson, Google and New York Life all took part in a round that increased the total raised by the data wrangling software provider to $124m.
Duco engineers $28m funding round
The data engineering software provider has received capital in a round that included returning investor Nex Euclid Opportunities.
Matrixx absorbs $40m in series C round
The telecoms digitalisation software producer has raised cash from investors including CK Hutchison and existing backers Telstra Ventures and Swisscom Ventures.
Occipital scopes $15m in series C funding
Foundry Group has led the first close of the Intel and JF Shea-backed computer vision technology developer’s latest round, taking its total funding to $35m.
GV led the design modelling platform’s latest round, which also featured strategic investors Home Depot and Standard Industries.
Kingsoft Cloud stores another $200m in funding
Kingsoft has invested $100m in its cloud services spinoff, a month after contributing to its $300m series D round.
Microsoft helps Unravel $15m series B
Unravel Data emerged from stealth in 2016 with a big data software optimisation package built on AI, machine learning and predictive analytics.
Health
Moderna re-enters funding mode to raise $500m
Messenger RNA therapy developer Moderna Therapeutics, which counts AstraZeneca and Alexion as backers, has now raised a total of $1.6bn in equity funding.
Neuspera nets $26m in series B funding
The WuXi PharmaTech-led 6 Dimensions Capital has led the first tranche of neuromodulation technology developer Neuspera Medical’s latest round.
Tyto Care tightens up with $25m
Ping An Global Voyager Fund led a round that included Walgreens, Cambia Health Solutions and Shanghai Fosun Pharmaceuticals.
XtalPi extracts $15m in series B round
The pharmaceutical development technology provider has received funding from investors including Google and series A backer Tencent.
Ultivue marks series B with $20m
Applied Ventures invested in the Ultivue as part of a series B round that will be used to develop its biomarker detection technology.
Media
Chernin puts another $15m on Barstool
Chernin acquired a 51% stake in anti-PC sports media brand Barstool Sports, which is now valued at $100m, in 2016.
Tencent takes a step into Skydance
The China-based corporate has paid more than $100m for a 5% to 10% stake in the film and television producer as part of a partnership agreement.
Consumer
Naspers enters Joymode through series A investment
Joymode, which rents out equipment for curated leisure experiences, secured $14.4m in the Naspers Ventures-led series A round.
Ikea helps spoon funding to Matsmart
The surplus food e-commerce platform has secured $12.6m in an Ikea-backed round that likely also featured Axel Johnson.
Ripple reaches series C to raise $65m
Ripple Foods, a developer of vegan substitutes for dairy products, increased its overall funding to $110m with a round featuring existing investor GV.
Sun Basket bags series D funding
The healthy meal delivery service raised $42.8m from investors including Unilever Ventures along with $15m of debt financing.
Financial
Meiliche finds New Hope to raise $92m
New Hope Group has led a series B round for Meiliche, the automotive finance spinout of online lender Meili, which included financial managment platform Wacai.
The cloud banking software provider has secured $51.8m in a Salesforce Ventures-led round that will support product development.
Paddle8 resurfaces with money from The Native
The Native has invested about $9m in online auction operator Paddle8 and has an option to increase its stake from 15% to 51% if it chooses.
Appetize cashes up $20m in series B
The R/GA-backed payment processing and inventory management software has now raised $20m in each of its last two funding rounds.
Anorak covers seed round with Kamet’s help
Axa’s Kamet Ventures incubator has supplied $5.6m in seed capital for life insurance comparison platform Anorak Technologies.
Hsuanzhang handles Xiaomi-led series B2 round
The CreditEase-backed enterprise financial management platform has secured $31.6m in a Xiaomi-led round that included 51Xinyongka.
Industrial
Aledia aligns with corporates for series C
Intel Capital and existing backer Ikea contributed to a $37.4m round that increased the 3D LED display developer’s total funding to about $81m.
Transport
Victor wins $18m to fly higher
The jet chartering marketplace has secured funding in a BP and BBA-backed round that will fund the launch of an umbrella entity called Alyssum Group.
Corporate venturing units InnovAllianz and Via ID both invested in the France-based ride hailing service as it prepares to expand geographically.
Analysis: Strong start for transport in January
The first month of the new year was marked by large and notable deals in the transport sector.
Corporates drive $348m round for Xiaopeng
Xiaopeng has raised capital in a round co-led by Alibaba, Foxconn and IDG Capital as it gears up to launch its electric sports utility vehicle.
Nexar navigates its way to $30m
The safe-driving app developer took its overall funding to almost $45m with a round featuring Alibaba Innovation Ventures and Nationwide.
Services
BigBasket pockets $300m at $950m valuation
Alibaba invested $146m to lead the round, which more than doubled the valuation of the India-based online grocer inside two years.
Ant Financial takes $200m bite of Zomato
The investment includes a $50m secondary share purchase from Info Edge and values restaurant listings platform Zomato at $1.1bn.
Sequoia Capital led the Shea Ventures-backed trucking services marketplace’s series B round, which follows a $5m series A early last year.
Lufthansa helps unload $10m for Fleet
Freight shipping marketplace operator Fleet will put the proceeds from the series A round, which was led by Lufthansa and backed by UPS, into recruitment and product development.
SoftBank Vision Fund throws Wag a $300m bone
The fund will invest $300m in dog walking service Wag as part of a deal that will involve SoftBank’s Jeffrey Housenbold becoming its chairman.
SevenVentures, Helvetia Venture Fund and Axa Germany have participated in a $13.6m series B round for the home renovation services platform.
