Missouri University announces plans for accelerator fund for startups, pencilled in at $1m to $3m.

The UK government-backed fund has secured commitments from Biogen, GlaxoSmithKline, Johnson & Johnson, Lilly, Pfizer and Takeda.

The employment assessment firm has set aside $1m to support edtech and employment technology startups in India, China and the US at seed stage.

Brick and mortar retailer Target has announced it will launch an accelerator programme for retail startups in partnership with Techstars in 2016.

Taofu Chengzhen, which has been trialled for the past six months, is a joint venture between Foxconn and Alibaba's cloud computing subsidiary.

National Grid, Southern Company and Xcel Energy have committed capital to a fund launched by Energy Impact Partners that will invest in sustainable and efficient energy technology.

Salesforce's corporate venturing unit is set to invest the cash to take advantage of an expected European cloud software boom in the next few years.

GE Ventures has extended its partnership with Startup Health Academy to attract a second group of at least 10 startups to their Entrepreneurship Program.

The firm is now seeking $20m for the fund, and Genting and GS Home Shopping are reported to be among its limited partners.