HUJ’s tech transfer arm still hopes to raise a further $3m for the fund to close it at $9m and has already invested in three technologies.

The Delft-affiliated fund has reached its first close on its way to a $120m target, having secured capital from a range of limited partners.

Shenzhen Huanuo Innovation was among the investors in a series B-plus round that will help the electronic components trading platform expand warehouse capacity.

Subsidiaries of 3M and Caterpillar have both backed smart industrial hardhat developer Guardhat, boosting its overall funding to $24m.

Université libre de Bruxelles has added a fourth Theodorus fund to its arsenal with an initial close of $23m and a target of up to $33.5m.

The 2016 Purdue spinout has been backed by angel investor Archibald Cox and the Ustar Tap accelerator as it seeks US defence agency-adoption for its missile propellant.

Each Friday the Global Corporate Venturing Deal Net rounds up the week’s smaller deals and tracks the emerging companies accessing corporate funds.

Industrial robot producer Rethink Robotics had raised $136m from backers including GE Ventures but has ceased trading after failing to close a planned acquisition deal.

University of Michigan's manufacturing coolant spinout Fusion Coolant Systems has been backed by the institution's Mints fund, taking its total to $9.9m.

KIT-founded valve actuator manufacturer Memetis has received capital from the university and HTGF to help expand development and production.