In the context of greater water scarcity, technology conglomerate 3M follows ABB in making strategic investment in Israeli startup TaKaDu, provider of data analytics services for monitoring water networks.

The Innovation Network Corporation of Japan, a public-private partnership aimed at promoting innovation and enhancing the value of businesses in Japan, has invested $7.2m in US-based Zeptor, a battery technology company. The 27 corporate investors that invested collectively YEN14bn in the YEN280bn ($26bn) investment vehicle include Asahi Kasei Corporation, Canon Inc., Osaka Gas Co. and Sharp Corporation.

Chevron Technology Ventures extends series A funding to $8m for industrial asset monitoring company.

The reality is that the key to building an important and valuable company usually lies somewhere in between meddling and focus.