Separately, Salesforce has agreed to buy New York-listed ExactTarget for $2.5bn, or $33.75 per share.

Separately, Joel Krikston left JJDC last month to become president of RedLine Advisors.

Narrative previously held a $6m series A round in 2011, backed by venture capital firm Battery Ventures as the sole participant.

Japan corporate venturing players, Itochu Technology Ventures and Mitsubishi UFJ Capital, have come back to invest in a series B round valued at $3.4, to help accelerate the growth of Japan-based VIP flash fashion sales site, Muse & Co.

the venture capital arm of telecom giant Deutesche Telekom invests in a $13.6m round of funding for Numecent.

Mixi, the Japan-based social networking site and Facebook rival, is following other Japanese media and telecommunications companies into the corporate venturing market. Following two start-up investments in recent weeks, Mixi now plans to set up its own venturing unit later this year.

Founded in 2008 as a spin-out from the Technical University of Munich and led by Andreas Sichert, chief executive of Orcan Energy, the company provides ePack, a plug-and-play that allows waste heat to be exploited in the process of power generation.

Rocket Internet, the German e-commerce incubator, is heating things up again in Brazil with its latest $2.5m series B investment in Airu, an internet site that hosts independent retailers selling homemade and vintage goods. The latest deal reportedly almost doubles Rocket's investment in the Brazilian company.