A round up of all the latest news on www.globalcorporateventuring.com for our subscribers.
Corporate venturing deal net: 16-20 April 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
KDDI and Global Brain connect for $187m fund
The telecommunications company has partnered venture firm Global Brain for a fund that will invest in VC funds targeting 5G-relevant companies.
Qiming catches Mayo Clinic for $935m fund
Mayo Clinic has contributed to venture firm Qiming Venture Partners’ $935m Qiming VI fund, announced alongside a $334m corporate-backed fund.
BBVA sends $50m to Sinovation Ventures
The bank has put up $50m for the China-based venture firm’s latest fund, which will invest $500m in AI-focused companies.
Barclays banks on corporate venturing
The financial services firm has set up a strategic investment unit that will target areas such as artificial intelligence, distributed ledger and smart contract technology.
BBVA Compass to direct more startups
BBVA’s US subsidiary will admit 35 startups to the BBVA Momentum accelerator this year following a successful first year in 2017.
Exits
GE is selling $58m of shares in the Dell EMC spinout, which is also backed by Ford and VMware, as it prepares to float in the middle of its range.
Cambia Health exits as Livongo buys Retrofit
Livongo has paid an undisclosed amount to acquire Cambia Health Solutions-backed weight and health management platform Retrofit.
Evelo reveals $100m IPO filing
The gut-based cancer and inflammatory disease drug developer has raised almost $170m from investors including Celgene, GV and Mayo Clinic.
Meilishuo makes plans for US IPO
The Tencent and Bertelsmann-backed social commerce platform has spoken to potential advisors and underwriters about an offering that could value it at $4bn.
Goldman Sachs achieves Clarity acquisition with $100m
Citi Ventures has exited the personal finance management app just over a year after leading its $11m series B round.
IT
RapidSOS gets $16m response from investors
CSAA Insurance and Microsoft Ventures both backed a round that took the emergency response technology provider’s total funding to about $35m.
The Recruit-backed contract review platform has now raised more than $21m in total after closing a round led by venture fund Aleph.
All the data storage software provider’s existing shareholders, including BroadBand Tower and HPE, returned for its latest round.
Cohesity courts SoftBank for $150m round
SoftBank Vision Fund is in line to lead the enterprise data storage software provider’s latest round at a $1bn+ valuation.
PullRequest passes series A review with $8m
Gradient Ventures, the Google unit that led coding review service PullRequest’s December seed round, returned to do the same for its series A.
Epistema goes Slack to raise $6m
Slack has invested in data collaboration platform developer Epistema alongside Mithril Capital Management.
Schlumberger-backed enterprise cybersecurity software provider Onapsis doubled its total funding in a series C round led by LLR Partners.
Intel Capital triggers Trigence’s series C round
Audio technology developer Trigence took its total funding to more than $20m with an Intel-backed round featuring Supreme Electronics.
Tencent carries MiningLamp to $159m series C
Tencent Industrial Capital has co-led a series C round for MiningLamp, a big data technology producer that raised $30m two years ago.
OwnBackup recovers Salesforce for new funding
The data backup and recovery software provider increased its overall funding to almost $27m with a $15.5m round featuring returning investor Salesforce.
Mapillary charts $15m in new funding
The street-level mapping data provider’s latest round was led by BMW i Ventures and included NavInfo and Samsung Catalyst Fund.
Axonize accepts $6m in series A round
The internet-of-things orchestration platform developer will use the funds from the Deutsche Telekom-backed round into product development and sales.
Health
Tmunity clocks series A round at $135m
KPCB helped add $35m to a round for the immunotherapy developer featuring Gilead Sciences, Ping An, Be The Match BioTherapies and Eli Lilly.
BenevolentAI generates $115m in funding
The AI-focused drug developer received cash from new and existing investors that could include Lundbeck and Upsher-Smith Laboratories.
Vineti processes series B capital
Founding investor GE Ventures participated in a $33.5m series B round that boosted the gene therapy platform’s total funding to more than $47m.
Common Sensing gets series A funding injection
Smart injection technology developer Common Sensing secured $6.6m in a round featuring Haselmeier and Royal Philips.
Media
FuboTV tunes into $75m series D
The streaming platform has now raised almost $150m in total, having secured funding from investors including 21st Century Fox, AMC Networks, Sky and Discovery.
Discord creates $50m in new round
The Tencent and Time Warner-backed developer of a game-based messaging platform with more than 87 million users, is now valued at $1.65bn.
Tencent considers $100m bet on Dream11
Dream11, the market leader in India’s daily fantasy sports sector, is in talks with Tencent over a $100m investment at a valuation of up to $450m.
Video++ puts more funding in the can
The video intelligence technology provider has raised $56.6m from investors including Alibaba and Megvii and has reportedly reached profitability.
Pear Video shapes $98m series A
Tencent led the People.cn-backed video news platform’s series A round, investing alongside fellow corporate Baidu.
Consumer
Alibaba branches out with Huitongda Network investment
Huitongda Network, a rural e-commerce spinout of appliance retailer Jiangsu Five Star, has received $717m in funding from Alibaba.
New Leshi Smart Home gets $477m housewarming gift
Sunac, Tencent, Suning and JD.com reportedly supplied $318m for the smart TV maker, an affiliate of LeEco, the rest coming in convertible debt.
Neisha nets Ant Financial as an investor
Ant Financial has invested an eight-figure RMB amount in electronic goods marketplace Neisha, which has now closed its series A+ round.
EDBI and Credence Partners co-led the Robert Bosch-backed flatbread appliance maker’s series C round as it expands into new markets.
Analysis: Tencent purchases from Pinduoduo in a $3bn round
Tencent led a $3bn funding round raised by e-commerce platform Pinduoduo at a $15bn valuation.
Financial
The online insurance marketplace developer will use the proceeds from the Transamerica-backed round for product development and expansion.
Alphabet-backed microfinance provider Tala secured $50m in a Revolution Growth-led series C round and another $15m in debt financing.
SoftBank enters Funding Societies in $25m round
Peer-to-peer lending platform Funding Societies has secured new funding in a series B round led by SoftBank Ventures Korea.
100Credit charges to $159m series C
The Union Mobile-backed loan services and technology provider has raised money that will support hiring and research and development.
Swedbank Robur makes Qapital investment
Swedbank Robur has led a funding round for savings app developer Qapital, whose existing shareholders include Anthemis Exponential Ventures.
GV helps form Basis in $133m round
Basis, the creator of a stablised cryptocurrency, has secured funding in a private placement that included GV, through a SAFT offering.
Bitarg pieces together Yahoo Japan investment
Yahoo Japan has purchased a 40% shareholding in cryptocurrency exchange Bitarg through its Z Corporation subsidiary for up to $28m.
SIG helps kick in $12m for Kadena
The blockchain developer has raised series B SAFT financing in a round that included Susquehanna International Group.
Energy and Natural Resources
Redaptive installs corporates in $20m round
The energy efficiency services provider has received funding in a CBRE-led round backed by corporate VC units Engie New Ventures and GXP Investments.
Shell Technology Ventures-backed energy storage platform Geli has raised $5.5m of an $8m round, taking its total funding to $19.5m.
Corporates help mete out $7m to Measurabl
Building sustainability database Measurabl has secured $7m in a Camber Creek-led round also featuring Salesforce Ventures.
Industrial
SpaceX gets $214m of cargo for $500m round
Undisclosed investors have contributed upwards of 40% of a planned $500m round for the GV-backed space services provider, according to a securities filing.
Goldwind enters Landspace’s orbit in series B round
Rocket and space launch vehicle developer Landspace has raised $31.8m in a round led by turbine maker Goldwind, taking its total funding to almost $80m.
Transport
Turo turns up series D to $104m
Sumitomo and American Express Ventures added $12m to a round already featuring Daimler, SK Holdings and Liberty Mutual Strategic Ventures.
Services
Drift slides into $60m series C
The marketing software provider raised its series C round from existing investors, though corporate HubSpot was not among them.
Honest Buildings hikes series B to $25m
The construction project management software developer received $3.5m from QuadReal and Altus Group and has raised $43m altogether.
