In January, Axel Springer said it had also bought a 49% stake in Germany-based conference provider Hy! Berlin.

Pixlee, a US-based social media advertising services provider, has raised $1m from a consortium including Germany-based media group Axel Springer and angel investors from network Facebook and its subsidiary Instagram.

Kyle Wong, an alumnus from Stanford University’s engineering department, co-founded Pixlee, which has graduated from the education institute’s StartX accelerator.

Axel Springer has been building its presence in Silicon Valley, California, and has struck a partnership with local incubator Plug and Play to build links between the US and Germany.

…