Consumer

Womai.com, the food and beverage-commerce platform formed by state-backed firm COFCO, has closed a series C round co-led by Baidu and Taikang Life Insurance.

The merger of Dianping and Meituan is emblematic of the consolidation in China's internet sector, where growth is essential to prevent being overtaken by businesses with bigger wallets.

SoftBank and AOL have both returned to back a $15m funding round for the on-demand beauty service, which has now raised $24m in total.

Sector Focus: Energy and utilities

Furniture manufacturer Spacewood has received $14m from the wood materials supplier, also now a strategic partner, in return for a 26% stake.

SAP-backed Sapphire Ventures will exit the ticketing technology platform through an acquisition that will expand music recommendation service Pandora's product offering.

The China-based local services and group buying companies had raised a combined $2.6bn from backers including Alibaba, Tencent, Xiaomi, Fosun and Wanda Group.

The Google-backed food developer secured the cash in a UBS-led round that is expected to support the launch of its first products.

Bill Gates among investors in $108m series D for Stanford spinout Impossible Foods, which is looking to make meat from plants.