Energy

Ziebel, a Norwegian provider of specialist well intervention services for the oil and gas industry, has closed a round of growth capital raising $10m. The funding was secured from lead investor ConocoPhillips Technology Ventures, along with Chevron Technology Ventures, and Energy Technology Ventures. Existing Ziebel investors Energy Ventures, Viking Venture, Jebsen Asset Management, Investinor, and Klaveness Invest also participated in the round.

Samsung Venture Investment Corporation, the venture capital arm of Samsung Group, has made a strategic investment in XG Sciences. Philip Rose, XG Sciences CEO, said the investment will be used to fund additional research and development of the company's advanced materials. The terms of the investment were not disclosed.

The following is an except from an upcoming feature in Global University Venturing which focuses on the relationship between universities and the gaming sector, and the recent acquision of Oxford spin-out NaturalMotion by games developer Zynga.

News editor Quentin Carruthers reports on deal activity during January.

Gregg Bayes-Brown, news editor of our sister title Global University Venturing, looks at how Canada is trying to ensure it stays on top of innovation despite worries this aspect of the economy is under performing.

Venturing in the services sector was on a roll last year, as
the intermediaries that help the business world function
capitalised on their strong relationships.

Energy grid management software provider AutoGrid Systems has raised $12.75m in series C financing from investors included Germany-based energy utility E.ON, looking to deploy its big data analytics in making energy cleaner.

A summary of some of the most active corporate venturing units last year, with the link to our 2013 data supplement.

Kazan, a Russian city in Tatarstan, two hours drive from Moscow, is pulling out all the stops in an effort to become the go-to computer science cluster in eastern Europe.