WaveOptics makes a splash with $26m
IP Group has backed AR technology developer WaveOptics, building on the position taken by Touchstone Innovations, which it now owns, in 2015 and 2017.
Corporates experience Telexistence’s series A
Tokyo’s experiential robot developer Telexistence has won funding from a investors including the university’s Innovation Platform and a host of corporates.
Lund launches Asgard Therapeutics
Asgard Therapeutics will develop cancer therapies which use reprogrammed human skin cells to improve the immune system’s capacity to identify cancerous particles.
Stanford helps EdCast curate fresh funding
The AI-based contextual insight service has closed a $33.6m round that included Stanford University, taking its total funding to almost $56m.
Parakey unlocks $1m
Chalmers Ventures has again supplied smart lock supplier Parakey with funding after investing alongside IoT and wireless tech firm Qamcom in 2016.
Robot++ reaches $2.9m summit
Baidu has provided Robot++ with pre-series A funding following an angel round backed by a Tsinghua incubator in April 2018.
10X Genomics picks up Spatial Transcriptomics
10X Genomics has purchased genomic analysis platform Spatial Transcriptomics, based on research at Karolinska Institute and KTH Royal Institute of Technology.
Uniseed sends Cardihab $1.4m
Uniseed has returned to back Csiro digital health spinout Cardihab after an earlier round which also raised $1.4m in 2017.
Axelspace explores $23m series B round
UTokyo Innovation Platform has backed a $22.8m investment round for Axelspace that will fund the launch of the Tokyo spinout’s latest satellite.
Purdue entices Henderson
Scott Henderson has become Purdue Research Foundation’s chief entrepreneurial officer to guide through ecosystems at Purdue projects such as the Discovery Park research district.
Istesso stakes $7.6m
IP Group has poured more funding into Istesso, whose treatment for rheumatoid arthritis traces its roots to an Aberdeen spinout, to drive immuno-metabolism therapies for autoimmune diseases.
Purdue entices Henderson
Scott Henderson has become Purdue Research Foundation’s chief entrepreneurial officer to guide through ecosystems at Purdue projects such as the Discovery Park research district.
Robert Gordon primes accelerator
A total of 28 participants will receive up to $12,650 of capital to support business proposals in spaces including healthcare, fintech, fashion and retail.
Uniseed plants $485,000 in Wildlife Drones
ANU wildlife monitoring spinout Wildlife Drones previously turned to a Csiro-run accelerator to help get its drone-powered animal tracking system off the ground.
UCL eyes $126m second fund
University College London hopes to generate as much as $126m for its second Technology Fund, with British Business Bank thought to be among potential limited partners.
Kets Quantum secures $2.5m
Bristol quantum computer security spinout Kets Quantum Security has won investment from Kx Systems after joining the corporate-backed Teac communications accelerator last year.
Zest Tea brews $1m
The tea product supplier has become the fourth business backed by University of Maryland Momentum Fund.
Moderna loads up $604m in IPO
Investors including co-founder and Harvard professor Timothy Springer scored exits as mRNA therapy developer Moderna floated in the largest biotech IPO of all time.
Mission Bio identifies $30m series B
Agilent and Lam Research participated in a $30m series B for UCSF’s DNA analysis spinout Mission Bio, whose existing shareholders include Stanford-StartX Fund.
Threatray registers seed funding
Newly-launched Bern University of Applied Sciences spinout Threatray believes its automated malware detection design will improve upon existing approaches.
Fraunhofer energises Mondas
Industrial analytics spinout Mondas is targeting energy applications and has already started testing at a local solar energy network.
Sensorygen bites into $50,000
Vertical Venture Partners has joined university venture fund Highlander Venture Fund as an investor in UC Riverside-founded mosquito repellent developer Sensorygen.
DenovoMatrix binds funding
TU Dresden spinout DenovoMatrix hopes to commercialise a method for effectively cultivating stem cell production.

Corporate venturing deal net: 10-14 December 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

Shea helps Calibrate summon $80m first fund

Two former managing directors of Shea Ventures have raised $80m from limited partners including JF Shea for Calibrate’s inaugural fund.

HubSpot finds room for $30m fund

The indoor farming specialist intends to expand rapidly in 2019 after raising $90m in a round led by existing investor GV.

L’Oréal shows corporate venturing is worth it

Cosmetic brand L’Oréal’s Bold Business Opportunities for L’Oréal Development has already made its first investment, in online fragrance creator Sillages Paris.

Constellation to pour $100m into female-led startups

Alcoholic beverage producer Constellation Brands plans to provide $100m for female-led companies through its newly formed Focus on Female Founders initiative.

Constellation to pour $100m into female-led startups

Alcoholic beverage producer Constellation Brands plans to provide $100m for female-led companies through its newly formed Focus on Female Founders initiative.

Bytedance takes a turn at corporate venturing

The digital media company is putting together a $1.44bn fund in which it will provide 20% of the capital, targeting state-owned vehicles for the rest.

People

Zhong leaves Next47 for CR Capital

Next47 associate Rachel Zhong has taken a position at CR Capital, which manages a $16bn fund on behalf of conglomerate China Resources Group.

SoftBank bolsters Vision Fund with new hires

SoftBank Vision Fund has hired Kirthiga Reddy as a Silicon Valley-based venture partner and Carolina Brochado for its London office.

Qian moves up at JD Finance

Bill Qian, JD Finance’s head of cross-border M&A, was promoted to general manager of corporate ventures in July.

Del Palacio departs from M12

Itxaso del Palacio has left her partner position at M12 in order to become an investment director at venture firm Notion Capital.

Exits

GV-backed Basis loses its balance

Stablecoin developer Basis is shutting down after facing regulatory issues and will return most of the $133m it raised from investors including GV in April.

Cisco lines up nine-figure Luxtera acquisition

Cisco has reportedly outbid others and is set to buy Tokyo Electron-backed semiconductor technology developer Luxtera for hundreds of millions of dollars.

Airbnb and Slack consider direct listing

Airbnb and Slack are considering following in the footsteps of Spotify by exploring a direct listing rather than going the traditional route through Wall Street.

Tripping arrives at HomeToGo

HomeToGo has acquired Recruit-backed holiday home rental platform Tripping for an undisclosed sum, while also raising an amount likely to be about $120m.

Blippar slips toward insolvency

Kazanah Nasional is reportedly blocking emergency funding for the Qualcomm-backed AR technology developer, which has raised some $137m while trying to locate a sustainable business model.

Moderna loads up $604m in IPO

AstraZeneca, Merck & Co and Alexion all scored exits as mRNA therapy developer Moderna floated in the largest biotech IPO of all time.

Mogu modulates US IPO

Tencent, Ping An and Bertelsmann-backed e-commerce platform Mogu has floated on the New York Stock Exchange in a $66.5m initial public offering.

Uber and Slack slide closer to IPO

Uber has confidentially filed for an initial public offering while Slack has hired Goldman Sachs to lead its own IPO at a purported $10bn valuation.

M17 makes $25m to beat IPO blues

M17 Entertainment, backed by MCN, Yahoo Japan and LeSports, has collected $25m after a failed attempt at an IPO earlier this year.

IT

InVision gets $115m series F infusion

Atlassian contributed to the round as part of a previously announced strategic agreement with InVision to integrate each other’s technologies into their respective products.

Megvii makes for $500m in new funding

The facial and body recognition software developer is lining up a round that would value it at between $3.5bn and $4bn, with existing backer Alibaba a possible investor.

Emotibot computes $30m series B

Ecovacs Robotics invested in the emotion-recognition technology developer as part of a series B round, participating as an existing backer.

NavVis maps out $35m series C

Kozo Keikaku Engineering and BayBG were among the investors in a round that took the indoor mapping technology developer’s total funding past $45m.

WaveOptics makes a splash with $26m

Robert Bosch Venture Capital reinvested in the augmented reality technology developer as part of a round that valued it at $96m.

Abeja adds another corporate to series C round

The retail technology provider has received an undisclosed amount of funding from Google, boosting a series C round sized at $38.3m as of July.

GitLab’s series D hits $120m

Goldman Sachs has invested $20m in a series D round for the software development technology provider that already included GV.

Aiqi accepts series B funding

The Xiaomi and Ping An-backed toy maker has completed a $14.6m funding round led by venture capital firm Volcanics Venture.

Health

Corporates help complete Mission Bio’s series B round

Agilent and Lam Research participated in a $30m round for UCSF’s DNA analysis spinout, Mission Bio, whose existing shareholders include Stanford-StartX Fund.

Genomics gees up series B round

Drug discovery technology provider Genomics has closed a second tranche of its oversubscribed series B round to increase its size to $41.7m.

Kallyope carries series B round to $87m

The gut-brain therapy developer has closed a $21m extension to its series B round backed by Illumina and Alexandria Real Estate Equities.

Media

Niantic looks to catch another $200m

Just over a year after its $200m series B round, Pokémon Go developer Niantic is raising another $200m from investors including Samsung and Axiomatic Gaming.

Consumer

Aria Systems organises $30m equity payment

Dell-backed cloud billing service Aria Systems has now raised $180m altogether, securing $30m from Runway Capital and its existing investors.

Farfetch runs to $250m Stadium Goods acquisition

The fashion e-commerce platform has agreed to buy Stadium Goods less than two years after its $4.6m series A round, handing exits to LMVH and Chernin Group.

Tokopedia tops up latest round to $1.1bn

SoftBank Vision Fund and Alibaba have co-led a $1.1bn round for the e-commerce marketplace that also featured Softbank Ventures Korea.

Green Rice cooks up series B-plus funding

The smart device developer, which counts SEB and Xiaomi as backers, has raised tens of millions of dollars in its third funding round this year.

Meiri Yitao produces $100m series B

The fruit and vegetable-focused social commerce platform was incubated by MissFresh and has just raised $100m in an SIG-backed round.

NuOrder shops $15m series C

The NewSpring-led round took the B2B e-commerce platform’s funding to$40m to date, from investors that include Novel Group and Creative Artists Agency.

Happiest Baby rests with $23m series B

GV was among the participants in a series B round that boosted the artificial intelligence-equipped bassinet developer’s total funding to $33m.

Financial

Plaid prises $250m from investors

The GV-backed financial software technology provider raised series C funding in a Kleiner Perkins-led round that valued it at $2.65bn.

Corporates help ShopKeep round up $65m

The fintech platform has raised equity financing from backers including First Data and Salesforce Ventures while Orix and Pacific Western Bank provided debt.

Corporates help ShopKeep round up $65m

The fintech platform has raised equity financing from backers including First Data and Salesforce Ventures while Orix and Pacific Western Bank provided debt.

Viva Republica gets $80m funding transfer

Novel and existing investors PayPal and Qualcomm Ventures all contributed to a round for Toss owner Viva Republica that valued it at $1.2bn.

Energy and Natural Resources

Bowery to grow with $90m

The indoor farming specialist intends to expand rapidly in 2019 after raising $90m in a round led by existing investor GV.

Industrial

Ninjacart produces series B funding

Qualcomm Ventures, Syngenta Ventures and NeoPlux all contributed to a $34.7m round that took the farm-to-restaurant food sourcing platform’s equity funding to more than $48m.

Axelspace explores series B round

Mitsui and Dai-ichi Life have backed a $22.9m investment round led by 31Ventures Global Innovation Fund that will fund the launch of Axelspace’s latest satellite.

Telexistence reaches out to corporates in series A

KDDI, Airbus, Global Logistic Properties, JTB and Maeda Industry all chipped in as the experiential robotics startup raised an undisclosed amount.

Transport

Grab revs up $150m Yamaha investment

Grab has increased its latest round to $2.85bn with a $150m investment by its latest strategic partner, Yamaha Motor.

AutoNation goes Vroom in $146m series G

The car retailer invested $50m to lead Vroom’s series G round, becoming its first corporate backer and helping increase the online car retailer’s total funding to $440m.

ParkJockey packs in funding at unicorn valuation

Parking technology and services provider ParkJockey has received an undisclosed amount from SoftBank at a reported billion-dollar valuation.

G7 tracks corporates to raise $320m

The fleet monitoring software provider’s latest round, concluded in October but only revealed now, featured Total Energy Ventures, Tencent, GLP and Bank of China.

Services

Licious orders in $25m

Nichirei Corp led Licious’ series D round, three months after the online meat and fish delivery service raised $25m in a separate round led by Bertelsmann.

Byju’s nets Naspers on its way to $400m

Naspers Ventures is leading a funding round for Byju’s already sized at $322m, with a $400m target, that is valuing the online learning platform at $3.6bn.

Corporates help EdCast curate fresh funding

The AI-based contextual insight service has closed a $33.6m round that included SoftBank, Relx and Crescent Enterprises, taking its total funding to almost $56m.