AAA November 2012 – Page 6

2012 Powerlist: Urs Cete, BDMI

Urs Cete rose the ranks of Germany-based publisher Bertelsmann and its corporate venturing unit after he joined his “first real employer” eight years ago. Cete said: “I have a German business degree, so education-wise it looks like pure business. Yet part-time I am pure geek, using a soldering iron in my spare time. With this… Continue reading 2012 Powerlist: Urs Cete, BDMI

Innovacom backs French duo

Innovacom, a venture capital firm spun out of phone operator France Telecom but which remains as an investor, has backed two local companies. Olea Medical, a provider of advanced medical images, raised €4.2m ($6m) in its series B round from Innovacom and EMAL, Olea’s original investor. Separately, Innovacom earlier in the year backed the multi-million… Continue reading Innovacom backs French duo

Akimoto returns to Japan

Nobuyuki Akimoto has stepped backed from leading Japan-based phone operator NTT Docomo’s American corporate venturing unit to return home to make strategic investments. Last month, NTT Docomo formed a $125m incubator and corporate venturing fund for smartphone and tablet-related start-ups in Japan to complement its $100m fund in the US. The launch of the Y10bn… Continue reading Akimoto returns to Japan

Amantys arms with Moonray

Arm, a Nasdaq and London-listed chip maker, and the long-term corporate venturing unit of mutual fund manager Fidelity International have reinvested in UK-based smart grid company Amantys. Moonray Investors, which invests using Fidelity’s balance sheet to look for long-term investments in clean-tech and healthcare, and Arm invested $8m in Amantys’ series B round, following their… Continue reading Amantys arms with Moonray

Powerlist 2012: Johan Carlsson, Vovlo

Johan Carlsson took over Sweden-based vehicle manufacturer Volvo Group’s corporate venturing activities as president nearly two years ago. He recently unveiled a new strategy for Volvo Group Venture Capital. He  said: “When I took over this portfolio almost two years ago I looked over those transactions, trying to identify which ones had been more successful… Continue reading Powerlist 2012: Johan Carlsson, Vovlo