AAA April 2013

IDG Ventures backs India’s Myntra in US acquisition

US-based publisher International Data Group’s (IDG) global corporate venturing unit has invested in Myntra, India’s largest online fashion and lifestyle store, to help it acquire virtual fitting room creator Fitiquette. Alongside IDG Ventures in the round were hedge fund Tiger Global and  venture capital firms Kalaari Capital and Accel Partners. Financial details for the investment… Continue reading IDG Ventures backs India’s Myntra in US acquisition

High Fidelity searches out $2.4m

Early stage venture capital firm True Ventures has led the $2.4m series A round for High Fidelity, a US-based online community startup created by the founder of the Second Life “Virtual World” [pictured]. Google Ventures, the corporate venturing unit of the US-based search engine, also reportedly participated in the round alongside a number of angel… Continue reading High Fidelity searches out $2.4m

HTGF strikes first US deal

High-Tech Gruenderfonds (HTGF), a Germany-based state and corporate-backed early-stage investment firm, has invested in Pylba, a mobile news service provider, as its first American deal. US-based Pylba said it had raised $1.7m in its series A round from HTGF, several undisclosed strategic investors and business angels. The money will help Pylba launch its product, Simply,… Continue reading HTGF strikes first US deal

Statoil loops back to Numascale

Statoil Technology Invest (STI), the corporate venturing unit of the eponymous Norway-based oil major, has increased its ownership in local server infrastructure firm Numascale to 17.5%. STI said the investment, which happened in January, followed “successful testing of Numascale’s [NumaConnect] technology through the Loop program” as it had applications with extremely large data memory requirements.… Continue reading Statoil loops back to Numascale

Corporate innovation catches the eye

At $280bn, corporates spend more than 60 times on their in-house R&D than they do through their corporate venturing units, which SVB estimates at $4.4bn. This is despite SVB’s Gerald Brady saying a dollar spent on corporate venturing brings three times the number of patents as the same dollar invested in R&D.

LifeImage shares with strategics

LifeImage, a US-based network for sharing medical images and related health information, has raised $15m in its series C round from a consortium including its existing strategic investors. Venture capital firms Cardinal Partners and Galen Partners, the company’s largest existing investors, led the round. On LifeImage’s board are representatives from VC peer Long River Ventures,… Continue reading LifeImage shares with strategics