Leyou Technologies paid $10m for a 20% stake in game studio Certain Affinity and has an option to acquire it for up to $150m in 2021.
Month: October 2017
Interview: Schlumberger’s win-win-win venturing
What is the overall investment thesis of (STI) ? Our primary driver for making our venture investments in startups is strategic. As a company, we have identified key technologies and themes or sectors that we are focused on in the medium term. Our remit, both in terms of technologies and sectors, is quite broad-ranging, from… Continue reading Interview: Schlumberger’s win-win-win venturing
Interview: Reducing costs with a ‘lower for longer’ oil price
GCV’s Tom Whitehouse and Kaloyan Andonov spoke to Geert van de Wouw, managing director of Shell Technology Ventures, the corporate venturing unit of oil and gas major Royal Dutch Shell, about the unit’s focus on industry-relevant technologies that lead to cost reductions or making assets more resilient, and how hurricane Harvey in Houston and low… Continue reading Interview: Reducing costs with a ‘lower for longer’ oil price
Duo Security verifies $70m series D
The user verification platform took its total funding to $119m with a Workday-backed round that valued it at $1.17bn post money.
Lyft arrives at $1bn round
CapitalG, Alphabet’s growth-stage investment arm, has led a $1bn funding round for Lyft that valued the ride hailing platform at $11bn.
Intel Capital reaches Horizon in $60m data spree
The unit is set to lead a $100m round for Horizon Robotics as part of $60m investment in data-focused companies, taking its total 2017 spending to almost $570m.
Interview: Houston – centre of the third US coast
GCV’s Tom Whitehouse and Kaloyan Andonov spoke to Kemal Anbarci, vice-president and managing executive of Chevron Technology Ventures, the Houston-based venturing unit of oil and gas major Chevron, about the efforts to rebuild Houston after hurricane Harvey and attract more capital to the city, the financial and industrial centre of the US “third coast”. Anbarci… Continue reading Interview: Houston – centre of the third US coast
Tencent to land at Wattpad
Story-based content platform Wattpad is close to raising almost $50m in a round that will include about $40m from Tencent.
Veo Robotics programs $12m series A
The robotics systems developer will use the proceeds from the Alphabet and Siemens-backed round to fund product development.
SoftBank and Mubadala reunite for $400m fund
SoftBank and Abu Dhabi’s Mubadala Investment have formed a $400m venture fund, as the former lays out plans for more massive vehicles.
Energy picks up after a trough
Sector focus: Energy
Deal count falls slightly in September
The number of corporate-backed deals in September stood at 186, down from the 209 funding rounds in the same month last year. Investment value, however, was 21% higher than last year’s level, at $8.23bn, up from $6.77bn in September 2016. The deal count in September rose slightly compared with 176 in August this year, though… Continue reading Deal count falls slightly in September
Asia reaches new heights
China overtook the US by value of corporate venturing activity last year
Hiya identifies investors for $18m round
The Whitepages spinout, which provides smart caller ID services, will use the series A proceeds to fund growth and an increase in headcount.