Weekly corporate venturing deal net: 27 April-1 May 2015
Each Friday the Global Corporate Venturing Deal Net rounds up the week’s smaller deals and tracks the emerging companies accessing corporate funds.
Big Deal: Jimubox joins well-funded peers
The $84m raised by Jimubox last week makes it the third China-based peer-to-peer lending platform to close a large funding round this month.
Fundraising
Ontario startups look to Scale Up for funding
Scale Up Ventures, launched with $25m of private and up to $25m of public funding, will provide corporate access as well as capital at pre-series A stage.
Sho-Zemi ventures further outside Japan
Sho-Zemi Innovation Ventures, which recently expanded into the US, plans to open an office in Southeast Asia as it gets ready to raise a $10m fund.
Ex-Legend MD raises $200m for new fund
Liu Erhai has left Legend Capital, where he was managing director, after 12 years to form Yuyue Capital, which has just raised $200m for its first fund.
Rebright pins down corporates for Indian mobile fund
The venture firm has secured backing from undisclosed Japan-based corporates for a $20m fund that will target India-based, mobile-focused startup companies.
Statkraft powers up corporate venturing unit
Norway-based energy utility company Statkraft plans to launch a corporate venturing subsidiary in Germany that will target renewable energy technology startups.
UST Global sets up Indian fund
The IT services provider has established a corporate venturing fund as part of a initiative to grow its business in India.
People
Kodis leaves Sabic for portfolio company
Andrew Kodis, the managing director of Sabic’s corporate venturing unit, is leaving the company to take the reins as chief executive of Black Diamond Structures.
Exits
SingTel-backed Flocations travels to Venture Republic
Singapore Telecommunications has exited travel e-commerce company Flocations, which raised almost $600,000 in 2012, through an acquisition by Venture Republic Group.
Record companies harpoon Grooveshark
The settlement in a long-running legal battle with nine record companies has led the Intel-backed music service to close down.
Unikrn makes match with Tabcorp
The eSports startup has launched its platform in partnership with gambling business Tabcorp, though neither company has revealed an equity investment.
Ligand acquired a 37% share in the biopharmaceutical company, which is set to float on Nasdaq, issuing three million shares priced at $8.00 each.
Shareholder Johnson & Johnson bought stock in the molecular diagnostics technology provider as it floated in Brussels at a valuation of more than $500m.
Secret to shut down and return money to investors
The Google-backed anonymous social network is set to close after securing 15 million users, $35m of venture funding and a valuation of more than $100m.
Oxford University Press bought the High-Tech Gruenderfonds-backed online language learning service for an undisclosed sum.
Nutanix seeks out banks to structure IPO
The SAP-backed IT infrastructure provider expects to float at a valuation of about $2.5bn, after raising more than $310m in venture funding.
IT
Google Ventures led the big data analytics company’s second funding round, after backing its $4.4m series A last year.
Clarifai search finds investors for $10m series A
Google, Qualcomm, and Nvidia all returned to invest in the deep learning technology company’s series A round, which will support the introduction of new features.
Ucpaas communicates with Legend for $16m series B
Legend Holdings’ corporate venturing arm has led a $16m funding round for the cloud-based telecommunications service provider.
DataTorrent downloads $15m series B
Singapore Telecommunications led the General Electric-backed round, which boosted the big data analytics company’s total funding to almost $24m.
Predixion heralds Software AG-backed series D
Software AG is set to lead a GE-backed series D round for the predictive analytics software provider, which has so far raised almost $32m in funding.
Tessares networks with Proximus for seed funding
Proximus, the mobile subsidiary of telecommunications company Belgacom, invested in the startup alongside Catholic University of Louvain’s spin-out fund.
Health
Sanofi sets MyoKardia’s heart fluttering for $46m series B
Existing investor Sanofi returned for a series B round that will support development of MyoKardia’s portfolio of therapies for various heart diseases.
Corporates help treat Mirna to $41.8m series D
Pfizer, Celgene and Baxter were among the investors in the cancer drug developer’s latest round, boosting its funding to $93m in total.
Co-led by Mérieux Développement, the series B funding will be used to gain regulatory approval for Ninox’s sleep apneoa treatment.
Resverlogix gets $29m from Shenzhen Hepalink agreement
The milestone-based licensing deal includes a $29m investment up front and could be worth more than $400m to the small molecule technology developer.
The gene editing technology company has raised $64m to close its first two rounds, co-led by Celgene and GlaxoSmithKline-backed SR One, at $89m.
Celgene buys portfolio company Quanticel for up to $485m
The pharmaceutical company, which invested $45m in Quanticel in 2011, will pay $100m up front and up to $385m in milestone payments.
Kaiser Permanente validates series B for Validic
Healthcare consortium Kaiser Permanente Ventures led the $12.5m round, which will support the healthcare IT company’s continued growth.
Scanadu mobilises corporates for $35m series B
Corporates Fosun and Tencent co-led the round for the mobile medical devices maker, taking its overall funding to almost $50m.
Corporates lift Neuronetics’ spirits with $34m
Existing investors including Pfizer were joined by General Electric for a series F round that boosted the medical device developer’s funding to more than $170m.
Media
The internet news site, which now counts more than 22 million monthly users, reportedly raised the funding from an undisclosed media company.
Xiaozhi receives $32m worth of good news
The news aggregation app provider raised the cash from investors including entertainment and media company Enlight.
Refinery29 condenses $50m into series C round
Scripps Networks Interactive and WPP provided the funding and will each take a seat on the lifestyle media company’s board as it looks to expand overseas.
Consumer
Goldman Sachs led the Rocket Internet-backed online food delivery service’s series F round, increasing its overall funding to almost $320m.
Warby Parker sees unicorn status after $100m round
The American Express-backed eyewear manufacturer will use the proceeds from its series D round, raised at a $1.2bn valuation, to expand its brick-and-mortar stores.
LVMH gets personal for $40m Lyst series C
LVMH-backed Groupe Arnault was among the investors in the personalised fashion e-commerce company’s series C round, increasing its total funding to $60m.
Loop Commerce ties up PayPal for series B
The payment services company made its second investment in e-gifting company Loop Commerce, which secured $16m in its latest funding round.
The cinema and event ticketing app operator has secured funding from backers including Tencent, with which it partners, and Wanda Group.
IndiaProperty looks to build $50m series C
The Bertelsmann-backed real-estate listings portal plans to raise $50m in a series C round that will fund geographical expansion.
Naaptol closes $21.5 series C round
Mitsui has participated in the TV shopping and e-commerce company’s third funding round, which follows a $25m series B round raised in 2011.
Xiaomi calls up India for investment
Ratan Tata, chairman emeritus of conglomerate Tata Sons, has invested in Xiaomi as the Chinese smartphone maker ramps up its focus on India.
Rocket Internet goes Dealerdirect in $8.7m round
E-commerce holding company Rocket Internet has participated in an $8.7m funding round for the second-hand vehicle online marketplace.
Financial
The financial management software provider has raised $30m in a series A round that followed a $20m seed round secured in November 2014.
IDG Capital and Goldman Sachs co-led the payment technology developer’s series C round, raised as it prepares to expand into China with IDG’s help.
GMO makes payment to 2C2P for $7m round
GMO made its third investment in the payment services company in a series C round that will go towards product development and an expansion in its product offerings.
Services
The classified employment listings platform has received $10m from Australia-based competitor Seek, following a $1.4m series A round three years ago.
Search engine provider Baidu co-led the restaurant management software company’s $10.7m series B round, raised as it prepares to expand to other industries.