Unable to attend the symposium for health reasons, Lorna Davis (pictured), senior adviser to Emmanuel Faber, CEO of packaged food supplier Danone, gave a keynote speech through video call, stressing the value of the B Corporation (B Corp) sustainability movement ahead of an afternoon session of unpanels on the UN’s sustainable development goals moderated by… Continue reading Keynote: Corporate venturing and sustainable goals
Author: James Mawson
Rise of Chinese innovators lights fire under US leaders
Government house: China
Pursuit of excellence is the only calling card worth carrying
June issue editorial by James Mawson, editor-in-chief
Editorial: Japan and the world’s animal spirits start to soar
It feels seismic to see the recent flotation of flea market app operator Mercari and e-commerce company Rakuten’s acquisition of its US-based peer Curbside are for the Japanese innovation capital ecosystem. It also reflects the wider catch-up by M&A and public markets to the burgeoning prices paid in private capital markets, validating those later-stage investors who… Continue reading Editorial: Japan and the world’s animal spirits start to soar
Big Deal: Ant’s crawl to $14bn round signals bipolar world
There is an unbelievable-if-it-wasn’t-true chart in Mary Meeker’s annual internet trends presentation showing China mobile payments volume growing 209% year-on-year to almost $16 trillion by the end of last year. The near-doubling in growth rates – not volume – has seen two clear winners in the world’s most advanced and largest mobile fintech market: Tencent’s… Continue reading Big Deal: Ant’s crawl to $14bn round signals bipolar world
Editorial: Venture’s innovation challenge
The European Commission has today released its draft budget for its next financial period to start after 2020 with its draft plans for about $100bn for innovation funding (nice analysis by Science Business here). Next week I am due to give a short talk in Sofia, Bulgaria, which is currently president of the European Union’s council,… Continue reading Editorial: Venture’s innovation challenge
Cyberbit attracts $30m
Claridge Israel has purchased a minority stake in Cyberbit, a hitherto wholly-owned subsidiary of defence contractor Elbit Systems.
PlayVS scores $15m
PlayVS publicly launched out of the startup studio Science this past April.
NextInput measures out $13m
Existing shareholder UMC Capital has returned to back a $13m series B round for NextInput.
Goopal Group adds $12m
Legend and Susquehanna International Group have supplied $12m to Goopal.
Cytecare adds Goldman Sachs as strategic investor
The $31m series A round will help set up an oncology franchise across four to five cities throughout India.
Honest Buildings extends B round again
Honest Buildings, a US-based project management platform built for real estate owners, has extended its series B round to $30m following a $5m investment from urban property developer First Capital Realty. Founded in 2012, Honest Buildings has created a data-driven platform for managing real estate assets. Features include document sharing, invoice processing and cost tracking.… Continue reading Honest Buildings extends B round again
Camp4 discovers Kraft in its $30m A round
Camp4 has attracted capital from investors such as Kraft Group to continue development of its drug discovery platform based on work at MIT and Harvard Medical School.
RideCell mobilises corporates
Cox Automotive, Denso, Penske, Deutsche Bahn and Mitsui have all backed a $28.6m series B round for RideCell, whose existing shareholders include BMW.