The enterprise messaging company took its total funding to $540m, securing $200m at a $3.8bn valuation from backers including Alphabet and Comcast, showing there is still big late-stage money available for the right kind of company.
Category: Analysis
Organising for Innovation in Japan
Discussion at Kyushu University, Japan, identifies that Fukuoka, under its youthful mayor Soichiro Takashima (he was elected in 2010 aged 36), is one region continuing to explore its options to be a growth centre.
Editorial: CVCs and governments step up
All the VC deals (with named investors) on Friday had effectively corporate or government venture capital angles, including sole rounds by CVCs.
Big Deal: Le Sports shoots for $1bn
HNA Group has invested $185m in sports streaming platform Le Sports as part of a round that could end up topping $1bn, showing how online companies are helping China’s media sector rapidly grow.
The sky isn’t falling with Intel Capital’s review
A week on from newswire Bloomberg’s report that Intel Capital, the corporate venturing unit of the eponymous US-listed chip maker, had hired investment bank UBS to review its portfolio and potentially sell up to $1bn of assets, and some of the noise has quietened. An analysis by Global Corporate Venturing of Intel Capital’s portfolio (the… Continue reading The sky isn’t falling with Intel Capital’s review
GUV Big Deal: Aprea records $51m series B
Thierry Heles, editor of Global University Venturing, takes an alternate look at one of last week’s corporate venturing deals.
Big Deal: Cainiao picks up $1.5bn
The logistics service, backed by Alibaba and a host of other corporates, has reportedly raised funding at a $7.7bn valuation, illustrating the effect e-commerce has had on the logistics sector.
Fund in the News: Pierre Fabre Fund for Innovation
Laurent Audoly, managing partner of the pharmaceutical company’s new open innovation scheme, spoke to Global Corporate Venturing about its collaboration and investment strategy.
Valuation fears only mildly dent February activity
Monthly Analysis
GE: an evolving approach to corporate venturing
Many large corporations have made multiple efforts to develop their corporate venturing strategies. New York-listed industrial conglomerate General Electric (GE) has spent more than 20 years working on its own initiatives in this area. Its latest iteration, GE Ventures, has been highly regarded as an industry leader, viewed increasingly by with other groups as a… Continue reading GE: an evolving approach to corporate venturing
Industrials roar forward
Sector focus: Industrials
Interview: Healthcare VC and exits compress as the market speeds up
2015 saw companies raising large VC rounds faster and investors existing quicker, according to Jon Norris of Silicon Valley Bank, and expect M&A to stay steady as IPO market continues to move slowly.
Interview: Nokia Growth Partners’ $350m bet on internet of things
Nokia Growth Partners (NGP), the venture firm which manages the funds of the Finland-based technology company, has received a $350m commitment to invest in the internet of things. Global Corporate Venturing met with Bo Ilsoe, a NGP managing partner, in a hotel in Barcelona on the sidelines of Mobile World Congress, to talk about the… Continue reading Interview: Nokia Growth Partners’ $350m bet on internet of things
Interview: Healthcare funding in 2015 reaches new heights
Corporates remained active as crossover investors helped take healthcare VC investment to its highest level since 2000, Jonathan Norris of Silicon Valley Bank told Global Corporate Venturing.