Global Corporate Venturing recorded 57 investments during November worth a total of $1.2bn – in October there were 60 investments worth $1.2bn – and six exits worth $2.45bn, although exit prices were largely undisclosed and the initial public offering (IPO) of social network Twitter accounted for $1.82bn of the total – in October there were 10 exits worth $1.5bn.
As usual, US-based companies received the greatest level of investment flows (39 investments), followed by Germany (3), Israel (3) and Sweden (3). The top sector was IT (19), followed by media (12), consumer (8) and health (7). In cases where investment rounds were disclosed, series A proved the most common (14), followed by series B (13) and seed stage (6).
Internet of things
In the world of domestic gadgetry, a handful of investments were directed towards internet of things (IoT) technology. Gadget maker Quirky raised $79m in series D funding, including $30m from industrial conglomerate GE to support their expanded partnership in creating connected home devices controlled by Quirky’s Wink app; Arrayent, a US-based technology company which provides a software platform that lets manufacturers and retailers connect their products to the internet, was reported to have raised $11.9m funding from chip maker Intel Capital; and universal remote manufacturer Revolv raised $4m in a series A round from insurance company American Family and venture capital firm Foundry Group. Revolv, via a small hub, allows users to access wireless-enabled items through their smart phones.
In another deal promoting domestic gadgetry, smart lock and virtual key maker August raised $8m in series A funding led by Maveron. the consumer-focused venture capital firm co-founded by Starbucks’ chief executive officer Howard Schultz.
Industrial
In the industrial sector, Robert Bosch Venture Capital, the investment arm of Germany-based technology company Bosch, followed in the slipstream of the Siemens Technology Accelerator, joining it to participate in a $4m investment in Siemens spin-out Pyreos, a Scotland-based maker of ultra-low power consumption infrared sensors.
Robert Bosch Venture Capital was attracted by Pyreos’s “massive potential in mobile and handheld applications”.
Less high-tech maybe, but mushroom-based materials and packaging developer Ecovative Design, a US-based materials science company, raised $14m from investors including the Doen Foundation, a Netherlands-based charitable organisation funded by proceeds from Dutch lotteries, and US-based technology and manufacturing conglomerate 3M.
Healthcare
While there were few exits in the healthcare sector – apart from the $62.8m IPO of Oxford Immunotec, a diagnostics company that deploys T cell measurement technology to test for diseases and is backed by Dow Chemical Company and Kaiser Permanente Ventures, the pace of pharmaceutical and biotechnology investment deals continued through November.
Argos Therapeutics, a personalised immunotherapy developer backed by Genechem, extended its series E financing from $42.5m to $60m; Editas Medicine, a genome editing company, raised $43m series A financing with the participation of Partners Innovation Fund, a US-based strategic venture fund for Partners HealthCare,founded by the Massachusetts General Hospital and Brigham and Women’s Hospital; biotech company Catabasis Pharmaceuticals raised $32.4m series B funding from investors including AstraZeneca’s corporate venturing unit MedImmune Ventures, for it to pursue the development of medicines to treat inflammatory and metabolic diseases; the corporate venturing units of four pharmaceutical companies – Roche, Novartis, Eli Lilly and GlaxoSmithKline – reinvested in the $30m F series financing for biopharmaceutical company Aileron Therapeutics, for it to develop its stapled peptide drug platform and various drug candidates; Austrian vaccine developer Hookipa Biotech raised $27.5m series B funding supported by new investors, Boehringer Ingelheim Venture Fund, the corporate venturing affiliate of Germany-based pharmaceutical company Boehringer Ingelheim, and Takeda Ventures, the corporate venturing arm of Japan-based Takeda Pharmaceutical; venture capital firm Avalon and GlaxoSmithKline made their first joint investment through their $495m company alliance fund, with a $10m series A round of funding for US-based drugs company Sitari Pharmaceuticals, focused on the treatment of celiac disease; and Tata Capital’s Innovations Fund made an undisclosed level of series B investment in India-based Mitra Biotech, for it to market its cancer care solution.
In a new, venturing initiative, pharmaceutical company Celgene entered a collaboration agreement with Versant Ventures’ biotech incubator Blueline Bioscience to develop biotech start-ups in Toronto, Canada.
Healthcare technology
US-based language technology developer Fluential, which deploys its speech recognition and natural language processing software in the healthcare sector, closed its first round of funding at $8m following a $2m investment from NantWorks, a conglomerate of healthcare education science and technology companies funded by billionaire Patrick Soon-Shiong.
Food and agriculture
Omnivore Partners, the early-stage investment unit of India food company Godrey Agrovet, part of Tyson Foods, bought a minority stake in Eruvaka Technologies, an India-based maker of diagnostic equipment for aquaculture farmers, for an undisclosed amount.
Cyber-security
Cyber-security venturing activity tailed off in November, but there was one exit.
In a move it said was to “augment its mobile security strategy” in addressing the growing bring-your-own-device movement, technology company Oracle acquired Bitzer Mobile, a US-based mobile applications management software company backed by investors including Chevron Technology Ventures, the corporate venturing unit of the energy conglomerate.
IT – data and analytics
The strong investment trend in big data, databases and data analytics was sustained in November.
FoundationDB, a start-up that provides distributed database software, raised $17m from investors including CrunchFund, the venture arm of internet media company AOL; Alpine Data Labs, a developer of data analysis tools for big data, raised $16m in a series B round from investors including UMC Capital, the corporate venturing arm of chip-maker United Microelectronics, and Robert Bosch Venture Capital, the corporate venturing unit of the Germany-based industrial group; and in a deal at the end of October but reported in November, Brazilian big data and operational intelligence company WebRadar raised an undisclosed amount of new equity financing led by software company Citrix, with participation from existing investor Intel Capital, the venture arm of the chipmaker.
In a funding initiative, auditor KPMG launched KPMG Capital, a technology fund dedicated to bringing data and analytics solutions to its clients.
IT – storage
Another investment trend – in storage – was also sustained in November.
Cloud storage and file-sharing service Hightail raised $34m of series E funding, led by Western Digital Capital, the strategic investment fund of the digital content services provider and storage device manufacturer, to take advantage of a potential $220bn cloud services market; and Samsung Ventures-backed consumer cloud storage provider Bitcasa raised $11m of supplemental series A funding, adding to $8.5m already raised, led by existing investors Horizons Ventures, Li Ka-shing’s Hong Kong-based investment firm, and venture capital firm Pelion Venture Partners, to help people and small businesses around the globe “take control of their belongings”.
There was also an exit for Intel Capital, when US telecoms company Century Link bought Intel-backed cloud computing and storage firm Tier-3 to build its portfolio of cloud services for enterprises and to “anchor its new CenturyLink Cloud Development Centre”. In October last year, Tier-3 raised $10m in a series B round led by Intel Capital.
IT – networks
In the field of networks, Compass-EOS, a US and Israel-based routing company that makes ultra-bandwidth dense routers using photonic backplane technology, raised $42m from investors including Comcast Ventures, the venture capital affiliate of the cable TV company, computer server and internet equipment company Cisco, to take advantage of “rapid growth of data services and online devices”.
IT – architecture
SimpliVity Corporation, provider of building-block-style IT architecture, raised $58m series C funding led by KPCB and DFJ and backed by new investor Swisscom Ventures, the corporate venturing arm of the Switzerland-based telecoms operator.
Marketing and advertising technology
There were six marketing and advertising technology investments deals.
BrightTag, a US-based marketing technology platform company, raised $27m in a round of funding led by Yahoo Japan, which has selected BrightTag’s newly-patented Fuse technology to power its data management platform; Sprinklr, a US-based provider of social media management infrastructure for large enterprises, raised $17.5m in series C funding from existing investors including Intel Capital; Signpost, a Google-backed mobile marketing platform for small and medium-sized businesses, raised $10m of series B funding; Appboy, a US-based app marketing technology platform for mobile relationship management, raised $7.6m of series A financing from investors including IDG Ventures, the India-based corporate venturing unit of media and research corporation International Data Group; and MediaSpike, a US-based advertising technology company that provides digital product placement in social and mobile games, raised $5.2m of series A funding from investors including Google Ventures.
E-commerce and retail technology
In a crossover deal between marketing and retail technology, Yub – buy spelt backwards – a technology company that enables rewards identified online to be earned by shoppers when making card-based purchases at bricks-and-mortar retailers and restaurants, was launched with $12m funding from investors including credit card company Visa. The deal continues a trend of transforming bricks-and-mortar retailers into “smart shops” by redeploying technology typically seen in e-commerce.
Another start-up with this ambition is Walkbase, a Finland-based marketing optimisation platform for bricks-and- mortar retailers, which raised a €3m ($4.1m) series A round led by SBT Venture Capital, the venture arm of Russian national savings bank Sberbank, with the participation of Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo, former chief executive of Nokia.
Marketplaces and e-commerce ventures
In the e-commerce space, one of the largest B rounds in the Indonesian start-up market was raised for Berrybenka, an online women’s and children’s fashion department store. The $5m round was led by TransCosmos,a Japanese IT outsourcing company for corporate clients, together with existing backer Gree Ventures, the corporate venturing unit of the US-Japan mobile gaming company.
In Europe, online shopping club Westwing received an undisclosed level of backing from German retailer Tengelmann with ambitions for it to lead the home and living retail sector.
In Singapore, Rakuten, a Japanese electronic commerce and internet company, led a S$1m ($800,000) seed round of funding for Singapore-based Carousell, a second-hand marketplace app.
Media content and technology
One of Europe’s leading start-up stars, Swedish music streaming service Spotify – backed by investors including Goldman Sachs and Coca-Cola – was widely reported to have raised $250m from Technology Crossover Ventures at a valuation of over $4bn.
In a less starry role, the International Finance Corporation, the venture arm of the World Bank, made a rare investment in the consumer technology sector, committing $4m to a $6m series C round of funding for What’s On India Media, a TV search and electronic programming guide company backed by Intel Capital.
In a venturing initiative, British Sky Broadcasting has invested $8m in a new US-based venture capital firm, Luminari Capital, to “increase its exposure to relevant start-up companies”. Luminari Capital will focus on technology and media start-ups working on innovation in video.
Social networks
Social network Twitter raised $1.82bn when it floated on the New York Stock Exchange, with a valuation of $14.2bn. Incorporated in 2007, one of Twitter’s investors was reported in 2011 to have been Russian venture firm Digital Sky Technologies, which is backed by Chinese internet firm Tencent and South African media company Naspers.
At the other end of the scale from Twitter is HDmessaging, a developer of enhanced mobile messaging and chat applications, which raised $3m in a series A round from investors including IDG Ventures.
Enterprise tools
Enterprise tools continue to attract strong interest from corporate venturing investors, with several investments last month.
Aria Systems, provider of recurring revenue management software, raised $40m of series D funding led by Bain Capital Ventures and including software company VMware; cashflow management start-up Bill.com raised $38m led by ScaleVP and backed by American Express and strategic investors Bank of America and Fifth Third Bank; performance management software start-up Xangati raised $11m in a series C round led by HighBar Partners with participation from Citrix Systems; Shake, a mobile app that allows you to sign, create and send legal contracts on the phone, raised $3m in series A funding led by Softbank Capital, the strategic investment affiliate of the Japan-based telecoms, internet and media conglomerate;
Microsoft Ventures made an undisclosed level of seed investment in Zula, an Israel-based mobile collaboration app designed for team communication; and knowledge management software company WhoKnows raised an undisclosed amount of series A funding from investors including the Citrix Startup Accelerator.
In a fund launch, talent management software provider Cornerstone OnDemand launched a strategic fund to invest in “promising cloud start-ups” and to “keep our entrepreneurial spirit alive and well”.
Personal organisation and apps
Personal organisation apps – the consumer equivalent of enterprise tools – drew corporate venturing investment in November.
To-do list app developer 6Wunderkinder, backed byDeutsche Telekom’s venturing division T-Venture and High Tech Gründerfonds, raised €14.1m ($19m) of series B funding led by new investor Sequoia Capital, making its first investment in Germany; and Mustbin, an app designed to organise and store personal data, was launched with a $4.5m series A round led by DAG Ventures and including Northgate Capital, which is majority-owned by India-based financial services group Religare Enterprises.
Travel and transport
The Netherlands, once again, has appeared on the map for transport technology start-ups.
Dutch aviation security technology company Eye on Air received funding from Mainport Innovation Fund, which is backed by Dutch airport company Schiphol and Netherlands national airline KLM, to progress its explosives detection technology towards commercial launch.
Education and learning
Corporate-backed, education technology start-ups have ranged in focus across all ages, from preschool children to “non-experts of all ages”.
TabTale, an Israel-based creator of interactive books, games and educational apps for children, received $12m of funding co-led by semiconductor company Qualcomm, through its venture arm Qualcomm Ventures, and existing investor Magma Venture Partners; US-based Kidaptive raised $10.1m in series B backed by animation studio Prana Studios, Stanford-StartX Fund and others, to develop 25 animated “appisodes” of its preschool tablet-based learning series, Leo’s Pad; Japan-based education company Benesse Holdings invested an undisclosed level of series A funding in InOpen Technologies, an India-based start-up that develops educational content and teacher training solutions for educational institutions.
Away from technology, and more towards tangible toys, electronic construction kit maker LittleBits, which makes kits for children and “non-experts of all ages”, raised $11.1m of series B funding led by True Ventures and Foundry Group and including O’Reilly AlphaTech, a corporate venturing fund backed by O’Reilly Media.
There was also an exit. Intel acquired e-textbook publisher Kno, a portfolio company of Intel Capital.
Gaming
Some commentators have described Twitter as a game, given its game-like, competitive characteristics, but in the truer sense of gaming, there were corporate investments into 3D, mobile and tablet-focused gaming companies.
3D gaming company Extreme Reality raised $10m in a series D round from Marker and an unnamed strategic partner; tablet-focused gaming company Hammer & Chisel raised $8.2m of series A funding led by Benchmark Capital and including media and entertainment company Time Warner and IDG Capital Partners; and Nokia Growth Partners continued to expandits media and entertainment portfolio, investing $6m in Swedish-based MAG Interactive, a mobile game developer whose word game Ruzzle has been downloaded more than 45 million times since its launch in March 2012.
Energy and utilities
EnTouch Controls, US-based provider of energy management systems for restaurants and retail stores, raised $8.3m of series B financing from investors including energy company NRG; battery manufacturer Solicore closed a $4m round of funding led by New Science Ventures and joined by existing investors including print service company RR Donnelley and speciality materials company Rogers – Solicore is aiming to advance its position in providing embedded power for the powered card industry, and in the medical devices and sensor markets, a similar market potential as with the Pyreos deal in the industrial sector; and Astrum Solar, a US-based residential solar installer, raised an unspecified amount of series B funding led by private equity firm NewWorld Capital with participation from retail energy supplier Constellation.
There was one exit. Innogy Venture Capital, a fund management company co-sponsored by Germany-based energy company RWE Innogy, sold its 20% stake in Voith Hydro Ocean Current Technologies, maker of tidal turbine technology, to majority shareholder Voith Hydro.
In a venturing initiative, Veolia Environnement and Ladec, a development agency for the Lahti region of Finland, launched the Nordic Innovation Accelerator to fast-track Nordic clean-tech companies into international markets.
Financial services
In personal and retail finance, there was a pocketful of investments. Payday loan company LendUp secured a $14m series A round led by Google Ventures, to expand its online operations beyond California, Missouri and Louisiana to other US states; Japan-based personal finance app company Moneytree, headed by Australian serial entrepreneur Paul Chapman, attracted $1.6m in a seed investment round led by DG Incubation, the corporate venturing unit of Digital Garage – PayPal, MasterCard and Morgan Stanley senior executives also took part in the round; and 91Jinrong, a member of Microsoft Ventures Accelerator’s third class in China, received $10m in a series B round from financial investors – 91Jinrong is known as the Wal-Mart of finance, matching potential consumers with corresponding financial institutions to receive personalised services.
At an institutional level, IDG Capital Partners participated in a $3.5m seed round of funding into US-based Ripple Labs, which has developed the “Ripple protocol”, an open-source payments system and a virtual currency for currency exchanges. In a venturing initiative in Israel, Bank Hapoalim joined Microsoft Ventures Accelerator to support financial technology start-ups.