In the third quarter, GCV Analytics tracked 806 funding rounds involving corporate venturers, representing a nearly 8% increase over the 749 rounds recorded in Q3 2018. The estimated total investment stood at $28.61bn, down 19% from the $35.16bn recorded during the same period last year.
The US hosted the largest number of funding rounds (311), while Japan came in second with 109 deals, China third with 93 deals, India fourth with 48 deals.
Comparing Q3 2019 with the previous quarter, there was a slight decrease in deal count, going down from 826. Estimated total investment also went down by about 5% from $29.99bn.
Emerging enterprises from the IT, health, financial services, business services and consumer sectors proved the most attractive for corporate venturers, accounting for at least 80 deals each. The top funding rounds by size, however, were raised mostly by companies from the transport, IT and health sectors.
The most active corporate investors came from the financial services, IT, media and industrial sectors.
The leading investors by number of deals were financial services firm Goldman Sachs, internet company Tencent, internet conglomerate Alphabet and telecoms firm SoftBank. The list of corporate venturers involved in the largest deals by size was headed also by Tencent, SoftBank and Goldman Sachs.
Most of the corporate investors taking minority stakes during the third quarter had done at least one deal before (76%) but 24% were disclosing their first minority stake deal. Since 2018, newcomers to venturing – whether with a specific venturing unit or not – have comprised a fifth to a fourth of all corporate investors. Before then, the proportion of first-time corporate investors was consistently lower than 20%, as GCV Analytics data show.
Deals
Most of the funding from the biggest rounds reported in the third quarter went to emerging enterprises from the transport, IT, health and services sectors. Three of the top 10 rounds were above $1bn.
Tencent invested $800m in China-based real estate brokerage Ke.com, leading its series D round sized at almost $1.2bn, which also included a $50m commitment from property developer Country Garden. Private equity fund manager Gaw Capital Partners supplied $100m for the round, while venture capital firm Gaochun Capital invested $80m, Source Code Capital $52m, New Horizon $30m, China Renaissance unit Huaxing Capital $20m and Strait Capital $5m. The transaction valued Ke.com at $9.5bn. Spun off by online real estate portal Lianjia in 2018, Ke.com runs an online platform where users can buy new, second-hand and rental properties in some 500 cities across China and use virtual reality technology to help users inspect properties.
Software provider Microsoft invested $1bn in US-based artificial intelligence (AI) research technology provider OpenAI in a bid to enhance its own work on artificial general intelligence (AGI) technology. Microsoft intends to leverage the partnership to enhance its cloud computing platform, Azure, making it better equipped for use in supercomputing and large-scale AI systems, and allowing it to create and deploy more advanced models. Founded in 2015 and overseen by a non-profit organisation, OpenAI is working on research that is intended to harness AI in responsible ways. The company is most focused on AGI, which could hypothetically combine extremely high-level knowledge of many fields to devise solutions to as yet unknown problems problems hitherto unseen.
US-based autonomous driving software developer Argo AI received $2.6bn in capital and assets from carmaker Volkswagen (VW), valuing the company at more than $7bn. The investment forms part of autonomous and electric vehicle alliance between VW Group and fellow carmaker Ford. Both corporates will own an equal stake in Argo AI, though the size of it was not disclosed. VW has invested $1bn directly and agreed to purchase secondary shares from its peer Ford for $500m over the next three years. Argo AI has taken ownership of VW’s autonomous vehicle unit, Autonomous Intelligent Driving, which is valued at $1.6bn. Ford will invest the remaining $600m of its existing $1bn commitment with both carmakers using Argo AI’s technology in the manufacturing of their self-driving vehicles. Founded in 2016, Argo AI is developing virtual driver systems and high-definition maps that are used to power and navigate self-driving vehicles.
China-based ride hailing services provider Didi Chuxing raised $600m from carmaker Toyota as part of a strategic collaboration agreement to form a joint venture. The deal reportedly valued it at about $62bn. The joint venture will also involve automotive manufacturer GAC Toyota Motor – itself a partnership between Toyota and logistics service provider GAC – and will offer services aimed at drivers for ride hailing platforms, such as car leasing options. Didi Chuxing operates a series of transportation services, including on-demand ride hailing, buses, car rental, food delivery and e-bikes. It has also created a financial services platform. The company was formed through the merger of Didi Dache and Kuaidi Dache in 2015 and then acquired US-based competitor Uber’s local subsidiary. Having initially focused on the Chinese market, it has since expanded internationally into markets including Mexico.
FlixMobility, a Germany-based travel services provider backed by automotive manufacturer Daimler, scored a series F round reportedly sized at €500m ($561m). Growth equity firms TCV and Permira co-led the round, which also featured firm HV Holtzbrinck Ventures and European Investment Bank. Founded in 2013, FlixMobility operates inexpensive long-distance travel services – a coach service called FlixBus and a railway offering called FlixTrain. FlixMobility also hopes to strengthen its market position in the US, enter South American and Asian markets and expand FlixTrain into additional EU member states in 2020.
Exits
GCV Analytics tracked 74 corporate-related exits in Q3 2019, including 58 acquisitions, 14 initial public offerings (IPOs) and two other transactions.
Top exiting corporates this quarter include Alphabet, financial services firm Fidelity and SoftBank which reported at least four exits each.
The total estimated amount of exited capital in Q3 2019 was $8.18bn, considerably lower than the $21.99bn in Q2 and also lower than the figure from the same quarter last year ($17.35bn). Only one of the top recorded exits stood above the $1bn mark.
Exercise equipment and class provider Peloton Interactive, which counts mass media group Comcast NBCUniversal and cosmetics distributor Grace Beauty as backers, floated in a $1.16bn IPO on the Nasdaq Global Select Market after pricing 40 million class A shares at the top of the IPO’s $26 to $29 range. Founded in 2012, Peloton develops and markets exercise bikes and treadmills with attached video screens that broadcast live gym classes available via subscription.
Douyu, a China-based video game livestreaming platform operator backed by Tencent, priced its shares at the low end of its range at $11.50 and raised $775m in its IPO. It issued 44.9 million new American Depositary Shares, in addition to 22.5 million of existing stock sold by existing shareholders, meaning $517m was raised by Douyu and the remainder went to exiting shareholders. Founded in 2014, the company operates a livestreaming platform for online games and eSports events. It has attracted more than 159 million active users and achieved a $5m net profit in the first quarter of this year, after making a $122m net loss in 2018.
Private equity firm Blackstone agreed to buy Vungle, a US-based advertising technology developer backed by Alphabet and telecoms firm Verizon, in a deal reported to be worth $750m. Financial terms of the deal were not confirmed. Vungle has developed a suite of digital tools that help developers monetise their mobile apps through customer data-powered advertising campaigns. The technology accounts for more than four billion video views per month.
Pharmaceutical and chemical producer Bayer acquired US-based stem cell treatment developer BlueRock Therapeutics, which was also one of its portfolio companies. The acquisition reportedly valued the company at nearly $1bn. BlueRock is looking to engineer stem cells using its proprietary induced stem cell (iPSC) platform to treat neurological, immunological and heart diseases. Its drug candidates include a potential Parkinson’s disease treatment it aims to advance into the clinic by the end of this year. It was founded by venture capital firm Versant Ventures in 2016 and emerged from stealth the same year with $225m in series A funding from Versant and Bayer’s Lifescience Center, which owned a 40.8% stake before the acquisition deal.
Banking software producer Temenos agreed to pay at least $559m to acquire Kony, a US-based mobile banking software developer backed by telecoms firms SoftBank and Telstra. The deal consisted of $559m upfront plus a $21m earn-out. Founded in 2008, Kony operates a cloud-based platform that allows enterprise clients to develop and deploy applications that enable customers to perform functions such as signing up for accounts, accessing loans and making payments quickly and efficiently. The company’s offering includes Kony Quantum, an app development tool for financial services providers that requires minimal coding.
Funding initiatives
Corporate venturers supported 65 fundraising initiatives in the third quarter of 2019, similar to the 64 initiatives in the same period of 2018. However, the estimated total capital raised was $122bn, reflecting the unusually large $108bn second Vision Fund commitments that were announced in July. It was considerably higher than last year’s Q3 figure of $7.51bn.
The initiatives included 52 announced, open and closed VC funds with corporate limited partners (LPs), 11 new corporate venturing units and two incubators.
SoftBank launched its second Vision Fund, disclosing it had signed memoranda of understanding (MOUs) for funding that will take its size to $108bn. The firm said it planned to contribute $38bn of the capital for the new fund, up from about $33bn for the original Vision Fund. Consumer electronics producer Apple and manufacturing services firm Foxconn each provided $1bn for the first fund and have signed MOUs to invest for the second, but Qualcomm Sharp and Goldman Sachs do not appear to be returning. Software provider Microsoft, insurance firm Dai-ichi Life, financial services firms Mizuho Bank, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Bank and Standard Chartered are also among the LPs.
Later in the quarter, it was reported that Middle Eastern sovereign wealth funds Public Investment Fund (PIF) and Mubadala were considering reducing planned investments in the second Vision Fund. The LPs identified in the original announcement did not include Saudi Arabia-owned PIF, which provided $45bn for the first Vision Fund, or the Abu Dhabi-owned Mubadala, which committed $15bn, though reports suggested they were in talks to contribute to the second vehicle. PIF reportedly intends to put only its profit from Vision Fund I into Vision Fund II, while Mubadala will cut its commitment from $15bn to $10bn.
Insurance firm Taiwan Life provided a $20m contribution to TA XIII, a vehicle closed at $8.5bn by growth-focused private equity firm TA Associates in June. TA XIII focuses on financial services, consumer goods, healthcare, business, services, technology, media and telecommunications companies, investing in North America and Western, Central and Eastern Europe. The investment is one of several commitments to equity and debt funds made by Taiwan Life in 2019.
US-based venture capital firm Fifth Wall Ventures closed its second fund after raising $503m from more than 50 corporate limited partners (LPs) from 11 countries. Fifth Wall identified about half of the LPs in its announcement, such as real estate investment trusts Gecina, Merlin Properties, British Land, Segro, Equity Residential, Host Hotels & Resorts, Hudson Pacific Properties, Macerich and Kenedix. Commercial real estate company Cushman & Wakefield, home construction firms Lennar, PulteGroup, Toll Brothers and DR Horton, mortgage insurance provider Essent, infrastructure conglomerate Keppel, real estate services provider CBRE and media conglomerate News Corp also backed the fund.
LPs also include property developers Mitsubishi Estate, Related Companies and Hines, hotel group Marriott International and MetLife Investment Management, the investment arm of insurance provider MetLife. Fund II was oversubscribed and follows the firm’s $212m first vehicle closed in 2017. It will focus on real estate technologies, also known as property technology or proptech, and work closely with its corporate LPs to identify opportunities and support portfolio companies.
UK-based life sciences-focused investment firm Medicxi closed a €400m ($450m) fund with LPs including pharmaceutical firms Novartis, Johnson & Johnson and GlaxoSmithKline. Verily, a life sciences research subsidiary of Alphabet, also threw its weight behind Medicxi III, as did a range of unnamed hospital foundations, medical institutions and other institutional investors. Johnson & Johnson provided the money through its corporate venturing arm, and Johnson & Johnson Innovation – JJDC. The fund will invest in discovery-stage through to late-stage biopharmaceutical companies. Medicxi III will benefit from expertise provided by the firm’s scientific advisory board, which includes leadership from Novartis, GlaxoSmithKline, Verily and Janssen, a biotech subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson.
Singapore-based venture capital firm Vertex Ventures closed its Vertex Growth Fund at $290m with backing from LPs including computer touchpad manufacturer Elan Microelectronics. The fund surpassed its original $250m target and was also backed by Vertex’s state-owned parent firm, Temasek. Other LPs include unnamed institutional investors, family offices and funds from Southeast Asia and Taiwan. Vertex Growth Fund invests $10m to $15m per company and largely takes part in a company’s third or fourth funding round, though it has the mandate to provide $3m to $4m in earlier-stage deals through affiliate vehicles according to Vertex Venture Holdings chief executive Chua Kee Lock. The vehicle has a global remit but is focused on high-growth areas in specific markets, such as cybersecurity in Israel or consumer-related technologies in China and Southeast Asia.
SoftBank raised 317bn won ($270m) for its rebranded SoftBank Ventures Korea, which was renamed to SoftBank Ventures Asia to reflect a wider geographical focus. The fund received a commitment from South Korea’s National Pension Service. Founded in 2000, SoftBank Ventures Korea initially formed part of a network of corporate venturing vehicles that included SoftBank China Venture Capital, the New York-based SoftBank Capital – since spun out into a firm known as SBNY – and Softbank UK Ventures. The unit initially focused on South Korea-based investments but expanded its remit in 2011 to the rest of the region. It has now backed some 250 companies including Tokopedia, the e-commerce marketplace valued at $7bn, and app store operator Wandoujia, which was acquired for $200m in 2016. The rebranded unit will also make early-stage investments in the US and Europe. It is currently operating out of offices in China, Israel and the US as well as South Korea, and is hiring staff for a forthcoming second Chinese office and a branch in Singapore.
UK-based investment firm Ahren Innovation Capital closed its inaugural vehicle at more than £200m ($253m) from LPs including consumer goods conglomerate Unilever, insurance firm Aviva and broadcaster Sky. The LP list also featured diversified holding group Wittington Investments, undisclosed US families, and individual investors including André Desmarais, Carlos Rodriguez-Pastor and the eight scientists who co-founded the vehicle.
Founded in 2017, Ahren Innovation Capital focuses on technologies covering the human brain and artificial intelligence, genetics and biotechnology, space and robotics, and energy and environmental technologies. The firm both invests in and helps build companies, offering access to the expertise of its founding science partners. It is in particular seeking out opportunities that take a multidisciplinary approach to challenges.
A host of corporate LPs have contributed to a $225m fund, launched by Germany-based venture capital firm E.ventures, which will invest in the US from San Francisco. Backers include mail-order retailer Otto Group, supermarket chain Lidl, packaged food producer Dr Oetker, automotive manufacturer Porsche, brewery owner Bitburger, cleaning device provider Kärcher and shoe retailer Deichmann. Founded in 1999, E.ventures invests in consumer, financial and software-as-a-service technology developers, using proprietary technology to assess possible targets. It maintains offices in Europe and the US and has partners located in China, Japan and Brazil. The new fund will look to provide between $1.5m and $10m for each deal, seeking out companies from pre-series A to series B stage.
US-based venture capital firm Sierra Ventures achieved the $215m final close of its 12th fund following LP commitments from unnamed corporations, endowments and pension funds. The oversubscribed vehicle, Sierra Ventures XII, will invest globally with a focus on next-generation enterprise and emerging technologies, such as big data, fintech, artificial intelligence, machine learning, cybersecurity, augmented reality and virtual reality. Sierra’s main focus is on seed and series A stage investments, though the firm said it will also make select investment in series B-stage companies. The fund is larger than its predecessors, with Sierra Ventures XI closing at $170m in 2016 and Sierra Ventures X reaching $145m in 2014.