Weekly corporate venturing deal net: 26-30 January 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: SpaceX rockets to $1bn
The space exploration company raised $1bn from a Google-backed round that it closed in the same week as rounds from satellite companies OneWeb and Planet Labs.
Fundraising
Singulariteam launches $102m corporate-backed fund
Tencent and Renren were both among the contributors to the second fund raised by the Israel-based ‘super angel investor’.
Disney lines up 2015 accelerator
The entertainment company will invest $120,000 each in the 10 startups that graduate from its Techstars-affiliated accelerator.
Corporates back Partech growth fund
Partech Ventures has closed the $227m first tranche of its Partech Growth fund, which is backed by AG2R La Mondiale, CNP Assurances, Carrefour, Ingenico and Renault.
Pearson expands Affordable Learning Fund by $50m
Education publisher Pearson has committed an additional $50m to its Africa and Asia-focused Affordable Learning Fund.
Exits
Flex Pharma raises $86m in IPO
The Kraft-backed biotechnology company, which is developing treatments for neuromuscular disorders, has gone public just five months after a $40m series A round.
Eli Lilly injects $15m into Zosano
Microneedle patch developer Zosano secured the cash from strategic partner Eli Lilly concurrently to a $47.5m initial public offering.
Yahoo to spin-off $40bn Alibaba stake
The internet company will convert its 15% stake in Alibaba, together with one of its legacy businesses, into an independently registered entity.
Intel exits as Microsoft buys Revolution
Intel and Scientific Computing Associates are set to exit the statistics and analytics software provider through an acquisition by Microsoft.
IT
Microsoft helps Cyanogen operate $70m series C
Cyanogen, which is developing a version of Android independent to Google, is set to close a Microsoft-backed round that would value it in the nine figures.
BOE auguments $24m Meta series A
Display manufacturer BOE Optoelectronics has backed the augmented reality glasses’ developer’s $23m series A round.
Nokia tracks Whistle in $15m series B
Nokia Growth Partners led a $15m round for the Qualcomm-backed pet care software provider, which has now raised $25m in total.
ARM makes Pragmatic choice in $8.1m round
ARM has participated in a $8.1m round raised by flexible logic circuits maker Pragmatic Printing.
Network equipment maker Benu raises $27.7m
Already backed by Comcast, Liberty Global and Arris, the network equipment supplier has completed its series C round with support from new investor Shaw.
Verizon invests in Cloudbees series D
Verizon has returned to invest in CloudBees’ $23.5m series D round, increasing its overall funding to almost $50m.
Everspin comes round again to close series B
Everspin has expanded its series B round to $29m, as Western Digital and GlobalFoundries joined the company’s investors.
Kaminario increases series E capacity
The round, already oversubscribed when it first closed in December 2014 at $53m, has been expanded to $68m.
Tactus, a Ryoyo and Wistron-backed developer of on-demand tactile surfaces for electronic devices, has lifted its total funding to approximately $30m.
Health
Atlas gets positive results from series C
Novartis, Johnson & Johnson and Consort Medical all returned to invest in the company’s series C round as it looks to commercialise its diagnostic testing system.
EnGene digests $11.5m series B
DNA-based therapeutics developer EnGene raised the money in a Pharmstandard-backed series B round that increased its overall funding to more than $31m.
Xenex cleans up in $25m series B
Brandon Point Industries has backed a $25m round for Xenex, which manufactures robotic disinfection systems for healthcare facilities.
Genetic test provider Claritas secures $15m
Cerner Corporation and NextCode Health have backed a series B round that will fund the launch of Claritas’ new sequencing test for paediatric disorders.
GE collaborates in Iora series C
Iora Health has raised a $28m round from backers including General Electric, increasing its funding total to $48.5m.
Norwest goes on-site for Crossover funding
Crossover Health, which provides on-site healthcare for big companies, has received $15m from Wells Fargo-backed Norwest.
Media
Spotify begins work on $500m round
The music streaming company, backed by Coca-Cola and several major record companies, has reportedly entered talks with potential investors over a series G round.
Business Insider reports $25m in funding
The financial news provider, has now raised more than $57m in funding altogether, after closing an Axel Springer-led round.
Technology news site Mashable raises $17m
Time Warner joined the online media company’s existing backers, including Tribune Media, in a series B round that will support the expansion of the company’s workforce.
CAA animates $17m series B for Giphy
Talent agency Creative Arts Agency returned to back the GIF search engine’s latest round, raised at an $80m valuation.
Alibaba invests $10m to play with Ouya
Alibaba has invested $10m in Ouya, a game console maker launched with a crowdfunding campaign on Kickstarter in 2012.
Business Growth Fund, backed by five financial services firms, has taken a minority stake in digital marketing company Zone.
Xiaomi tunes into Lizhi.fm’s series C
Smartphone maker Xiaomi backs the radio and podcast recording app’s $20m series C round.
Consumer
Tencent, JD and Dianping all invested in the food ordering service as part of the round, which brought its funding over the past three rounds to $455m.
Jabbar jumps into Hopscotch series B
The babycare and children products online retailer has raised $11m in a round featuring Jabbar Internet Group.
Beibei nurtures investors for $100m series C
The baby and maternal product platform, a spin-out from e-commerce company Mizhe, has closed a second IDG-backed round in less than six months.
Financial
Google investment creates Ripple effect
Digital payments company Ripple Labs is on the verge of closing a $30m Google-backed series A round.
Energy and Natural Resources
Corporates shine on Fenix’s series B
Fenix International, developer of solar energy kits, has secured $12.6m from investors including GDF Suez, Schneider Electric, and Orange France Telecom.
Ossia recharges series A with KDDI funds
KDDI has joined investors including Intel and Recruit, as Ossia increased the size of its series A round to $10m.
Industrial
Google awards funding to robotics prize winners
Five participants in the internet company’s XPrize competition have received a total of $5.25m to spend on developing their space robotics technology.
Robot maker iRobot builds corporate venturing machine
The US-based company, the manufacturer of floor cleaning robot the Roomba, will invest up to $2m at a time and will fund up to 10 startups each year.
Constantia helps mold WPX Faserkeramik series A
WPX Faserkeramik, a producer of ceramic materials for high-temperature applications, secured funding from the building materials company, along with HTGF.
Transport
Volvo trucks $8m to Cargomatic
Volvo’s corporate venturing arm has joined a series A round for Cargomatic, the developer of an app that links truckers with shippers.
SoftBank drives 51Auto to series C
Car trading platform 51Auto has secured $30m in a round led by SoftBank China Venture Capital, taking its overall funding to about $40m.
Services
Local delivery app Roadie has launched with $10m of funding from backers including logistics service UPS.