Corporate venturing deal net: 29 May – 2 June 2017
Each Friday the Global Corporate Venturing Deal Net rounds up the week’s smaller deals and tracks the emerging companies accessing corporate funds.
Fundraising
Invenergy charges up venturing arm
The size of the fund has not yet been revealed, but is expected to be in the tens of millions of dollars.
37 Interactive Entertainment seeks fund fortune
The internet company has joined forces with private equity firm Oriental Fortune Capital to launch a fund aimed at the entertainment sector, reaching a first, oversubscribed close at $73m.
HTGF III celebrates $275m first close
High-Tech Gründerfonds has attracted the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy and KfW as well as a total of 26 companies to its third fund.
Salesforce breaks ground on $50m Trailblazer fund
The new vehicle will target cloud consulting firms and is being launched alongside an initiative to provide portfolio companies with resources and training.
Google engineers AI-focused fund
The internet company has reportedly launched a new venture capital initiative focused on artificial intelligence, led by vice-president of engineering Anna Patterson.
Corporates Engage with $15m fund
A total of 10 companies have put capital into a $15m fund managed by Tech Square Ventures.
Solve Healthcare irons out CVC arm
Dubbed Solve Ventures, the investment arm will focus on digital health and medical diagnostics technologies.
BlueCross BlueShield collects $10m
The corporate venture fund, backed by the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association, has raised an initial $10m for its new fund.
Exits
OneWeb loses connection with Intelsat
The deal, valued at up to $14bn, has fallen through after SoftBank failed to secure the backing of enough Intelsat creditors.
Fit Pay identifies acquisition offer
Nxt-ID has purchased Fit Pay, providing an exit to Giesecke & Devrient.
Sprig completes final delivery
CAA Ventures-backed Sprig, an online food delivery service, has wound down.
The online gaming developer, backed by CyberAgent, has signed a preliminary agreement to float on the US stock exchange.
The social media platform, which had raised money from O’Reilly Media, is set to close down for good on June 23.
Microsoft has purchased the cybersecurity company, backed by Hewlett Packard, for $100m.
IT
TouchBistro taps Recruit for series C
Recruit has participated in a $12.1m series C round that featured a host of returning backers such as the Canadian state-backed BDC IT Venture Fund.
RiskRecon scouts for $12m series A
Led by Dell’s corporate venturing subsidiary, the series A round will boost product development and accelerate international sales efforts.
Corporates help CounterTack deal with series D
Singtel and SAP National Security Services have co-led a $20m series D round for CounterTack, already backed by investors such as Siemens, ManTech, Mitsui and Alcatel-Lucent.
Innogy is among a group of investors that has provided $10m in series B capital.
Health
Hyalex Orthopaedics takes $16m walk
The Stanford spinout has collected series A funding from investors including Johnson & Johnson and Osage University Partners.
Inthera incorporates $11m series A
Merck Ventures, which previously led a seed round in 2015, has returned to lead a series A round that featured fellow existing shareholder Novo Seeds.
Outcome Health celebrates $600m result
Investors including Alphabet’s CapitalG unit have put a total of $600m into Outcome Health at a pre-money valuation of $5bn.
Bicycle Therapeutics rides towards $52m series B
Novartis and GlaxoSmithKline have returned to back a series B round that also attracted Singapore state-backed Vertex Ventures and university venturing fund Cambridge Innovation Capital.
GlaxoSmithKline and Medtronic have provided capital to Saluda Medical, a medical device maker working on a spinal cord stimulator system.
Lilly helps InventisBio make up $19m series B
The biotech developer has welcomed back Lilly Asia Ventures, which previously co-led a series A round, for a $19m series B that put the startup’s total at $30m.
Harpoons darts to $45m series B
Cancer treatment developer Harpoon Therapeutics has closed a $45m series B round backed by investors including Taiho Pharmaceutical.
Media
Kaishuo Jianggushi tells $13m story
The children’s stories content provider was launched three years ago and has grown to six million users since then.
Zongheng remains in Perfect World for funding
Baidu-backed Zongheng Literature has received more cash from Perfect World in a funding round that reportedly brought in $116m.
Demandbase calls for $65m investment
Adobe Systems has returned to contribute to a $65m late-stage round that has pushed Demandbase’s total capital to more than $150m.
Unlockd deciphers $23m series B
The round was led by Axiata and will help the Australian startup expand across Asia, with a particular focus on India.
Consumer
Corporates’ investment is Essential
Foxconn, Tencent and Access have backed smartphone producer Essential, which has revealed hundreds of millions of dollars in funding.
The reason for the funding round, which comes ahead of an expected acquisition of Snapdeal by Flipkart, is not entirely clear but could be related to Snapdeal’s purchase of Unicommerce eSolutions.
Casper gets comfortable with $75m
Target has led a $75m funding round for Casper, which is targeting a final close of at least $100m.
Financial
Intel Capital celebrates an exit as ItzCash is acquired by Ebix for $123m at a valuation of $150m.
National Australia Bank, Royal Bank of Canada and Power Corporation have taken part in a $24m late-stage funding round for the personal accounting service.
PolicyGenius follows series C protocol
Axa, MassMutual and Transamerica have all returned to back a $30m funding round for PolicyGenius, having previously contributed to a $15m series B.
Industrial
Grabit reveals it has taken $25m
A host of corporates, some of which had not been disclosed previously, have put in a total of $25m of funding into Grabit.
Ouyeel manufactures $140m investment
A host of Chinese corporates, including steel companies, have contributed to a funding round for Ouyeel, an online steel transaction platform created by China Baowu Steel Group.
Transport
SF and UPS deliver joint venture
SF Holding and UPS Parcel Delivery Service have agreed to set up a joint venture called Global Connect Holding and supported with $10m in capital.
Delhivery picks up another $30m
Fosun International has provided a $30m extension for Delhivery’s latest funding round, which achieved an initial $100m close in March.
Services
Yuanfudao grades $120m investment
Tencent, an existing shareholder in edtech provider Yuanfudao, has returned for a $120m funding round led by Warburg Pincus.
Joyson helps drive Lechebang’s series B
Lechebang has raised $44m in series B capital from investors including Joyson Electronic and Singapore state-backed Vertex Ventures.
MyDream+ realises $20m series B
The co-working spaces provider has collected capital from a consortium featuring Wecash.
UrWork and 5Lmeet collect $117m
The two co-working space operators will each receive an equal share of the investment provided by Beijing Xingpai Group.
G2 Crowd circles investors for series B
LinkedIn has participated in a series B round for G2 Crowd, pushing the startup’s total capital to $45m.