Weekly corporate venturing deal net: 2-6 March 2015
Each Friday the Global Corporate Venturing Deal Net rounds up the week’s smaller deals and tracks the emerging companies accessing corporate funds.
Music rights specialist Kobalt has raised $60m in a Google-backed series C round, as it seeks to help artists retain royalties in an online age.
Fundraising
Beijing Water Business Doctor diagnoses $320m fund
The water purification plant operator will invest $24m in the environmental protection-focused fund, which is being launched in conjunction with private equity firm JD Capital.
Johnson & Johnson reveals Jlabs lineup
The company has announced the first 10 companies that will be resident at its South San Francisco Jlabs campus.
Microsoft Ventures launches two Indian startup programmes
Microsoft’s corporate venturing arm has selected 11 startups that will advance through either the Accelerator Plus or the Scale Up initiative.
Corporates meet for Challenge Up accelerator
The accelerator, backed by Intel, Cisco and Deutsche Telekom, will assist, and possibly fund internet of things startups in Europe, the Middle East and Africa.
Alibaba plans $319m Taiwan fund
The fund, which will follow in the footsteps of a $129m Hong Kong fund, will need to operate despite the Taiwanese government asking it to leave the country.
AMP banks on corporate venturing
Financial services provider AMP has launched a strategic corporate venturing unit to invest in digital businesses focused on areas including data analytics.
Bayer plants capital in $150m Finistere fund
Venture capital firm Finistere Ventures has raised $150m for the first close of an agriculture technology fund, with founding partners including Bayer’s agribusiness arm.
MediaTek to conduct investments through $300m fund
Semiconductor maker MediaTek will target semiconductor-system-and device, internet infrastructure and internet of things sectors through the fund.
QIWI launches new accelerator Universe 2.0
The payment services provider will invest up to $95,000 to establish joint venture projects with successful applicants.
People
Comcast extends Catalyst Fund to San Francisco
The cable provider has hired Laurence ‘Lo’ Toney to run west coast activities for the fund, which invests in minority-led startups.
Rao leaves Google Ventures for journalism return
Leena Rao, who joined corporate venturing unit Google Ventures from TechCrunch in June last year, has left to take up a position at Fortune.
Exits
Homemade goods marketplace Etsy files for IPO
The homemade and vintage goods marketplace, backed by investors including Hubert Burda, is likely to increase the IPO target of $100m as it gets closer to floating.
Data storage software developer Amplidata has been acquired after raising $43m from backers including HGST’s parent company Western Digital, Intel and Swissscom.
Quandoo gets Recruited in $220m deal
Human resources firm Recruit, which acquired a 7% stake in restaurant reservation platform Quandoo in October, has elected to buy the entire company.
Uber maps out DeCarta acquisition
Uber has bought T-Mobile, Ford and Best Buy-backed navigation system DeCarta for an undisclosed sum in order to advance its mapping technology.
The Symantec and Rovi-backed, cloud-based cybersecurity software producer has confidentially filed for an initial public offering according to a report.
Anjuke finds new home at 58.com
The online marketplace paid $267m to buy real estate platform Anjuke, giving an exit to Baidu in the process.
RainDance to summon up $60m IPO
The genomics tool producer has raised more than $100m from investors including General Electric and Myriad Genetics.
Visa, an investor in TrialPay’s $40m series C round in 2012, is set to buy the company and integrate its marketing platform into its own product offering.
Reuters-backed community platform Pluck has been acquired by Sprinklr for an undisclosed sum.
IT
Tel Aviv turns smartphones into hyperspectral sensor
Tel Aviv spin-out Unispectral reveals lens and image processing software that allows users to break down the chemical components of almost any object.
Stanford teams with GE on healthy data
GE Ventures has partnered with Stanford Health Care to launch Evidation Health, a big data startup with eyes on digital health which has raised $6m.
Alation delights in $9m series A
Bloomberg was among the investors, as the data management company raised a series A round that will support hiring, product development, sales and marketing.
First Data signs up for Booker series C
Cloud-based marketing platform Booker boosted its total funding to $77m with a $35m series C round backed by First Data’s corporate venturing unit.
Tempered stays calm with $15m series A
The network infrastructure company’s IDG-backed series A round will enable it to expand its sales and marketing efforts as well as hire more engineers.
Vserv increases series B round to $15m
Maverick Capital has joined existing backers including IDG Ventures India to boost the mobile advertising company’s series B round to $15m.
High Fidelity turns up volume for $11m series B
Google-backed virtual reality technology developer High Fidelity has attracted funding from new and existing investors and has now raised $15.9m in total.
Health
Corporates sense Aura for $22m series B
Pharmaceutical firm Chiesi and medical device producer Li-Cor have taken part in Aura Biosciences’ latest round, taking its overall funding to more than $33m.
Corporates sense Aura for $22m series B
Pharmaceutical firm Chiesi and medical device producer Li-Cor have taken part in Aura Biosciences’ latest round, taking its overall funding to more than $33m.
Grifols pumps $50m into Alkahest
The pharmaceutical company has acquired a 45% stake in Alkahest, which aims to fight diseases using plasma transplants from younger patients.
Pharmaceutical firms inoculate Macrolide with series A funds
Antibiotics developer Macrolide Pharmaceuticals has secured its first funding with a $22m round backed by Novartis, Roche and GlaxoSmithKline.
Merck helps treat Daktari to $15.5m
Pharmaceutical conglomerate Merck’s Global Health Innovation Fund co-led the series D round, having previously led a $10m round for Daktari in 2011.
Pfizer backs $35m Mersana round
Pfizer’s corporate venturing unit has returned to back Mersana’s series B-1 round, which was led by New Enterprise Associates.
The Ofer-backed acromegaly treatment developer raised an initial $33.8m in January, following a cancelled deal with pharmaceutical company Roche.
Media
Refinery29 to distill $50m from series D
Existing investor Hearst is reportedly set to contribute to a round for the women’s lifestyle media site that could reach $50m at a $240m valuation.
RockYou wins funding game with $23m
SoftBank and SK Telecom-backed in-game advertising company RockYou has increased its funding to more than $160m after raising $23m.
Consumer
PCH concludes acquisition of Fab assets
First rumoured in November 2014, PCH has agreed to acquire e-commerce company Fab for an undisclosed amount of cash and equity.
Modanisa tries STC on for $5.5m round
The Islamic women’s fashion site has now raised $8.5m in just over two years.
Unilever gets under Ren Skincare
The skincare brand, formed in 2000, will be bought by the consumer goods company and overseen by corporate venturing unit Unilever Ventures post-acquisition.
Condé Nast re-invested in Farfetch as part of a series E round that valued the fashion marketplace at $1b, and which will fund international expansion.
Men’s fashion retailer Outfittery secures $20m
Holztbrinck-affiliated venture firm Holtzbrinck Ventures participated in the round as the customised e-commerce service raised expansion funding.
Sols finds feet in $11m series B
ALM-backed 3D printed goods company Sols has boosted its total funding to more than $19m after closing a $11.1m round that will support its commercial launch.
Financial
Online credit rating service Wecash has closed its series B round at $20m, boosting its total funding to $26.6m.
Linkable Networks its way to $11.7m
Citi-backed electronic coupon and voucher company Linkable plans to double its staff using the cash, which took its overall funding above the $50m mark.
The advertising commerce platform has secured $7m from backers including research and technology transfer company Innova.
Industrial
SMIC lights up Brite Semiconductor series C
Wells Fargo-backed Norwest Venture Partners also returned to take part in an $8m round that increased Brite’s total funding to $30.6m.
Transport
Intel Capital has co-led a series A round for the motorcycle helmet maker, which celebrated a $2.4m crowdfunding campaign last year.
Services
HoneyBook invites Norwest to series B
Event-planning service HoneyBook has now received $32m in venture funding to date, following a $22m series B round.
Nextdoor closes $110m series D
The neighbourhood-based social network took its total funding to $210m with a Comcast-backed round raised at a $11.1bn valuation.