Weekly corporate venturing deal net: 4-8 May 2015
Each Friday the Global Corporate Venturing Deal Net rounds up the week’s smaller deals and tracks the emerging companies accessing corporate funds.
Fundraising
The Bloomberg-backed communication platform has set up a fund to support startups developing apps on its platform.
Corporates flock to Flagship incubator
AstraZeneca, Nestlé Health Science and Bayer CropScience have agreed to support an incubator formed by Flagship Ventures, after backing its $537m fund in March.
HT Media helps Tandem cycle to $100m fund
HT Media is among the investors in the third fund raised by US-based accelerator Tandem Capital, which is now looking to invest more heavily in India.
IdInvest recruits corporates for $157m fund
The private equity firm has raised cash from backers including Allianz, Lagardère Groupe and Up Group for a fund that will Europe-based target digital startups.
Western Growers targets $4m for venture fund
The agricultural trade association will look to harness the skills of its member companies for a fund that will support agribusiness startups.
Barclays to target startups with $151m fund
The financial services provider, which already co-runs an accelerator with Techstars, will provide a debt-based alternative for UK-based technology companies.
Safran arms corporate venturing fund with $56m
The France-based company will invest the capital in aerospace, defence and security technology startups over a three-year period.
GMO puts up $18m for fourth fund
Internet services provider GMO Internet’s venture capital subsidiary, GMO Venture Partners, has allocated $18m to its fourth fund.
SingTel puts cash on the line for impact incubator
The telecommunications company will provide the majority of the funding for Enabling Change, a Singapore-based incubator for technology to help the disabled.
People
McCullough takes on corporate development role at OpenView
Venture firm OpenView Venture Partners has hired John McCullough to help build relationships between its portfolio companies and strategic investors.
Forte raises $30m for debut fund
Firm led by Tom Hawkins [pictured], formerly of Siemens Venture Capital, raises $30m, with a deal criteria of solely investing in deals where there is a corporate investor or partner.
Fred Brothers, chief innovation officer for FIS, has launched a fund called Uprising Capital that will invest in ventures that aim to combat inner city poverty.
Exits
The wearable fitness device maker has raised $83m in funding from investors including SoftBank and Qualcomm.
Gilead pays $65m for cancer drug developer EpiTherapeutics
Novo Seeds, Lundbeck, Merck and Astellas all exited EpiTherapeutics after it was acquired by biopharmaceutical firm Gilead.
Oncology company Adaptimmune secures $191m in IPO
The cancer therapeutics developer, backed by Novo and Immunocore, raised the cash less than a year after closing a nine-figure series A round.
Evolent to evolve with $100m IPO
The health services management company, founded by UPMC Health Plan and The Advisory Board Company, has targeted $100m for its initial public offering.
E.ON sells 49% stake in waste-to-energy company
The energy utility divested its stake in EEW Energy from Waste to private equity firm EQT, which now wholly owns the waste-to-energy company.
Tobira goes public through Regado merger
The newly formed pharmaceutical company, backed by investors including Novo, also raised $40m to advance its lead product through clinical trials.
Recruit adorns Wahanda with $46m
Recruit took an 80% stake in the hair and beauty marketplace, buying out all other investors for $171m, and provided $46m in series D funding for Wahanda’s expansion.
IT
Lockheed Martin finds Cybereason to invest
The aerospace company was among the investors in a $25m series B round for Cybereason, which plans to use the cash to double its workforce.
Audi joined the mobile connectivity platform’s existing corporate investors, Qualcomm and Sierra Wireless, to help fund a $20.3m round.
Zenefits rolls out $500m series C
Although not disclosed by Zenefits, Comcast is likely now an investor in the human resources automation company, which raised its latest round at a $4.5bn valuation.
Banjo tunes up for $100m series C
SoftBank led the location-based data platform’s latest round, which will be used to beef up its engineering and data science teams.
NTT Docomo backs adtech company SessionM’s series C
The mobile advertising technology company has now raised more than $38m across three rounds, after closing a $12m round backed by NTT Docomo.
Twilio attains unicorn status with series E
The cloud communications platform, the owner of a corporate venturing unit, has secured $100m from undisclosed investors at a $1.1bn valuation.
Health
Adaptive Biotechnologies fits profile for $195m
The immunosequencing company boosted its total funding to more than $400m with a round backed by Celgene, Illumina, BD Biosciences and LabCorp.
CoLucid dream of IPO comes true
Novo-backed CoLucid Pharmaceuticals secured $55m in the offering, and will use the proceeds to advance its migraine treatment through clinical trials.
Profound Medical seeks meaning from public markets
The medical device developer secured funding from backers including Knight Therapeutics as it went public in Canada through a reverse takeover.
Covidien/Medtronic follows vapour trail to Aegea
Water vapour-based medical device developer Aegea Medical has raised $36m from new and existing investors including Covidien/Medtronic.
Northern Biologics inks agreement with Celgene
Celgene provided $30m as part of the deal and secured the right to eventually acquire the biotechnology company, which focuses on cancer and fibrosis.
Media
The sports streaming platform, a spin-out from online video provider Leshi Internet, raised the cash from investors including Dalian Wanda.
Consumer
Swiggy to feed on $15m of Norwest cash
Norwest Venture Partners is set to supply $15m to the food delivery startup for its series A round, which will fund expansion across India’s urban areas.
NatureBox packages $30m series C
The SoftBank-backed snack delivery service took its total funding to almost $60m in a round led by Rocket Internet-affiliated fund Global Founders Capital.
Axel Springer seeks good deal in $12m Retale round
Location-based retail promotion-seeking platform Retale has raised new funding from existing investors including digital publisher Axel Springer.
Wonder Workshop builds $6.9m series B
Google-backed Wonder Workshop, which develops programmable robots for children, has now boosted its total funding to almost $16m.
Financial
Robinhood stays merry with $50m
Google-backed share trading service Robinhood has raised series B funding to support an international expansion that will begin in Australia.
Peer-to-peer lending platform Wanglibao raises $40m
LED products maker Hongli Opto-Electronic provided the series B funding, which followed the $10m invested by IDG Capital Partners last year.
Digit saves up $11.3m for series A
Google, which had backed the automated savings service’s $2.5m seed round in December, returned for its latest round.
Industrial
Saudi Aramco analyses promise in 908 Devices
Chemical analysis technology provider 908 has now raised more than $27m after securing $11.6m in a series C round featuring Saudi Aramco and Schlumberger.
JNC expands R&D to Silicon Valley
The chemicals and materials company, which already operates four research and development centres in Japan, will look to fund startup innovation through the new office.
Rapid Micro Biosystems cleans up in series C
The sterility monitoring technology company has raised $25m in funding from investors including Hepalink, and will use the money to support global expansion.
Sirrus rides funding cycle to series B
Sirrus will use a $6.5m General Motors-backed equity round, together with $5m of debt financing, to fund the commercialisation of its monomer technology.
Transport
Dida Pinche, which operates in China’s increasingly crowded ride sharing sector, secured the money in a round featuring Bitauto and IDG Capital.
Times Internet helps drop off $85m for Delhivery
E-commerce logistics company Delhivery has raised series D funding from investors including existing investor Times Internet.