Corporate venturing deal net: 5 – 9 December 2016
Each Friday the Global Corporate Venturing Deal Net rounds up the week’s smaller deals and tracks the emerging companies accessing corporate funds.
Fundraising
J&J launches consumer healthcare accelerator in China
J&J Innovation, the pharmaceutical company’s investment subsidiary, is facilitating a strategic collaboration with hardware accelerator Hax.
IHG treats healthcare startups in Philadelphia to $6m
The health insurance provider has partnered investment firms Ben Franklin Technology Partners and Safeguard Scientifics to fuel local innovation.
Tinder swipes right on corporate venturing
The dating app developer has launched a corporate venturing subsidiary called Swipe Ventures that will be headed by Sean Rad, up until now Tinder’s chief executive.
Scotiabank banks on Latin American fintech
The financial services company has partnered QED Investors to launch a VC platform focusing on fintech startups in Mexico, Chile, Colombia and Peru.
Wistron manufactures $20m fund
Wistron has partnered Fenox Venture Capital to set up a $20m investment fund that will invest in technology startups around the world.
Ascension Ventures rises to $255m fund
Ascension’s corporate venturing arm has secured $255m for its latest fund, signing up a total of 13 health systems as limited partners.
Maris boldly goes to $230m fund
Bill Maris, co-founder of GV who left the unit earlier this summer, is raising a $230m fund that will focus on the healthcare sector.
Partech concludes $107m fundraising effort
Partech Entrepreneur II, backed by a range of corporates including Carrefour, Edenred, Groupama, Renault and Ingenico, has closed with $107m in commitments.
SoftBank shoots for oversubscribed $100bn fund
CEO Masayoshi Son has said that its joint fund with the government of Saudi Arabia is set to be oversubscribed as SoftBank re-affirms its commitment to invest $10bn in India.
The car manufacturer is set to conduct corporate venturing activities through the new unit.
People
Mary Kay James leads Tyson New Ventures
Tyson New Ventures will invest in alternative proteins, food security and using the internet in the food chain and its first deal was backing Beyond Meat, which has created a plant-based protein.
Dimelow leaves Arm to start a VC firm
As reported by sister paper Global Government Venturing last week, UK state-owned development bank British Business Bank invested in Dimelow’s new firm, Accelerated Digital Ventures (ADV), which raised £150m ($188m) in initial close.
Exits
The company will conduct a reverse merger with its shareholder Nevada Iron to float on the Australian Stock Exchange.
Beepi shifts gears after Saic exit
The used car marketplace has shut down its California operations and is merging with a stealth company called Fair.com, after Saic reportedly decided to exit the company.
Cinepapaya dances the Fandango
Peru-based online movie ticket platform Cinepapaya was acquired by its US counterpart Fandango for an undisclosed sum, providing an exit for Movile.
Creo collects $25m ahead of Aim flotation
The electrosurgical medical device developer’s listing will provide an exit for investors such as Pentax Medical.
Creabilis has agreed to an acquisition by Sienna Biopharmaceuticals that could exceed $150m in value and provides an exit to AbbVie.
The hotel booking service, backed by Expedia, has priced its shares at $13 to $15m and will raise up to $492m in its initial public offering.
NFL Players Association scores accelerator
The union representing National Football League players has lined up six partners including semiconductor giant Intel to launch the sports accelerator.
Meitu lowers IPO target to $629m
Corporate-backed photo app developer Meitu is set to raise $629m in its initial public offering, down from a $1bn target in August and a $800m goal last month.
IT
Juhe.cn computes $52m series C
JD.com-backed data analytics provider Juhe.cn has raised $52m in series C capital to support R&D, client support and an expansion of its supplier network.
SnapLogic integrates $40m series F
SnapLogic’s total funding now stands at more than $136m, including a Microsoft-backed $37.5m series E round a year ago.
GE spins out Menlo Micro with $18.7m
The funding has been supplied by a consortium featuring GE Ventures, Microsemi Corporation, Corning and Paladin Capital Group.
AxonVR interacts with NetEase for seed round
NetEase has led a $5.8m seed round for haptic technology developer AxonVR, the largest such investment in the industry to date.
Nantero electrifies $21m round
Schlumberger-backed Nantero has raised more than $21m in its latest round, pushing its total equity to more than $110m.
RDC, a joint venture between defence companies Rafael and Elron, co-led the round for the incident response technology developer.
Face++ recognises $100m for series C
Legend-backed facial recognition technology developer Face++ has added Foxconn to its shareholders in a $100m series C round.
Health
Augmedix documents $23m investment
The funding comes from a consortium including McKesson Ventures and OrbiMed, and boosts Augmedix’s total capital to more than $60m.
Vida connects to Nokia for $18m series B
Nokia Growth Partners is among the investors in a series B round for Vida Health, a platform that connects patients suffering from chronic conditions with health coaches.
Abryx performs $10m investment
The biosurgical products company has received $10m from investors including MedEdge.
PatientPing coordinates $31.6m series B
PatientPing has added $31.6m to its coffers, a year after GV co-led a $9.6m series A round.
Precision medicine developer Metabolon, whose backers include Sumitomo, will use the additional $15m from Essex Woodlands to buy back shares.
Awak Technologies cleans up with $11m
The kidney disease treatment developer secured funding from investors including Baxter Healthcare as it looks to market its products by 2018.
Media
Osmo plays well with corporates
Mattel, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt and Collab+Sesame have contributed to a $24m funding round for internet-connected toy maker Osmo.
TV streaming service Molotov has closed its Sky-backed series B round at $23.3m.
Dating app Paktor bought a controlling stake in webcasting platform 17 Media, providing an exit to sports media company Le Sports’s venturing arm.
Share Rocket takes off with $5m
Share Rocket, which offers a social measurement service, has attracted Fox and Tribune Broadcasting as shareholders.
Impel Neuropharma to make $36m impact
3M-backed Impel Neuropharma has received an initial $21m of the series C round, with the remaining $15m dependent on development and business milestones.
Consumer
Comcast and 7-Eleven previously backed a $15m series C round in September 2016.
Investors pour $7m into ConnectedYard
Lonza has taken part in the series A round and will act as the startup’s strategic market partner.
Financial
ZestMoney flavours $6.5m series A
PayU has led the round, providing $3.7m, and was joined by existing shareholders Ribbit Capital and Omidyar Network.
Finicity aggregates $42m series B
Experian has led the latest funding round for Fincity, which will use the cash to hire engineers and support staff and accelerate development of additional features.
Lemonade stands to benefit from $34m
GV has contributed to a series B round for Lemonade that put the insurance technology developer’s total funding at $60m.
Energy and Natural Resources
Oxford PV brightens with $10m series C extension
The solar technology provider, an Oxford University spinoff, received additional capital from investors like Statoil’s $200m energy ventures fund.
Transport
Yimidida carries $14m to series A+
Online logistics platform Yimidida has raised capital from investors including GLP.
Volkswagen has set up a new spinout, called Moia, that will focus on urban mobility solutions.
Services
LeadGenius markets series B to more investors
Recruit-backed sales and marketing platform LeadGenius has secured a $4m series B extension from three VC firms to close the round at $14m.
Wusong courts investors for $17m series B
IDG Capital has returned to back a second round for internet legal services provider Wusong Technology.