Big Deal: SoundHound tracks down corporate investors
A range of corporates invested in the $75m round closed by SoundHound last week, as the company looks to fully establish and grow its conversational AI network.
Corporate venturing deal net: 6-10 February 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
New Hope to star in media and entertainment fund
Conglomerate New Hope Group has co-founded a VC fund called Qinghan Fund to invest in media and entertainment, and Huashi Entertainment has also supplied capital.
Evonik extends capital to Hosen
Chemicals provider Evonik has made a strategic commitment to the China-based, agriculture and nutrition-focused Hosen Capital Fund III.
NextAI interfaces with investors
The Magna-backed scheme aims to offer capital, mentorship and networking opportunities to Canada-based startups operating in the artificial intelligence sector.
Micromax calls on investors for $100m fund
The consumer electronics producer will be the anchor investor in Orbis Capital, and is recruiting limited partners including private equity firms and pension funds for the rest.
Legend Capital caches $243m for Fund VII
The Legend Holdings-backed firm has raised $243m of a targeted $375m for its latest fund, a US securities filing has indicated.
LVMH fashions $54m corporate venturing subsidiary
LVMH Luxury Ventures will invest up to $5.4m a time in luxury fashion, cosmetics and accessories startups.
Ride ordering platform Grab intends to provide $100m for Indonesia-based mobile and financial technology startups as part of a $700m investment drive in the country.
Scania hauls itself into strategic investing
Commercial vehicle producer Scania will back startups developing sustainable transport technologies through a dedicated fund called Scania Growth Capital.
People
Liu Wei takes top job at Baidu Capital
Baidu has hired Liu Wei from another corporate venturing unit, Legend Star, to run its $3bn corporate venture capital arm as chief executive officer.
Exits
Kiwigrid channels series C funding
Investors including LG Electronics and Innogy have supplied at least $11m in series C capital to Kiwigrid, providing exits to Innogy Venture Capital and HTGF.
Dell to exit Invincea in $100m acquisition
The anti-malware software developer, which had raised $10m in a Dell Ventures-backed round just three months ago, will be acquired by Sophos.
Advertising technology developer Trademob has been bought by mobile marketing technology provider Adikteev in an all-share deal that allowed Tengelmann Ventures to exit.
Kuaishou to kick into public markets
The Baidu-backed photo and video-sharing app, which is reportedly valued at $3bn, is planning to go public in the US in the second half of 2017.
IT
GV makes Evident investment in $22m round
Cloud security services provider Evident.io has secured $22m in a series C round led by Alphabet subsidiary GV, bringing its total funding to $49m.
Slack Fund was among the investors in the cybersecurity technology startup’s latest round, which will support product development, sales and marketing.
Alpha finds its Mojo in $30m round
Cloud wifi technology provider Mojo Networks has raised $30m in series E funding and debt, with strategic partner Alpha Technologies among the participants.
Exabeam accesses $30m in series C
Cybersecurity technology developer Exabeam has added Cisco to its shareholders, while several investors including Norwest Venture Partners returned.
Microsoft and AT&T go to SnapRoute for $25m round
Microsoft Ventures and AT&T participated in the open networking software developer’s series A round, which was led by Norwest Venture Partners.
Juniper makes Fungible investment in $32.5m series A
Juniper Networks has taken part in a $32.5m series A round for Fungible, a data centre technology startup co-founded by its own co-founder, Pradeep Sindhu.
R/GA advertises latest accelerator
R/GA Ventures has announced the 10 startups that will participate in its R/GA IoT Venture Studio UK.
MapAnything pinpoints corporates for series B
Salesforce has returned for a $33.1m funding round, having previously backed MapAnything’s $7.3m series A, and was joined by new investor ServiceNow.
Health
Abbisko counts on Eli Lilly for $28m series A
The immuno-oncology drug developer, backed by Eli Lilly and Sinopharm’s private equity arm, is focusing on treating cancers that are widespread in Asia.
Sodexo enters LifeDojo in series A round
Sodexo Ventures has invested in health and coaching platform developer LifeDojo as part of a $5.1m round closed alongside a strategic partnership with another Sodexo subsidiary.
Prexton presses on to raise $31m
Merck Ventures has made a second investment in Prexton Therapeutics, which will now launch phase 2 clinical trials for its Parkinson’s disease treatment.
Tarveda conjugates investors for $30m series D
Novo has reinvested in the cancer drug developer as part of a Versant Ventures-led round that increased its overall funding to approximately $108m since 2011.
Media
Archant exits as Streetlife goes Nextdoor
Streetlife, which had received funding from investors including Archant’s corporate venturing unit, has been acquired by US counterpart Nextdoor for less than $12.5m.
Disruptor Beam hits the mark to raise $8.5m
The Alphabet-backed game developer has raised series B financing in advance of the release of its latest mobile game, which is based on The Walking Dead.
Consumer
Wooplr wins $8m in Sistema-led round
Fashion discovery app developer Woolpr Technologies has raised $8m in a series B round that reportedly included $3m from conglomerate Sistema’s Asia Fund.
Voonik stays on trend with $6m
The fashion app developer, backed by Times Internet and Beenos, has raised $6m in funding from RB Investments and Sequoia Capital.
Financial
Corporates help cover CXA’s $25m series B
The round, which boosted insurance technology developer CXA’s total financing to $40m, attracted Philips and Reinsurance Group of America.
Mobikwik to make the step to unicorn status
The mobile wallet developer, which is backed by Cisco, American Express, GMO and Mediatek, is in talks to raise funding at a valuation of about $1bn.
Blooom flourishes with series B
Allianz Life and Nationwide have joined existing investors including UMB to participate in a $9.15m series B round for the online investment service.
Folio books corporates for $16m funding round
Rakuten and Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance have invested in Folio, which is developing a robo-advisor investment platform, bringing its overall funding to almost $19m.
Gastrofix puts $8.6m in the till
Gastrofix, the developer of a cloud-based point-of-sale system for the hospitality sector, has raised series B funding from brewery Radeberger.
Investment subsidiaries of Dentsu and SBI have supplied $7.1m in financing for mobile payment company Coiney, which has now raised more than $21m in total.
The e-commerce technology developer has raised $7m in seed funding at a $27m post-money valuation from backers including banks Sparkasse and NRW.
Yomoni returns for $5.4m series A
Existing shareholders Crédit Mutuel Arkéa and Iéna Venture have provided additional capital to Yomoni, which operates a robo-advisor investment platform.
Energy and Natural Resources
Geosyntec, which spun OptiRTC out in late 2015, was among the participants in a $5.5m round that will support expansion and the strengthening of the startup’s sales capabilities.
Industrial
Desktop Metal casts corporates in $45m series C
Alphabet, BMW and Lowe’s have provided series C capital for Desktop Metal, boosting the 3D printing company’s total equity funding to $97m.
View reveals $100m in new funding
The Corning and General Electric-backed advanced glass producer has secured $100m including $50m from TIAA Investments at a valuation of almost $1bn.
OPM skates to $10m in funding from Hexcel
Hexcel has now provided more than $25m of strategic funding for thermoplastic parts producer Oxford Performance Materials, which will now expand manufacturing capacity.
Transport
SAIC appraises Che300 worthy in $29m series C
Automotive manufacturer SAIC Motor led the round, reportedly investing in the used car appraisal and sales service platform together with unnamed automotive industry funds.
Services
Lola locates GV to boost series B to $25m
GV and Tenaya Capital each added $5m to the personalised travel booking service’s series B round, following $15m closed last month.
Shansong Express reaches series C for $50m
The logistics service provider raised the money in a series C round co-led by a subsidiary of Susquehanna International Group, and will invest in growth