Corporate venturing deal net: 13-17 November 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
Element AI accesses Korea for $45m fund
The artificial intelligence startup has combined with Koea-based corporates SK Telecom, Hyundai Motor and Hanwha for the strategic fund.
Clique offers $10m to startups
Clique API has expanded into the Asia Pacific region where it intends to invest $10m in startups and partners that are working on communications APIs.
Accenture accelerates 10 more through fintech lab
The fourth cohort of Accenture’s Hong Kong-based fintech accelerator have pitched their technology to corporate and VC investors.
Dementia Discovery Fund gets $50m from Gates
Bill Gates has invested $50m in the corporate-backed fund, which is financing treatments and technologies to fight dementia.
Baidu lines up new fund for 2018
The internet company is to launch a fund sized at $200m or more that will target technologies such as AI, computer vision, voice identification and cybersecurity.
Exits
Ziff Davis pays $50m for Mashable acquisition
Media groups Time Warner and Tribune Media have exited Mashable, the digital media brand valued at $250m just 18 months ago.
Yixin yanks $867m from Hong Kong IPO
BitAuto’s e-commerce and financing spinout, which counts Tencent, Baidu and JD.com as investors, floated at the top of its range.
Boku carries itself to London for IPO
The mobile commerce software provider, which has raised more than $90m from investors including Telefónica, plans to raise $59.4m.
LexinFintech elects to launch $500m IPO
Bertelsmann and JD.com-backed LexinFintech, which runs lending and e-commerce marketplace Fenqile, will float in the US.
Apple faces up to InVisage Technologies acquisition
Imaging technology provider InVisage has been bought by Apple for an undisclosed sum allowing Nokia, Intel and China Oceanwide to exit.
PPdai fails to pop in $221m IPO
The China-based, SIG-backed online lender floated below its range in the US and is currently hovering just above the IPO price.
Entera Bio, a large-molecule drug spinout of DNA Biomedical Solutions, intends to raise up to $50m when it goes public.
Sonian gets sucked up by Barracuda
Barracuda Networks has bought Amazon and Webroot-backed cloud archiving software developer Sonian for an undisclosed sum.
Quanterix quickens pace to IPO
The immunoassay instrument developer is targeting $57.5m in an offering that will provide exits for BioMerieux and Stratec Biomedical.
IT
NVXL accelerates to $20m series A
Alibaba led the round as part of a deal that will give it access to NVXL’s computing acceleration platform.
Intel moves to Bossa Nova in series B
Autonomous robot developer Bossa Nova Robotics has secured $17.5m in an Intel-backed round that will support company growth.
Assemble Systems constructs $12m series A
Autodesk’s Forge Fund led the round as part of a strategic partnership with construction software provider Assemble Systems.
UBtech uses Tencent for $400m series C
Tencent is expected to lead a $400m funding round for UBTech that will reportedly value the family-friendly robot maker at $4bn.
Active.ai chats up CreditEase for series A
The chatbot developer has secured $8.3m in a series A round that included CreditEase, less than a year after closing $3m in funding.
SoftBank signs up for Malong’s series B vision
Malong Technologies has secured $33m in a series B round led by SoftBank fund SBCVC that will be used to expand internationally.
Qualcomm chips in for nine Chinese investments
Mobike and SenseTime are among the nine companies to have received cash from Qualcomm’s $150m China Venture Fund.
NTT Docomo and Cisco took part in the cybersecurity software developer’s series C round, with the proceeds to go to product development.
Singtel helps dole out $25m to Qubole
Singtel Innov8 has co-led a $25m round for big data technology developer Qubole, which will use the funding to expand its presence in Asia.
Graphcore processes $50m in series C cash
Robert Bosch Venture Capital, Dell Technologies Capital and Samsung Catalyst Fund all returned to reinvest in the machine intelligence developer.
EclecticIQ detects KPN for series B round
KPN has returned to invest in EclecticIQ’s $16.4m series B round, the proceeds of which will be used for hiring and product development.
XYZprinting produces funding for Nexa3D
The 3D printer maker has secured an undisclosed amount in a round led by new strategic partner XYZprinting that boosted its total funding to $10m.
The cloud computing platform developer has raised $15m in a series B round led by its new strategic partner, Tencent.
Health
Tencent has backed antimicrobial therapy developer Locus Biosciences in a $19m round that will fund the company’s first in-human clinical trial.
Inozyme signs up for $49m series A
Novo and Sanofi have backed a series A round for Inozyme Pharma, which is developing treatments for rare diseases affecting infants.
Corporates help pump $30m into Arterys
The medical imaging technology developer raised cash in a series B round backed by GE, Varian, Fosun, Northwell Health and NewYork-Presbyterian.
MitrAssist gets $30m funding implant
Fosun Pharma and Ping An were among the investors that are providing $30m for MitrAssist in a two-tranche round.
Syapse spies corporates for $30m series D
Medidata, Amgen, Merck & Co, Roche, Ascension, Intermountain and General Electric all took part in a round that boosted Syapse’s total funding to almost $70m.
LeanTaas lands $26m in series B funding
Sedgwick Claims Management Services-backed LeanTaas has secured $26m to continue development of its healthcare management platform.
We Doctor prescribes series A cash for Halove
Senior-focused hardware and software developer Halove Technology has raised $31.7m in a round featuring We Doctor Group.
Corporates help put money into Collective
Providence Health & Services and Kaiser Permanente have formed part of care management platform Collective Medical’s $47.5m series A round.
EBR Systems keeps pace to raise $50m
The wireless pacemaker developer secured $50m in an Ascension Ventures-backed round that took its total funding past the $150m mark.
Bokecc beckons investors to series C
The cloud video hosting platform has raised $31.4m, six years after closing a Steamboat Ventures-led series B round.
Fortuna Fix puts together $25m series B
Amgen Ventures contributed to a series B round for Fortuna Fix, which will use the funding for clinical trials and to expand manufacturing.
Immunotherapy developer Arcus Biosciences has raised series C funding from a GV-led consortium that included Celgene and Taiho.
VisitPay bills Ascension in $15m series A
Ascension Health has contributed to the healthcare billing platform’s series A round, which was led by Norwest Venture Partners.
Outcome Health investment ends in court
The US Department of Justice and the SEC are investigating Outcome Health for fraud while investors including Alphabet are suing the company.
Natural Cycles reaches $30m series B
Bonnier has returned to back the fertility tracking app developer’s series B round, the proceeds of which will fund international growth.
Media
A+E, AMC, Discovery, Scripps and Viacom supplied the funding as part of a commercial partnership that will involve their channels being available on Philo’s streaming service.
UnitedMasters records $70m investment
UnitedMasters has emerged from stealth, revealing $70m in funding from investors including Alphabet and 20th Century Fox.
Yidian Zixun reports $112m in funding
The news aggregation app, which was 47% owned by Phoenix New Media as of 2015, has received funding from backers including a government guidance fund.
Toutiao touches Live.me with $50m
Toutiao supplied $50m for livestreaming app developer Live.me’s series B round as part of a broader partnership with its parent company, Cheetah Mobile.
Jinying passes Xiaomi review in $40m series B
Xiaomi has co-led a series B round for review and self-publishing platform operator Jinying that included Fosun and SIG Asia.
Consumer
Flipkart to deliver $50m to Swiggy
Flipkart is reportedly about to provide $50m for Naspers-backed food delivery platform Swiggy, while Tencent could make a similar investment.
Maoyan validates $150m investment ticket
Tencent has invested in Maoyan at a $3bn valuation, two months after the ticketing platform agreed to merge with its peer Weiying Technology.
Corporates commit to Happily Unmarried
Wipro Consumer Care and Info Edge have made separate investments totalling approximately $8.4m in consumer product maker Happily Unmarried.
Poshmark spots series D investors
Temasek has led an $87.5m round for Poshmark that took its total funding to nearly $160m but which did not include existing backer Shea Ventures.
Interaxon heads to series B-1 round
The Flex-backed developer of the Muse meditation headband aid has secured $11.6m in a round that will fund the growth of its developer marketplace.
Alilo aligns with Fosun for $15m
Conglomerate Fosun has provided $15m for connected educational toy developer Alilo, investing through its Fosun RZ Capital unit.
Financial
9f Group accounts for nine-figure series C
The SIG-backed peer-to-peer lending marketplace has announced it has raised hundreds of millions of dollars in its latest round.
The debt collection platform has completed a series B round featuring insurer Assurant that will fund product development and client acquisition.
Behavox forms Citigroup relationship to raise $20m
Citigroup has led a $20m series A1 round for Behavox, a developer of people analytics software for the financial services industry.
Financial data processor Crux Informatics has secured $10m in a series A round led by a subsidiary of Goldman Sachs.
Analysis: Alibaba backs WeLab in a $220m round
Alibaba’s Hong Kong Entrepreneurs Fund committed capital to the series B+ round raised by peer-to-peer lending platform WeLab
Matic fattens up with $7m series A
Mr Cooper, Nationwide and National General Insurance invested in the digital insurance agency as part of a round that will fund hiring and growth.
Energy and Natural Resources
Aster attracts $282m in capital
The Alstom, Solvay and Schneider Electric-sponsored venture firm has closed new financing, bringing the total under its management to about $590m.
Industrial
LFF enters Spire’s series C orbit
Qihoo 360 and Mitsui-backed nanosatellite provider Spire has raised an undisclosed amount from Luxembourg Future Fund on its way to a $70m close.
Transport
The BMW and Workday-backed carpooling platform has revealed two funding rounds that raised a total of $31m between them.
SoftBank-led group agrees 10-figure Uber investment
A consortium including SoftBank and Dragoneer have agreed an investment plan that will involve them buying upwards of $8bn of Uber shares.
Huashenghaoche goes up a gear with $150m
Minsheng Financial Leasing has provided $150m for the online automotive marketplace, whose shareholders already include JD.com and Dongfeng Motor.
Services
Corporates sign up to TheGuarantors’ series A
Silverstein Properties’ SilverTech Ventures unit and Rocket Internet Capital Partners have both backed a $11.7m round for the rental guarantee provider.
MyMusicTaste books $11m series C
Samsung and SoftBank have contributed to the concert crowdsourcing platform’s series C round, which will be used to open offices in Europe, Southeast Asia and the US.