Weekly corporate venturing deal net 15 – 19 February 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
Corporate-backed MassChallenge launches Swiss accelerator
MassChallenge has launched a Switzerland-based program backed by Nestlé, Givaudan and Bühler that will issue up to $1m in awards.
Palm Landscape to build $15m VR fund
The landscaping company, together with investment firm Hejun Zhengde, has launched a virtual and augmented reality fund that is targeting a $15m first close.
Corporates enter Panakès mix for medtech fund
Medical technology-focused VC firm Panakès Partners has attracted Italy-based corporates Menarini, RottaPharmBiotech, Elemaster and SapioLife for its first fund.
FinLab launches $3m second year
The $30m JP Morgan Chase-backed Financial Solutions Lab will invest up to $3m in graduates from its next batch of startups, and is accepting applications now.
IAG to expand innovation policy with corporate venturing arm
Insurance Australia Group aims to set up a direct investment unit that will operate under its innovation division, IAG Ventures.
Google puts together Jigsaw incubator
Jigsaw will take over from Google think tank Google Ideas and will incubate companies concentrating on information access and online security.
Statoil launches $200m renewables and low-carbon fund
Statoil Energy Ventures will invest the capital over the next four-to-seven years and will complement the firm’s Statoil Technology Invest unit.
Gati analyses logistics of corporate venturing
The delivery and supply chain services provider will target investments in logistics startups and expects to reveal its first portfolio company shortly.
Campbell invests $125m to soup up corporate venturing
Campbell Soup has committed the money to a venture capital vehicle called Acre Venture Partners, which will fund food technology startups.
Exits
The mobile game studio raised $14m from Link and Motivation and Globis in 2014 and is now looking to go public in its home country of Japan.
Esco packages up Plastique exit for BGF
Business Growth Fund exited packaging maker Plastique, in which it invested $7.2m, through an acquisition by a subsidiary of Esco Technologies.
YouTube has bought BandPage, an IDG-backed company that helps musicians sell tickets, merchandise and other products, for approximately $8m.
Tencent-backed relationship communication app Couple, which raised $4.2m in 2012, has been acquired by Life360 for an undisclosed sum.
Runkeeper proves a shoo-in for Asics
Media company O’Reilly has exited fitness app developer Runkeeper, which had raised $11.5m in venture funding, through an acquisition by shoemaker Asics.
Gree, Digital Garage and Publicis have exited the Singapore-based messaging app developer, acquired by Google to help launch its regional office in the city-state.
GTCR drives $500m acquisition of Lytx
Volvo Group Venture Capital is set to exit Lytx, in which it invested an undisclosed sum in 2013 as part of a strategic partnership.
IT
Data discovery platform developer Waterline Data has closed a series B round that included $4m from strategic partner Infosys.
Intel, Recruit and existing investor New York Life contributed to a series B round that took the machine learning software company’s overall funding to $57m.
Kemp Technologies loads up with $6m
Load balancing technology provider Kemp, backed by investors including Orix, has raised $6m in equity funding according to a securities filing.
Building energy management company EnTouch Controls, which includes NRG Energy among its investors, has closed a series C round, boosting its total funding to $20m.
LiveAction networks wth Cisco for $36m round
Series A backer Cisco returned for the real-time network control software developer’s series B round, which will support global growth.
Zoomdata zips to $25m series C
Comcast was among the investors in a Goldman Sachs-led round that took the big data visualisation company’s total funding to $47m.
Yello Mobile greets SBI for $30m
Financial services provider and strategic partner SBI Holdings has increased the size of Yello Mobile’s latest round, raised at a $4bn valuation, to $73m.
Android security app developer Mobi Magic raised the cash in a round co-led by Qihoo 360, the cybersecurity company that contributed to $80m of funding for it last year.
RES finds space for $10m from Orix
Orix Capital has supplied $10m in equity funding to workspace technology provider RES, which plans to invest in emerging markets growth.
Jana, which provides internet access in emerging markets, has raised series C funding from backers including Verizon and Publicis Groupe.
Adbrain devises $7.5m series B
Cisco joined existing backers Notion Capital and Octopus Ventures for a round that boosted the adtech company’s overall funding to $16.5m.
Sberbank helps frame GridGain series B
Data platform provider GridGain has raised $15m in series B capital, three years after it closed an initial $10m in series B funding.
MyRepublic to call on investors for $178m
The DST and Sinar Mas-backed company is aiming to become Singapore’s fourth telecommunications provider and close $178m of funding by April.
Health
Cala Health shakes $18m out of investors
The stealth-stage Stanford spinout is reportedly developing an anti-hand tremor device, and is backed by Alphabet, Johnson & Johnson and corporate joint venture DRX.
Media
GIF database Giphy increased its overall funding to $75m with a series C round that marked the third investment in the company by CAA.
Qualia tracks Verizon for $5.5m
The mobile marketing technology provider has now raised $13.5m altogether from investors also including Vodafone.
MindMaze maps out $100m Hinduja-backed round
MindMaze is developing a platform for building virtual and augmented reality products and is currently focusing on neuroscience.
LeTV Sports hits home run with $460m series B
The China-based sports streaming platform is raising the money from investors including Ti’ao Power, from which it has acquired the rights to Chinese Super League football.
Consumer
Label Insight packages up $10m
KPMG’s corporate venturing unit led Label Insight’s series B round, which included Dunhummby and which took the product data provider’s total funding to $14m.
Al Tayyar wades into $67m Wadi series A
E-commerce platform Wadi.com, founded by the Rocket Internet and MTN-backed Middle East Internet Group, has secured $67m in a round led by travel firm Al Tayyar.
BCC finds good Snapdeal in $200m round
Bennett Coleman & Co, the media conglomerate also known as Times Group, has taken part in round that valued e-commerce platform Snapdeal at up to $7bn.
Financial
Simplex processes $7m for series A
The bitcoin payment processing startup has received funding from investors including bitcoin miner Cumberland and bitcoin hardware producer Bitmain.
Payleven racks up $10m in series D round
The mobile payment platform has now raised $51m in total, with Rocket Internet, Smart Communications and Holtzbrinck Ventures among its backers.
Holtzbrinck Ventures led the round, which the share trading app developer will put toward marketing, product development and hiring.
$9.2m payday rolls around for PayActiv
PayActiv develops technology that helps employees access earnings early, and has followed up seed funding from SoftBank with $9.2m of new funding.
Energy and Natural Resources
Bristow lands on Sky-Futures for $5.7m series B
Helicopter services firm Bristow invested $4.2m in the round as part of a partnership agreement, taking the drone inspection company’s funding to $9.5m in the past year.
Motive Drilling Technologies, an oil drilling guidance system developer incubated by Hunt Consolidated, has raised $10.5m in a series A round co-led by GE Ventures.
Transport
Singapore Post doubled its stake in the cross-border logistics company to almost 36%, after investing an initial $12m in 2011.
Services
BGF goes full-on with Total Recycling Services investment
Bank-backed growth equity fund Business Growth Fund has invested $9.7m in waste management company TRS and recommended its new non-executive chairman.