Corporate venturing deal net: 17-21 July 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
JII finds Reliance to raise $25m
Reliance Industries will hold a 20% share in the newly formed Jerusalem Innovation Incubator, as will fellow corporate backer Motorola Solutions.
Deakin finds extra Dimesion for accelerator
Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Communications subsidiary Dimension Data has joined forced with Deakin University for an Australia-based cybersecurity accelerator.
Corporates access Evolution in $125m fundraise
Evolution Equity Partners has closed a $125m technology fund that has limited partners including Cisco Investments and the PZU Insurance-owned Witelo Fund.
People
Ronen rows his way to SoftBank
Michael Ronen, a co-COO of Goldman Sachs’ technology, media and telecommunications group, has agreed to join SoftBank Vision Fund as a partner.
Exits
SoftBank shows interest in Uber stake
The corporate has reportedly held talks with early Uber shareholders including Benchmark to discuss a secondary share sale.
Warner Music lays out Songkick acquisition
Warner has purchased most assets of the assets of Access Industries-backed Songkick, though it is steering clear of the ticketing business that forms part of a pending litigation.
Yimidida takes delivery of series B funds
The logistics platform has raised $44.3m in a series B round that included Global Logistic Properties, the delivery firm that backed its $14m series A+ round this past December.
IT
Graphcore frames $30m series B
Robert Bosch Venture Capital, Samsung Catalyst Fund and Dell Technologies Capital backed an Atomico-led round that doubled the machine intelligence startup’s total funding.
Comcast and Liberty Global join Integrate’s series D
Demand orchestration software provider Integrate raised $8m in the round, increasing its overall funding to $35m since 2010.
Samsung recognises Imagry in $7m round
Samsung joined existing investor Takwin Labs to invest $7m in the real-time imaging technology developer, which is also a Microsoft accelerator graduate.
Workato integrates corporates into $10m round
Salesforce Ventures and Workday Ventures both took part in a series A round that was disclosed alongside the launch of the app integration software developer’s latest product.
Existing investor Robert Bosch Venture Capital came back for an Information Venture Partners-led series B round that took Flybit’s overall funding to $14m.
The collaborative data platform has closed a series B round that comes two years after a Bloomberg Beta-backed series A.
SoftBank helps feed Brain with $114m
Brain Corp has raised $114m in a series C round led by SoftBank Vision Fund that included existing investor and strategic partner Qualcomm.
Privitar presses corporates for $16m
Salesforce Ventures and CME Ventures both invested in the data privacy software developer as part of a Partech Ventures-led series A round that will fund global expansion.
OpenText says yes to Assent series B
OpenText returned to invest in a $31.4m round for Assent Compliance, after previously backing the supply chain management platform’s May 2016 series A round.
Pendo re-enages with Salesforce in $25m round
Salesforce Ventures has reinvested in customer engagement platform Pendo as part of a series C round, seven months after backing its $20m series B.
Bespin Global turns to Legend to raise $15m
The cloud management startup has raised $15m in a series A round led by Legend Capital that included IT services supplier Hyosung ITX.
WaveOptics displays series B new funding
Existing backer Robert Bosch Venture Capital took part in a $15.7m round, just over 18 months after it first invested in the augmented reality technology developer.
Zillow burrows into Hutch for $10m series A
Hutch Interiors, creator of an augmented reality tool for viewing home furnishing options, has received $10m in a round led by Zillow Group.
OwnBackup packs Salesforce into $7.5m round
The backup and recovery software startup has now secured $11m in total, with Salesforce Ventures backing its series B round.
Lightbend stretches to $15m round
Intel, Juniper Networks and strategic partner IBM contributed to a round that increased Lightbend’s overall funding to $52m.
GV takes a part in $64m round for Segment
Customer data collection platform Segment has raised $64m in a series C round co-led by GV and Y Combinator Continuity Fund that took its total funding to $109m.
Health
Boston Medical helps pour series B funds into Amphora
Medical device developer Amphora Medical has closed a $35.5m series B round co-led by Boston Scientific that will fund a pivotal study for its OAB treatment.
NeuroVia journeys to $14m series A
Novartis and Sanofi-Genzyme have co-led a first funding round for NeuroVia, which will use the cash to advance development of a drug for a rare genetic neurological disease.
Symbow shows investors the way to series A
Shandong Buchang Pharmaceuticals has taken part in a $17.7m round for Symbow Medical, which is working on a surgical navigation device.
Trevi tracks down Lundbeckfonden Ventures to secure $50m
Lundbeck’s corporate venturing unit contributed to a series C round led by New Enterprise Associates which will advance Trevi Therapeutics’ lead pruritus treatment.
Menlo Therapeutics scratches funding itch with $50m
Novo participated in Menlo’s series C round, which follows the completion of two clinical trials for the skin condition drug developer’s lead product candidate.
PegBio clinches $20m in series E
Tasly Pharma has led a series E round for PegBio, which is working on drugs to treat diabetes and obesity, and which is also backed by Legend Holdings.
Qrativ corners series A funding
Mayo Clinic, which co-launched artificial intelligence-equipped drug developer Qrative with AI software provider Nference, has also contributed to its $8.3m series A round.
Media
Dynamic Yield brings in series C extension
The personalised marketing technology producer has increased its series C to $31m, with Deutsche Telekom joining a round that already included Baidu.
Kahoot kicks up series A to $20m
Microsoft Ventures, which participated in the round’s $10m first tranche in September, has returned to contribute to a $10m extension.
Alibaba helps prepare series B round for DayDayCook
Alibaba Entrepreneurs Fund has co-led a $14.8m round for online recipe video platform DayDayCook with private investor Adrian Cheng.
Walt Disney picks fourth accelerator batch
Axiomatic, Brit + Co, Savioke and ReplyYes are among the 11 companies that make up the 2017 cohort of the Disney Accelerator.
Consumer
Molekule structures Foxconn-backed series A
Foxconn was among the investors in a $10.1m round that will support hiring, product development and production expansion, as Molekule releases its air purifier to the public.
Syte.ai finds Naver in $8m round
Naver joined subsidiaries NHN Investment Corp and Line for a series A round announced at the same time as the launch of Syte.ai’s clothing search platform.
Reach Robotics stretches to $7.5m series A
The battle robot developer has secured $7.5m in a Qualcomm Ventures-backed round that will support commercialisation of its lead product, MekaMon.
Makeblock meets SoftBank for talks to raise $60m
The modular programmable robotics kit developer is in talks with SoftBank over a round that could double its valuation to $400m.
Financial
Ant Financial pays into VFinance
Alibaba’s financial services affiliate has made an investment of undisclosed size in digital finance technology provider VFinance as part of a strategic partnership agreement.
GE Ventures provides meat for Gravie
GE Ventures has led a $14.1m series C round for online health insurance marketplace Gravie, a year after the company received $1m from insurer Securian.
Bertelsmann funds Meixin Global in series A round
Bertelsmann Asia Investments was among the investors in an eight-figure round that will support product development and the financial product provider’s growth in Korea.
Energy and Natural Resources
Plenty reaps $200m in series B round
The round, which was led by SoftBank Vision Fund, reportedly represents the largest ever agricultural technology investment, and will be used to expand Plenty’s urban farm network.
Industrial
Desktop Metal forms $115m series D
Saudi Aramco, Lowe’s, Techtronic Industries, GV and GE Ventures all participated in a round that boosted the 3D printing technology provider’s total funding to $212m.
Astroscale finds space for $25m
ANA Holdings and OSG Corporation will supply technical assistance to the space debris reduction technology developer, after taking part in its series C round.
Safran experiments with CaiLabs investment
Safran Corporate Ventures joined the fibre optic technology developer’s existing investors for a $5.7m round that will support international sales.
Transport
Big Deal: Yandex Taxi catches an Uber
Uber’s operations in four Eastern European countries will merge with Yandex Taxi in a deal that could signify it plans to take a less direct, CVC-influenced approach to some markets.
Shift moves BMW into shareholder position to raise $38m
Used vehicle e-commerce platform Shift has now raised more than $110m altogether and added BMW i Ventures to its investor base.
Xiaoming Bike pedals to series B round
The Cronus Bike-backed bicycle sharing service has raised series B funding to expand its network of parking areas and upgrade its offering.
Nauto navigates its way to $159m
SoftBank co-led the autonomous car technology developer’s series B round, which included BMW iVentures, General Motors Ventures, Toyota AI Ventures and Allianz Ventures.
Grab to take up to $2bn in next round
The Southeast Asian ride hailing platform is reportedly in talks with SoftBank and Didi Chuxing to raise up to $2bn at a valuation of more than $5bn.
Services
The Petco-backed dog care service has now raised more than $155m in total, and will use the funding for international growth and an expansion of its services.
Cubic to square $40m in funding
Cubic Telecom is in the process of closing another funding round, some two years after a $20m round backed by Audi Electronics Venture, Qualcomm and Sierra Wireless.