Armed with A$100m of capital from its sole limited partner, financial services firm Westpac, Australia-based Reinventure is pioneering its own model of fintech corporate venturing.
Corporate venturing deal net: 20-24 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
Samsung mulls $1bn artificial intelligence fund
The electronics manufacturer, which formed a $150m technology investment fund last month, could also launch an AI-focused fund that would make CVC deals and acquisitions.
Conglomerate Loxley’s IT services subsidiary Loxbit has combined with private equity fund TIH to form a fund that will back Thailand-based startups.
Radar Santander to detect Brazilian startups
Spain-based bank Santander has set up an accelerator in Brazil with entrepreneurship organisation Endeavor to back financial technology developers.
Myntra models fashion accelerator
The clothes e-commerce company aims to welcome 15 to 20 local startups to its new program as it also seeks more international brands for its marketplace.
Meituan-Dianping plans $435m corporate venturing fund
Meituan-Dianping has secured Tencent and New Hope Group as limited partners for a fund that will seek to develop an ecosystem around its local services platform.
Corporates join Project A for $148m fund
Otto Group, ProSiebenSat.1, Franz Haniel & Cie, Ravensburger, Dr Oetker, Axel Springer and Gruner + Jahr have chipped in to the venture firm’s latest fund, which is anchored by EIF.
Bank of Saint Petersburg directs $30m to corporate venturing
The financial services firm plans to initially complete up to 20 deals through the fund, which will support fintech and several other technologies.
Fika Ventures finds $40m with help from SPH
The US-based venture capital fund has secured Singapore Press Holdings as a limited partner as it closes $40m in capital.
People
Pascucci deposits himself at Lightbank
Victor Pascucci III has departed from his partner position at Munich Re’s corporate venturing division to head up venture firm Lightbank as managing partner.
Nachtigal leaves BASF after 15 years
BASF hired Markus Solibieda, formerly a partner at private equity firm Mandarin Capital Partners, as managing director at BASF Venture Capital in November, initially to work alongside Nachtigal.
Exits
Zawatt operates an auction site for second-hand items and has raised capital from CyberAgent Ventures, SIG Asia Investments and IMJ Investment Partners.
IAC-backed online dating platform Zhenai is in talks to go public through a reverse merger with Shenzhen-listed aircraft parts maker DEA General Aviation.
Groupon reveals the price of Living Social acquisition
Living Social, which had raised more than $900 from investors including Amazon, was bought by Amazon for ‘no consideration’ late last year, according to a securities filing.
Cisco, Salesforce and ServiceNow are set to record exits as the software integration platform developer files for a $100m initial public offering.
IT
AirMap plots out $26m series B
Microsoft has led drone airspace management software developer AirMap’s latest round, which included Airbus Ventures, Qualcomm Ventures, Rakuten, Sony and Yuneec.
Rackspace helps load $50m into Mailgun
Cloud computing firm Rackspace has spun out Mailgun, the email automation tools provider it acquired in 2012, and supported a $50m round for the newly independent company.
Famoco processes $11.7m in investment
Famoco’s near-field communication technology has attracted telecom group Orange, rail operator SNCF and financial services provider BNP Paribas as investors.
Aviso looks to the future with $8m
The Bloomberg-backed predictive insights software provider has raised $31m to date, following new funding from Scale Venture Partners, Next World Capital and Shasta Ventures.
ReplyYes gets positive result with $6.5m series A
The Broadway Video-backed mobile messaging service has now raised $10m in total and signed its first big commercial deal with Universal Music Group.
Thinxtra aims to channel series B funding
The internet-of-things technology provider is looking to follow a Rakon-backed round in September with about $15m of new funding, some of which could come from the industrial sector.
TetraVue takes $10m in series B funding
The 3D imaging technology developer will use the capital from a Robert Bosch-led round to market its products to autonomous car developers.
Health
Anxin Doctor treats itself to $28m
The money, supplied by a consortium that included IDG Capital, will be used to improve Anxin Doctor’s online and offline medical care services.
GE Ventures and Northwell apply $200m to bioelectronic medicine
The corporates will put $200m toward bioelectronic medicine research by Feinstein Institute’s Center for Bioelectronic Medicine.
Media
Baidu helps show $1.5bn to iQiyi
Baidu, which holds a majority stake in the video streaming platform, supplied $300m as part of the convertible note round, which also included IDG Capital.
Ally Corporate Finance and Oak Investment Partners have invested $21m in the Hearst-backed television streaming technology provider, which has now raised $150m in total.
Shinezone brightens up with $58m
The Sina and IDG Capital-backed mobile game publisher plans to use the series B funding to beef up its local incubator activities and global distribution network.
Soundtrack Your Brand queues up $22m
TeliaSonera has returned to invest in the Spotify spinout’s latest funding round, having previously led its $15m series B in 2015.
Consumer
The international hotel booking service, backed by IDG Capital at series A stage, has raised series B funding, adding China Merchants Capital Investment and the Chinese government as investors
Corporates queue up as Flipkart seeks $1.5bn
Microsoft, Tencent, eBay, PayPal and Alphabet are reportedly in talks with the e-commerce firm for a round that would value it at up to $12bn.
BCC pays $39m for a ride on Flipkart
Media company Bennett, Coleman & Co has supplied $38.8m in capital and advertising to the e-commerce firm, which is reportedly raising up to $1bn in new funding.
Shea Ventures has made its second investment in the organic meal delivery service, which has now raised more than $43m altogether.
Financial
GV-backed microfinance and credit scoring service provider Tala has increased its equity funding to $44m and plans to now expand in South Asia and Latin America.
Naspers lends a hand as Creditas raises $19m
Naspers Ventures has invested in the Brazil-based online lender as part of a series B round that included International Finance Corporation and existing backer Redpoint eVentures.
One Tap Buy hits up investors for $13.3m
One Tap Buy, a personal finance mobile app developer formerly known as MyBanker, has raised new funding in a round that included existing backer SoftBank.
Ant Financial transfers $200m to Kakao Pay
The investment will be used to spin out Kakao subsidiary Kakao Pay as a separate company, giving China-based Ant Financial a foothold in South Korea.
OpenFin trades series B shares for $15m
NEX Group and JP Morgan have made strategic investments in OpenFin, a financial services software producer that has now raised $22m in total.
The online lending platform is reportedly close to closing $500m in a round backed by existing investor SoftBank that will value it at about $4.3bn.
Energy and Natural Resources
QD Solar absorbs series A funding
DSM Venturing was among the participants in a $7.6m round for QD Solar, which is developing solar cells that could increase power generation by up to 20%.
Telecoms
SoftBank helps recharge Balance Hero with series B funds
Balance Hero, the developer of a mobile balance management app called True Balance, has raised $14.9m in a round led by SoftBank Ventures Korea.
Industrial
TactoTek drives up funding to $20m
Automotive parts manufacturer Faurecia has invested in TactoTek, a company that makes injection-moulded electronics used in vehicles and home appliances.
Caterpillar makes MineSense for $14.5m round
Mining data technology provider MineSense has completed a funding round that included a strategic investment from Caterpillar Ventures.
Transport
Atzuche accelerates with $58m series C
The car sharing platform has raised fresh capital from shareholders including Hearst Media and China Pacific Insurance, bringing its total haul to $130m to date.
On-demand car rental service Skurt has raised $10m in series A funding from investors including BMW as it prepares to expand in the US.
The bike sharing company has taken its 2017 funding to $300m, adding cash from Temasek and Hillhouse Capital to the $215m it raised from investors including Tencent last month.
AutoGravity pulls in Daimler for strategic investment
The carmaker, an early partner of AutoGravity, has invested an eight-figure sum as the vehicle and finance marketplace rolls out its service across the US.
Services
Knotel ropes in corporates for $25m series A
Rocket Internet and Bloomberg have taken part in a series A round for Knotel, the operator of office spaces that serve as headquarters for a range of companies.
Nida Rooms makes space for $5.6m
The Southeast Asian budget hotel room booking platform, which counts CyberAgent as an investor, has now raised more than $11m in under 18 months.