Big Deal: Flipkart files away $1bn
The e-commerce company has just closed $1bn in a corporate-backed round but the downgrade on its valuation is likely a sign of the rough time that Indian e-commerce is going through.
Corporate venturing deal net: 27-31 March 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
Panasonic to put $100m into corporate venturing
The electronics producer will put an initial $100m into a California-based unit called Panasonic Ventures in order to access new business models, products or services.
Intex enters corporate venturing with Rooter investment
Consumer electronics maker Intex will invest up to $31m in strategic investments, the first of which was made in sporting community app developer Rooter.
Phoenix rises with corporate-backed fund
Pfizer, 3M, Corning, Eastman Chemical, Solvay, Showa Denko and WL Gore & Associates have all put their weight behind VC firm Phoenix Venture Partners’ new fund.
Henkel to heave funds into CVC unit
The industrial and consumer product maker has launched a corporate venturing arm called Henkel Ventures and expects to commit about $160m to the unit.
Banco do Brasil backs BR Startups
The insurance-focused venture capital fund has added Banco do Brasil subsidiary BB Seguridade to a range of limited partners including Microsoft, Qualcomm and Monsanto.
Exits
Boston Scientific snatches Symetis for $435m
Novartis is set to exit heart valve replacement maker Symetis after Boston Scientific agreed a cash purchase less than two weeks after the company filed to go public.
Buzzfeed begins IPO preperations
The online media company has reportedly earmarked 2018 for an initial public offering which would allow NBCUniversal, SoftBank and Hearst to exit.
Quixey closure reportedly due to Alibaba debt deal
Mobile search platform Quixey, which revealed last month it was ‘exploring strategic options’ has reportedly shut down due to provisions in a loan from equity investor Alibaba.
Youon, backed by Ant Financial and IDG Capital, has filed for an initial public offering on the Shanghai Stock Exchange that would make it the first Chinese bike sharing company to float.
Ionis Pharmaceuticals spinout Akcea Therapeutics will receive $50m from strategic partner Novartis as part of the offering.
Ethicon extracts Torax in acquisition deal
Johnson & Johnson, Kaiser Permanente and Mayo Clinic all exited the medical device producer in an acquisition of undisclosed size by Johnson & Johnson subsidiary Ethicon.
Ayondo aims to float at $158m valuation
Fintech developer Ayondo is set to list on the Singapore Exchange at a $158m valuation, giving ProSiebenSat.1 an exit.
The Thomson Reuters-backed data analytics platform developer floated at the top of its range and its stock finished almost 11% up on its first day of trading.
IT
MapD finds $25m in series B round
Existing investors Nvidia and Verizon came back for a round that boosted the graphical data analysis platform’s overall funding to $36.5m.
UCloud ups its funding by $139m
Oriza Holdings and CICC Alpha co-led the latest round for the Bertelsmann and Legend-backed cloud computing services firm, bringing its overall funding to near $300m.
Rigetti processes $64m in funding
Quantum circuit developer Rigetti Computing has revealed a $24m series A round backed by Bloomberg Beta and a $40m series B round.
Paradata looks to ship in $10m
The supply chain management platform plans to close a $10m series A1 round that will include the first investment from SAP’s new fund, SAP.IO.
Health
Tencent helps treat Haodaifu Online to $200m
The medical access platform has secured $200m in a Tencent-led series D round that took followed a $60m round two years ago.
Shyft gets Optum result in $20m round
Optum Ventures added $7.5m to help life sciences data platform Shyft Analytics close a $20m series B round with backing from McKesson and Medidata.
Twist Bioscience, which counts Illumina, WuXi PharmaTech and Institut Mérieux as shareholders, has raised capital from unnamed investors, taking its total funding to $166m.
JD.com helps crown Kingdee Healthcare with $14.5m
JD.com co-led the healthcare access app developer’s series A round two years after acquiring a 10% stake in its listed parent company.
Brace tightens up $22m round for Antiva
Antiva Biosciences, which is developing therapies to treat lesions that cause cervical cancer, has raised $22m in a series C round led by the venture capital arm of EMS.
Media
Bustle busts through to $12m series D
Time Warner, an investor in the female-focused online media company since seed stage, reinvested once again, this time at a valuation of nearly $200m.
MasterClass graduates to $35m series C
Bloomberg and Novel Group returned to invest in the celebrity-centered online education startup, taking its total funding to more than $56m.
Dely finds recipe for funding success
The video recipe platform has raised $27m in funding in a round featuring existing invetsors YJ Capital and Gumi Ventures.
Consumer
Licious cleaves $10m in series B funding
The online meat retailer will use the funding, provided by investors including Sistema and Doosan, to expand geographically and improve its back-end technology.
SHV goes on Picnic in $108m round
Grocery e-commerce company Picnic has raised cash in a round led by SHV Holdings’ NPM Capital subsidiary and will use the funding to expand across the Netherlands.
Financial
Financial services firm Capitec Bank has made a strategic investment in consumer finance provider Creamfinance, leading a $22.9m series B round.
Ottonova opts for Tengelmann to secure new financing
Tengelmann has supported a $16.2m round for insurance technology developer Ottonova, which previously attracted capital from another corporate, Vorwerk.
Tiger Brokers factors in $14m series B+
Xiaomi-backed brokerage firm Tiger Brokers has added $14m to its coffers in a round led by China Growth Capital, increasing its total funding to $59m.
JD Finance seeks $7.3bn valuation
The JD.com financial services spinout, which is backed by China Taiping Insurance, is in the process of raising a second funding round at a $7.3bn valuation.
Citi seeks Clarity in $11m series B
Clarity Money, which launched its personal finance management app in January, has already closed its second funding round, which was co-led by Citi Ventures.
Industrial
Sirrus proves the right formula for Nippon Shokubai
Chemical producer Nippon Shokubai will acquire monomer and derivative developer Sirrus, which had raised $35m in equity funding from investors including Mitsui and General Motors.
Cool Planet renews funding in series A round
Renewable biocarbon technology developer Cool Planet, backed by GV, Exelon, BP, JF Shea, General Electric, ConocoPhillips and NRG Energy, has raised $19.3m.
Transport
SoftBank offers $6bn to Didi Chuxing
Didi Chuxing is reportedly mulling a $6bn investment by SoftBank, with two more existing backers, Tencent and Apple, considering participation as well.
SoftBank to drive $1.5bn round for Grab
The Southeast Asian ride ordering platform is set to raise $1.5bn in a new round likely to include $1bn from longtime investor SoftBank.
Services
Verlinvest buys into Byju’s with $31m investment
Learning app developer Byju’s took its total funding nearer to the $200m mark with an investment from Verlinvest that reportedly valued it at up to $690m.
GE Ventures helps ship $25m to Freightos
The corporate venturing unit led a $25m extension to the freight services platform’s series B round, doubling its overall funding.
The Times Group-backed e-commerce logistics company has raised $100m in a Carlyle Group-led round that could be expanded to $150m with Fosun participation.
WayUp turns to corporates in series B round
Axel Springer and CAA Ventures joined existing backers for an $18.5m round led by Trinity Ventures that will support the recruitment platform’s technology development.