Weekly corporate venturing deal net 1 – 5 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.
Editorial: Navigating the three routes to the top of corporate venturing
Claudia Fan Munce’s retirement highlights three routes to the top job.
China to change VC investment rules for banks
The country is reportedly planning to let commercial banks create venture capital units to invest in technology startups.
Fundraising
Temp Holdings employs CVC fund to aid innovation
The staffing services company has formed a corporate venturing unit called Temp Innovation Fund that will fund HR technology in Japan and internationally.
Medicxi searches Index for corporate backers of $230m fund
Index Ventures spinout Medicxi Ventures has launched with a $230m first fund backed by GlaxoSmithKline and Johnson & Johnson.
Corporates energise Set Ventures fund for $67m close
The smart energy-focused Set Fund II has secured Shell, Essent and Delta as limited partners and expects to reach a final close by the end of March.
Startups find out how to get to Sesame Street
Sesame Workshop, the producer of TV show Sesame Street, has set up an investment arm and created a $10m first fund with the support of Collaborative Fund.
People
Osborn to take MD role at Telus Ventures
Richard Osborn is leaving his managing director role at healthcare investment fund RecapHealth Ventures for a similar role at CVC unit Telus Ventures.
Exits
Fujitsu networks its way to BTI exit
Juniper Networks is set to acquire networking software company BTI Systems, which had raised $60m in equity from backers including Fujitsu, for an undisclosed sum.
The educational data analytics platform developer had raised almost $5m across two early-stage rounds from investors including Samsung Ventures.
AveXis straightens out terms for $89m IPO
Roche-backed AveXis, the developer of a spinal muscular atrophy treatment, intends to issue 4.25 million shares priced between $19 and $21.
Clark Enterprises and Robert Bosch have exited Flyby Media following the augmented reality technology developer’s acquisition by Apple.
Editas raises $94m in 2016’s first US IPO
Genome editing company Editas, backed by Alphabet and Partners Healthcare, has secured $94.4m, pricing the initial public offering at the bottom of the $16 to $18 range.
The company could secure up to $60.8m in proceeds, having previously raised equity and debt from investors such as Novartis, Sanofi and Elan Science One.
BeiGene cracks IPO code for $158m
The China-based immuno-oncology company, backed by Merck & Co since 2011, floated at the top of it range and has gained since its debut yesterday.
Rocket Internet and Foodpanda sell $140m of assets
La Nevera Rojo, PizzaBo and HelloFood subsidiaries in Italy, Brazil and Mexico have been acquired by JustEat, as Rocket looks to shift excess operations.
IT
StatMuse successfully shoots for $10m
United Talent Agency and content partner Walt Disney Company have taken part in a $10m round for sports statistics platform StatMuse.
The cloud data storage company added new strategic partner Telstra to its investor base in a series D round also backed by Harvest Global and China Broadband Capital.
BloomReach’s search finds Salesforce for $56m round
Salesforce Ventures has contributed to a series D round that increased the personalised search technology developer’s total funding to almost $100m.
NewVoiceMedia welcomes old investors for $30m series F
Salesforce has returned to lead a series F round for the customer communications platform, bringing its overall funding to more than $140m.
WebRadar picks up Qualcomm for $10m round
Qualcomm Ventures and DGF Investments provided $10.1m for the big data technology company, which already counted Intel and Citrix as investors.
Memory technology developer Avalanche Technology has confirmed a $23m funding round that featured existing investor Rogers Communications.
Health
WuXi, which previously backed Adagene’s $8m series A round, returned for the antibody developer’s latest round alongside two Fidelity Investments subsidiaries.
Sanara Ventures reveals first-year portfolio
The Philips-Teva joint venture has supplied four companies with upwards of $1m in funding as part of its incubator program.
We Doctor Group, the Tencent and Fosun-backed online health services company formerly known as Guahao, has received $20m from Shandong Tyan Home.
Investors put together $86m for funding Mission
Existing backers including GlaxoSmithKline and Roche were joined by Pfizer and Woodford Patient Capital for the Cambridge spinout’s series C round.
Spero pierces $30m for series B
GlaxoSmithKline, Merck & Co, Lundbeck and Partners Healthcare returned for a round that took Spero Therapeutics’ overall funding to $63m.
Galera advances series B to $42m
Enso Ventures has provided a $5m extension to Galera’s series B round, already backed by investors including Novo and Novartis.
Media
Global Brain provides funding for one Eyeota
Advertising data technology developer Eyeota took its funding to $10m altogether with a $7m series A led by Global Brain.
Next Games levels up with $10m
The mobile game developer has received $10m in a series B round that featured AMC, Lionsgate, IDG Ventures and IDG Capital, taking its overall funding to $18m.
Tencent fuels Discord for $20m round
Gaming voice app producer Discord, formerly game developer Hammer & Chisel, has raised $20m from investors including existing backer Tencent.
The Hearst, BSkyB and News Corp-backed streaming device manufacturer has boosted its total funding to some $200m, a year after reportedly considering an IPO.
Magic Leap tops $790m in massive series C
Alibaba led a $793.5m round for the augmented reality company that closed at a $4.5bn valuation with help from Google, Qualcomm, Warner Bros and Legendary Entertainment.
Kaizen interfaces with corporates for $8m
Yahoo Japan, NTT Docomo, Credit Saison and Colopl joined existing investors Gree, GMO and Fidelity International to fund Japan-based Kaizen’s series B round.
Consumer
Elevenia calls up investors for $50m
The online marketplace, a joint venture of SK Planet and XL Axiata, has boosted its total funding to about $110m with $50m from its founders.
Showtime for Atom Tickets as it raises $50m
The mobile ticketing app has attracted Walt Disney, 20th Century Fox and Lionsgate for a series B round ahead of a rollout across the US later this year.
Financial
Comcast crosses College Ave for $20m round
Student loans marketplace College Ave Student Loans took its overall equity financing to $40m in a Comcast-backed round.
PitchBook catches Morningstar for $10m
Morningstar increased its stake in PitchBook to 20% with a $10m investment that valued the financial data platform at $160m.
WallStreetCn attracts $15m of investment
China-based financial news provider WallStreetCn.com, previously backed by Ping An, has secured $15.2m from China Media Capital.
Holtzbrinck hits Spotcap for $35m series B
Online business lending platform Spotcap, backed by Rocket Internet and Access Industries, will use the Holtzbrinck Ventures-backed round to expand internationally.
Blockstream flows to $55m series A
Digital Garage and AXA Strategic Ventures co-led the round with VC firm Horizons Capital, bringing the blockchain technology developer’s overall funding to $76m.
Digital Asset gets bigger, raising $60m
IBM and Goldman Sachs invested $10m in the blockchain technology startup, which raised $50m from 13 corporate investors last month.
Energy and Natural Resources
SolidEnergy powers up $12m series B
SAIC Motor, Applied Materials and an undisclosed automotive manufacturer combined for a round that followed the battery developer’s $6.7m round last year.
Cargill helps feed $30m to Calysta
Calysta has also entered a collaboration agreement with Cargill that will involve Cargill assisting it with manufacturing and marketing efforts.
Transport
Savari connects to corporates for $8m
Delta Electronics, Shanghai motors and an undisclosed additional strategic investor have supplied series A capital for connected car safety technology company Savari.
Bochewang crashes to $30m series B
The damaged and restored vehicle marketplace has now raised $45m in under a year, with insurance firms CPIC and Ping An among its investors.
Newchoice Pipe transfers $20m to Dadabus
Bus booking app Dadabus received the funding as part of a strategic collaboration with the plastic pipe maker, which is looking to expand into new-energy vehicles.
Services
Anlaiye to graduate series A+ round with $30m
The student-focused trading platform secured almost $20m of the funding from investors including Semir Garment, with the rest coming from the Chinese government.
Xun Cheng studies $50m from Tencent
The Chinese online education platform provider has attracted capital from Tencent as it gears up for an initial public offering in its home country.
Wonolo raises $5.7m to meet funding demand
The on-demand staffing platform, a graduate of the Coca-Cola Founders scheme, has raised $5.7m from undisclosed investors.
SIG and Axiata were among the investors as fitness services app developer KFit raised $12m to help it expand further in the Asia Pacific region.
Knewton recalculates series F to reach $52m
Asian investors Tal Education and EDBI added $10m to the $42.3m series F round initially closed by Pearson-backed learning materials provider Knewton in November.
MTN helps TravelStart make $40m booking
Africa-based online travel booking platform TravelStart secured the funding from telecommunications network MTN and Amadeus Capital Partners.