Corporate venturing deal net: 25 February – 1 March 2019
Each Friday the Global Corporate Venturing Deal Net rounds up the week’s smaller deals and tracks the emerging companies accessing corporate funds.
Fundraising
BASF commits $2m to Alchemist Accelerator
BASF Venture Capital has joined Alchemist Accelerator as a limited partner to develop digital technologies in the chemical industry.
Corporates champion $113m NordicNinja VC
Honda, Panasonic and Omron are among the limited partners of NordicNinja VC’s inaugural fund, which will focus on deep tech and help northern European startups expand into Asia.
People
Hiren Majmudar, a 25-year Intel veteran and a vice-president at Intel Capital, has moved on to Intel Capital’s portfolio company SiFive.
Ian Folau, a co-founder and former CEO of GitLinks, has been hired by the recently launched LMI Ventures as a managing director.
Exits
Instructure picks up Portfolium
USA Loans looks to have found an exit at student portfolio publishing platform Portfolium, which has been bought by education software provider Instructure.
Zinc’s occupational communication platform, geared towards deskless workers in service industries, has been picked up by ServiceMax after receiving equity from CVC subsidiaries of GE and Hearst.
Tencent-backed Futu has set its range at $10 to $12 and stands to raise a maximum of $150m, half of the $300m it had initially targeted.
Tiger Brokers factors in $150m IPO
Tiger Brokers, an online brokerage service backed by Xiaomi, has filed for a $150m initial public offering on Nasdaq.
Taikang and WuXi-backed CStone Pharmaceuticals has priced its shares near the middle of its proposed range to raise $285m in proceeds at a valuation of $1.5bn.
Qualcomm-backed video conferencing software developer Zoom is aiming to go public in April and has filed confidentially with the US regulator.
IT
Contrast Security balances $65m series D
M12 and Axa Venture Partners have put their weight behind Contrast Security’s series D, which brought the cybersecurity company’s total funding to $122m.
GV sees Lightmatter for series A extension
Alphabet’s venturing unit has led a $22m series A extension for MIT spinout Lightmatter, which increased the round’s total to $33m.
Corporates accentuate Aqrose’s series A-plus vision
Baidu Ventures and Legend Capital helped put funding into an eight-digit dollar round for industrial computer vision technology developer Aqrose Technology.
Cequence relies on Dell for $17m series B
Dell Technologies Capital has led a $17m series B round for Cequence Security and was joined by existing shareholder Shasta Ventures.
i2x identifies MS&AD for $11.4m round
MS&AD Ventures has contributed to a round for i2x, which offers an enhanced speech recognition product that provides automated coaching tips to improve business phone calls.
The SenseTime and SBCVC-backed advertising technology developer has landed an investment from secondaries firm Tr Capital.
Microsoft’s corporate venturing unit has led a series B round for SpyCloud, which increased the cybersecurity platform’s overall funding to $28.5m.
GV identifies Obsidian for $20m round
Alphabet’s CVC unit has taken part in a $20m funding round for the identity protection platform, investing alongside Wing and existing backer Greylock Partners.
GV has returned for a $40m series E round for Ionic Security, which also attracted Google as a separate investor and brought its total funding to $162m.
Cmd secures GV for $15m series B
Alphabet’s corporate venturing subsidiary has led the series B round, which increased cybersecurity technology developer Cmd’s overall funding to $21.6m.
Vast Data has emerged from stealth with a total of $80m in funding raised over two rounds from investors such as Dell Technologies Capital.
Horizon Robotics enters $600m series B realm
SK China, SK Hynix and several unnamed carmakers have thrown their weight behind a $600m series B round for Horizon Robotics, whose shareholders already include Intel.
RapidAPI interfaces with Microsoft for $25m
Microsoft’s M12 unit has participated in a $25m funding round for RapidAPI, with existing investor Andreessen Horowitz also returning.
Lytics nabs $35m in series C round
Comcast Ventures has taken part in the JMI-led round, which increased the digital marketing platform’s overall funding to more than $58m.
Ctrl-Labs senses GV in $28m funding round
The neural interface-tracking technology developer has increased its overall funding to $67m following a GV-led funding round that included Amazon’s Alexa Fund.
GoCanvas surveys $150m investment
K1 Investment Management has put $150m into Motorola Solutions-backed GoCanvas and reportedly acquired a majority stake in the process.
Accenture helps Splice Machine piece together $16m
Accenture has formed a partnership with Splice Machine and invested in a $16m round that increased the predictive analytics software developer’s overall funding to $58m.
Health
Intel Capital-backed online pharmacy 1mg is in the process of raising $70m in funding, with International Finance Corporation expected to contribute.
GV and Alexandria Venture Investments have taken part in a $191m funding round to launch Maze Therapeutics with scientific co-founders from multiple universities such as Harvard and Stanford.
Aprea prolongs series C to $62.8m
Praktikertjänst-backed oncology company Aprea has received a $5.7m series C extension adding to an initial $56.8m close in November 2018 that featured Karolinska Development.
Aidence detects Rabobank for series A
Rabo Ventures has co-led the artificial intelligence-based medical imaging technology developer’s $11.3m series A alongside Inkef Capital.
Blackstone Life Sciences and Novartis have launched Anthos Therapeutics, with the former putting in $250m and Novartis licensing one of its assets to the startup.
Hookipa Pharma develops series D
Immunotherapy developer Hookipa, backed by Gilead, Boehringer Ingelheim and Takeda, has collected $37.5m in a series D round led by Redmile Group.
Anaveon validates Novartis for series A
Zurich immuno-oncology spinout Anaveon raised $35.1m from Novartis Venture Fund and Syncona in addition to seed-stage notes converted by the UZH Life Sciences Fund.
Geneos generates series A capital
Geneos Therapeutics has received $10.5m in series A funding from investors including its parent company Inovio Pharmaceuticals.
Gracell thrives with $85m series B
Lilly Asia Ventures has contributed to an $85m series B round for Gracell Biotechnologies, whose shareholders also include 6 Dimensions Capital.
Media
FreightWaves navigates $20m series B round
The freight market commentary provider has increased its overall funding to approximately $40m following a series B round that included corporate venturing units of Hearst and Prologis.
90 Seconds times $20m series B
The Opt and SKY TV NZ-backed video production platform has collected series B financing from investors including Susquehanna International Group.
Chernin bets on Action Network in series B
Chernin Group has taken part in the sports betting analytics platform’s $17.5m series B round, which was led by Fertitta Capital and included BitKraft Esports Ventures and 6721 Capital.
Circle Media Labs connects to $20m series B
NetGear and T-Mobile have taken part in the connected device technology startup’s $20m series B round, investing alongside Third Venture Capital and Relay Ventures.
Consumer
Delivery Hero is leading a $62.2m investment in Zomato, an online food listings and ordering platform already backed by Ant Financial.
Rockets of Awesome fashions series C
Children’s clothing subscription service provider Rockets of Awesome has collected $19.5m in its series C round, which included the CVC unit of Hubert Burda and was led by Foot Locker.
Novel Group-backed lingerie manufacturer ThirdLove has closed a $55m funding round after investors including L Catterton pre-emptively approached the company about investing.
Motif Ingredients structures $90m series A
Ginkgo Bioworks has spun out Motif Ingredients with $90m in series A funding provided by investors including Louis Dreyfus Company and Fonterra.
Novel Group-backed lingerie manufacturer ThirdLove has closed a $55m funding round after investors including L Catterton pre-emptively approached the company about investing.
Nreal seeks out iQiyi for $16m round
The Siasun-backed augmented reality glasses maker has increased its overall funding to $31m, following a $16m round that included investment from iQiyi.
Financial
Nivaura locks up $20m seed round
Fintech developer Nivaura has closed its seed round at $20m after closing a third tranche, with the capital coming from investors including London Stock Exchange, Transamerica, Santander, Linklaters and Orrick.
Coinbase pockets GIC as investor
Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund GIC has been revealed as a backer in corporate-backed Coinbase’s $300m series E round last October.
Validus Capital takes in series B funding
FMO has led peer-to-peer lending platform Validus’s $15.2m series B round, which included the corporate venturing arm of Siam Cement Group.
Better Mortgage puts Citigroup on series C deed
American Express and Goldman Sachs are among the investors in Better Mortgage’s series C round, which has been increased to $75m after a $5m extension supplied by Citigroup.
Industrial
Finasucre has taken part in a $125m series C round for Ÿnsect, an agtech developer that breeds insects to use as fish feed and fertiliser.
Transport
Ola charges up spinout with $56m
Ola Electric Mobility has spun out of Ola with $56m in funding to focus on the electric vehicle ecosystem.
Uber nears $3bn Careem acquisition
The two companies initially entered discussions about a $2bn to $2.5bn merger in July last year, but the transaction is now expected to reach $3bn and consist of cash and shares.
Chehaoduo motors ahead with $1.5bn
SoftBank Vision Fund has committed $1.5bn to Chehaoduo, whose past funding rounds include a $818m series C round led by Tencent a year ago.
Jimu finds space for Hyundai in series B
The artificial intelligence-powered driverless vehicle technology developer has received $14.8m in a TransLink-led series B round, which included Hyundai Group.
Services
Zūm hails corporates for $40m series C
School transportation service Zūm has increased its overall to $67m following a BMW-led round, which included commitments from Volvo and Nokia.
Ant Financial has co-led a $500m series C round for Danke Apartment, which previously collected funding from investors including Bertelsmann and Ucommune.
Qingtuanshe recruits corporates for series B-plus
Part-time job search platform Qingtuanshe has raised at least $30m in funding led by Ant Financial and featuring Tal Education.
CCS connects to Adtran for $10m
Cambridge Communication System has received $10m in a funding round that included a $5m commitment from Adtran.
Recruit Holdings has co-led a $30m funding round for hospitality software developer Presto, which previously raised capital from investors including Intel Capital.
WeWork helps Landit raise $13m series A
Career development platform Landit has reeled in $13m in a WeWork-led series A round that included commitments from Workday and Morgan Stanley.
Affirmed Networks dials in Qualcomm for $38m round
Qualcomm’s corporate venturing unit has taken part in the Centerview Capital Technology-led round, which will ramp up the company’s 5G networking services.
TheGuarantors lock up $15m series B funding
The rental guarantee provider has collected $15m in a Silverstein Properties-backed series B round, which increased the company’s overall funding to $27m.
Home Depot helps courier $37m to Roadie
Home Depot has taken part in a $37m series C round, which increased the UPS-backed courier service’s overall funding to $62m.