Access here alternative investment news about November VC: The Rockefellers, Chinese Funds Pour Cash Into Biotech

November VC: The Rockefellers, Chinese Funds Pour Cash Into Biotech

by trusted insight posted 7years ago 5517 views
Venture Capital

“China" and “biotech” are buzzwords that have consistently appeared throughout Trusted Insight’s monthly venture capital deals roundups. It should come as no surprise that in November, these themes made headlines once again.

A Chinese state-run venture fund invested $260 million in a nascent homegrown biopharmaceutical company called Innovent Biologics, making it the biggest deal of the month. Another Chinese fund, ORI Healthcare Fund, led a major series C in a similar biopharmaceutical startup, Kymab, based in the Cambridge, United Kingdom.

The U.S. also saw a major deal in biotech. Venrock, the venture capital arm of the Rockefeller family, led a $80 million round in Biohaven, a New Haven, Connecticut-based biopharmaceutical company founded in 2011. This is the second major investment Venrock made in the biotech sector recently. Last month, Venrock, along with Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, participated in a $116 million series B in the Silicon Valley-based Unity Biotechnology.

Like in every of the previous six months, Chinese investors -- including sovereign funds and corporate venture capital funds -- continue to lead the largest investments. In addition to feeding homegrown startups, they also made notable cross-border deals in November. Foxconn’s venture capital arm, Ginko Ventures, invested in French speaker manufacturer Devialet; Hong Kong business tycoon Li Ka-Shing’s Horizons Ventures, along with other investors, became the first venture backer of Israeli artificial intelligence startup Voyager Labs.

Here are top ten venture capital deals of November:

 

1) Sole Investor: Future Industry Investment Fund (a subsidiary of China State Development & Investment Corporation, a state-run investment firm)
Startup: Innovent Biologics
Location: Suzhou, China
Industry: Biotechnology
Funding Amount: $260 million, Series D

2) Lead Investors: CapitalG (formerly Google Capital), General Catalyst
Startup: Stripe

Location: San Francisco, California
Industry: Online Payment
Funding Amount: $150 million

3) Lead Investor: Ginko Ventures (Foxconn’s venture capital arm)
Startup: Devialet

Location: Paris, France
Industry: Luxury Speakers
Funding Amount: €100 million ($106 million), Series C

4) Investors: Horizons Ventures, OCAPAC Holding Company, Ronald Cohen and Lloyd Dorfman
Startup: Voyager Labs

Location: Israel
Industry: Software, Artificial Intelligence
Funding Amount: $100 million

5) Investors: Ant Financial Services Group, Ucar Inc.
Startup: Souche.com

Location: Hangzhou, China
Industry: Used Car Retail Platform
Funding Amount: $100 million, Series C

6) Lead Investor: ORI Healthcare Fund
Startup: Kymab Group Limited (Kymab)

Location: Cambridge, United Kingdom
Industry: Biopharmaceutical
Funding Amount: $100 million, Series C

7) Lead Investor: Venrock
Startup: Biohaven

Location: New Haven, Connecticut
Industry: Biopharmaceutical
Funding Amount: $80 million

8) Sole Investor: WARMSUN Holding Group
Startup: Royole

Location: Shenzhen, China
Industry: Smart Devices, Flexible Sensors and Display
Funding Amount: $80 million, Series Pre-D

9) Investors: Centerview Capital Technology, IVP, and Adams Street Partners
Startup: Sauce Labs

Location: San Francisco, California
Industry: Software
Funding Amount: $70 million

10) Investors: Capital Today, Joy Capital, Bertelsmann Asia Investment Fund
Startup: Xiaozhu.com

Location: Beijing, China
Industry: Home Rental Booking Platform
Funding Amount: $65 million, Series D

 

Click here to see Trusted Insight’s monthly roundups of venture capital funding.

For questions, comments or story ideas, please contact us at editorial@thetrustedinsight.com