Top VC deals: Baidu invests in electric vehicles, Gilead buys cancer-fighting start-upBai

• A Tesla and Toyota competitor in China, WM Motor, has raised $1.8 billion from investors including Baidu Capital to make smart electric vehicles.
• Gilead Sciences acquired Cell Design Labs in a deal valued at $567 million. The company is developing cell-based cancer therapies.
• Indigo Agriculture closed its series D round of funding at $203 million for probiotics that help farmers maximize crop yields.

Here's a round-up of the most important deals in venture capital from the past week.

Exits

Former Genentech executives Marc Tessier-Lavigne and Ryan Watts took their start-up, Denali Therapeutics, public this week. They raised more than $248 million in their stock market debut. Denali is expected to be the largest initial public offering in the biotech industry this year. The company is developing drugs to treat Parkinson's disease and other neurodegenerative disorders. Denali priced its shares at $18 in the middle of the expected range. Prior to its IPO, it had raised about $350 million in venture funding from the Alaska Permanent Fund, Arch Venture Partners, Flagship Ventures, F-Prime Capital Partners and Fidelity Biosciences.

Drugmaker Gilead Sciences is acquiring Cell Design Labs, a start-up developing cell-based therapies for cancer and other complex diseases. The deal was valued at up to $567 million, Cell said. Previously, Cell Design Labs raised $34.4 million in venture funding from firms including: Kleiner Perkins Caulfield and Byers, Kite Pharma (a division of Gilead), Osage Ventures and Mission Bay Ventures.

Start-ups

Baidu Capital, the venture arm of China's search titan, announced their investment in electric vehicle maker WM Motor this week. The electric vehicle start-up has so far raised $1.8 billion of a targeted $4 billion round, WM Motor's CEO, Freeman Shen, confirmed in a press statement. A Toyota and Tesla competitor, WM Motor is also backed by SIG and Ameba Capital, among others. The company is expected to unveil its first mass-market, electric vehicle next week-- an all-electric SUV priced at around $30,000 with a 372-mile range.

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Chinese commuters ride shared bicycles during rush hour on April 12, 2017 in Beijing, China.

Station-free bike sharing start-up Ofo raised more than $1 billion in equity funding in a deal that included Alibaba, according to a Financial Times report. The bike-sharing market in China is saturated enough that discarded bikes have become an issue in cities there, and at least one start-up, Bluegogo, recently folded. But Ofo and Mobike have become mainstays. According to FT, Ofo has "Put 10 million bikes on China's city streets, as well as 100,000 in 19 other countries around the world. On Wednesday Ofo launched in Paris."

SoftBank Vision Fund lead a $450 million investment into real-estate site Compass, which was previously known as Urban Compass. The company provides real estate agents with listings and other tools, and provides high-end home buyers and renters with listings targeted to their preferences. TechCrunch reported that Compass expects to rack up "16,000 transactions...and more than $350 million in revenue" this year.

Shell Technology Ventures, ABB Ventures and Cisco Ventures joined G2VP in a $33 million Series C funding round for Kespry. The start-up makes and uses drones to help businesses monitor and gather aerial data over industrial work sites, farms and infrastructure. Many of its customers are insurance companies that need to survey damages before paying out claims.

Fetch Robotics raised $25 million in a Series B round of venture funding for robots used in warehouses and other commercial settings. The company's autonomous robots can move loads around a warehouse or fulfillment center, and gather data about safety, productivity and more as they go. Sway Ventures led the round joined by O'Reilly AlphaTech Ventures (OATV), Shasta Ventures, and SoftBank.

Funds and firms

Paul McNamara | CNBC

Steve Case

Jeff Bezos, Eric Schmidt, Howard Schultz, Tory Burch and a cadre of other influential entrepreneurs and investors have joined Steve Case in his mission to back start-ups in underestimated "flyover" states. They have formed a new, $150 million fund called Rise of the Rest which will invest in fast-growing start-ups outside of Silicon Valley, Boston and New York.

Investor Shervin Pishevar exited his firm, Sherpa Capital, this week and Hyperloop One due to allegations of sexual misconduct with several women. Boston tech entrepreneur Laura Fitton shared details on the record with Axios. She said that Pishevar lured her to his hotel room under false pretenses, and made aggressive and unwanted advances despite her clear objections. He has also previously been accused of rape. Pishevar has denied any wrongdoing.

Despite rampant gender bias in tech and venture capital, the ranks of women are growing in the field, including in senior investing roles at major funds. This week, for example, FirstMark announced it had hired Beth Ferreira as Managing Director. And Acceleprise announced that it has hired Whitney Sales as General Partner.

Women who are investing partners at major venture firms have recently created a consortium called Female Founder to help women who are entrepreneurs. The group, founded by Sequoia's Jess Lee, is hosting "Female Founder Office Hours," and other events in different business and tech hubs across the U.S. The next event will be hosted by NEA Partner Dayna Grayson and USV Partner Rebecca Kaden in New York this January.

Source: https://goo.gl/fTD5ox

Kobe Bryant and Jeff Stibel Unveil $100 Million Venture Capital Fund

The retired NBA star and his partner today unveil their vehicle for investing in technology, media and data companies

 

Retired basketball legend Kobe Bryant has formed a venture-capital fund with Jeff Stibel, a co-investor. The two men contributed a total of $100 million to the fund. The WSJ's Lee Hawkins explains. Photo: Andrew D. Bernstein/Bernstein Associates Inc.

Meet Kobe Bryant, venture capitalist.

The retired NBA star today unveiled his venture-capital fund, a $100 million vehicle for investing in technology, media and data companies.

Mr. Bryant, who turns 38 Tuesday, isn’t going it alone: He is partnering with 43-year-old Jeff Stibel, a longtime entrepreneur and investor who was introduced to Mr. Bryant by a mutual friend. They have named their firm Bryant Stibel and will be based in the Los Angeles area.

The two have been invested in 15 companies since 2013, but only after Mr. Bryant’s retirement from basketball have they decided to formalize their relationship and fund.

The two men are contributing the $100 million—which they expect to invest over the next few years—and aren’t seeking outside investors yet.

Current investments include sports media website The Players Tribune, video game designer Scopely, legal-services company LegalZoom, a telemarketing-software firm called RingDNA and a home-juicing company called Juicero.

In an interview, the two men said their skills complement each other, with Mr. Stibel bringing experience building companies and Mr. Bryant contributing a creative, if obsessive, flair for details around marketing, branding and storytelling. He, in fact, designed the company’s new logo with inspiration from piano keys.

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They even bonded over shared injuries. In the case of 6-foot-6-inch Mr. Bryant, an Achilles rupture during a 2013 game against the Golden State Warriors; and in the case of 5-foot-7-inch Mr. Stibel, a broken foot in a mishap with a Manhattan cobblestone.

“We don’t want to be in the business of investing in companies so someone can use Kobe as an endorser. That’s not interesting,” said Mr. Stibel, who began his career in brain research and later founded and developed tech companies. “The point is to add real value.”

Mr. Bryant, who is known for his painstaking preparation and training, said he also brings the ability to identify entrepreneurs with a robust work ethic.

“Sometimes you can spot it right away, other times not so much,” said Mr. Bryant. “It’s the inner belief that a person has that he will endure no matter what the obstacle may be. It’s that persistence, the entrepreneur doing what he or she truly believes in and truly loves to do.”

This summer he has been holding 6 a.m., one-on-one workouts with young NBA players to help improve their skills and said he has a similar impulse when backing entrepreneurs.

“If you would have asked me 10 years ago, I would say I need to win now,” Mr. Bryant said. “Age tends to give you perspective. The most important thing I enjoy now is helping others be successful. I enjoy doing that much much more, that’s something that lasts forever, and hope they do that for the next generation.”

Many retired athletes are known for their powerful—and often failed—business ambitions. About 10 years ago, baseball pitcher Curt Schilling launched a videogame company and raised money with the help of Rhode Island government agencies. The company filed for bankruptcy in 2012.

Former Los Angeles Laker—and ex-Bryant teammate—Shaquille O’Neal has also made a number of investments in technology and entertainment startups. Perhaps the most similar comparison is to New York Knick Carmelo Anthony, who started Melo7 Tech Partners for largely early-stage tech investing.

Mr. Bryant said he doesn’t view himself as a rival to those players.  “I think it’s interesting that the immediate reaction from people would be competitiveness between myself and others. I’m more interested in how I can help Shaq, Melo [Anthony] or [NBA player Andre] Iguodala.”

And is the world ready for another athlete alighting into the business world? At least one venture capitalist—New Enterprise Associates’ Jon Sakoda—says there is room. Mr. Sakoda worked with Messrs. Stibel and Bryant in their investment in sports website Players Tribune. “There are a lot of similarities between trying to build a career in sports with longevity and in business, too. Athletes are taken incredibly seriously by entrepreneurs.”

Adds Mr. Stibel: “The most important things are grit and intelligence. You have to have that passion that you can succeed. The business and idea will change over and over again. But the entrepreneur persists.”

By Denis K. Berman

Source: http://www.wsj.com/articles/kobe-bryant-and-jeff-stibel-unveil-100-million-venture-capital-fund-1471838403

VC Investing in Bitcoin Rises to the Fastest Pace Yet

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The amount of money venture capitalists areinvesting in Bitcoincontinues to accelerate, demonstrating their faith in the digital currency's potential.

In the first quarter of 2015, venture capitalists poured $229 million intoBitcoin startups. That was more than double the $144 million invested inBitcoin in Q4 2014.

And it's equal to two-thirds of the $349 million of venture capital invested in Bitcoin in all of 2014.

It puts VC investing in Bitcoin on track to raise $916 million this year. That's more than 2.5 times the 2014 total.

The rate of Bitcoin investment also mirrors very closely the progress of Internet-based startups back in the mid-1990s.

What's most remarkable about the accelerating pace of VC investing in Bitcoin companies is that it has occurred despite a series of setbacks for the cryptocurrency.

Negative News Can't Slow Down Investing in Bitcoin

Remember, it was in February of 2014 that the Mt. Gox Bitcoin exchange collapsed, losing 750,000 customer Bitcoins worth about $350 million at the time.

Other issues that have plagued Bitcoin include:

• Unfavorable treatment by several governments, particularly China and Russia.
• Scandals involving several top members of the Bitcoin Foundation, the entity created to maintain the Bitcoin software and promoting the cryptocurrency.
• The persistence of websites that use Bitcoin as a tool for selling illegal drugs.
• The plunge in the price of Bitcoin from $940 in January of 2014 to $177 in January of 2015.

Yet none of that has deterred the venture capitalists.

They recognize the power of a monetary mechanism that can transfer money almost instantly and at a very low cost between any two parties anywhere in the world. The VC crowd also recognizes the power of the Bitcoin blockchain, the technology that underpins the digital currency.

In addition to verifying Bitcoin transactions, the blockchain can store data. That means the blockchain can be used to confirm ownership of property such as housing or autos, as well as for such applications as voting, trademarks, proof of authorship, and more.

The first quarter also revealed another trend. And now venture capitalists are concentrating on the most promising Bitcoin startups.

For example, Coinbase, a Bitcoin wallet and payment company, picked up an additional $75 million of funding in January. Coinbase has now raised a total of $106 million.

And another intriguing company set a record for investing in Bitcoin last month. It raised $116 million in a single round.

Some of the biggest names in venture capital are backing this secretive Bitcoin startup – take a look…

Will This Bitcoin Startup Trigger Mass Adoption?

Called 21 Inc., this San Francisco-based company has kept its exact plans mostly under wraps. But it has attracted some very impressive investors.

Not surprisingly, Andreessen Horowitz tops the list. Andreessen Horowitz is a leader in VC investing in Bitcoin.

But the list also includes RRE Ventures, which has invested in such companies as Bitly, SailThru, Kik, Buzzfeed, Payfone, and Chain. Other big VC names include Chinese private equity firm Yuan Capital and Qualcomm Inc.'s (Nasdaq: QCOM) venture capital unit.

Several tech CEOs and founders also joined the round, such as PayPal co-founders Peter Thiel and Max Levchin, Dropbox Inc. CEO Drew Houston, Expedia Inc. (Nasdaq: EXPE) CEO Dara Khosrowshahi, and Zynga Inc. (Nasdaq: ZNGA) cofounder Mark Pincus.

The cofounders of 21 Inc., Matthew Pauker and Balaji S. Srinivasan, have dropped a few tantalizing hints.