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Global Trends
Mobile ad spending to hit US$100B in 2016 and become the biggest digital ad market
Mobile ad spending is on a tear. It will top US$100 billion in 2016 and account for more than 50 percent of all digital
ads for the first time, according to market researcher eMarketer. More than $101.4 billion will be spent on ads served
in 2016 to mobile phones and tablets worldwide. Thats a 400 percent increase from 2013. From 2016 to 2019,
mobile ads will nearly double again, rising to $195.6 billion. That figure will account for 70.1 percent of all digital
advertising as well as more than one-quarter of total media ad spending worldwide. Its all about the number of
consumers adopting mobile devices. As that number soars, marketers are chasing consumers into mobile markets.
Next year, eMarketer estimates, there will be more than 2 billion smartphone users worldwide, more than onequarter of whom will be in China. The U.S. and China will drive mobile ads in the short term. In 2016, U.S.
advertisers are expected to spend $40.2 billion on mobile ads, more than doubling the total from 2014. In China,
advertisers will spend $22.1 billion next year, triple the amount spent in 2014. In both countries, mobile will become
the majority of all digital advertising next year.
Global 3D printing market grew 68 percent last year, generating US$3.3B in revenues
The market for 3D printing continues to build momentum last year as 133,000 printers were shipped, indicating that
the nascent manufacturing revolution has some legs. According to a report from Canalys, those sales represented a
68 percent increase in 3D printers shipped. The result was US$3 billion in revenues generated by printer sales as
well as sales of associated materials. Weve seen the 3D printing industry go from strength to strength in 2014,
said Canalys analyst Joe Kempton in a statement. As we expected, the holiday season saw the most significant
growth, particularly in the consumer segment, with many users buying their first 3D printer. The growth is being
driven by prices that continue to drop and a wider variety of 3D printer models. In addition, the ability to fund product
creation via crowdfunding platforms has also created more demand for 3D printers, Canalys said. In just the last
quarter of 2014, Canalys found that 3D printer revenues passed $1 billion for the first time in a single quarter.
SparkLabs Global Ventures (http://www.sparklabsglobal.com) is a global seed-stage fund with partners in
Silicon Valley, Chicago, London Tel Aviv, Singapore, and Seoul.
1
Asia Pacific
China
1-hour delivery startup from China crowdsources local convenience stores, snags US$20M funding
Beequick, a food and drink delivery startup, has announced it secured a US$20 million series B round of funding led
by Hillhouse Capital with participation from Sequoia Capital, according to iYiou. Beequick says its now valued at
US$200 million. Founded in May last year, Beequick got its start in Beijing by promising one-hour delivery of snacks,
beverages, liquor, coffee, and fruit. It has since expanded to Guangzhou, Shenzhen, and a few other cities. In
October last year, the company completed a US$20 million series A round led by Sequoia. Beequick takes
advantage of a large network of local convenience stores to find the nearest vendor with the requested items. The
startup says it has more than 10,000 convenience stores on board, who deliver over 30,000 orders daily. Payments
are made in the app.
Korea
Mobile Map Startup Dabeeo Secures around US$914K Investment from Bon Angels
Bon Angels CEO Byungkyu Chang announced that Bon Angels and Technology Innovations Program of Small
Business Administration jointly invested around US$914,000 (1 billion KRW) in the mobile map API startup Dabeeo.
Founded by ex-LG Electronics employee Jooheum Park, Dabeeo is a startup that provides offline storage type map
that allows fast access to maps for businesses and startups. In Korea, Dabeeo developed the first map editing
platform using OpenStreetMap data. Dabeeo registered patent of this technology in South Korea, the U.S., and
China. Since its launch Dabeeo has aimed to provide users with access to high quality map data regardless of the
stability of their data connection. Dabeeo has recently signed strategic partnerships with corporations that have
expanded shopping and media services. Dabeeo plans to help its partners launching new businesses based on the
map data.
SparkLabs Global Ventures (http://www.sparklabsglobal.com) is a global seed-stage fund with partners in
Silicon Valley, Chicago, London Tel Aviv, Singapore, and Seoul.
2
Japan
News reader app SmartNews raises US$10M to open up shop in San Francisco
Japan-based news aggregating application SmartNews just snagged US$10 million to open up an office in San
Francisco and attract top machine-learning engineers. SmartNews aggregates news from around the web and
through partnerships with media outlets and then serves up stories based on machine learning. The app works both
online and offline, so you can still access stories when youre not connected to a network much like Flipboard.
The new cash will help SmartNews hire a new rash of machine learning and deep learning engineers, which is one
of the reasons its opening an office in San Francisco. The Bay Area is becoming a hub for machine learning
startups and projects, and cofounder Kaisei Hamamoto thinks a move to San Francisco will help the company
attract better talent as it grows. Social game maker, Gree led the investment round. Globis Capital Partners,
Atomico, Mixi and Social Venture Partners also contributed. In total SmartNews has raised $50 million in funding.
Japanese ecommerce startup Origami lands US$13M from SoftBank, Credit Saison
Tokyo-based ecommerce startup Origami announced a US$13.3 million series B funding round led by SoftBank
Group, Credit Saison, and angel investor Makoto Takano. In addition to the new investment, Origami has also
partnered with SoftBank Group and Credit Saison to boost its online-to-offline (O2O) focused mobile shopping
experience. Origami allows users to follow their favorite retailers, receive updates on new releases in a personalized
feed, and ultimately purchase products in-app or in-store. At present, more than 800 brands feature and sell their
wares on Origami. The number seems a bit small after launching two years ago, but the startup appears focused on
high-end and lesser-known boutique outlets. Origami, available for iOS and Android, raised US$5 million in series A
funding from Japanese telco KDDI and Digital Advertising Consortium (DAC) back in 2013. The startup also
previously partnered with Conde Nast Group, publisher of Vogue Japan, GQ Japan, and Wired.
Helmed By Lines Former CEO, Video Startup C Channel Launches With US$4.1M In Funding
Today marks the official launch of C Channel, the new video startup headed by former Line chief executive officer
Akira Morikawa. So far, the company has raised about US$4.1 million (500 million yen) in funding from investors
including GMO Venture Partners, i-Stye, Asobi System Holdings, Gree, Nexyz, B Dash Ventures, MAK Corporation,
and Rakuten. Morikawa was officially replaced by chief operating officer Takeshi Idezawa at the beginning of this
month, but the transition was first announced in December. C Channel is positioning itself as a combination lifestyle
magazine/video site that showcases content related to fashion, food, travel, and pop culture. Each video is just one
minute long, the better to capture short attention spans, and most are shot and edited by professionals. C Channels
target audience is young women in their teens to thirties.
SparkLabs Global Ventures (http://www.sparklabsglobal.com) is a global seed-stage fund with partners in
Silicon Valley, Chicago, London Tel Aviv, Singapore, and Seoul.
3
India
Thiel Fellow Raises US$25M For OYO Rooms, A Network of Branded Budget Hotels in India
In the largest funding round to date for a Thiel Fellow project, Ritesh Agarwal has raised US$25 million from
Lightspeed, Sequoia and others to build a branded budget hotel network across India. Called OYO Rooms, the
company partners with property owners across India and makes sure that their facilities meet a baseline of
requirements from linen quality to breakfast to Internet access for a starting price of 999 rupees or $16 a night. The
company, which has booked around 60,000 stays so far since starting almost two years ago, works with each
partner hotel to improve their facilities over the span of a week before launching on the platform. Theyve partnered
with more than 200 hotels across 10 cities in India. By the end of the year, they plan to quintuple in size with a
network of 1,000 hotels in 25 cities. Along with Lightspeed and Sequoia, Greenoaks Capital and DSG Consumer
Partners also participated in the round.
PressPlay raises US$2.2M to make long distance bus rides more fun in India
Press Play, India-based travel entertainment startup has raised US$2.2 million in pre-series A funding from Sequoia
Capital and a group of eight angel investors. The startup had earlier raised US$500,000 from angel investors. At the
outset, PressPlay placed tablets in buses, locked on the backs of seats. But it has recently pivoted to an app-based
model, as increasing numbers of bus travelers in India have smartphones. Travelers can now get connected to wi-fi
in the bus which allows them to access Press Plays app called Touchplay on their smartphones. The app is
loaded with a range of 30 movies, 1,000 songs, and 10 documentaries and cartoons. It has tied up with eight state
transport operators, including those of Rajasthan, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, and Himachal Pradesh, besides 50
private operators, to provide the service. Its available in about 600 buses across 14 cities currently.
Swiggy bags US$2M from Accel, SAIF to deliver food to Bangaloreans in 35 minutes
Food ordering and delivery app Swiggy has raised US$2 million from Accel Partners and SAIF Partners. Swiggy app
accepts orders from users and has 150 delivery personnel who pick-up the food from restaurants and deliver to
customers. The app is powered by routing algorithms to create an efficient delivery system. It currently works only in
Bangalore but is gearing up for expansion. We plan to use the current funding for expanding into Mumbai, New
Delhi, and Chennai, says Sriharsha Majety, founder of Swiggy. He is a graduate of Birla Institute of Technology &
Science (BITS) Pilani, one of Indias top engineering colleges. More niche food startups like iTiffin, Yumist, and
TapCibo, which recently raised seed funding, are also booming. Unlike Swiggy, these three startups deliver food
cooked by their own chefs instead of relying on restaurants. Most of them position themselves in the healthy food
space.
70,000 itineraries for travelers and US$3M in fresh funding: the TripHobo growth story
Indian travel planner TripHobo has raised series B funding of US$3 million from Mayfield and Kalaari Capital. The
three-year-old portal that lets travelers share itineraries and plan their tours better had raised more than US$1
SparkLabs Global Ventures (http://www.sparklabsglobal.com) is a global seed-stage fund with partners in
Silicon Valley, Chicago, London Tel Aviv, Singapore, and Seoul.
4
LimeRoad, a fashion portal made by a woman for Indian women, raises US$30M
Suchi Mukherjee gave birth to both her second child and her startup in 2012. In fact, she was on maternity leave
when she started up LimeRoad, a fashion ecommerce site targeted at Indian women. Today, it is one of the biggest
success stories by a woman entrepreneur in India. LimeRoad has just raised US$30 million from Tiger Global,
Matrix Partners, and Lightspeed Venture Partners in series C funding. The same investors had pumped US$15
million into the fast-growing fashion portal less than a year ago. Earlier, at inception, Matrix and Lightspeed had
invested US$5 million. LimeRoad combines fashion ecommerce with social discovery. The site features usergenerated looks which mix and match interesting combinations of apparel and accessories. A user can build
collections of styles in scrapbooks on the site, which others can browse for ideas. LimeRoads algorithms rank the
scrapbooks to make the most relevant and popular of them easier to find.
Indonesia
Taiwan
Philippine
Philippine incubator Kickstart to support high-growth startups using fresh US$50M funds
SparkLabs Global Ventures (http://www.sparklabsglobal.com) is a global seed-stage fund with partners in
Silicon Valley, Chicago, London Tel Aviv, Singapore, and Seoul.
5
Malaysia
Singapore
SAP Startup Focus Acceleration Program to pour US$7.3M into smart city startups
Singaporean and overseas startups are getting a new acceleration program to help them in their first fledgling steps
to market. The SAP Startup Focus Acceleration Program is the self-explanatory title of an initiative undertaken by
Singapores Infocomm Development Authority, enterprise software firm SAP Asia, and investment firm August
Capital Partners. The program has a duration of two years and is open to all technology-based startups that are
looking into smart city solutions based on data and analytics. Those who are chosen for the program will collectively
have access to an overall investment of US$7.3 million from ACP and IDA (as investment and grants respectively)
and mentorship from SAP executives, entrepreneurs, investors, and other prominent business figures. The SAP
Startup Focus Program has already had significant success, with over 1,250 startups from 55 countries participating
in the program and covering various industries, supported by technology partners including Cisco, Intel, NetApp and
VMWare.
SparkLabs Global Ventures (http://www.sparklabsglobal.com) is a global seed-stage fund with partners in
Silicon Valley, Chicago, London Tel Aviv, Singapore, and Seoul.
6
United States
CoreOS raises US$12M and introduces its Tectonic platform, featuring Kubernetes
CoreOS, which aims to put together a whole easy-to-consume package, raised a US$12 million round and is
launching a new product called Tectonic that companies can use to run applications in Linux containers. Tectonic
comes with a stack of tools that work together. And it should help CoreOS ride the wave of interest in containers and
become a top arms dealer for systems for building and shipping software in containers an alternative or even a
competitor to virtual machines, which have been around for more than a decade. This is the second funding round
for San Francisco-based CoreOS, which started in 2013 and now has 35 employees. To date CoreOS has raised a
total of $20 million, including the $8 million round announced last June. Google Ventures led the new round. Accel
Partners, Fuel Capital, and Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers also participated.
Disney invests US$250M in online fantasy sports startup DraftKings, claims report
Disney said that it is investing US$250 million in online fantasy sports startup DraftKings. That investment creates a
huge moment for the online fantasy sports business, which has been booming with lots of startups, plenty of
investments, and a surge in customers as this hobby goes social and mobile. The deal values the Boston company
at $900 million. That means Disney would own roughly 27 percent of the company. With daily fantasy sports, fans
can create and manage teams and put real money on the line. The pay off comes on a per game basis, rather than
lasting for an entire season. The Journal said DraftKings and Disney which also owns ESPN, the largest sports
network in the world, declined comment. Fortune reported the two were in talks last month. DraftKings offers cash
prizes for contests in Major League Baseball, the National Football League and the National Basketball Association.
DraftKings was founded in April 2012, and it is headed by Jason Robins, its CEO.
Via raises a fresh US$27M to expand shared SUV ride service to new cities
Via, which offers SUV rides to groups of passengers with compatible destinations in New York City, raised US$27
million round led by Pitango Venture Capital, with Hearst Ventures, Ervington Investments, and 83North throwing in.
Passengers request a ride through an app, then wait less than 10 minutes to get picked up. If necessary, the Via
algorithm might reroute the vehicle to a more direct path to the riders destination. The ride costs five dollars (if
prepaid). The new funds bring Vias total investment to $37 million. Via will use the new financing to accelerate
product development and hire new people. Via says its now providing New Yorkers with tens of thousands of rides
per week and has provided over 300,000 shared rides in total. The service has 40,000 members, 90 percent of
whom have come through word-of-mouth referrals, the company says.
Spruce raises US$15M more for telemedicine platform, supports new dermatology conditions
Spruce has hit a growth spurt. The San Francisco company has expanded its dermatology telemedicine service to
cover far more skin conditions, and has taken another large chunk of venture capital to fuel its national expansion.
Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers led the new US$15 million funding round, with participation from Baseline
Ventures, Cowboy Ventures, and Google Ventures. These same players, with the exception of Google Ventures
contributed to a $2 million seed round for Spruce during 2014. Heres how the Spruce app works. First, the user
shares photos and medical information with a board-certified dermatologist, and within 24 hours a dermatologist
reviews the information and sends a personalized treatment plan back to the users phone. A prescription is sent to
the users pharmacy if needed. Importantly, the user can always refer to the app for exact aftercare instructions.
Right now Spruces service is available to people in four states California, New York, Florida, Pennsylvania.
RealtyShares Gets US$10M From Menlo To Grow Its Platform For Crowdfunding Real Estate Projects
Sort of like a LendingClub for real estate, RealtyShares has taken the idea of crowdfunding and applied it to the
real estate market. After about a year of operations in which it was able to show product-market fit, the company has
raised US$10 million in funding from Menlo Ventures to quickly grow the number of projects made available to
investors. With the newfound cash, RealtyShares will be looking to bring on more underwriters to handle the
increasing volume of applications coming its way. Unlike some other crowdfunding platforms, RealtyShares isnt
aimed at the consumer market. Like AngelList, it is focused fully on helping accredited investors easily find
opportunities for investment. Its main goal is to reduce the friction between project sponsors and real estate
developers looking for capital and investors who are looking to diversify their portfolios.
SparkLabs Global Ventures (http://www.sparklabsglobal.com) is a global seed-stage fund with partners in
Silicon Valley, Chicago, London Tel Aviv, Singapore, and Seoul.
8
Privateer Holdings Closes US$75 Million In Funding To Create The P&G Of Pot
Privateer Holdings, a company focusing on producing, distributing, and educating consumers about legal marijuana,
has closed on a US$75 million round of funding it will use to create new brands of cannabis products. Privateer is a
holding company that was designed to create, incubate, and to acquire companies in the cannabis industry. A lot of
progress has happened in the five years since Privateer was founded. In 2010 medical cannabis was legal in just 15
states, and only about 29 percent of the U.S. population lived in areas. But now medical cannabis is legal in 23
states plus Washington, D.C., and fully legal in another four states. Today more than 72 percent of the population
lives in areas where some form of marijuana is legal.
Europe
Peer-to-peer car-rental service Drivy announces around US$8.47M funding, acquires domestic rival Buzzcar
French startup Drivy, which bills itself as the largest peer-to-peer car-rental service in Europe, has made a pair of
major announcements, revealing that they have taken in another 8 million Euro (about US$8.47 million) and
acquired competitor Buzzcar. This latest round of funding, obtained from BPIs Ecotechnologie Fund and Via-ID, as
previous investors Index Ventures and Alven Capital, doubles the amount that they had previously raised, bringing it
to 16 million Euro. Buzzcar, which was founded in 2011 and acquired its own competitor, Cityzencar, in 2013, will
deliver 7,000 and 100,000 to its new owner. The service works by allowing users to search for cars in their
neighborhood, based upon a number of different categories, and then requesting cars that seem like a good match.
One the users request has been accepted, they can communicate with the owner of the car about the terms of an
agreement and then go to rent it.
Distribusion, which provides standardized bus schedules, announces another seven figures funding
German startup Distribusion, which offers a platform for finding intercity bus tickets, has announced that they have
picked up a seven-figure investment from HR Ventures, which is the VC company of e-ticketing specialist Hahn Air,
and Fruhphasenfonds Brandenburg, an amount that they intend to use to further develop their platform and to
consider expansion to new European markets. Distribusion previously obtained a seven-figure investment from
undisclosed angels. Backed by this new funding, the company announces that they are planning expansion to the
United Kingdom, Spain, France, Poland, and countries in the south-eastern part of the continent. They are also
interested in improving their core product, stating that they intend to roll out a platform that will enable end-users to
directly book intercity bus tickets through online and physical travel agencies. At the moment, Distribusion says that
it is partnering with more than 40 intercity bus operators and provides standardized content for travel portals like
Qixxit, Coachfairer, and Waymate.
Israel
Israeli augmented reality startup nabs US$5M funding led by Japanese Pachinko company
Israeli augmented reality startup InfinityAR announced that it has completed a US$5 million series B funding round
led by Japans SUN Corporation, followed by New Zealands Singulariteam and US-based Platinum Partners Value
Arbitrage Fund. InfinityAR makes a software-based augmented reality (AR) engine that will let people interact with
augmented content in their physical surroundings. Its less Google Glass and more Microsoft Hololens. InfinityAR
says it "can turn any device with two simple cameras into a powerful content augmentation platform." The latest
funding will go toward further development of the product and expanding into the Japanese market. SUN
Corporation is a major player in Japans Pachinko industry. Pachinko is a mechanical arcade game popular with
gamblers, sort of like slot machines in the West.