Consumer

SoftBank is reportedly considering an investment of between $200m and $350m in CureFit, whose existing investors include the University of California-backed UC-RNT Fund.

Satt Sud-Est has assigned an exclusive licence to Arteac-Lab, co-founded by former CNRS researcher Philippe Herzog, for an electroacoustic modeling software called Simbox.

The fund manager will work with Hungry Jack’s to devise a plant-based version of the latter’s flagship burger, the Whopper, based on Csiro research.

With the growing focus on food sustainability, University of California (UC) Santa Barbara-founded food preservative developer Apeel Science is a particularly apt selection for the Technology of the Year award.

ETH Zurich spinout GetYourGuide secured $484m in a round led by SoftBank Vision Fund that took its total funding past $650m.

Meditation device manufacturer Core has attracted $4m from seed investors including Stanford-StartX Fund as it ramps up towards the full release of its product.

The company has committed $100m to the Catalyst Fund for early-stage start-ups, which may be available to university startups.

Caltech and Pennsylvania back on-line teaching company Coursera, which just won the praise of Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates.

Revolymer, which makes chewing gum that is easier to remove from streets and pavements, was backed by the Setsquared Partnership, a joint venture capital initiative between Bath, Bristol, Exeter, Southampton and Surrey.