Alastair Goldfisher

SimilarWeb raises $47 mln in growth funding

SimilarWeb, a digital market intelligence company, announced that it has raised $47 million in growth equity funding led by Viola Growth in collaboration with Saban Ventures. Additional investors included CE Ventures, among others. The company has now raised $112 million in funding. As part of the funding, Bill Macaitis, former CMO of Slack and Zendesk, has joined the SimilarWeb’s advisory board.

On the Bleeding Edge: Funds for and by women and what to do when VCs go on vacay

Icon leads $23 mln funding round in Alation

Redwood City, California-based Alation, a provider of an enterprise collaborative data platform, announced it has raised $23 million in Series B funding. Icon Ventures led the round, which included Harmony Partners and returning investors Costanoa Ventures and Data Collective. As part of the funding round, Michael Mullany, a general partner at Icon Ventures, has joined the board.

Norwest leads funding in Silk Road Medical

Sunnyvale, California-based Silk Road Medical Inc, a medical technology company focused on the treatment of carotid artery disease, has raised $47 million in new funding. Norwest Venture Partners led the investment along with funds managed by Janus Capital Management and existing investors Warburg Pincus, the Vertical Group and CRG. As part of the financing, Dr. Robert Mittendorff, a partner at Norwest, has joined the board. The company had raised more than $100 million.

Security-focused Corelight raises $9.2 mln in Series A

San Francisco-based Corelight, provider network security solutions, has raised $9.2 million in Series A funding round. Accel Partners led the round, which included Osage University Partners and Riverbed Technology co-founder Steve McCanne. As part of the funding, McCanne and Eric Wolford of Accel have joined the board.

Data spotlight: NEA ranks as most active VC in first half

Spotinst secures $15 mln in Intel Capital-led round

Spotinst, a provider of cloud management technology, announced it has raised $15 million in Series A funding led by Intel Capital. Vertex Ventures and Springtide Ventures also participated. As part of the funding, Andy Fligel from Intel Capital and Aviad Ariel from Vertex Ventures are joining the board.

Google launches Gradient Ventures to invest in AI

Google, whose interest in artificial intelligence includes its Google.ai project to incorporate AI technology across all of its products, has launched Gradient Ventures on Tuesday as an independent investment vehicle. The amount of capital available to invest was not disclosed. The firm will invest in early-stage startups focused on AI and also provide portfolio companies with resources and access to experts and boot camps in AI, according to a blog post by co-founder and Managing Partner Ann Patterson.

Designer Fund aims to raise $40 mln for second fund

The Designer Fund, a San Francisco-based firm that makes seed-stage investments in tech startups with a strong design focus, has filed a regulatory document seeking to raise $40 million for its second fund. The fund is twice the size of its $20 million inaugural effort that was closed in 2016.

Toyota Research Institute announces $100 mln venture unit

Toyota Research Institute (TRI) announced that it has launched Toyota AI Ventures, a $100 million venture arm to back early-stage startup companies in artificial intelligence, robotics, autonomous mobility and data and cloud computing. As part of the announcement of the corporate VC, Toyota AI Ventures disclosed it has already backed three companies, including Intuition Robotics, an Israeli developer of artificial intelligence robots for use by the elderly. Jim Adler, TRI’s vice president of data and business development, will take the role of managing director of Toyota AI Ventures. The corporate VC will be based in Los Altos, California, the site of TRI.