New York-based Handshake, a provider of a B2B commerce platform for manufacturers and distributors, announced it has raised $14 million in a Series B round led by Sozo Ventures. Also participating in the round are the company's existing investors, including Emergence Capital, SoftTech VC, BOLDstart Ventures, MHS Capital, Point Nine and Primary Venture Partners. The company, founded in 2010, has now raised $23.5 million in total financing.
4 min read · 17 March 2016
New York-based Contour Venture Partners, an investor in Datadog, OnDeck and Ticketfly, announced it has raised $81 million combined for two new funds. This includes $56 million for its third early-stage fund, which beat its $50 million target, and $25 million for its first opportunity fund.
1 min read · 16 March 2016
Nashville, Tennessee-based Clayton Associates announced it is seeking to raise $75 million for FCA Venture Partners VI. Fund V raised $53 million and closed in 2011, according to Thomson Reuters. FCA, which focuses on early and growth-stage healthcare and tech companies. such as Pathfinder Health Innovations and One Medical Passport, among others. FCA, which counts among its LPs high-net-worth individuals and families along with family offices, regional banks and leading wealth management firms, said the fund will be raised over the next 12 to 18 months. Fund VI will be the firm's first since the passing of founder Clayton McWhorter, who passed away in January at the age of 82. He founded the firm in 1996.
1 min read · 16 March 2016
Crate Technology, which provides a scalable SQL database, announced it has raised $4 million in seed-stage funding. Dawn Capital led the round, which included existing investors Sunstone Capital, Draper Esprit (formerly known as DFJ Esprit) and Speedinvest. Solomon Hykes, creator of the Docker project, also invested in the latest round. The company was founded in 2013 and has offices in San Francisco, Berlin and Austria.
3 min read · 15 March 2016
Inmoji, which connects brands with consumers on mobile messaging using interactive emojis, has raised $5 million in Series A funding led by Dr. John Wigneswaran. The company, which has offices in Boston and San Francisco, said also participating in the round were technology luminaries within MIT Sloan School of Management community. Inmoji previously raised $2.4 million in seed-stage funding from ex-PayPal Media COO David Chang, Paypal Start Tank and Atlas Venture, now known as Accomplice.
3 min read · 11 March 2016
France leads all European countries, with 28 companies in the country during the month
2 min read · 11 March 2016
500 Startups, which has launched several new micro-funds in recent weeks, has announced a $10 million Vietnam-focused fund. The fund, which will aim to make between 100 to 150 investments, will be led by Binh Tran (co-founder and former CTO of Klout) and Eddie Thai (a Vietnam-based entrepreneur). The two joined 500 last year.
1 min read · 08 March 2016
Boston-based OpenView Venture Partners announced it has hired Elizabeth Cain as vice president of Go-to-Market (GTM) Strategy. The firm said Cain will be responsible for all go-to-market initiatives for the firm’s portfolio, including market research, sales and marketing recruiting, strategy and training.
1 min read · 08 March 2016
New York-based Exo, which is developing alternative protein sources based on insects, announced it has raised $4 million in a Series A funding round led by AccelFoods. Others participating in the round include new and previous investors, such as Collaborative Fund and individuals Tim Ferriss, Start Garden, rapper Nas and endurance athlete Amelia Boone. The company has now raised $5.6 million in total funding. Exo, which makes a protein bar using crickets, was one of four food startups in AccelFoods' inaugural accelerator program in 2014.
3 min read · 07 March 2016
San Diego-based Correlation Ventures, which uses analytics and other computer modeling technologies to determine investment strategies, has raised a combined $161.52 million, according to a pair of regulatory filings.
1 min read · 03 March 2016
