Iris Dorbian

M87 pulls in $5 mln

M87, which is developing a "Proximate Internet" of connected devices and sensors, has raised $5 million in funding. Madrona Venture Group led the round with participation from Qualcomm Ventures and Trilogy Equity Partners. Also, M87 has named Cole Brodman as CEO.

Heptio fetches $8.5 mln in Accel-led round

Seattle-based Heptio, which is built to support and advance the open Kubernetes ecosystem, has secured $8.5 million in Series A funding. Accel led the round with participation from Madrona Venture Group.

CodeFights rallies $10 mln

San Francisco-based CodeFights, a provider of a free gamified educational tool that helps software engineers, has secured $10 million in funding. The lead investor was e.ventures.

Transcriptic collects $13.4 mln

Transcriptic Inc, a robotic cloud lab for life sciences, has secured $13.4 million in Series A-1 funding. The investors included Data Collective, Digital Science, WuXi AppTec and AME Cloud Ventures.

Yottaa rakes in $13 mln

Waltham, Massachusetts-based Yottaa, Inc, a SaaS platform for accelerating ecommerce, has raised $13 million in funding. Stata Venture Partners led the round with participation from other backers that included General Catalyst. Also, Yottaa has named Rich Stendardo as CEO.

KnowledgeHound snaps up $2.7 mln Series A

Chicago-based KnowledgeHound, an enterprise market research data-retrieval platform, has secured $2.7 million in Series A funding. The investors were George Spencer at Seyen Capital, Gaspar Group, InvestHER and BRJ Ventures.

Vestigo Ventures appoints Bison founder Nugent as MD

Cambridge, Massachusetts-based Vestigo Ventures, a fintech venture firm, has hired Mike Nugent as a managing director. Nugent is the founder of Bison, a provider of analytics for the private markets sector.

CoverWallet inks $7.8 mln Series A

New York City-based CoverWallet, an online insurance manager, has raised $7.8 million in Series A funding. Union Square Ventures led the round with participation from return backers Highland Capital Partners, Two Sigma Ventures and Founder Collective. In conjunction with the funding, John Buttrick of Union Square Ventures has been added to CoverWallet's board of directors. Also, CoverWallet has named Jim Ermilio as president of insurance.

Facebook buys VC-baced CrowdTangle

Facebook Inc has acquired CrowdTangle Inc, which helps publishers identify stories, measure social media performance and identify influencers. No financial terms were disclosed. CrowdTangle was backed by Tsai Ventures.

Frazier Healthcare Partners adds operating partner for growth buyout team

Frazier Healthcare Partners has hired Rob Kill as an operating partner for its growth buyout team. Previously, Kill was the chairman and CEO of Cogentix Medical Inc.