Iris Dorbian

True Ventures leads seed round for LiveStories

Seattle-based online data platform LiveStories has raised $3 million in seed funding. True Ventures led the round with participation from other investors that included Founders' Co-op and Social Leverage.

VC-backed Apollo Endosurgery and Lpath to merge

Apollo Endosurgery Inc and Lpath Inc have agreed to merge, forming a medical device company focused on treating obesity. According to terms of the deal, Apollo will become the majority owner of Lpath, acquiring a 95.8 percent stake of the combined company while Lpath will own about 4.2 percent. Apollo's backers, which include PTV Healthcare Capital, H.I.G. BioHealth Partners, Remeditex Ventures, Novo A/S and CPMG Inc, will invest $29 million in equity in the combined company upon the closing. Also, Lpath, which is currently public on the NASDAQ, will be renamed Apollo Endosurgery, Inc. The merged company plans on applying for a new listing on the NASDAQ under a new ticker.

Signifyd racks up $19 mln

San Jose, California-based Signifyd, a provider of fraud protection for ecommerce businesses, has raised $19 million in funding. The investors were Menlo Ventures, TriplePoint Capital and American Express Ventures.

SmartAsset inks $12 mln Series B

SmartAsset, a financial advice site, has secured $12 million in Series B funding. IA Capital Group led the round with participation from TTV Capital, Contour Ventures, Javelin Venture Partners, New York Life, Transamerica Ventures and Fitz Gate Ventures. In conjunction with the funding, Andrew Lerner, a managing partner of IA Capital Group, Mark Johnson, a partner at TTV Capital and Thomas Evans, former CEO and director of Bankrate, have been added to SmartAsset's board.

BYJU pulls in $50 mln

India-based BYJU, a K-12 learning app provider, has secured $50 million in funding. The Chan Zuckerberg Initiative and Sequoia Capital led the round with participation from Sofina, Lightspeed Ventures and Times Internet Ltd.

IDbyDNA scores $9 mln Series A

IDbyDNA, which is developing technologies for microorganism detection, has raised $9 million in Series A funding. ARTIS Ventures led the round.

Lewis & Clark Ventures collects $20 mln for initial plant sciences fund

St. Louis-based Lewis & Clark Ventures has raised $20 million for its inaugural plant sciences fund, according to an SEC filing. The target is $45 million.

Fluent City takes in $2.5 mln

New York City-based language school Fluent City has raised $2.5 million in funding. Lerner Investments led the round with participation from other investors that included Learn Capital, New Ground Ventures and 1776 Ventures.

General Atlantic leads $35 mln round for SessionM

Boston-based SessionM, a next-generation engagement and loyalty platform, has raised $35 million in funding. General Atlantic led the round with participation from other backers that included Salesforce Ventures, Causeway Media Partners, Charles River Ventures, Highland Capital Partners and Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers.

OfferUp fetches $119 mln

Bellevue, Washington-based OfferUp, a mobile marketplace for local buyers and sellers, has raised $119 million in Series C-1 financing. Warburg Pincus led the round with participation from other investors that included GGV Capital, Altimeter Capital, Andreessen Horowitz and T. Rowe Price.