Paladin Capital Group has made a number of appointments to its team. The Washington, D.C.-based private equity firm has named Alex O’ Cinneide as managing director, head of Europe. Also, Paladin has added Professor Sir David Omand, Mary Aiken and Sally Tennant to its strategic advisory group. In addition to these new appointments, the firm is expanding its cyber fund, which backs early-stage tech companies, into Europe.
2 min read · 16 November 2015
According to a blog post on its site, Centrica subsidiary Direct Energy has agreed to acquire Panoramic Power, a wireless sensor technology provider, for $60 million. Panoramic Power's backers included Marker, 83North (formerly known as Greylock IL) and Qualcomm.
1 min read · 13 November 2015
San Francisco-based Rhumbix, a mobile platform for "smarter construction sites," has raised $6 million in Series A funding. Greylock Partners led the round with participation from Brick & Mortar Ventures, UJ Ventures and Ray Levitt, a professor at Stanford University. In addition to the funding, Jerry Chen of Greylock has been added to Rhumbix's board of directors.
3 min read · 13 November 2015
Fossil Group has agreed to acquire Misfit Inc, a maker of connected wearable products. The price of the acquisition is $260 million. Misfit's backers include Founders Fund, GGV Capital, Khosla Ventures, Horizons Ventures, Xiaomi and Norwest Venture Partners, according to Crunchbase.
3 min read · 13 November 2015
Joule and Red Rock Biofuels, both of which are backed by Flagship Ventures, have agreed to merge. No financial terms were disclosed. Also, Dr. Brian Baynes, a partner at Flagship Ventures who is currently on the board of both Joule and Red Rock, will become president and CEO of the combined companies. Bedford, Massachusetts-based Joule is an alternative fuel developer while Red Rock Biofuels, which is located in Fort Collins, Colorado, is a provider of renewable biofuels.
4 min read · 13 November 2015
White Star Capital has raised $70 million for its inaugural fund. The venture firm is planning on investing between $500,000 and $5 million into companies in North America and Europe. The fund's backers include sovereign and institutional funds supported by entrepreneurs and family offices from over 18 markets.
3 min read · 13 November 2015
Panjo, a marketplace for auto, sport and hobby enthusiasts, has raised $4.6 million in Series A funding. Spark Capital led the round with participation from The New York Times Company, Fabrice Grinda, Lerer Ventures, BDMI, BEENOS Partners, Mucker Capital and Mesa.
3 min read · 13 November 2015
Palo Alto, California-based social casino gaming company Huuuge Inc has raised $4 million in Series A funding. Korea Investment Partners led the round. In conjunction with the funding, Sang-Ho Park, senior principal at KIP, has been added to Huuuge's board of directors.
2 min read · 12 November 2015
Customer success company Gainsight has raised $50 million in Series D funding. Insight Venture Partners led the round. The company's other investors include Battery Ventures, Bain Capital Ventures, Bessemer Venture Partners, Salesforce Ventures, Summit Partners and Lightspeed Venture Partners. In addition to the funding, Gainsight has hired Andy Knosp as vice president of professional services. Previously, Knosp was vice president of professional services at Hortonworks.
6 min read · 12 November 2015
San Francisco-based Hackbright Academy, an engineering school for women, has named Sharon Wienbar, a venture partner at Scale Venture Partners as CEO, according to an announcement on its site. CEO. Hackbright co-founder David J. Phillips will be transitioning to the role of active chair. Wienbar will remain on the board of directors of her ScaleVP portfolio companies.
1 min read · 12 November 2015
