Oyster has closed $14 million in funding. Highland Capital Partners led the round with participation from Founders Fund, SV Angel, Advancit Capital, BoxGroup and Founder Collective. Based in New York City, Oyster is an ebook subscription service.
2 min read · 14 January 2014
Google has acquired Nest Labs, the latter announced in a blog post on its site. No financial terms were disclosed; however, some news outlets peg the sum to be at $3.2 billion. Based in Palo Alto, Calif., Next Labs, which was founded by former Apple executive Tony Fadell, is a maker of a smart-home thermostat. Its backers included Google Ventures, Venrock, Kleiner Perkins Caulfield & Byers, Shata Ventures and Lightspeed Venture Partners.
1 min read · 14 January 2014
Nutanix said Tuesday that it has raised $101 million in Series D financing. Riverwood Capital and SAP Ventures led the round with participation from Morgan Stanley Expansion Capital, Greenspring Associates, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Khosla Ventures and Battery Ventures. Also, the company has named Jeff Parks, a founding partner of Riverwood Capital and former executive at Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co., to Nutanix's board of directors. He joins Mike Scarpelli, CFO of ServiceNow, who has also been appointed to the board. Headquartered in San Jose, Calif., Nutanix is a provider of datacenter infrastructure solutions.
6 min read · 14 January 2014
According to a blog post on its site, New York-based early-stage VC firm ff Venture Capital said Tuesday that it has closed $52 million for its third fund that was originally targeted at $50 million. The pool's new LPs include New York State’s Empire State Development, Goldman Sachs and the New Jersey Economic Development Authority. According to the firm, the fund will focus on "game-changing ideas and businesses" as well as current portfolio companies that are growing and doing well.
1 min read · 14 January 2014
Online travel agency BookIt.com has closed $10 million in funding from Chicago investment firm Monroe Capital. According to the firm, the capital will be used for growth and expansion.
1 min read · 14 January 2014
Euroscript International has completed its buy of Amplexor. Capricorn Venture Partners was one of the sellers. No financial terms were disclosed. Based in Belgium, Amplexor is a content management solution provider.
3 min read · 14 January 2014
Meru Networks has named Eric Singer and Stephen Domenik to its board of directors. Singer is currently a co-managing member of Potomac Capital Management III while Domenik is a general partner at Sevin Rosen Funds. Based in Sunnyvale, Calif., Meru Networks is a provider of mobile access and virtualized Wi-Fi solutions. Its backers include Sierra Ventures, D.E. Shaw & Co., Evercore Partners, Tenaya Capital, Monitor Ventures, BlueStream Ventures, NeoCarta Ventures and Clearstone Venture Partners.
5 min read · 14 January 2014
Invoca said Tuesday that it has secured $20 million in Series C funding. Accel Partners led the round with participation from previous investors Upfront Ventures and Rincon Venture Partners. Also, Accel Partners' Kobie Fuller has joined Invoca's board of directors. Based in Santa Barbara, Calif., Invoca is a provider of enterprise inbound call marketing solutions.
4 min read · 14 January 2014
OpenSesame has closed $8 million in Series A funding. Partech Ventures led the round. In conjunction with the funding, Nicolas El Baze, general partner at Partech Ventures, joins OpenSesame's board. Based in Portland, Oregon, OpenSesame is a provider of online training courses.
3 min read · 14 January 2014
According to data compiled by Thomson Reuters and the National Venture Capital Association, U.S. VC firms raised a total of $4.9 billion from 48 funds during the final quarter of 2013. This figure represents an increase of 12 percent as compared to the previous quarter as well as a 53 percent increase from the same period in 2012. However, the number of funds plunged to 21 percent versus the third quarter of 2013. Also, Thomson Reuters and NVCA reported that VC firms closed a total of $16.7 billion from 185 funds during 2013, a 15 percent drop compared to 2012. Overall, 2013 was the slowest year of fundraising since 2010.
5 min read · 13 January 2014
