BuzzFeed has sealed $15.5 million from investors including New Enterprise Associates, Lerer Ventures, Hearst Media, Softbank and RRE Ventures. NEA and Lerer led the round. As a result of the round, Patrick Kerins, a general partner at NEA will join BuzzFeed’s board. Kenneth Lerer, manager of Lerer Ventures and co-founder of The Huffington Post, will expand his role, becoming executive chairman.
2 min read · 09 January 2012
Early stage venture investor Hyde Park Venture Partners has launched and announced its first investment, in InContext Solutions, a developer of web-based 3-D virtual store environments. Hyde Park Venture Partners co-led a $1.5 million round for the company, investing alongside Hyde Park Angels. Hyde Park Venture Partners focuses on early stage investments in the Midwest, specifically in Chicago-based companies.
3 min read · 09 January 2012
Akebia Therapeutics Inc., a pharmaceutical company focused on treatments for anemia, has drawn down a $4.1 million tranche of its previously announced Series B financing. Investors included Novartis Bioventures, Venture Investors, Triathlon Medical Ventures, Kearny Venture Partners, Athenian Venture Partners, Sigvion Capital and AgeChem Venture Fund.
2 min read · 09 January 2012
BerGenBio, an oncology biopharma start-up, has raised $8.8 million in Series A financing from Norwegian venture investors Sarsia Seed AS and Investinor AS. The money will go toward taking its lead product into clinical trials. BerGenBio is based in Bergen, Norway.
3 min read · 09 January 2012
Manitoba Harvest Hemp Foods & Oils has raised an undisclosed amount of financing from White Road Investments and existing backer Avrio Ventures. White Road Investments is a consumer-focused private equity firm based in Emeryville, Calif. Manitoba Harvest is a hemp food manufacturer.
2 min read · 06 January 2012
Moontoast, a maker of social commerce software, has recently closed on $6 million in new financing. Nashville-based venture capital firm the Martin Companies led the round, the company said Thursday. Moontoast has offices in Boston and Nashville.
3 min read · 06 January 2012
DailyWorth.com, a start-up that provides daily personal finance emails geared toward women, has raised $2 million from a group of angel investors led by Joanne Wilson and Stocktwits founder Howard Lindzon. The funding brings the company’s total backing to roughly $3 million. Other investors include 500 Startups' Dave McClure, TechStar's Dave Cohen and Eric Schmidt of TomorrowVentures.
2 min read · 06 January 2012
Catalyst Biosciences Inc. has sealed a $7 million milestone payment from Pfizer, as part of a research and license agreement between the two companies. Catalyst recently initiated Phase 1 clinical trials for one of its products, designed to help treat hemophilia patients. Privately held Catalyst is backed by investors including Essex Woodlands Health Ventures, HealthCare Ventures, Johnson & Johnson Development Corporation, Morgenthaler Ventures, Novartis BioVentures, RCT BioVentures and Sofinnova Ventures.
2 min read · 06 January 2012
New York-based Maxymiser, a developer of multivariate testing, personalization and optimization technologies for websites, has raised $12 million from new backer Investor Growth Capital and return investors Pentech Ventures. The money will be used for expansion efforts.
4 min read · 06 January 2012
3-V Biosciences Inc., developer of treatments for the Hepatitis C virus, has closed preferred stock financing providing the company with a minimum of $20 million, the company announced Thursday. Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers and New Enterprise Associates participated equally in the financing, the company said. 3-V Biosciences is based in Menlo Park, Calif.
2 min read · 05 January 2012
