Managers

Elephant collects $250 mln for sophomore fund

Elephant has raised $250 million for its second fund, according to an SEC filing. The Boston-based venture firm is focused on consumer internet, mobile and software.

Dracen Pharmaceuticals attracts $40 mln Series A

Baltimore-based Dracen Pharmaceuticals Inc, a developer of anticancer therapies, has raised $40 million in Series A funding. The investors included Deerfield Management.

Las Olas Venture Capital raises $28.5 mln maiden venture fund

Las Olas Venture Capital said it had a $28.5 million final close on a maiden venture capital fund.

BDC to back founders with addiction, mental health challenges

Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC) is financing $325,000 in loans to be provided by Rise Asset Development to support entrepreneurs with mental health and addiction challenges. The amount will be disbursed over two years through loans of $5,000 to $10,000. It will allow Rise, a Toronto-based provider of low-interest small business loans and mentorship to individuals living with mental illness and addictions, to expand its program in Canada. Rise has extended more than $1 million in loans since it was founded in 2010 by the Rotman School of Management and the Centre for Addictions and Mental Health.

Venture firms quietly mull forming SPVs to hold cryptoinvestments

SteadyMD inks $2.5 mln

St. Louis, Missouri-based SteadyMD, a provider of online concierge primary care, has secured $2.5 million in funding. Pelion Venture Partners led the round with participation from other investors that included CrossCut Ventures, M25 Group, Service Provider Capital and Hyde Park Venture Partners.

ArcherDX scores $35 mln

Boulder, Colorado-based ArcherDX, a provider of NGS-based gene fusion detection assays, has secured $35 million in financing. Boulder Ventures Ltd and PBM Capital Group LLC led the round with participation from Longwood Fund and Peierls Foundation. In addition to the funding, Kyle Lefkoff of Boulder Ventures has joined ArcherDX's board of directors.

Hitachi to invest in Geodesic fund

Hitachi Ltd, a Japanese conglomerate, has agreed to invest in a fund managed by Foster City, California-based venture firm Geodesic Capital. Geodesic Capital Fund I-S is a supplemental fund of the company’s first fund that was established in 2015. According to a recent SEC filing, the fund is targeted at $165 million. Geodesic invests in emerging growth companies in Silicon Valley.

500 Startups to open accelerator in Miami, its first in U.S. outside Bay Area

Rheos Medicines attracts $60 mln Series A

Cambridge, Massachusetts-based Rheos Medicines, a biopharmaceutical company, has raised $60 million in Series A funding. The investor was Third Rock Ventures.