North America

Scale Venture Partners boosts staff

Last week, Scale Venture Partners announced it has hired Chris Yin as the firm's newest principal. Yin joins from Rainforest QA, where he worked on product. At Foster City, California-based Scale, Yin will focused on investments in intelligent business software, vertical AI companies and data-first businesses.

Impact investor Renewal Funds closes latest fund at $145 mln

Canadian impact venture capital firm Renewal Funds has closed its latest fund, Renewal4, at $145 million. The fund was backed by more than 140 investors, including BDC Capital, The Co-operators and the clean technology stream of Ottawa's Venture Capital Catalyst Initiative (VCCI). Based in Vancouver, Renewal Funds invests in environmental technology and sustainable consumer products across North America. The fundraising brings the firm's total assets under management to $240 million.

Kenna Security raises $48 mln

Kenna Security said Sept. 30 that it raised $48 million in a Series D round of funding. New investors include Sorenson Capital and Citi Ventures. Kenna’s existing investors, including Bessemer Venture Partners, U.S. Venture Partners, Costanoa Ventures, Hyde Park Angels, and OurCrowd, joined the funding round. Kenna provides risk-based vulnerability management services.

ePassi raises 41.5 mln euros from Bregal Milestone, First Fellow

Bregal Milestone and First Fellow Partners have invested 41.5 million euros ($45.3 million) in ePassi. Pekka Rantala, the newly appointed ePassi CEO, is co-investing in the transaction. EPassi, of Helsinki, provides mobile payments for subsidized employee benefits.

Georgian Partners targeting $1 bln for fifth growth equity fund

Georgian Partners is targeting nearly $1 billion (US$750 million) for its fifth growth equity fund, according to an SEC filing. The filing confirms a June report by the Globe and Mail. Toronto-based Georgian has a North America investment strategy focused on applied analytics, as well as applied artificial intelligence, conversational business, and security in software design. The firm closed Georgian Partners Growth Fund IV last year at its $715 million (US$550 million) hard cap.

Modulz grabs $4.2 mln seed

Modulz, a visual code editor for teams, has secured $4.2 million in seed funding, according to a blog post on its site. The investors included LocalGlobe and Frontline.

Teampay rakes in $12 mln Series

New York City-based Teampay, a provider of distributed spend management software, has secured $12 million in Series A financing. Tribe Capital led the round with participation from return backers Crosscut, Silicon Valley Bank and Precursor Ventures.

Meissa Vaccines gathers $30 mln Series A

South San Francisco-based Meissa Vaccines, a developer of vaccines to prevent viral respiratory infections, has raised $30 million in Series A financing. The investor was Morningside Ventures. In addition to the funding, Dr. Isaac Cheng and Stephanie O’Brien of Morningside will join Meissa Vaccines' board of directors.

Digital wealth management firm Moneyfarm lands Series C: Reuters

UK-based Moneyfarm, a digital wealth management firm, has secured 36 million pounds ($44.4 million) in Series C funding, reported Reuters. The investors were Poste Italiane and Allianz Asset Management.

Beyond Pricing inks $42.5 mln

San Francisco-based Beyond Pricing, a pricing platform for vacation property rentals, has raised $42.5 million in funding, according to a blog post on its site. Bessemer Venture Partners led the round.