North America

DustPhonics scores $25 mln

Israel and California-based DustPhotonics, a provider of optical modules, has secured $25 million in funding. Intel Capital led the round with participation from other investors that included WRVI Capital.

Drum rakes in nearly $11 mln seed

Atlanta-based Drum, an on-demand network sales force platform, has raised nearly $11 million in seed funding. The investors included Propel Venture Partners, Felicis Ventures, BlueRun Ventures, American Express Ventures, GroTech Ventures, Wildcat Venture Partners, BoxGroup and SV Angel.

4Front expands board with two new additions

Cannabis-focused investment firm 4Front Ventures Corp has appointed Kathi Lentzsch and Betty Aldworth to its board of directors. Lentzch is the CEO and president of Bartell Drugs while Aldworth is the executive director for Students for Sensible Drug Policy.

Workplace management platform Eden appoints vice chairman

San Francisco-based Eden, a workplace management platform, has named Brian Snow as vice chairman. Currently, Snow serves as managing general partner of Impala Ventures. Eden's backers include Fifth Wall Ventures, S28 Capital, Bessemer Venture Partners, Y Combinator Continuity, ENIAC Ventures, Maven Ventures, Comcast Ventures, Canvas Ventures, Redpoint Ventures and Liquid2 Ventures.

VC-backed Thrive Earlier Detection adds new SVP to team

Cambridge, Massachusetts and Baltimore-based Thrive Earlier Detection Corp, a healthcare company focused on incorporating earlier cancer detection into routine medical care, has named Seema Singh Bhan as senior vice president, public policy and external affairs. She is the former vice president, head of public policy for Foundation Medicine. Thrive Earlier Detection's backers include Third Rock Ventures, Section 32, Casdin Capital, Biomatics Capital, BlueCross BlueShield Venture Partners, The Invus Group and Exact Sciences.

Palantir Tech seeks $26 bln valuation with new funding round: Financial Times

Palantir Technologies is seeking funding from private investors that values the data company company founded by Peter Thiel at $26 billion, the Financial Times reported. Palantir has pushed off plans for an IPO, which is now expected in two to three years, the story said.

Vedanta Biosciences raises $16.6 mln

Vedanta Biosciences said Sept. 23 that it raised $16.6 million in Series C-2 financing. Participants include QUAD Investment Management, SV Investment Corp, Shinhan Investment-Private Equity, Shinhan Capital-Yeollim Partners, Partners Investment Co Ltd, FC Capital, and SymBiosis LLC, who joined the previously announced Series C investors, including the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Rock Springs Capital, JSR Corp, Shumway Capital, Invesco Asset Management, Health for Life (Seventure Partners), and founder PureTech Health. Vedanta is developing therapies for immune-mediated diseases based on rationally-defined consortia of human microbiome-derived bacteria.

Matchstick Ventures collects over $30.4 mln for sophomore fund

Matchstick Ventures has raised over $30.4 million for its second fund, according to an SEC filing. Based in Boulder, Colorado, Matchstick is an early-stage tech venture firm.

HP buys security startup Bromium

HP Inc has acquired California-based Bromium, a security startup. No financial terms were disclosed. Bromium's backers included Silver Lake Waterman, Andreessen Horowitz, Ignition Partners, Highland Capital Partners, Intel Capital, Lightspeed Venture Partners and Meritech Capital Partners.

Healthcare social network Voro attracts $2.5 mln seed

New York City-based Voro, a healthcare social network, has secured $2.5 million in seed funding. Floodgate led the round.