North America

3Lines raises $5 mln for $30 mln-targeted fund

Denver-based 3Lines Venture Capital has raised $5 million for its Rocket Fund. The target is $30 million. The fund will invest in early-stage, deep-tech companies in cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, IoT, next-gen SaaS, virtualization platforms and services.

HiFiBiO Therapeutics lands $67 mln Series C

HiFiBiO Therapeutics, a biotherapeutics company, has secured $67 million in Series C financing. IDG Capital led the round.

ESSA Pharma wraps up $48 mln offering and private placement

Vancouver-based pharmaceutical company ESSA Pharma Inc (Nasdaq: EPIX; TSX-V: EPI) has closed a public offering and private placement, generating proceeds of about $48 million (US$36 million). The offering was led by Soleus Capital and included new investor RA Capital Management, a U.S. healthcare and life sciences investment firm. Existing backers of ESSA, including BVF Partners, Omega Funds and Eventide Funds, also participated. The company is also backed by Clarus Ventures, a U.S. life sciences venture capital firm acquired last year by Blackstone Group. Founded in 2009, ESSA is focused on developing therapies for treating castration-resistant prostate cancer. It will use the deal's proceeds for continued research and development.

BBOXX raises $50 mln

BBOXX said Aug. 28 that it raised $50 million in a Series D funding round. Investors include Mitsubishi Corp, ENGIE Rassembleurs d’Energies, Bamboo Capital Partners, DOEN Participaties and MacKinnon, Bennett & Co. BBOXX, of London, is a next generation utility.

Interface Fluidics nabs $6 mln in Equinor and Techstars-led Series A

Interface Fluidics, a Calgary-based oilfield laboratory services provider, has raised about $6 million (US$4.5 million) in a Series A financing. Equinor Technology Ventures, the venture capital arm of Norway's Equinor ASA, and U.S. accelerator Techstars led the round. Interface was founded in 2015 by CEO Stuart Kinnear, COO Tom De Haas and CTO David Stinton. It has developed a nanotechnology platform for optimizing oil production and visualizing fluid-fluid interactions through chemical testing at reservoir temperature and pressure. The company, a recent graduate of the first class of Techstars Energy Accelerator, said it will use the round's proceeds to expand capacity to meet market demand.

Advanced Farm Technologies scores $7.5 mln Series A

Davis, California-based Advanced Farm Technologies, a developer of robotic farming equipment, has raised $7.5 million in Series A funding. Yamaha Motor Ventures & Laboratory Silicon Valley, the strategic business development and investment arm of Yamaha Motor Co Ltd, led the round with participation from Kubota Corporation, Catapult Ventures and Impact Venture Capital.

First Analysis backs SmartWitness

First Analysis has invested $4 million in SmartWitness. Based in Schaumberg, Illinois, SmartWitness is a video telematics solutions provider.

CrowdStrike and Accel launch Falcon Fund

CrowdStrike Inc and Accel have launched Falcon Fund, a $20 million early-stage investment fund. The fund will focus on making seed and Series A investments in startups that are building applications on the CrowdStrike Falcon platform.

Groups360 inks $50 mln

Groups360, an online marketplace for meetings, has raised $50 million in funding. The investors were Accor, Hilton, IHG and Marriott International.

Canadian VC hits record level in H1 with $2.15 bln invested: CVCA

Canada’s venture capital (VC) market saw a record $1.28 billion invested in 143 financings in the second quarter of 2019, surpassing the prior record set in Q4 2018 , according to a report by the Canadian Venture Capital and Private Equity Association (CVCA). VC investment stood at a record $2.15 billion at the end of June, exceeding the previous high-water mark of $1.67 billion in the first half of 2018. Information and communication technology companies took 54 percent of VC invested in the first half, followed by life sciences companies, which captured 27 percent. Early-stage activity led late-stage activity in this period, accounting for 45 percent of the total invested.