North America

M3 Ventures to raise $75 mln venture-capital fund

M3 Ventures has set out to raise a $75 million third venture-capital fund, according to a filing with the SEC.

Brookfield Ventures leads VTS' $90 mln Series D financing

VTS, a New York-based leasing and asset management platform for the global commercial real estate industry, has raised US$90 million in a Series D financing. The round was led by Brookfield Ventures, the technology investment arm of Canadian alternative asset manager Brookfield Asset Management. Brookfield is a VTS customer. Other investors included Fifth Wall, GLP and Tishman Speyer. VTS' software platform oversees more than 10 billion square feet of commercial real estate and has a user base of over 35,000. It will use the round's proceeds to enhance its technology and launch truva, an end-to-end leasing marketplace.

Disruption teams up with The Big Push to fund women-led startups

Canadian women-focused venture capital firm Disruption Ventures has agreed to partner with The Big Push to provide women-led technology startups with access to expert resources and early-stage financing. The initiative will see Disruption invest $500,000 to $2 million in seed-stage or Series A financings of startups working with The Big Push, a Canadian accelerator focused on female entrepreneurs. Based in Toronto, The Big Push is led by senior executives who help prepare women founders for investment through a service-for-equity model. As reported by PE Hub Canada, Disruption recently closed its debut deal, investing in vacation-rentals software provider Hostfully.

OSF Commerce secures $31 mln in Delta-v Capital-led round

OSF Commerce, a Québec City-based retail consultant and commerce technology integrator, has raised about $31 million (US$23 million) in financing. The round was led by Delta-v Capital, a U.S. technology growth equity firm, with participation from Salesforce Ventures, the venture capital arm of U.S. software company Salesforce.com Inc. Founded in 2003, OSF Commerce, a Salesforce partner, provides technology, consulting, implementation and online shop management services to emerging and established brands and merchants. Led by CEO Gerry Szatvanyi, the company will use the funds raised to advance global growth by hiring talent, investing in artificial intelligence technology and making acquisitions.

Journey Meditation nets $2.4 mln seed

Journey Meditation, a creator of a group meditation app, has raised $2.4 million in seed funding. Canaan led the round with participation from other investors that included Brooklyn Bridge Ventures, Betaworks, BDMI, The Fund, Nelstone Ventures and New York Venture Partners.

Aiven grabs Series A funding

Helsinki, Finland-based Aiven, a cloud data platform provider, has secured 8 million euros in Series A funding. Earlybird Venture Capital led the round with participation from Lifeline Ventures and Nokia Chairman Risto Siilasmaa. In addition to the funding, Hendrik Brandis, a partner and co-founder of Earlybird, has joined Aiven's board of directors.

VC-backed Bugcrowd taps O'Connor as CFO

San Francisco-based Bugcrowd, a crowdsourced security company, has appointed Mark O'Connor as chief financial officer. Previously, O'Connor was chief financial officer of Appirio. Also, Bugcrowd has added Greg Sands, founder and managing partner at Costanoa Ventures, to its board of directors. Bugcrowd is backed by Blackbird Ventures, Costanoa Ventures, Industry Ventures, Paladin Capital Group, Rally Ventures, Salesforce Ventures and Triangle Peak Partners.

Astarte Medical scores $5 mln Series A

Yardley, Pennsylvania-based Astarte Medical, a precision medicine company using software and predictive analytics to improve premature infant outcomes, has secured $5 million in Series A financing. The investors included Viking Global Investors LP, Lunsford Capital, OCA Ventures, Keiretsu Forum MidAtlantic, Keiretsu Capital Fund, Ben Franklin Technology Partners, Wing VC and Next Act Fund.

MIT Solve targets $30 mln for fund

MIT Solve, an initiative of Massachusetts Institute of Technology, is seeking to raise $30 million for its new philanthropic venture fund that focuses on early-stage entrepreneurs solving global challenges. Noubar Afeyan, founder and CEO of Flagship Pioneering and MIT Corporation member, is committing up to $3 million to the fund.

Flexe nabs $43 mln Series B

Seattle-based Flexe, a provider of on-demand warehousing and fulfillment solutions, has raised $43 million in Series B funding. Activate Capital and Tiger Global Management led the round with participation from other investors that included Madrona Venture Group, Redpoint Ventures and Prologis Ventures. In conjunction, Raj Atluru, managing director at Activate Capital, joins the Flexe board.