North America

Jewelry brand Mejuri nabs $31 mln in NEA-led Series B: TechCrunch

Mejuri, a Toronto-based fine jewelry brand, has raised about $31 million (US$23 million) in a Series B financing, according to a report by TechCrunch. U.S. venture capital firm New Enterprise Associates (NEA) led the round, the report said. Existing investors BDC Capital, Dash Ventures, Felix Capital and Incite Ventures also participated. The news follows last September's announcement of a $5 million Series A financing led by Felix. Other investors in that deal included Real Ventures. Founded in 2015 by CEO Noura Sakkijha and COO Maj Masad, Mejuri designs, makes and sells handcrafted, everyday jewelry directly to consumers, avoiding traditional retail markups.

Rethink Education sets $150 mln target for third fund

Rethink Education is seeking to raise $150 million for its third fund, according to an SEC filing. The White Plains, New York-based venture firm invests in educational tech startups.

Hambro Perks leads seed round for BestBid

UK-based BestBid, a multi-agent home vendor, has secured 500,000 pounds in seed funding. Hambro Perks led the round.

Labster grabs $21 mln Series B

Labster, a science education startup, has raised $21 million in Series B funding, according to a blog post on its site. Owl Ventures led the round with participation from other investors that included Balderton Capital, Northzone, Swisscom Ventures, EduCapital and Entangled Group.

Meru Health inks $4.2 mln

Palo Alto, California and Helsinki, Finland-based Meru Health, a digital clinic for greater mental health, has secured $4.2 million in financing. The investors were Freestyle Capital, Bonit Capital, Y Combinator, Lifeline Ventures and IT-Farm.

Oriient takes in $4 mln seed

Tel Aviv-based Oriient, a provider of indoor GPS, has raised $4 million in seed funding. The investors were F2 Capital and innogy Innovation Hub, the accelerator and venture capital arm of innogy SE.

Suuchi raises $8 mln

Suuchi said April 25 that it raised $8 million in funding led by Edison Partners. Suuchi, of North Bergen, New Jersey , provides a supply chain platform provider for fashion brands and retailers.

Conversational AI platform Heyday raises $2 mln in seed round

Heyday, a Montréal-based conversational artificial intelligence (AI) platform, has secured $2 million in a seed-stage financing. The round was led by Innovobot, a Canadian innovation investment and advisory services firm. It was joined by Desjardins Capital and strategic investors. Heyday was founded in 2017 by CEO Steve Desjarlais, CPO David Bordeleau, CMO Étienne Mérineau and CTO Hugues Rousseau. Its platform leverages conversational AI and messaging apps to help retailers improve the customer experience. Heyday will use the funds raised to expand its engineering, research and product teams, and accelerate growth in the United States and Europe.

AV8 Ventures launches a €150 million backed by Alianz

Home dialysis creator Simergent collects $2.835 mln seed

Simergent, a creator of affordable home dialysis, has secured $2.835 million in seed funding. i2E Inc led the round.