North America

Scape Technologies locks in $8 mln seed

London-based Scape Technologies, a provider of visual positioning services, has raised $8 million in seed funding, according to a blog post. The investors were LocalGlobe, Mosaic Ventures, Fly Ventures and Entrepreneur First.

GreenLight Biosciences grabs $50 mln

Boston-based GreenLight Biosciences Inc, a developer of RNA-based solutions for agriculture and pharmaceutical applications, has secured $50 million in funding. S2G Ventures, Baird Capital and Blue I/O led the round.

Yallacompare fetches $8 mln

Yallacompare, a Middle East-based comparison site for financial products, has raised $8 million in funding. The lead investors were STC Ventures, Wamda Capital and Argo Ventures.

LendingFront nabs $4 mln Series A

LendingFront, a small business lending software provider, has raised $4 million in Series A funding. Information Venture Partners led the round with participation from Newark Venture Partners, Revel Partners, Contour Venture Partners, Struck Capital, ValueStream Ventures and Las Olas VC.

Israeli biotech firm Biond Biologics lands $17 mln Series B

Biond Biologics Ltd, an Israeli biotechnology company, has secured $17 million in Series B financing. Israel Biotech Fund and Harel Insurance & Finance Group led the round with participation from other investors that included Celgene Corporation and SBI JI Innovation Fund.

Cannabis industry data provider Headset inks $12.1 mln Series A

Headset, a provider of data and analytics to the cannabis industry, has raised $12.1 million in Series A financing. The lead investors were Poseidon Asset Management and AFI Capital Partners. In conjunction with this financing, Emily Paxhia of Poseidon and Nico Richardson of AFI will be joining Headset’s board of directors.

Canadian venture capital and startup predictions for 2019

Jim Orlando, managing partner at OMERS Ventures, has pulled out his crystal ball and made predictions about Canadian venture capital and startup trends in the year ahead. In a PE Hub Canada feature article, Orlando presents a number of fearless forecasts about the 2019 financing environment for local innovative companies, funding sources, and the focus of dealmaking. He also provides insight into a wide range of emerging technology sectors that will likely shape investment activity in the Canadian market. With OMERS Ventures' growing activity in the United States and Europe, he also has a few predictions about trends at the international level.

Humatics racks up $28 mln

Cambridge, Massachusetts-based Humatics Corp, a provider of microlocation systems and analytics software, has raised $28 million in funding. The investors included Blackhorn Ventures, JCI Ventures, Fontinalis Partners, Airbus Ventures, Lockheed Martin Ventures and Presidio Ventures.

CVCA appoints Amgen’s Kim Furlong as new chief executive

The Canadian Venture Capital and Private Equity Association has appointed Kim Furlong as its new CEO. Furlong joins CVCA from Toronto-based biotechnology company Amgen Canada, where for more than a decade she served as director of federal government affairs. Before then, she was vice president, federal government relations, at the Retail Council of Canada. Furlong replaces Mike Woollatt, who served as CVCA CEO between 2014 and 2018. Founded in 1974, Toronto-based CVCA is the professional association for Canada’s venture capital and private equity industry.

10x Genomics locks in $35 mln

Pleasanton, California-based 10x Genomics, a genomics platform, has raised $35 million in funding. Meritech Capital led the round with participation from Fidelity and Wells Fargo.