North America

LearnLux locks in $2 mln seed

LearnLux, a digital financial wellness platform, has secured $2 million in seed funding. The investors included Sound Ventures, Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff and Underscore VC.

Venture-backed Ratehub buys MoneySense from Rogers

Ratehub Inc has acquired MoneySense, a personal finance media brand, from an affiliate of Canadian communications and media company Rogers Communications Inc. Terms weren't released for the deal, which is expected to close on December 1. MoneySense will continue to operate as a distinct brand. Toronto-based Ratehub, which owns Ratehub.ca, a financial product comparison site, and CanWise Financial, a mortgage brokerage, said the acquisition will increase the number of Canadians it reaches per month. Founded in 2010 by Alyssa Furtado and James Laird, Ratehub in January raised $12 million in a Series A financing led by Elephant.

Karl Reckziegel, Alison Nankivell step up in BDC’s changing VC operation

BDC Capital’s Karl Reckziegel and Alison Nankivell have assumed new leadership positions as the organization evolves its $3 billion venture capital strategy. Reckziegel was recently promoted to senior vice president, venture capital, giving him oversight of the direct VC investment team. That puts the veteran BDC investment pro in charge of a $1.6 billion deal platform, one of the largest and most active in Canada, especially in underserved market segments. Reckziegel’s appointment comes as important changes are taking place in BDC’s direct VC operations, including the current efforts of the Healthcare Venture Fund and IT Venture Fund to raise capital from third-party investors.

TCV leads $100 mln round for Venafi

Salt Lake City, Utah-based Venafi, a provider of machine identity protection, has raised $100 million in financing. TCV led the round with participation from return backers QuestMark Partners and NextEquity Partners. In addition to the funding, TCV General Partner Jake Reynolds will join Venafi’s board of directors.

Fashion startup RAGS fetches $1.5 mln

Utah-based RAGS, a fashion brand, has secured $1.5 million in funding. Kickstart Seed Fund led the round. In addition to the financing, Curt Roberts, a partner at Kickstart, will join RAGS' board of directors.

Flipside Crypto adds Coinbase Ventures and Digital Currency Group as investors

Boston-based Flipside Crypto, which uses blockchain transaction data to analyze cryptocurrencies, announced it has added Coinbase Ventures and Digital Currency Group as investors. In addition, fintech entrepreneur Jeff Parker also joined the funding round along with current investors True Ventures, Castle Island and Boston Seed Capital. Flipside Crypto has raised $4.5 million to date. The company was founded in mid-2017 by CEO Dave Balter, Jim Myers and Eric Stone.

LoanStreet snags $6.5 mln Series A

New York-based LoanStreet Inc, an online platform that streamlines the process of sharing, managing, and originating loans, has secured $6.5 million in Series A funding. Valar Ventures led the round with participation from other investors that included Third Prime Capital, Rosecliff Ventures, Ride Ventures and The Gramercy Fund.

Insurance company Bright Health takes in $200 mln Series C

Minneapolis-based Bright Health, an insurance company, has raised $200 million in Series C funding. The investors include Declaration Partners, Meritech Capital, Bessemer Venture Partners, Cross Creek Advisors, Flare Capital, Greenspring Associates, Greycroft Partners, New Enterprise Associates, Redpoint Ventures and Town Hall Ventures.

PebblePost amasses $31 mln Series C

New York City and San Francisco-based PebblePost, a direct mail firm, has closed its Series C funding round at $31 million. Advance Venture Partners led the round with participation from other investors that included Capital One Growth Ventures, Kickstart Seed Fund, RRE, Greycroft and Tribeca Venture Partners.

VC-Inflazome appoints chief medical officer

Dublin, Ireland-based Inflazome, a developer of small molecule drugs that block harmful inflammation, has named Dr. Thomas Jung as chief medical officer. Jung is the former head of the translational medicine group for Novartis Europe. Inflazome is backed by Forbion Capital Partners, Longitude Capital, Fountain Healthcare Partners and Novartis Venture Fund.