North America

iNovia Capital GP Patrick Pichette joins board of Lightspeed

Lightspeed POS, a Montréal-based point-of-sale software solution for retailers and restaurateurs, has appointed Patrick Pichette to its board. Pichette, a former CFO at Google, has been a general partner at Canadian venture capital firm iNovia Capital since April 2018. INovia is a longtime backer of Lightspeed, joining last year's Series D financing, which raised about $207 million (US$166 million). The company's other new board members are Tandem International's Marie-Josée Lamothe, Rob Williams, formerly of Amazon, and Paul McFeeters, formerly of OpenText.

Venture-backed Lightspeed preparing for $200 mln IPO: report

Lightspeed POS, a Montréal-based point-of-sale software solution for retailers and restaurateurs, is gearing up for an initial public offering (IPO), according to a report by the Globe and Mail. The company selected Bank of Montreal and National Bank of Canada to co-lead an IPO on the Toronto Stock Exchange, the report said. Sources told the Globe and Mail that Lightspeed intends to raise at least $200 million and is hoping to achieve a valuation of more than $1 billion. Founded in 2005 by CEO Dax Dasilva, Lightspeed last year raised about $207 million (US$166 million) in a Series D financing led by Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec.

Design platform provider Framer attracts $24 mln Series B

Amsterdam-based Framer, a provider of an interactive design platform, has secured $24 million in Series B funding. Atomico led the round.

Emotion AI startup Looxid Labs grabs $4 mln Series A

Seoul, South Korea-based Looxid Labs, an emotion AL startup, has secured $4 million in Series A funding. Hastings Asset Management, Daesung Private Equity, Sejong Venture Partners and Samsung Venture investment were the lead investors.

UK property startup Nested inks funding

UK-based property startup Nested has raised 120 million pounds in funding. The investors included Northzone and Balderton Capital.

BlackBerry in talks to buy venture-backed Cylance: Reuters

BlackBerry Ltd is in talks to buy cybersecurity company Cylance Inc for as much as US$1.5 billion, Reuters reported, citing a Business Insider story. Irvine, California-based Cylance develops artificial intelligence-based products to prevent cyber attacks on companies and recently considered filing for an initial public offering, according to the report. Earlier this year, Cylance raised US$120 million in a financing led by Blackstone Tactical Opportunities. The company's other investors include DFJ, Insight Venture Partners and Khosla Ventures.

AEGEA Medical fetches $17 mln

Menlo Park, California-based AEGEA Medical Inc, a medical device company, has raised $17 million in financing. Solas BioVentures led the round.

Spin Memory pulls in $52 mln Series B

Fremont, California-based Spin Memory, a MRAM developer formerly known as Spin Transfer Technologies Inc, has secured $52 million in Series B funding. Applied Ventures LLC led the round.

Harpoon Therapeutics snags $70 mln Series C

South San Francisco-based Harpoon Therapeutics Inc, a clinical-stage immunotherapy company, has raised $70 million in Series C financing. OrbiMed led the round with participation from other investors that included Cormorant, Ridgeback Capital Investments, Lilly Asia Ventures, NS Investment, MPM Capital, Oncology Impact Fund, Arix Bioscience, New Leaf Venture Partners and Taiho Ventures LLC.

C5 leads $18 mln round for 4iQ

Los Altos, California and Madrid-based 4iQ, a cybersecurity firm, is raising $18 million in funding. C5 Capital Limited is leading the round. In addition to the funding, C5 will join 4iQ's board of directors.