North America

Chango's Chris Sukornyk joins Mantella Venture Partners

Canadian early-stage venture capital firm Mantella Venture Partners has recruited Chris Sukornyk as a venture partner. Sukornyk, a Canadian serial entrepreneur and angel investor, is the former CEO of Chango, a Toronto-based digital marketing platform he founded in 2008. Chango, backed by several venture capital firms, including Mantella, was sold to Rubicon Project in 2015 for about US$122 million. In the new role, Sukornyk will help source, mentor and scale Mantella's seed-stage technology investments in Canada.

Consumer blockchain producer maker Dapper Labs picks up $15 mln

Dapper Labs, a maker of consumer blockchain product CryptoKitties, has raised $15 million in funding. Venrock led the round with participation from GV and Samsung NEXT.

Shape Security nabs $26 mln

Mountain View, California-based Shape Security, a provider of bot mitigation and anti-automation solutions, has secured $26 million in funding. Norwest Venture Partners led the round with participation from JetBlue Technology Ventures, Singtel Innov8, Kleiner Perkins, Venrock, Baseline Ventures, Allegis Capital, Focus Ventures, Epic Ventures, Raging Capital and Tomorrow Ventures.

IntelyCare snags $10.8 mln Series A

Boston-based IntelyCare, an on-demand healthcare staffing solution for skilled nursing facilities and assisted living centers, has secured $10.8 million in Series A funding. Leerink Revelation Partners led the round with participation from Longmeadow Capital, LRVHealth and Bill Mantzoukas.

Powerplant Ventures leads Series A round for Vive Organic

Venice, California-based Vive Organic, a maker of cold-pressed wellness shots, has raised $7 million in Series A funding. Powerplant Ventures led the round.

Schott leads $3.1 mln funding of Smart Skin Technologies

Smart Skin Technologies, a Fredericton-based developer of a pressure-sensitive skin technology, has raised $3.1 million in financing. The lead investor was Schott AG, a German maker of glass and glass-ceramics. It was joined by New Brunswick Innovation Foundation (NBIF), an existing investor. Founded in 2011, Smart Skin's pressure-sensing container devices and analytics are used by brands in beverage, food production and pharmaceutical industries. CEO Evan Justason said the funds raised will support platform development and market growth. In 2014, Smart Skin closed a $3.9 million Series A backed by Build Ventures, East Valley Ventures, GrowthWorks Atlantic Venture Fund, NBIF and Rho Canada Ventures.

Graph database platform Neo4j locks in $80 mln Series E

San Mateo, California-based Neo4j, a graph database platform, has secured $80 million in Series E funding. One Peak Partners and Morgan Stanley Expansion Capital led the round with participation from other investors that included Creandum, Eight Roads and Greenbridge Partners.

Hydrofarm attracts $55 mln

Hydrofarm, a maker of hydroponics equipment and horticultural products, has closed $55 million in financing. The investors were Serruya Private Equity, Hawthorn Equity Partners and Broadband Capital.

Foundry Group leads $25 mln funding in Molekule

San Francisco-based Molekule, which develops air purification technology, announced it has raised a $25 million Series B round of funding. Foundry Group led the funding, which included participation from existing investors Crosslink Capital and Uncork Capital. The company, founded in 2014, previously raised a $10 million Series A round of funding.

VC-backed 3D custom-printed eyewear company King Children launches

New York-based King Children, which provides custom-made eyewear, announced its launch and disclosed that it has raised $2 million in funding. Investors include Great Oaks VC, RBC Venture Partners, Gen Z Capital and Casper co-founder Neil Parikh.