North America

VC-backed Reduxio taps Wall as board chairman

Palo Alto, California and Tel Aviv-based Reduxio, a hybrid storage company, has named Mike Wall as chairman of its board of directors. Previously, Wall was chairman and CEO of Amplidata. Reduxio is backed by C5 Capital Cloud Partners, Jerusalem Venture Partners, Viola Ventures, Intel Capital and Seagate Technology PLC.

Backstop Solutions procures $20 mln

Chicago-based Backstop Solutions, a cloud-based productivity suite provider for the institutional investment industry, has closed $20 million in financing. The investors included veteran investor Roger Kafker, Tao Huang, former COO of Morningstar, David Bradley, president of Huizenga Capital Management and Vistara Capital Partners. Financial Technology Partners was strategic and financial adviser to Backstop Solutions on the transaction.

Think Research lands over $25 mln

Toronto-based Think Research, a digital healthcare platform provider, has secured over $25 million in funding. The investors were Fidelity Investments Canada ULC, Kayne Partners, Canaccord Genuity Group Inc. and National Bank of Canada. The capital infusion will be used for product development and market expansion.

Conversica nabs $31 mln Series C

Foster City, California-based Conversica Inc, a provider of conversational artificial intelligence for business, has secured $31 million in Series C funding. Providence Strategic Growth Capital Partners L.L.C. led the round with participation from other return backers Toba Capital, Kennet Partners, CIBC Innovation Banking and Savano Capital Partners.

Sentieo raises $19 mln led by Centana

San Francisco-based Sentieo, provider of financial research platform, announced that it has raised $19 million in Series A funding. Centana Growth Partners led the financing, which included existing investors.

Fintech investor Portag3 raises $198 mln in first close of Fund II

Portag3 Ventures, the financial technology firm of Canadian holding company Power Corp, has secured $198 million in the initial close of its second fund. Portag3 Ventures II LP, which is targeted to raise more than $300 million, was backed in the first close by Power affiliates and third-party investors. The latter include National Bank of Canada, Intact Financial Corp, Guardian Capital Group, Equitable Bank, La Capitale and SSQ Insurance. Fund II will maintain Portag3's strategy of investing in early-stage companies and funds in the global financial technology sector. Since its launch in 2016, the firm has made more than 30 investments. Portag3 is led by President and Managing Partner Adam Felesky.

Glasswing leads $5.5 mln funding of AI marketing company Zylotech

Cambridge, Massachusetts-based Zylotech, a provider of AI-driven customer analytics for marketers, announced it has raised $5.5 million in funding. Glasswing Ventures led the round, which included Geekdom, Revel Partners and Rubicon Ventures. The company also announced that Rudina Seseri, founder and managing partner of Glasswing, has joined the board. Zylotech was spun out of MIT and officially launched in 2017.

Costanoa leads funding in health savings accounts provider Lively

San Francisco-based Lively Inc, which operates a Health Savings Account platform, announced it has raised $11 million in a Series A funding round led by Costanoa Ventures. Other investors include Y Combinator, Point Judith Capital and Transmedia Capital. As part of the financing, Costanoa Partner Mark Selcow will join the board.

Food quality tester Clear Labs raises $21 mln

Menlo Park, California-based Clear Labs, provider of a platform for food safety testing, announced it has raised $21 million in funding. The Series B2 round was led by Menlo Ventures, with participation from Wing VC, Dentsu Ventures, Felicis Ventures and Khosla Ventures, along with a number of food production companies. The company, founded in 2014, has now raised $45 million in total funding.

HeadSpin raises $20 mln

Mobile performance testing service provider HeadSpin announced it has raised $20 million in a Series B round of funding. The round includes new investors ICONIQ, Battery Ventures, EQT Ventures, Kearny Jackson, Adam D’Angelo, Ross Mason and Ryan Hoover. They join existing investors GV, Telstra Ventures, Danhua Capital, Nexus Ventures Partners, NextWorld Capital and others. The company was founded in 2015.