North America

Quark, GF Securities invest $1.9 mln in Sitka Biopharma

Vancouver-based biotechnology company Sitka Biopharma has raised $1.9 million from Canadian life sciences venture capital firm Quark Venture and China’s GF Securities Co Ltd. Sitka is developing a nanoparticle platform to increase absorption of drugs in difficult-to-penetrate tissues. It will use the funds raised to complete work in advance of the initial Phase 1 clinical trials of STK-01, a lead product for treating bladder cancer. Founded in 2013 and led by President and CSO Michael Parr, Sitka is a spin off of The Centre for Drug Research and Development and University of British Columbia. It raised seed funding from Quark in 2016.

Bessemer launches $1.85 bln fund

Bessemer Venture Partners has launched an $1.85 billion fund. BVP X will focus on investing in early-stage tech companies.

Sitka Biopharma nets $1.9 mln

Vancouver, British Columbia-based Sitka Biopharma, a preclinical biotechnology company, has raised $1.9 million in funding. The investors were Quark Venture Inc. and GF Securities. The capital will be used to complete Sitka's clinical trials for a drug that treats bladder cancer.

Founders Fund leads Series A round for Swimwear brand Summersalt

St. Louis, Missouri-based swimwear brand Summersalt has secured $6.1 million in Series A funding. Founders Fund led the round with participation from other investors that included Lewis and Clark Ventures, Revolution’s Rise of the Rest Seed Fund, Dundee Venture Capital, Breakout Capital, Cultivation Capital, Victress Capital, Amplifyher Ventures, M25 and Giuliana and Bill Rancic.

Teikametrics ropes in $10 mln Series A

Boston-based Teikametrics, a retail optimization platform for retailers, brands and agencies on Amazon, has raised $10 million in Series A funding. Granite Point Capital, Jump Capital and FJ Labs led the round.

Oaktree provides $100 mln to Assembled Brands

Assembled Brands, which finances emerging consumer goods brands, has raised $100 million in funding. The investor was Oaktree Capital Management LP.

Arctic Wolf Networks reels in $45 mln Series C

Arctic Wolf Networks, a security operations center-as-a-service company, has raised $45 million in Series C funding, Future Fund led the round with participation from Adams Street, Unusual Ventures, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Redpoint Ventures, Sonae Investment Management and Knollwood Investment Advisory LLC.

Ex-Conde Nast exec Joy Marcus joins JVP

Israeli venture firm Jerusalem Venture Partners has named Joy Marcus as a venture partner focused on digital media. A former executive at Conde Nast, Marcus will be based in New York City.

Chinese lending platform Pintec prices IPO

Chinese lending platform Pintec has raised $44.3 million for its IPO after pricing its 3.725 million shares at $11.88 per share. The stock will trade on the NASDAQ under the ticker symbol "PT." Goldman Sachs (Asia) L.L.C., Deutsche Bank Securities Inc and Citigroup Global Markets Inc are the lead underwriters. Pintec's backers include Ventech China and Xiaomi Ventures.

Digital radio platform Dash Radio collects $8.8 mln

Dash Radio, a digital radio platform, has raised $8.8 million in funding. The investors included Nimble Ventures, Slow Ventures, Lazerow Ventures, Muzik, Arab Angel, G Ventures and Lindzon Capital Partners.