North America

FRST nabs $3.4 mln

FRST, a provider of data for professional traders of digital assets, has raised $3.4 million in funding. CMT Digital and Vestigo Ventures led the round with participation from other investors that included Akuna Capital and principals from Premier Asset Management and Oak Ridge Investments.

Chief procures $3 mln seed

Chief, "a private network of exceptional women," has raised $3 million in seed funding. Primary Venture Capital and Flybridge Capital Partners led the round.

DAG Ventures leads $27.5 mln round for Numerify

Numerify, a provider of AI-powered IT business analytics, has secured $27.5 million in funding. DAG Ventures led the round with participation from other investors that included Lightspeed Venture Partners, Sequoia Capital and Tenaya Capital. In addition to the financing, DAG Managing Partner Nick Pianim has joined Numerify's board of directors.

Velicept Therapeutics picks up $15 mln

Velicept Therapeutics, a clinical stage pharmaceutical company focused on treating urological and gastrointestinal disorders, has raised $15 million in funding. Samsara BioCapital led the round. In conjunction with the funding, Cory Freedland, a principal at Samsara BioCapital, has joined Velicept's board of directors.

Thirty Madison inks $15.25 mln Series A

Thirty Madison, which is "rebuilding the healthcare experience for modern consumers," has secured $15.25 million in Series A funding. Maveron and Northzone led the round with participation from other investors that included Greycroft, Steadfast Venture Capital, First Round, ERA, HillCour and Two River.

Healthcare startup Hero lands $12 mln Series A

Hero, a healthcare startup, has raised $12 million in Series A funding. Brainchild Holdings led the round with participation from other investors that included Naval Ravikant, Box Group, Third Kind Venture Capital and Refactor Capital.

Thread snags $22 mln Series B

London-based Thread, a personalized menswear styling and ecommerce service, has raised $22 million in Series B funding. The investors included Balderton Capital, Beringea, Forward Partners and H&M group’s investment arm H&M CO:LAB.

ScaleUp Ventures' Kent Thexton tapped to lead Sierra Wireless

Sierra Wireless (TSX: SW, Nasdaq: SWIR), a Vancouver-based provider of device-to-cloud solutions for the internet of things, has appointed Kent Thexton as president and CEO. Thexton, who has led the company on an interim basis since May, will assume the permanent role in November. Thexton joins Sierra from Canadian early-stage venture capital firm ScaleUp Ventures, where for more than two years he served as a general partner. ScaleUp closed its debut fund last year at $100 million. Before then, he was a managing director at OMERS Ventures. Thexton also spent close to 25 years as a founder and operator of several technology companies.

Vistara Capital launches third tech debt fund at $130 mln target

Vistara Capital Partners has set a target of about $130 million (US$100 million) for its third technology debt fund, according to a news release. Vistara Technology Growth Fund III launched with initial committed capital of about $52 million (US$40 million), supplied primarily by returning investors. Fund III will maintain the firm’s strategy of providing flexible, tailored debt financing to mid-to-late-stage tech companies in North America. Vancouver-based Vistara, co-founded in 2015 by Managing Partner Randy Garg, also said it planned to open a Toronto office to gain more exposure to Ontario tech deal opportunities.

Updata Partners targets $300 mln for sixth fund

Updata Partners is seeking to raise $300 million for its sixth fund, according to an SEC filing. Based in Washington, D.C. Updata is a growth equity firm.