North America

SDTC puts $8.5 mln to work in venture-backed VueReal

VueReal Inc, a Waterloo-based developer of technologies for micro- and nano-devices, has secured $8.5 million from Sustainable Development Technology Canada (SDTC). The funds raised from SDTC will support VueReal's development of micro-LED technologies, which are used in a range of display applications. This will be achieved by growing the company's team and launching an Advanced Nano-Technology Center, a fabrication facility. VueReal was founded in 2016 by CEO Reza Chaji. Earlier this year, it initially closed a Series A financing of about $13.5 million (US$10.5 million).

iDonate reels in $10 mln Series A

Dallas-based iDonate, a provider of donor engagement solutions, has raised $10 million in Series A funding. PerformanceEdge Partners led the round.

Education platform Caribu secures $1.3 mln

Caribu, an education platform, has raised $1.3 million in funding. Be Curious Partners led the round.

Camera startup Rylo nets $20 mln Series B

San Francisco-based Rylo, a camera startup, has raised $20 million in Series B funding. Icon Ventures led the round with participation from Accel Partners and Sequoia Capital.

Balderton Capital collects $145 mln for fund

Balderton Capital has raised $145 million for a new fund that will buy equity stakes from early shareholders in European tech startups. Daniel Waterhouse, a partner at Balderton, will lead the new fund.

Foursquare rallies $25 mln

New York City-based Foursquare, a location platform, has raised $25 million in a targeted $33 million Series F funding round, according to a blog post. The target Simon Ventures, Naver Corp. and Union Square Ventures led the round.

Heed takes in $35 mln in SoftBank-led round

New York City-based Heed, a consumer platform for the sports and entertainment experience, has raised $35 million in funding. SoftBank Group International led the round.

Kooltra secures C$6.5 mln in funding to automate FX trading

Kooltra, a Toronto-based cloud platform for automating foreign exchange trading, has closed a C$6.5 million round, bringing total early-stage funding to C$8.8 million. The deal was backed by new investors Hyde Park Venture Partners, Round 13 Capital and Salesforce Ventures and existing investor Real Ventures. Founded in 2012 by CEO Adam Katz, Kooltra’s platform helps financial institutions and non-bank businesses modernize FX operations traditionally enabled by legacy technology, manual processes and spreadsheets.

VC-backed Upwork goes public

Mountain View, California-based Upwork Inc, a freelance workers’ marketplace, has debuted its IPO after pricing its over 12 million shares at $15 per share. The stock began trading October 3, 2018 on the NASDAQ under the ticker symbol “UPWK." Citigroup Global Markets Inc, Jefferies LLC and RBC Capital Markets LLC are the lead underwriters. Upwork’s pre-IPO backers include T. Rowe Price, Sigma Partners, Benchmark, Globespan Capital Partners, Stripes Group, New Enterprise Associates, FirstMark and Jackson Square Ventures, according to Crunchbase.

Palo Alto Networks to buy VC-backed RedLock for about $173 mln

Palo Alto Networks has agreed to acquire RedLock Inc, a cybersecurity company, for about $173 million. RedLock's backers included Sierra Ventures, Storm Ventures and Dell Technologies Capital.