North America

Silverback Therapeutics racks up $47.5 mln

Seattle-based Silverback Therapeutics Inc, a biotech company developing a pipeline of "systemically delivered, locally active" therapies, has extended its Series A financing round, bringing in the total tally to $47.5 million. OrbiMed led the round with participation from return backers Celgene Corporation and Alexandria Venture Investments.

Canopy Rivers secures $1.6 bln valuation in trading debut: Reuters

Cannabis investor Canopy Rivers, the venture arm of industry giant Canopy Growth Corp went public this week in a debut that gave it a market capitalization of about $1.6 billion, more than double its valuation prior to the listing, Reuters reported. Canopy Rivers has made about a dozen Canadian and international investments, which include licensed producers, pharmaceutical formulators and retail networks. “It’s Canopy Growth’s proxy for Google Ventures,” Bruce Linton, CEO of both the companies, said. Canopy Rivers is currently looking at investments in Europe and South America, he added.

Cleo grabs $10 mln in Balderton Capital-led round

London-based Cleo, a digital assistant that helps people manage their finances, has raised $10 million in funding. Balderton Capital led the round.

Eight Roads Ventures opens Singapore office

Eight Roads Ventures, the venture capital arm of Fidelity International, has opened an office in Singapore, according to a blog post. The firm focuses on making early-growth and growth-stage investments of up to $30 million in technology, healthcare, consumer and financial services companies. Raj Dugar, managing partner Asia, will relocate to Singapore from India. Dugar joined Eight Roads in 2007.

uBiome locks in $83 mln Series C

San Francisco-based uBiome, a microbial genomics company, has raised $83 million in Series C financing. OS Fund led the round with participation from other investors that included 8VC, Y Combinator and Dentsu Ventures.

Maritime data analytics ioCurrents expands Series A

Seattle-based ioCurrents, a maritime data analytics company, has expanded its recent Series A financing round. The latest investor is Imagen Capital Partners LP. No financial terms were disclosed.

Consumer robotics firm GJS inks Series B funding

GJS, a consumer robotics company, has secured an undisclosed amount of Series B funding. Guangkong Zhongying Capital led the round.

NEO Global Capital invests in Korean blockchain project Muzika

NEO Global Capital has made an investment in Korea-based blockchain project Muzika. No financial terms were disclosed.

VC-backed AI company SparkCognition hires chief business officer

Austin, Texas-based SparkCognition, an artificial intelligence company, has named Vijay Doradla as chief business officer. Previously, Doradla was lead director at Verizon Ventures. The investors included Verizon Ventures, The Boeing Company, CME Ventures, Brevan Howard Investment Holdings Limited and Invenergy Future Fund.

Elliptic Curve Ventures launches

Elliptic Curve Ventures, which provides seed and early-stage funding for companies focused on industrial and B2B blockchain and fintech products, has launched its operations. Specific focus areas will include disruptive technologies in credit, insurance, central banking, side-chains and algorithm-level enhancements. The firm is managed by Worth Venture Partners.