North America

Ocean data provider Saildrone nets $60 mln Series B

Alameda, California-based Saildrone, a provider of ocean data, has secured $60 million in Series B funding. Horizons Ventures led the round with participation from other investors that included Technology Impact Fund, Lux Capital, Social Capital and The Schmidt Family Foundation.

ScaleUP Ventures leads $11.5 mln Series A round of #paid

Toronto-based influencer marketing platform #paid has secured about $11.5 million (US$9 million) in a Series A financing. Canadian venture capital firm ScaleUP Ventures led the round and was joined by several existing investors, including Aitken Investments and Freycinet Investments. Founded in 2014 by CEO Bryan Gold and CSO Adam Rivietz, #paid provides an artificial intelligence-based platform to bring together marketers and content creators for integrated influencer marketing programs, content creation and native amplification. The company plans to use the funds raised to accelerate growth and enhance its technology.

Unusual Ventures raises $160 mln for maiden fund

Unusual Ventures, a new seed-stage venture firm, has closed its inaugural fund at $160 million, according to a post on its site. Jyoti Bansal and John Vrionis are the co-founders.

Beautiful.AI fetches $11 mln Series B

Beautiful.AI, which leverages artificial intelligence to automate the visual design process, has raised $11 million in Series B funding. Trinity Ventures led the round with participation from return backers Shasta Ventures and First Round Capital. In addition to the funding, Karan Mehandru, a general partner at Trinity Ventures, will join Beautiful.AI’s board of directors.

On-demand social shopping platform Choosy inks $5.4 mln seed

Choosy, an on-demand social shopping platform, has secured $5.4 million in seed funding. New Enterprise Associates led the round with participation from other investors that included Forerunner Ventures, Innovation Global Capital, Entrepreneurs Roundtable Accelerator, XFactor Ventures and Supernode Ventures.

Thryve grabs $1.4 mln

Thryve, a provider of microbiotics and microbiome testing, has secured $1.4 million in funding. The investors included PivotNorth Capital, Unilever Ventures, Darling Ventures, Candela Paramount, Abstract Ventures and Joyance Partners.

Delta Partners leads funding round for mobile cybersecurity startup Corrata

Dublin-based Corrata, a mobile cybersecurity startup, has raised 1.3 million euros in funding. Delta Partners led the round.

Ansun BioPharma attracts $85 mln Series A

San Diego-based Ansun BioPharma, a developer of anti-viral biologic therapeutics to combat severe viral respiratory tract infections, has closed $85 million in Series A financing. Sinopharm Healthcare Fund and Lilly Asia Ventures led the round with participation from other investors that included Lyfe Capital, Yuanming Capital, Matrix Partners China, 3e Bioventures Capital, Oceanpine Capital, VI Ventures and Joincap Investment.

Celsius Therapeutics snags $65 mln Series A

Cambridge, Massachusetts-based Celsius Therapeutics, which translates single-cell genomic insights into precision therapeutics for autoimmune diseases and cancer, has raised $65 million in Series A financing. Third Rock Ventures led the round with participation from other investors that included GV, Heritage Provider Network, Casdin Capital and Alexandria Venture Investments.

Hu Products lands Series A funding

New York City-based Hu Products, a maker of organic, paleo and vegan chocolate, has raised an undisclosed amount of Series A funding. The lead investor was Sonoma Brands.