North America

VC-backed Cydan taps Babar as chief business officer

Cambridge, Massachusetts-based Cydan, an orphan drug accelerator, has named Dr. Imran A. Babar as chief business officer. Previously, Babar worked at OrbiMed Advisors. Cydan's backers include New Enterprise Associates, Pfizer Venture Investments, Lundbeckfonden Ventures, Longitude Capital and Alexandria Venture Investments.

Brightspark to tap more investors via Richardson GMP deal

Brightspark has struck a deal with Canadian wealth manager Richardson GMP Ltd to give more domestic accredited investors an opportunity to participate in the venture capital asset class. Brightspark, a Canadian early-stage venture capital firm, operates a software platform that allows thousands of high-net-worth individuals to select technology investments online. As a result of the deal, Toronto-based Richardson GMP is the first wealth management firm to provide its clients with access to the platform. Brightspark, profiled by PE Hub Canada in February, aims to extend its strategy through similar agreements with other financial services firms.

Bitmovin raises $30 mln

Bitmovin said Apirl 9 that it raised $30 million in Series B funding, led by Highland Europe. Also participating were existing investors Atomico, Constantia New Business, Dawn Capital and YCombinator. Bitmovin, of San Francisco, provides online video infrastructure software.

SenseTime raises $600 mln

SenseTime said April 9 that it has raised $600 million in a Series C led by Alibaba Group. Temasek and Suning are also investing. SenseTime, of Beijing, is an artificial intelligence company that provides technology that analyzes faces and images on a wide scale.

Unusual Ventures targets $160 mln for debut fund

Unusual Ventures is launching a maiden fund targeting $160 million, according to a regulatory filing. The new firm is led by John Vrionis, who left his role as partner at Lightspeed Venture Partners in December 2017 to launch his own seed-stage venture fund, according to his LinkedIn profile. The new firm does not appear to have a website, and Vrionis has not yet updated his LinkedIn profile with information on the new fund.

Saama Capital raises $100 mln fourth venture capital fund

Saama Capital has raised a $100 million fourth venture capital fund, according to a filing with the SEC.

Health2047 Capital Partners seeks $250 mln for debut fund

Healthcare-focused Health2047 Capital Partners is seeking to raise $250 million for its inaugural fund, according to a regulatory filing. The Menlo Park, California-based firm is led by Managing Partners Joe Boystak, Tom Frederick and Doug Given.

Monashees targets $150 mln for eighth fund

Monashees is seeking to raise $150 million for its eighth fund, according to an SEC filing. The Brazilian venture firm invests in "entrepreneurs committed to creating innovative solutions for a new world."

Georgian Partners raises bulk of $500 mln Fund IV, doubles GP team

Georgian Partners has raised most of the US$500 million ($645 million) target set for its fourth fund, as the firm executes an ambitious plan to broaden its reach in the North American market. Georgian Partners Growth Fund IV has so far secured US$450 million ($580 million), a source told PE Hub Canada. It is expected to cross the finish line in the weeks ahead, possibly at or near its hard cap of US$550 million. If successful, the fund would be Georgian’s largest to date and one of Canada’s largest private tech partnerships on record.

Beta Hatch picks up $2.1 mln seed

Seattle-based Beta Hatch, which industrializes the production of insects as a sustainable protein for animal feed, has raised $2.1 million in seed funding. The investors included Cavallo Ventures, Element 8 Fund, Keiretsu Capital, NQV8 and Frontier Angels.