US

Sequoia to raise Chinese principals' seed fund

Sequoia Capital has set out to raise a principals' seed fund for the Chinese market, according to a filing with the SEC.

Seed-focused Pear seeks $35 mln for expansion fund

Palo Alto, California-based venture firm Pear, which raised $75 million for its second seed-stage fund in 2016, is seeking to raise $35 million for Pear Ventures I Expansion, according to a regulatory filing. The firm is led by Pejman Nozad and Mar Hershenson, the founding managing partners.

Venture-backed Lightspeed buys loyalty solution ReUp

Lightspeed, a Montréal-based cloud point-of-sale system for retailers and restaurants, has acquired ReUp, a Toronto-based customer loyalty solution. No financial terms were disclosed. ReUp has been rebranded as Lightspeed Loyalty, an app that provides a range of tools to merchants for targeting and communicating with new and existing customers. Founded in 2005 by CEO Dax Dasilva, Lightspeed raised $166 million last year in a Series D financing led by Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec.

Valar Ventures gathers $11.6 mln for sixth co-investment fund

Valar Ventures has raised $11.6 million for its sixth co-investment fund, according to an SEC filing. The target is $20 million. The New York-based venture firm is backed by Peter Thiel.

Greycroft invests in medical education platform Osmosis

Greycroft has made an investment in Osmosis, a medical education platform focused on helping current and future healthcare professionals and caregivers learn and retain information. No financial terms were disclosed.

Alphaslot snags funding

Hong Kong-based Alphaslot, a blockchain gaming ecosystem creator, has secured a "multi-million" investment. The lead investor was Sora Ventures. Other participants in the round included Credito Capital, Shinobi Capital, Spartan Group, TRG and Primitive Ventures. In addition to the funding, Paul Veradittakit, a partner at Pantera Capital, has joined Alphaslot team as an adviser.

VC-backed Mesosphere appoints new CEO

San Francisco-based Mesosphere, an enterprise cloud enablement company, has named Mike Fey as CEO. Fey's appointment begins February 1, 2019. Mesosphere investors include Andreessen Horowitz, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Khosla Ventures, Kleiner Perkins, Koch Disruptive Technologies, Microsoft and T. Rowe Price Associates Inc.

Macquarie Venture Studios backs three companies

Macquarie Capital Venture Studio, a platform launched by Macquarie Capital and R/GA Ventures, is backing three companies: FreeWire Technologies, Mission Secure Inc and T-REX Group Inc. FreeWire is a maker of mobile and flexible electric vehicle charging solutions; Mission Secure is a cybersecurity company; and T-REX is a provider of managed data services and analytical software for complex markets. No financial terms were disclosed.

Third Rock Ventures names two as partners

Third Rock Ventures has named Dr. Christoph Lengauer and Dr. Jeffrey Tong as partners. Previously, both were venture partners at the Boston-based healthcare venture firm.

Process mining software vendor Minit seals funding

Bratislava-based Minit, a process mining software vendor, has secured 3.3 million euros in funding. The investors were Earlybird Venture Capital and OTB Ventures.