US

Birchmere Ventures leads seed round for Idelic

Pittsburgh-based Idelic, a provider of a machine learning truck safety platform, has secured $1 million in seed financing. Birchmere Ventures led the round with participation from McCune Capital and M25 Group. In conjunction with the financing, Sean Sebastian, a partner at Birchmere, joined Idelic's board of directors.

Ex-500 Startups partners seek $50 mln for Hustle Fund

Elizabeth Yin and Eric Bahn, former partners with 500 Startups, are seeking to raise $50 million for Hustle Fund I, according to a regulatory filing. The fund has not yet raised any commitments. Information about the Hustle Fund, which lists an address in San Carlos, California, is not available. But in a blog post earlier this, Yin described how today's crop of new VCs work hard to find deals and "They have to hustle for every deal. They have to hustle to fundraise for their current or next fund."

Peptilogics hauls in $5.5 mln Series A

Pittsburgh and Silicon Valley-based Peptilogics, a provider of a peptide platform that treats multidrug-resistant bacterial infections, has secured $5.5 million in Series A financing. The investors included Peter Thiel, Stefan Roever and BlueTree Ventures. In addition to the funding, Peptilogics has named Sanjay Kakkar as CEO.

Opkix grabs $5.4 mln Series A

California-based Opkix, a maker of tiny cameras and integrated social content, has raised $5.4 million in Series A funding. The investors included Bob McKnight, Steve Howey and Jennifer Prince.

Snoop Dogg’s cannabis VC firm leads $2 mln funding of Trellis

Trellis Solutions Inc, a Canadian cannabis inventory management software provider, has raised about $2 million in funding. The round was led by Casa Verde Capital, the venture capital firm of rapper Snoop Dogg. Additional funding was provided by cannabis incubator Gateway, an existing investor, as well as Argonautic Ventures, One Gun and others. Founded in 2014 by CEO Pranav Sood, Toronto-based Trellis leverages technology to help cannabis enterprises optimize operations and comply with regulations.

Angry Birds maker Rovio valued at $1 billion in IPO: Reuters

Finnish mobile games studio Rovio Entertainment Ltd priced its initial public offering (IPO) at the top end of the initial range on Thursday, giving it a market value of 896 million euros ($1.06 billion) before its market debut on Friday, Reuters reported.

Digital health startup Analytics 4 Life closes C$25 mln Series B

Toronto-based digital health company Analytics 4 Life has secured C$25 million in a Series B financing. The round was backed by a syndicate of undisclosed accredited investors, including physicians, healthcare professionals and medical device experts. Founded in 2012, Analytics 4 Life is using artificial intelligence to advance a novel, radiation-free and exercise-free cardiac imaging technology intended to improve existing care pathways.

Varjo Technologies inks $8.2 mln Series A

Helsinki-based Varjo Technologies, a creator of hardware and software for VR/AR/XR computing devices, has raised $8.2 million in Series A funding. The investors included EQT Ventures, the Venture Reality Fund LLC, Presence Capital Fund I LP and Sisu Game Ventures Oy.

LAVA co-launches SoCal Startup Mill

The Los Angeles Venture Association is teaming up with 10 universities and innovation research centers to launch the SoCal Startup Mill, a new initiative that links "high-potential" technologies with experienced entrepreneurs and business leaders. Among the participating universities and research centers are Arizona State University, California State University, Los Angeles BioMed, University of California Los Angeles and University of Southern California.

UAVenture Capital rolls out new venture fund

Tucson, Arizona-based UAVenture Capital has launched a new venture fund that will focus on backing University of Arizona-connected businesses and innovations. No financial terms were disclosed.