US

Podcast app Anchor nets $10 mln Series A

New York City-based Anchor, a podcast app, raised $10 million in Series A funding, according to a blog post. GV led the round with participation from other investors that included Accel, Betaworks, The Chernin Group, Eniac Ventures, Homebrew and Atlantic Records’ CEO Craig Kallman. Concurrent with the funding, M.G. Siegler of GV and Brian O’Malley of Accel, will join Anchor’s board of directors.

Roku connects with investors in debut, shares up 16.6 percent: Reuters

Shares of Roku Inc (ROKU.O), a Fox-backed video streaming firm, rose as much as 16.6 percent in their market debut on Thursday, giving the U.S. IPO market a much-needed shot in the arm, Reuters reported.

VC-backed Deciphera Pharmaceuticals debuts IPO

Waltham, Massachusetts-based Deciphera Pharmaceuticals, an biotechnology company focused on key mechanisms of tumor drug resistance, has raised $127.5 million for its IPO after pricing its 7.5 million shares at $17 per share. The stock began trading Thursday September 28, 2017 on the NASDAQ under the ticker symbol "DCPH." J.P. Morgan and Piper Jaffray & Co are the lead underwriters. Deciphera's backers include SV Life Sciences and New Leaf Venture Partners.

Klue launches with C$4 mln OMERS Ventures-led financing

Klue, a Vancouver, British Columbia-based provider of competitive intelligence for enterprise sales, has launched with the close of a C$4 million financing. OMERS Ventures led and was joined by BDC Capital, Vancouver Founder Fund, SK Ventures and angel investors, including Hootsuite‘s Ryan Holmes, Foundation Capital‘s Jonathan Ehrlich and Daniel Debow, previously an executive with Salesforce. Founded in 2015 by CEO Jason Smith and CTO Sarathy Naicker, Klue’s technology helps teams in B2B enterprises collect, curate and distribute external and internal content relevant to sales and competitiveness.

VC-backed Varsity Tutors acquires First Tutors

Varsity Tutors has acquired UK-based First Tutors, a tutoring marketplace. No financial terms were disclosed. Varsity Tutors' backers include Technology Crossover Ventures.

Jobbatical scores $4 mln

Jobbatical, a job platform, has raised $4 million in funding. Mistletoe Inc led the round with participation from Union Square Ventures, AirTree Ventures and Tera Ventures.

VC-backed Cricket Health taps Shapiro as chief business officer

San Francisco-based Cricket Health, a provider of tech-enabled care solutions for chronic kidney disease and end stage renal disease, has appointed Danny Shapiro as chief business officer. His work background includes senior management roles at Home Care Assistance and DaVita Kidney Care. Cricket Health's backers include First Round Capital and Seven Peaks Ventures.

AdAsia pulls in $2.5 mln Series A

Singapore-based AdAsia Holdings, a developer of artificial intelligence and marketing solutions, has secured $2.5 million in Series A funding. The investors were Hisanori Watanabe and Gunosy.

Stockpile rakes in $30 mln Series B

Stockpile, a brokerage for millennials, has raised $30 million in Series B funding. The lead investor was Fidelity-backed Eight Roads Ventures. Other investors that participated in the round included Mayfield, Arbor Ventures, Hanna Ventures and Wang Ventures.

Danone invests in French organic baby food start-up Yooji: Reuters

Danone’s (DANO.PA) venture capital division is backing French organic baby food start-up Yooji, in the latest example of a big food company turning to a smaller rival whose products promote healthy lifestyles, Reuters reported.