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Virtuo drives away with funding from Balderton

European car rental service Virtuo has raised 7.5 million euros in funding. The investor was Balderton Capital.

MissionU inks $8.5 mln Series A

San Francisco-based MissionU, a self-described college alternative that allows students to graduate debt-free, has raised $8.5 million in Series A funding. FirstMark Capital led the round with participation from First Round Capital, University Ventures, Box Group, Rethink Education, Learn Capital, John Doerr and Omidyar Network.

SES invests in Seraphim's space fund

SES, the satellite operator, said Sept. 14 that it is investing in Seraphim Capital’s space fund. Financial terms weren’t announced. The fund aims to invest in projects that are commercializing data about the Earth, collected by either satellite or remotely piloted aircraft systems.

Samsung unveils $300 mln fund to focus on automotive tech

Samsung announced it has formed a $300 million Samsung Automotive Innovation Fund to focus on the automotive sector. The fund launch follows its $8 billion acquisition of audio and auto parts supplier Harman earlier this year. The Samsung fund will invest in such connected car segments as sensors, machine vision, artificial intelligence, high-performance computing, cloud services, mobile connectivity, automotive-grade safety and security. The first investment is TTTech, a Vienna, Austrian-based provider of networked safety controls for the automotive industry.

Seven Peaks names Dave Parker a venture partner in Seattle

Seven Peaks Ventures, an early-stage venture fund focused on the Pacific Northwest region, has opened a Seattle office to be led by Dave Parker, a startup entrepreneur, adviser and investor. Parker most recently served as CEO of Code Fellows, a Seattle coding school. And he led Techstars’ Seattle Startup Week.

Cie Digital Labs names Jim Davis EIR

Cie Digital Labs, an Irvine, Calif., accelerator, said Jim Davis will join the firm in the newly created role of entrepreneur in residence.

Fiix raises $1.8 million in Javelin led seed round

Fiix said it raised $1.8 million of seed capital in a round led by Javelin Venture Partners and joined by Y Combinator and angels.

Ex-Sequoia investor Yinglan Tan raises $25 mln for Insignia

Insignia Ventures Partners has raised $25 million toward a maiden venture fund, according to a filing with the SEC.

Fenox VC and ASUS launch $50 mln venture fund

Fenox Venture Capital and AsusTek Computer Inc have teamed up to launch a $50 million venture fund. The fund will focus on startups in the areas of artificial intelligence, internet of things, big data, cloud, AR/VR and other related technologies.

Snag-A-Slip books $4.8 mln Series A

Baltimore-based Snag-A-Slip, an online boat slip reservation company, has raised $4.8 million in Series A financing. Claritas Capital led the round with participation from other investors that included TCP Venture Capital.