Daily funding roundup - October 6, 2015
Impossible Foods raised $108M; Code42 secured $85M; Canva bagged $21M
- Mumbai-based Aasaanjobs Pvt. Ltd that owns and operates the online recruitment portal Aasaanjobs.com said on Wednesday that it has raised $1.5 million in funding from Inventus Capital Partners and IDG Ventures. The company is looking to use the funds to expand existing offerings, improve technology, product development and hiring people.
- Cloverpop, a San Francisco-based online solution for teams to make decisions, landed $1.8 million in seed funding. Backers included True Ventures, TDF Ventures and private investors. The company intends to use the funds to expand operations. Erik Larson, founder and CEO, Cloverpop provides an online tool that leverages behavioral economics to guide managers and teams through a collaborative process designed to apply best practices to every business decision.
- Israeli startup Morphisec, which develops cyber security prevention and detection tools, has closed a $7 million Series A funding round led by Jerusalem Venture Partners (JVP), GE Ventures, Deutsche Telekom, Portage Advisors llc., and OurCrowd. The company has raised $8.5 million to date, including this financing round.
- New York-based company Newsela has raised $15 million in a Series B round led by Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, which contributed $10 million. Zuckerberg Education Ventures, the Knight Foundation, Owl Ventures, and Women’s Venture Capital Fund chipped in the rest. All told, Newsela has raised over $21 million. The company claims users in 70 percent of US public schools. Around the world, four million students and 400,000 teachers have used the literacy tool.
- London-headquartered 90min, which describes itself as a ‘contributor-driven’ football media platform has raised a further $15 million. Leading the round is German media group ProSiebenSat.1 Media SE, while 90min’s existing backers, Battery Ventures, Dawn Capital and Gemini Ventures, also participated. It brings total funding for the 2011-founded startup to $39 million over four rounds.
- TVA Medical, Inc., a medical device company developing minimally invasive therapies for patients suffering from End-Stage Renal Disease (ESRD), today announced the completion of a $15 million Series C financing with new investors Baxter Ventures (lead) and Boston Scientific Corporation; existing investors Sante Ventures, S3 Ventures, TriStar Technology Ventures; and other strategic investors. The investment round will support continuation of clinical activities and acceleration of market development for the everlinQ endoAVF System, a catheter-based technology designed to create hemodialysis access for chronic kidney disease patients in a minimally invasive procedure. Funds will support the ongoing Novel Endovascular Access Trial (NEAT) clinical study (12-month follow up to complete in 2016) and additional global clinical research, as well as device reimbursement and market access initiatives.
- Robin Systems, an IT infrastructure for increasingly data-centric enterprises, today announced it closed a new funding round of $15 million, bringing to $22 million the total investment in the company. The company also announced Premal Buch as chief executive officer and a number of other key management additions. The latest funding round was led by a USAA subsidiary and DN Capital, with participation from Hasso Plattner Ventures and existing investors. The company plans to use the funding to further develop its solutions to reinvent the infrastructure for modern data and applications.
- One of Australia's tech start-ups Canva has closed a $US15 million ($21 million) capital raising, attracting the attention and dollars of Hollywood stars Woody Harrelson and Owen Wilson. The online graphic design company pulled in the high-profile backers as part of its third funding round, which was led by US-based Felicis Ventures. The latest funding means a total of $27.6 million has now been poured into the company by outside backers, with existing investors such as Blackbird Ventures, Matrix Partners, and Vayner Capital all increasing their share this round.
- EzCater, a Boston-based business catering platform, has closed a $28 million round of Series C funding led by Insight Venture Partners. The round includes a $13 million tranche that closed in March. EzCater has raised a total of $35 million in funding. EzCater has followed a somewhat nontraditional path as a startup, bootstrapping for years before taking on funding in 2011. The idea for EzCater was inspired by the most frequent customer request at founder and CEO Stefania Mallett’s last startup, a software company that helped pharmaceutical reps schedule meetings with doctors.
- Code42, a Minneapolis-based developers of the Crashplan enterprise backup tool, announced a massive $85 million round today. Code42 doesn’t do them small. It has had only one previous round for $52.5 million at the beginning of 2012. The round was led by JMI Equity and New Enterprise Associates, Inc. (NEA). Existing investors Accel and Split Rock Partners also participated. Today’s investment brings the total to $137.5 million over the two rounds.
- Impossible Foods, Inc., which is creating meat and dairy foods directly from simple plant ingredients, announced today that it has raised $108 million in Series D financing led by UBS and with participation from Viking Global Investors, among others. Earlier round investors, including Horizons Ventures, Khosla Ventures and Bill Gates, also participated.
If you are interested in being included in our funding roundup, submit your press release or blog post about your financing round to mitos@vator.tv.
Image source: internationalpageants.blogspot.com
Mitos Suson
I produce Vator Events and enjoy the challenge. I am learning and growing a lot, being involved with Vator and loving every moment of it!
All author postsRelated Companies, Investors, and Entrepreneurs
NEA
Angel group/VC
Joined Vator on
NEA is the entrepreneur’s venture capital firm.
When it is time to take a promising business or business idea to the next level, entrepreneurs want a venture partner who understands and believes in the power of big dreams, bold visions and fresh ideas that have the power to change an industry, a sector, the world.
Moreover, entrepreneurs want a venture partner who knows what it takes—through first-hand experience and carefully nurtured relationships—to make a company succeed, to turn an idea into an action, and to make a plan a reality.
For more than 30 years, NEA has been helping to build great companies. Our committed capital has grown to $13 billion, including a $2.6 billion fourteenth fund closed in 2012. We invest across stage and geography in technology, healthcare and energy.
Remaining nimble as we’ve grown—with more than 65 investment professionals working out of our offices in the US, India, and China and investing across the globe—NEA is the entrepreneur's venture capital firm, consistently ranking among the top firms in portfolio IPOs each year. Since its founding, the firm has backed more than 175 companies that have gone public and invested in more than 290 companies that have been successfully merged or acquired—more liquidity events than any other venture capital firm.
Whether you are seeking investment to get your idea off the ground or looking to propel a proven idea toward greatness, NEA is the venture partner who will be there—because we’ve been there—every step of the way.
Battery Ventures
Angel group/VC
Joined Vator on
You’ve got a great idea, a winning product, an amazing team, a great business. You have choices. There are hundreds of firms who could invest in your business. So why choose Battery? Yes, we have a track record of success backing breakthrough companies. We’ve been through hundreds of IPOs and M&A events. We have 30 years of experience. We’ve raised $4.5B since inception and are investing a $900M pool of capital, so yes, we have deep pockets along with big Rolodexes and a smart team.
So what else matters? That we’ll be the most engaged, collaborative and passionate investor around the table. That we remain open to exploring all business ideas, no matter how complicated or far off the beaten track they might at first seem. We will roll up our sleeves and work as hard as you do. We will add value every day, in between board meetings, not just at them. But that doesn’t mean we’ll run your business, we know where to draw the line. We keep our egos in check, operate with integrity and honesty, and put the needs of your business ahead of our own.
Above all, it’s really about chemistry. So get to know us. Talk to the teams we’ve worked with. Ask them how we’ve helped. You’ll discover the value Battery can add long before we write the first check. Here’s a bit more about the companies we’ve backed and the difference we’ve made between a great company and an also-ran.
Khosla Ventures
Angel group/VC
Joined Vator on
Khosla Ventures offers venture assistance, strategic advice and capital to entrepreneurs. The firm helps entrepreneurs extend the potential of their ideas in both traditional venture areas like the Internet, computing, mobile, and silicon technology arenas but also supports breakthrough scientific work in clean technology areas such as bio-refineries for energy and bioplastics, solar, battery and other environmentally friendly technologies. Vinod was formerly a General Partner at Kleiner Perkins and founder of Sun Microsystems. Vinod has been labeled the #1 VC by Forbes and Fortune recently labeled him as one the nation's most influential ethanol advocates, noting "there are venture capitalists, and there's Vinod Khosla." Vinod Khosla founded the firm in 2004.
IDG Ventures
Angel group/VC
Joined Vator on
IDG Ventures is a global network of venture capital funds with approximately $3.6 billion under management and a portfolio of over 220 companies built over the last 15 years. The IDG Ventures network is comprised of five independent partnerships managing funds in North America and Asia. Each partnership makes investments on behalf of its limited partners, including International Data Group (IDG), the world's largest IT media company. By combining the IDG platform – an unparalleled combination of global publishing, market research (IDC), and conferences and exhibition resources – with years of hands-on experience in early-stage company building, each IDG Ventures fund helps companies understand their markets better and penetrate them faster than their competition