Daily funding roundup - January 5, 2016
PAG raised $3.6B; Deciphera Pharmaceuticals raised $90M; Millendo Therapeutics Inc secured $62M
- Snapcart, an Indonesia-based cashback app, has raised $1.675 million in "pre-series A funding". Investors in this round include SPH Media Fund (the investment arm of Singapore Press Holdings), Wavemaker Partners, SMDV and Ardent Capital. The mobile online-to-offline cashback and purchase-based marketing automation platform said on Tuesday it will use the new money to develop new products - including engagement video features and analytical dashboard tools - and expand to at least two other markets in South-east Asia, starting with the Philippines early this year.
- Emperra said that it closed a Series B round worth $3.1 million for its Esysta “smart” diabetes management system. Potsdam, Germany-based Emperra said the VC arm of the Bosch Group, Robert Bosch Venture Capital, joined existing backers Peppermint Venture Partners and Investitionsbank des Landes Brandenburg. CEO Christian Krey and CTO Dr. Janko Schildt also got in on the round, Emperra said. The Series B funding is earmarked for product development and sales growth in the U.S. and Europe.
- Android app store Aptoide today announced it raised a series A round of $4 million. The investment was led by German E.ventures and included Asia-based VCs Gobi Partners and Golden Gate Ventures. Aptoide’s seed investor Portugal Ventures was also involved. Aptoide says it will use the investment to accelerate growth and build strategic relationships with regional partners in target markets, with a focus on Southeast Asia and China.
- One Medical Passport, Inc., a cloud-based peri-operative medical software, announced today that it has closed a $4 million Series A investment from FCA Venture Partners, a Nashville-based venture capital firm focused on healthcare IT. One Medical Passport’s online software is used by over two million patients and 700 medical facilities annually throughout the U.S., and its customers include many of the top healthcare management companies.
- BlueShift, a B2C marketing automation vendor, has raised $8 million in series A funding. The new funding was led by Storm Ventures. Anshu Sharma of Storm will be joining the company’s board of directors, bringing with him many years of SaaS leadership from his previous role at Salesforce. BlueShift had previously raised $2.6 million in seed funding from Nexus Venture Partners, which also participated in the new round; New Enterprise Associates; Tim Kopp, the former CMO of ExactTarget; and the founders of Kosmix, which was bought and turned into WalmartLabs.
- Digital Signal Corporation, a Virginia-based provider of human identification and identity management solutions, received a $12 million venture loan facility. Horizon Technology Finance Corporation led the financing. The company intends to use the funds for working capital purposes. Founded in 2001 and led by David Guttadauro, President and CEO, DSC provides human identification and identity management solutions, including dynamic three-dimensional (3D) long-range facial recognition capabilities to clients globally.
- GlySens Incorporated, a San Diego, California-based developer of long term continuous glucose monitoring system for people with diabetes, closed a $20 million Series D financing. Backers included existing and new investors. The company intends to use the funds to further expand its clinical trials to support a CE-Marking application, hire additional staff, and complete the build-out of a new facility and optimized manufacturing plant.
- JW Player, a digital and mobile video platform and player company, announced today that is has completed a $20 million Series D financing round. The funding was led by its existing investors, which include Greycroft Growth, Greenspring Associates, Cueball Capital, and e.ventures. The company will use the investment to accelerate the introduction of data-informed SaaS products, drive international sales and marketing expansion, and execute on its vision of creating the "Independent Video Ecosystem," which provides publishers, content creators and advertisers with actionable insights to maximize audience, engagement and monetization.
- Today Degreed, an edtech company that has created a universal way to empower and recognize all forms of professional and lifelong learning, announced a $21 million Series B investment to fuel further expansion. Jump Capital led the round, along with Signal Peak, Rethink Education, Deborah Quazzo and other existing investors. This investment comes on the heels of a Series A funding, announced in April 2015.
- Toast announced today that it has raised a $30 million Series B funding round to support its Android point-of-sale (POS) system for restaurants. This latest investment was led by Bessemer Venture Partners and will be used for hiring talent, updating products, and marketing. Additional investors include GV (formerly Google Ventures), along with unnamed private investors. Prior to today, the company had reportedly raised more than $7 million in funding provided by angel investors and entrepreneur Steve Papa.
- Millendo Therapeutics, Inc. (previously known as Atterocor, Inc.), an Ann Arbor, Michigan-based biopharmaceutical company focused on developing novel approaches for the treatment of orphan and specialty endocrine diseases, secured a $62 million Series B funding. The round was led by New Enterprise Associates with participation from new investors Roche Venture Fund, Adams Street Partners, Altitude Life Science Ventures, Longwood Fund, and Renaissance Venture Capital Fund, along with current investors Frazier Healthcare Partners, Osage University Partners, 5AM Ventures, and the Regents of the University of Michigan under the MINTS Program (Michigan Investment in New Technology Startup).
- Waltham, Massachusetts-based Deciphera Pharmaceuticals, a biotechnology company focused on developing advanced kinase inhibitor treatments, has raised over $90 million in Series B funding. The company’s newest investor is SV Life Sciences. In addition to the investment, Dr. Michael Ross, a managing partner at SV Life Sciences, has been added to Deciphera’s board of directors.
- Hong Kong-based private equity firm PAG said on Tuesday it had raised $3.6 billion for its second Asian buyout fund, adding to the massive pool of cash private equity firms have raised in recent months for buyout deals in the region. The PAG Asia II LP fund will invest in major markets in the region and compares to the $2.5 billion in size for PAG’s first fund in Asia that closed in 2012, the company said in a statement.
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: towerfundservices.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!
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