Daily funding roundup - April 29, 2016
Mercato led investment in Stance; GotIt! recieved over $9M; VividCortex raised $4.5M Series A
- OMERS Ventures made an undisclosed investment in Digital Currency Group (DCG), a New York-based builder, incubator and funder of bitcoin and blockchain technology-related companies. OMERS Ventures was part of a financing round that included multiple other investors, including HCM International Co,Prudential Financial Inc, and Western Union Co. DCG was founded last year by CEO Barry Silbert.
- Actronika, a Paris, France-based tactile technology maker, raised €1.2 million in funding. The round was led by Seventure Partners, via Quadrivium 1. The company intends to use the funds to continue product development and begin commercial deployment. Co-founded in 2015 by Gilles Meyer, Rafal Pijewski and Vincent Hayward, Actronika develops and markets a haptic system for creating touch experiences. Application areas include medicine, virtual reality, surface rendering and gaming.
- VividCortex, a Charlottesville, VA-based database performance monitoring platform for enterprises, raised an additional $4.5 million in Series A funding. The round was led by New Enterprise Associates (NEA) with participation from previous investors including Battery Ventures and Jaffray Woodriff. The company will use the funds to accelerate product development and sales.
- SLANTRANGE, a developer of smart aerial remote sensing and analytics for agriculture, secured $5 million Series A equity financing from a consortium of investors led by The Investor Group, a San Diego based investment firm. The funding will accelerate the development and scaling of SLANTRANGE’s proprietary drone sensor and analytics technology to help farmers improve operations amid a rapidly transforming business landscape.
- GotIt!, an app allowing users, primarily students, to pick the brains of experts for ten minutes and founded by Vietnamese Tran Viet Hung, raised over $9 million in Series A and Seed funding. The Capricorn Investment Group, founded by Jeff Skoll, the first President of eBay, which funds breakthrough ideas such as Tesla, QuantumScape and Planet Labs, led the Series A funding. Fosun Group’s Brad Bao, who formerly headed up Tencent Investments, led the Seed round.
- Mercato Partners, a growth capital partner for rapidly scaling companies, recently led a $30M Series D financing in Stance, a premium lifestyle apparel company that seeks to uncover the uncommon side of creativity. Mercato is joined in the Series D financing by returning investors including August Capital, Kleiner Perkins Caufield Byers, Menlo Ventures, Shasta Ventures, and Sherpa Capital, among others.
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: naviganancial.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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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.
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.