February 23, 2016
Daily funding roundup - February 23, 2016
Namely raised additional $30M; Team8 secured $23M; SOCi received $2.25M funding
- SOCi, provider of a social media management tool, raised a $2.25 million round of funding to tack onto its $1.5 million Series A from November 2014. The original round was led by angel investor Peter Fisher with participation from Silicon Valley Growth Syndicate. New investors include Taner Halicioglu (Facebook’s first hire), Doug Hecht (former COO and President of Digitaria, which was acquired by J. Walter Thompson), and the seed-stage firm GrowthX.
- Team8, an Israel-based cybersecurity firm, secured a $23 million strategic round of funding from a long list of big-name investors, including Accenture, Nokia, Mitsui, and Temasek as well as previously announced investors Cisco, Alcatel-Lucent, Bessemer Venture Partners, Marker LLC, and Innovation Endeavors (an early-stage venture capital firm co-founded by Google chairman Eric Schmidt).
- MOVO, a Bay Area payments startup – delivering fully-featured mobile banking and payments services to further financial inclusion for billions of Underserved consumers, raised an initial $700,000 to finalize the development of its beta product, scheduled to launch this spring in the US. Investors in the company, incorporated as MovoCash, Inc., include Eric Solis (co-founder & CEO), Daniel Kjellen (co-founder & CMO), Cox Orange Investment Ltd. and some undisclosed private investors.
- Chinese virtual reality startup KAT received $1 million in a round of angel investment led by Unity Ventures. The startup’s flagship product, KAT WALK, is an omni-directional ‘treadmill’ that lets users physically explore worlds in virtual reality. KAT WALK primarily targets small businesses, such as internet cafes, which can house the product and offer gamers more active VR content, like first-person-shooter (FPS) games.
- Digital insurance distributor Hepstar received $2 million in funding from UK-based technology investor Amadeus Capital Partners. Amadeus Capital Partners’ investment into Hepstar is provided for by their Digital Prosperity Fund, which is backed by the MTN Group. With the new funding, the company will expand its global reach, accelerate development, and grow its brand.
- TodayTix, a mobile app that provides on-demand access to the best prices on last-minute theater tickets, raised a $9 million Series B round of funding co-led by Walden Venture Capital and TYLT Ventures, with participation from existing investors and influential leaders in the theater and entertainment industry. The company also revealed the growth of its user base to more than one million users since launching in December 2013.
- Silicon Valley startup MasterClass, which is teaming with celebrities to produce and sell educational video courses, raised $15 million in Series B funding. The funding was led by New Enterprise Associates with participation from Michael Bloomberg’s Bloomberg Beta, Novel TMT Ventures, Advancit Capital, WME Ventures, Robert Downey Jr.’s Downey Ventures, and individual investors including Casper CEO Philip Krim.
- Reflektion, a provider of predictive analytics for retailers, raised $18 million in Series B financing, bringing the company’s total funding to $29.3 million. Battery Ventures led the round with participation from Hasso Plattner Ventures and Intel Capital. Thakker joins the board of directors, which includes Steve Papa and Eduardo Castro-Wright. Notable prior private investors, including Marc Benioff and Ray Lane, also participated in the round.
- Namely, a New York City-based provider of a HR software platform for mid-market companies, raised an additional $30 million in funding. The round was led by existing investor Sequoia Capital with participation from Matrix Partners, True Ventures and Greenspring Associates. The company, which has raised $107.8m in total funding to date, intends to use the capital to invest in its core HR, payroll, and benefits technology and operations, and expand its integrations.
- Razer, a gaming technology company based out of Southern California, raised another round of funding, a Series C that values it at $1.5 billion. The backing comes in part from China, specifically the Digital Grid subsidiary of IT company Hangzhou Liaison Interactive. Yesterday, Hangzhou published a statement confirming the 5.01%, $75 million investment in Razer, as well as its valuation.
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: lightercapital.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.
Bessemer Venture Partners
Angel group/VC
Joined Vator on
In 1911, Henry Phipps founded Bessemer Securities to reinvest the proceeds of his sale of Carnegie Steel for the benefit of his descendents. The start-up investment operations were spun out into Bessemer Venture Partners, which now operates out of seven offices around the globe.
Sequoia Capital
Angel group/VC
Joined Vator on
Sequoia Capital is a venture capital firm founded by Don Valentine in 1972. The Wall Street Journal has called Sequoia Capital “one of the highest-caliber venture firms” and noted that it is “one of Silicon Valley’s most influential venture-capital firms”. It invests between $100,000 and $1 million in seed stage, between $1 million and $10 million in early stage, and between $10 million and $100 million in growth stage.
Related News
February 23, 2016