Daily funding roundup - December 18, 2015

Pave secured $300M; Navitor Pharmaceuticals, Inc received $33M; Checkpoint Surgical raised $7.5M

• Jolla Ltd., a Finnish mobile company and developer of open mobile operating system Sailfish OS, today announced that it has closed its C investment round and has secured new financing to the company. After delays in its latest investment round, the state of Jolla Ltd. is now looking more stable as it has secured financing for the company and has several licensing deals in the pipeline. The newly announced investment enables further development of Sailfish OS and also increases the company’s capability for further major licensing deals. 
  
  
• Carana Agribusiness, a Guyana-based aquaculture and agriculture company, has closed over $1.3 million in financing from a group of private and corporate investors. One new investor participated in the round, joining existing investors. Carana ran a fundraising campaign through AgFunder, the online investment platform for accredited investors to invest in agriculture and agriculture technology companies.
  
  
• Sports education start-up KOOH Sports has raised a fresh round of $2 million from a consortium of investors, including existing investors TCS, HDFC and private equity fund Faering Capital. The round also saw participation from Mumbai-based sports promotion service Elevate Sports, which will now hold a 5 per cent stake in the company. The other three investors will share a 70 per cent stake. The company plans to use the funds to enhance self defence programmes in association with the Taekwondo Federation of India. 
  
  
• Omadi, a Silicon Slopes, UT-based custom mobile technology provider, secured $5 million in Series A funding. The round was led by Pelion Venture Partners with participation from Peak Ventures (who led Omadi’s Series Seed round), Kickstart Seedfund, Tall Wave Capital, Service Provider Capital, and additional investors. The company, which has raised more than $6m in total, intends to use the funds to expand sales, product development, and client success teams.
  
  
• Checkpoint Surgical, a Cleveland company that provides surgeons with technology to help protect and repair nerves intra-operatively, announced it has closed its first institutional financing round, for $7.5 million. The round was led by First Analysis, a private growth-equity investor based in Chicago. The money “will enable Checkpoint to continue growing in its core market of orthopedic and head and neck procedures, as well as expand into new procedure markets and develop new products,” the Cleveland company said in a news release.
  
  
• Digital health technology leader WellDoc announced the completion of a $22 million Series B financing. Samsung Ventures acted as the lead investor in the round with existing investor Merck Global Health Innovation (GHI) Fund serving as co-lead. Adage Capital Management, Excel Venture Management, Alexandria Venture Investments and Hudson River Capital Partners LLC also participated. WellDoc has completed the initial closing of its Series B round and anticipates the final closing to occur by the end of January. As part of this round, Samsung Ventures and Excel Venture Management will each provide one new member to the WellDoc Board of Directors.
  
  
• Gelesis, a Boston, MA-based clinical stage biotechnology company focused on the development of products to safely induce weight loss and improve glycemic control, closed a $31.5m growth financing round. Backers included Cormorant Asset Management, and current investors Invesco Asset Management, PureTech and the Priztker/Vlock Family Office. Led by Yishai Zohar, Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer, Gelesis focuses on the development of novel therapies to induce weight loss and improve glycemic control in overweight and obese patients, including those with prediabetes and diabetes.
  
  
• Navitor Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company developing novel medicines targeting the activation of mTORC1, today announced the completion of a $33 million Series B financing. The Series B funding will enable Navitor to advance a lead program into clinical trials with the objective of demonstrating initial efficacy and safety. The Series B round was led by new investor Brace Pharma Capital, LLC, a strategic investment company formed by EMS S.A., the largest pharmaceutical company in Brazil, and high net worth biotech investors, and includes participation by new investors Remeditex Ventures, Sanofi-Genzyme BioVentures, and an undisclosed individual investor. Existing investors Polaris Partners, Atlas Venture, Johnson & Johnson Innovation – JJDC, Inc. and SR One, Ltd. also participated in the financing.
  
  
• Pave, an online lending platform focused on re-inventing borrowing for the Millennial generation, today announced that a consortium of investors led by Seer Capital has agreed to invest up to $300 million in Pave loans and provide the company with additional equity capital. The financing will enable Pave to expand its capabilities across the United States, while supporting business growth in 2016.

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Image source: crowdfundbeat.com