Affinivax Inc., a Cambridge, MA-based biotechnology company dedicated to developing novel vaccines, launched with a $4m funding. Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation made the investment and will make additional committments based on the achievement of future milestones. The company intends to use the funds to develop its Multiple Antigen Presenting System (MAPS) technology platform and […]

According to reports, MusiXmatch, a Bologna, Italy-based mobile song’s lyrics platform, raised $5m in a Series B funding round. According to reports, the round is comprised of a capital increase of €3m from new investors and a conversion of a previous note from Micheli Associati and Paolo Barberis. New backers include Programma 101 (P101), United Ventures, Paolo […]

Since 2009, when I started FinSMEs, several things have changed in the startup financing world. From web to mobile and sensors, which allow the rise of IoT, from on-premise to SaaS based software, from SMS to communication platforms, from e-commerce to same day delivery, from social to mobile and VR gaming, from Peer to Peer […]

According to the Exit Poll report by Thomson Reuters and the National Venture Capital Association (NVCA), twenty-eight venture-backed initial public offerings (IPOs) raised $4.9 billion during the second quarter of 2014, a 45% increase, by dollars raised. The second quarter marked the fifth consecutive quarter to see 20 or more venture-backed IPOs but below the […]

According to Thomson Reuters and the National Venture Capital Association (NVCA), U.S. venture capital firms raised $7.4 billion in new commitments from 78 funds during the second quarter of 2014, a 24% increase compared to the number of funds raised during the first quarter of 2014 and a 19% decline by dollar commitments. The number […]

Kent Goldman, formerly a partner at First Round Capital, has launched Upside Partnership and closed its maiden seed-stage investment firm. With an amount of $30m, Upside I features a new type of partnership in which every backed founder will become a partner in the fund and will be granted a portion of the fund’s carry […]

BitFury Group, a San Francisco, CA and Amsterdam, the Netherlandsw-based Bitcoin infrastructure provider, is launching a seed investment fund. BitFury Capital will leverage the company’s position in bitcoin and cryptocurrency infrastructure to accelerate other parts of the ecosystem through strategic partnerships, and expansion into adjacent business opportunities. The fund will be a subsidiary of the […]

RetailNext, Inc., a San Jose, CA-based provider of an applied Big Data platform for physical retail, completed a $30m growth financing. The round was led by Nokia Growth Partners (NGP) with participation from new investors Qualcomm Incorporated, through its venture investment group, Qualcomm Ventures, Tyco, American Express and Activant Capital Group and existing shareholders August […]

FishBrain, a Swedish social network for sport fishing enthusiasts, has closed a $2.4m funding. The round was led by Northzone and Active Venture Partners with participation from GP Bullhound and Edastra Venture Capital, as well as existing investors Mathias Ackermand, Rikard Steiber and ALMI. Earlier investors include Industrifonden, Umando, Henrik Torstensson, CEO of Lifesum, and […]

Sophia Genetics, a Lausanne, Switzerland-based developer of Data-Driven Medicine, raised $13.75m in Series B financing. The round was led by Dr Mike Lynch’s Invoke Capital, Swisscom and Endeavour Vision. Led by Jurgi Camblong, CEO, Sophia Genetics is a pioneer in Data-Driven Medicine, a crossover field that requires deep expertise in Next Generation Sequencing (NGS), combined […]

According to a press release, Regent Education, a Frederick, Maryland-based provider of financial aid management software solutions for higher education institutions, closed $9m funding round. The company closed a $4m Series C equity financing from New Markets Venture Partners and Chrysalis Ventures while Ares Capital Corporation provided $5m of debt financing. The company intends to […]

According to a blog post, Robin, a Boston, MA-based provider of a presence-powered automation and intelligence platform for the workplace, raised $1.4m in seed funding. Backers included Atlas Venture, Deep Fork Capital, Boldstart Ventures, and Space Pirates. The company intends to use the funds to expand adoption among offices and continue product development. Led by […]

ParkTAG, a Berlin, Germany-based provider of an app that finds free parking spaces, received € 500k in seed funding. High-Tech Gründerfonds made the investment. The company intends to use the funds to accelerate the development of its Realtime Big Data System required to solve the street parking issue. Founded by Silvan C. Rath, ParkTAG has […]

mBlox, a Sunnivale, CA-based global provider of application-to-person (A2P) text messaging, completed a $43.5m round. The company intends to use the funds to for the continued growth of its global business. Backers included Comerica, Horizon Technology Finance Corporation (Nasdaq: HRZN), Norwest Venture Partners, Scale Ventures, Avanti, Trident, Stratim Capital and Saints Capital. Led by Tom […]