VENTURE CAPITAL POST

San Francisco, US-based business social network Townsquared bagged $5.26 million in its first funding round from undisclosed investors to allow business owners and employees connect and engage with each other.

San Diego, US-based facial expression recognition startup nabbed $6 million in a Series B funding round led by Seth Neiman and launched an app for Google Glass to track people's sentiments.

New York, US-based news website Business Insider raised $12 million in a funding round led by Amazon chief Jeff Bezos for the expansion of its workforce and subscription service.

San Francisco, US-based ad-tech startup TripleLift scored $4 million in a Series A funding round led by True Ventures to expand its workforce and automate native advertising.

New York, US-based business workshop Javelin Inc landed $1.5 million in a funding round led by Mark Suster and Upfron Ventures to teach big companies to innovate like a startup.

Massachusetts, US-based office supply retail chain Staples will shut down 225 stores across North America by 2015 to push its online business and cut costs amid huge revenue losses.

Sunnyvale, California-based Internet giant Yahoo snapped up Portland, Oregon-based automated graphic design startup Vizify for an undisclosed amount as part of its on-going acquisition spree of design-focused startups.

San Francisco, US-based venture capital firm Founders Fund gathered $1 billion for its fifth investment fund called Founder Fund V which will back startups from various sectors.

Indian entrepreneur and angel investor Sashi Reddi is backing Hyderabad-based fast food restaurant chain Hello Curry with INR3 crore from his seed-stage venture fund Sri Capital.

Moscow, Russia-based affiliate marketing and advertisement firm CityAds Media nabbed a $5-million investment from private equity investor Klever Internet Investments in exchange of a minority stake in the ad company.

Winnipeg, Canada-based non-profit agricultural organization Canadian International Grains Institute (Cigi) receoved a $1-million investment boost from Regina-based grain-handling firm Viterra Inc to promote Canadian field crops locally and internationally.

Former Apple chief John Sculley is teaming up with former HTC India head Ajay Sharma and Singaporean investment firm Inflexionpoint to launch a yet-unnamed smartphone brand in India, which will release its first units in April.

North Shields Tyne and Wear, UK-based independent wholesale firm Kitwave Wholesale Group acquired Durham-based frozen food and ice cream seller Eden Farm for an undisclosed amount.

Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE)-based cables manufacturer Ducab purchased Durham, UK-based cable maker AEI Cables for an undisclosed amount to expand its product offering and international market reach.

Toronto, Canada-based accelerator Bitcoin Decentral launched Bitcoin Decentral Accerate, the first Bitcoin startup accelerator in the world, which is now accepting online applications from startups.