VENTURE CAPITAL POST

A division of French ad firm Publicis Groupe SA and drugmaker Hikma Pharmaceuticals have reached separate settlements totaling $500 million to resolve allegations that they helped fuel the deadly opioid epidemic in the US.

Women's Fund of Western Massachusetts offers $240K in grants.

Member of Dunkin' Donuts's reward program in Rhode Island Massachusetts can now enjoy a mobile ordering service via "Dunkin VIP" mobile app, available for iOS devices. The company is seeking to roll out the program nationally and is collecting consumer data to achieve that goal.

Cambridge, Massachusetts-based e-book deals service BookBub scored $3.8 million in its first funding round led by NextView Ventures and Founder Collective to expand its workforce and services and tap into international markets.

Cambridge, Massachusetts-based clean tech firm Ambri Inc raised $15 million in a new funding round from KLP Enterprise, Building Insurance Bern, and other investors to find a way to store renewable energy for grid operators.

Massachusetts, US-based software professional training tool provider PluralSight purchased Oklahoma City-based creative software training services Digital-Tutors in a deal valued at $45 million to increase its educational content.

Boston, Massachusetts-based wine discovery mobile app Drync landed $2.1 million in a funding round from institutional and angel investors to build its wine shopping platform.

Boston, Massachusetts-based mobile healthcare management platform Wellframe nabbed $1.5 million in a seed funding round from several high net worth individuals to provide patients with an app that will serve as their personal digital nurse.

Lexington, US-based healthcare IT service provider Imprivata filed for an initial public offering (IPO) to raise $115 million on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE).

Waltham, Massachusetts-based data security firm Verdasys landed $12 million in a new venture round for its market and product expansion as it named former McAfee executive Kenneth Levine as its new Chief Executive Officer (CEO).

Boston, Massachusetts-based event management startup Attendware will be rebranding itself as Attend.com as it expands the scope of its solution to online management and analytics for business and university events.

Burlington, Massachusetts-based computer software technology firm Nuance Communications Inc released a voice biometrics solution called Nuance Forensics that can help authorities identify and rule out suspects in criminal investigations.

Bedford, US-based SQL database startup VoltDB raised $8 million in a Series B funding round led by an unnamed investor from Silicon Valley to scale databases both up and out.

San Francisco, US-based cloud storage giant Dropbox acquired Cambridge, Massachusetts-based stealthy workplace chat solution Zulip for an undisclosed amount to integrate its services into its product offering.

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.