iZettle, Swedish mobile company, pockets $55.5 million in a series C round led by Zouk Capital with other participants such as Dawn Capital, Intel Capital, Creandum, Greylock, Index, Northzone, and SEB.
Investors
China cements deal with Kenya to fund railway construction project est. $3.8 billion
Sunday Kenya made an agreement with China to finance 90% of the 609.3 kilometer railway project in Nairobi with cost estimate of SH 327 billion or $3.8 billion.
Ronald Lauder funds Kenyan car manufacturing start-up for cheapest vehicle in Africa
American billionaire Ronald Lauder through Pan African Investment Company (PIC) funds an undisclosed amount in convertible debt to Kenyan car manufacturing startup Mobius to produce Africa's cheapest car.
Chase Pharmaceuticals Corporation secures $21 million in Series B round for improved Alzheimer drug clinical trials
Chase Pharmaceuticals Corporation raises $21 million in a Series B financing round led by New Rhein Healthcare Investors, LLC.
Ventures compete for investors at Florida Early Stage Conference
The Florida Venture Forum will host its seventh annual Early Stage Conference May 15 together with the 4th Annual Statewide Collegiate Business Plan Competition in Florida attended by 20 choice ventures positioned for equity financing.
Latest News
European-based Planday raises $3.75 million in seed funding through sole investor Creandum. Christian Brondum, CEO of Planday, describes the new partnership:
Southtech Capital Corporation ("Southtech") (TSX VENTURE:STU.P) is pleased to announce that it has entered into an amalgamation agreement dated May 7, 2014 (the "Agreement") with Redfall Technologies Inc. ("Redfall"), a private corporation incorporated under the laws of Alberta, to complete a Qualifying Transaction (the "Qualifying Transaction"), as such term is defined by the TSX Venture Exchange (the "Exchange").
Palo Alto, California-based single-page promotional website design platform raised $1.7 million in a seed funding round ledyby Founder's Co-op to expand its market reach, improve its products, and enable mobile content creation.
Paris-l’hospital, France-based car rental startup Drivy secured $8.3 million (€6 million) in a new funding round with Index Ventures and Alven Capital as lead investors to fuel its expansion in Europe.
San Francisco, California-based website testing and optimization platform Optimizely raised $57 million in a Series B funding round led by Andreessen Horowitz to hire as many as 250 additional staff within this year.
Irvine, US-based fitness trainer app PEAR Sports took home $5 million in its Series B funding led by previous backers Innovate Partners and Nordic Ventures to ramp up its marketing efforts and third-party sales.
Venice, California-based online vitamin seller SmartyPants Vitamins bagged $2.2 million in a new capital raising via San Francisco-based equity crowdfunding platform CircleUp to develop new products and expand its workforce.
Atlanta, Georgia-based e-commerce lending firm Kabbage Inc landed $50 million in its Series D financing led by SoftBank Capital to provide $500 million worth of loans for small online businesses by the end of 2014.
San Francisco, US-based peer-to-peer lending marketplace pioneer Prosper raised $70 million in a funding round led by private equity firm Francisco Partners to build its business and fuel its growth.
