VENTURE CAPITAL POST

GoCardless, a payments platform for online Direct Debits in the UK, was able to obtain $7 million for its Series B funding round led by venture capital firm Balderton Capital.

Vint was able to secure seed funding worth $1.8 million led by Nordics VC Creandum and joined in by other venture capital firms and angel investors, including Zumba investor David Giampaolo.

Although there are worries about the shortfall of funding for the venture capital industry, venture capitalists are optimistic that this will continue to be a good year for firms looking to raise money, the U-T San Diego news site reported.

Marijuana entrepreneurs were given the chance to pitch their products to a group of investors in a conference organized by angel investor firm ArcView Group, Bloomberg reported.

MMC Ventures has again opened the MMC Growth Generation Fund specifically tailored for young investors aged 18 to 35 years old, allowing them to invest in UK's hard to access but high-growth firms.

Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne has unveiled a new public-private venture capital fund known as Northleaf Venture Catalyst Fund for the province's tech sector, CBCNews reported.

Private equity and venture capital investors are exhibiting renewed interest in India's online retail space, a segment considered as an investment bubbly early last year, Mumbai-based online website dna reported.

Liqvid e-Learning Services, an educational software maker based in India, has began talks with different venture capital firms for another round of equity funding, according to sources interviewed by The Economic Times.

Venture capitalists continue to look to Bangalore, Chennai and other companies located in the southern portion of India for deals, The Times of India reported.

A lot of changes are taking place in the venture capital landscape and venture capital funds need to adapt or risk not thriving in the new landscape, The Economist reported.

The mergers and acquisitions activity for companies supported by venture capital has continued to decline even with the sizable acquisition of Nest Labs by Google, The WSJ's Digits reports.

Drugmakers from Europe are getting lured to the Boston-Cambridge area as the biotechnology boom makes it the envy of other biotechnolgy hubs in the world, Bloomberg reported.

Despite a slowdown in venture capital fundraising last year, there were more venture firms that closed capital in 2013 compared to that of the previous year, according to the Wall Street Journal blog Venture Capital Dispatch citing data from DJX LP Source.

The former head of ORIX USA, Jim Thompson, has launched Preston Hollow Capital, an investment company that will target fixed income, venture capital and hedge funds.

For venture capital firm Atomico founder Niklas Zennström , Silicon Valley is not the only technology hub where great firms can come from. He says they can come from anywhere.