VC Deals Only: Talage Raises $5M in Funding

VC Deals Only: Talage Raises $5M in Funding: Talage , a Reno, Nev.-based digital insurance platform, closed a $5m Series A funding. The round was led by Merus Capital, with participa...

Talage Raises $5M in Funding

Talage, a Reno, Nev.-based digital insurance platform, closed a $5m Series A funding.

The round was led by Merus Capital, with participation from Calibrate Ventures, WTI and Hallador Investment Advisors

The company intends to use the new funds to scale its engineering and business development teams.

Founded in 2015 by Adam Kiefer, Matt Donovan and Zachary Draper, Talage provides a SaaS based platform enables small business owners to purchase essential commercial coverage from agents online. The platform is now live across the country, having sold over $1 million in insurance coverage to businesses in over 40 states via its solution. The company’s 12 carrier partnerships allow agents to instantly sell coverage under their licenses and appointments via any digital channel.

Source, FinSMEs, February 14, 2020

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Are you a Canadian GP/LP/CI or a Canadian startup that needs to grow or scale? Give us a call! One of our representatives would love to explain how we vertically design, and then systematically layer each of our communication platforms to effectively reach niche target audiences for our clients. WC offers a unique synergistic approach to effectively communicate our client's message to their target audience.

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VC Deals Only: Volastra Therapeutics Raises $12M in Seed Financin...

VC Deals Only: Volastra Therapeutics Raises $12M in Seed Financin...: Volastra Therapeutics , a NYC-based biotechnology company developing novel therapies for the treatment of metastatic cancers, raised $12m i...

Volastra Therapeutics Raises $12M in Seed Financing

Volastra Therapeutics, a NYC-based biotechnology company developing novel therapies for the treatment of metastatic cancers, raised $12m in funding.

The round was led by Polaris Partners with participation from DROIA Oncology Ventures, the Global Health Sciences (GHS) Fund (Quark Venture LP and GF Securities), and ARCH Venture Partners.

The company intends to use the funds to develop therapies for metastatic cancers by targeting key pathways related to chromosomal instability, a hallmark of cancer metastasis.

Founded by Drs. Lewis Cantley, Samuel Bakhoum, and Olivier Elemento, Volastra is a biotechnology company focused on developing novel therapies for patients with metastatic cancers by exploiting unique insights into chromosomal instability. The company also will utilize an extensive library of organoids derived from metastatic cancer samples to elucidate how tumors spread and devise therapeutic strategies that target chromosomal instability during the process of cancer metastasis. The platform enables Volastra to perform rigorous target validation, to advance first-in-class clinical candidates, and to identify biomarkers to stratify patients for clinical trials.

Volastra Therapeutics’ operations are located at Johnson & Johnson Innovation, JLABS at New York City (JLABS @ NYC).

Following the deal, Executive Chair Sandra Peterson, a Partner at Clayton, Dubilier, and Rice, a Board Member of Microsoft, and the former Group Worldwide Chairman of Johnson & Johnson, will lead the Volastra Board of Directors. Polaris Managing Partner Amy Schulman will serve alongside Ms. Peterson on the company’s Board of Directors with DROIA Partner Luc Dochez and GHS Fund CSO and Partner Zafi Avnur. Dr. Bakhoum will represent the scientific founders on the company’s Board.

Source. FinSMEs, February 11, 2020.

This post was brought to you by Woewoda Communications, your partner in the venture capital, private equity and startup markets; offering strategic communications, public relations & investor relation services to Canadian VCs, PEs, Angels, Endowments/Trusts, Family Offices, and Canadian startups involved in ICT, IoT, blockchain, life sciences, healthcare, agribusiness, clean energy, fintech, AI and robotics.

Are you a Canadian GP/LP/CI or a Canadian startup that needs to grow or scale? Give us a call! One of our representatives would love to explain how we vertically design, and then systematically layer each of our communication platforms to effectively reach niche target audiences for our clients. WC offers a unique synergistic approach to effectively communicate our client's message to their target audience.

VC Deals Only: NewSpace Networks Raising $200M USA

VC Deals Only: NewSpace Networks Raising $200M USA: NewSpace Networks , a San Jose, CA-based developer of technologies for air and space-based systems leveraging virtualization, edge computin...

NewSpace Networks Raising $200M USA

NewSpace Networks, a San Jose, CA-based developer of technologies for air and space-based systems leveraging virtualization, edge computing, and the Cloud, is raising $200m in funding

The company intends to use the funds to transform the industry from being hardware-focused to software-centric. NewSpace will accomplish this through a combination of acquisition, investment and internal product development,

The company already has products under development that will be available later this year, along with key acquisition targets identified and in process.

Co-founded by Shaun Coleman, John Metzger and Robert Cleave, NewSpace has developed a targeted list of integrated innovations and investment areas. Its initial products will address the unique challenges of edge computing via space connectivity. Additional technologies will include:

– Data analytics and analysis

– Cloud integration

– Network optimization

– Virtualization & Hyperconvergence

– Space and air integration

– Security and encryption

– Application lifecycle management

– IoT enablement

Source. FinSMEs, February 12, 2020

This post was brought to you by Woewoda Communications, your partner in the venture capital, private equity and startup markets; offering strategic communications, public relations & investor relation services to Canadian VCs, PEs, Angels, Endowments/Trusts, Family Offices, and Canadian startups involved in ICT, IoT, blockchain, life sciences, healthcare, agribusiness, clean energy, fintech, AI and robotics.

Are you a Canadian GP/LP/CI or a Canadian startup that needs to grow or scale? Give us a call! One of our representatives would love to explain how we vertically design, and then systematically layer each of our communication platforms to effectively reach niche target audiences for our clients. WC offers a unique synergistic approach to effectively communicate our client's message to their target audience.

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VC Deals Only: Alpha Foods Secures $28M in Series A Funding

VC Deals Only: Alpha Foods Secures $28M in Series A Funding: Alpha Foods , a Glendale, CA-based maker of plant-based foods, raised $28m in Series A funding. The round was led by AccelFoods, with par...

Alpha Foods Secures $28M in Series A Funding

Alpha Foods, a Glendale, CA-based maker of plant-based foods, raised $28m in Series A funding.

The round was led by AccelFoods, with participation from existing investment partners New Crop Capital, Green Monday Ventures and Blue Horizon.

The company intends to use the funds toward new product launches, securing key talent, expanding its distribution channels, both domestically and internationally, as well as boosting its marketing and sales support to increase its touchpoint with consumers.

Co-founded by Loren Wallis, former founder of Good Karma Foods acquired by Dean Foods in 2018, and Cole Orobetz, a former venture capital investor in the food and ag-tech sector, Alpha Foods offers a wide variety of protein-packed, non-GMO, plant-based versions of classic foods. Since its launch, the company has grown its brand portfolio from four to more than 25 vegan and non-GMO products and is currently available in more than 9,000 stores across the U.S., including Walmart, Kroger, Albertsons/Safeway, and Wegmans supermarkets.

Source. FinSMEs, February 11, 20t20

This post was brought to you by Woewoda Communications, your partner in the venture capital, private equity and startup markets; offering strategic communications, public relations & investor relation services to Canadian VCs, PEs, Angels, Endowments/Trusts, Family Offices, and Canadian startups involved in ICT, IoT, blockchain, life sciences, healthcare, agribusiness, clean energy, fintech, AI and robotics.

Are you a Canadian GP/LP/CI or a Canadian startup that needs to grow or scale? Give us a call! One of our representatives would love to explain how we vertically design, and then systematically layer each of our communication platforms to effectively reach niche target audiences for our clients. WC offers a unique synergistic approach to effectively communicate our client's message to their target audience.

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VC Deals Only: Iora Health Completes $126M Series F Funding Round...

VC Deals Only: Iora Health Completes $126M Series F Funding Round...: Iora Health , a Boston, MA-based primary care provider network, raised $126M in Series F funding round. India-based Premji Invest, the bi...

Iora Health Completes $126M Series F Funding Round

Iora Health, a Boston, MA-based primary care provider network, raised $126M in Series F funding round.

India-based Premji Invest, the billion dollar investment group of Wipro Ltd chairman Azim Premji, led the funding round and was joined by existing investors Cox Enterprises, Temasek F-Prime Capital, Devonshire Investors, .406 Ventures, Flare Capital Partners, Polaris Partners, and Khosla Ventures.

The company intends to use the funds to accelerate growth and refine and optimize their care model.

Led by Rushika Fernandopulle, MD, MPP, CEO and co-founder, Iora Health leverages a model to provide patients with care, which includes office and non-office based encounters (e.g. phone, text messages, and email), a transparent medical record and educational offerings. The company has 48 practices across the U.S. serving thousands of Medicare beneficiaries.

Source. FinSMEs, February 10, 2020

This post was brought to you by Woewoda Communications, your partner in the venture capital, private equity and startup markets; offering strategic communications, public relations & investor relation services to Canadian VCs, PEs, Angels, Endowments/Trusts, Family Offices, and Canadian startups involved in ICT, IoT, blockchain, life sciences, healthcare, agribusiness, clean energy, fintech, AI and robotics.

Are you a Canadian GP/LP/CI or a Canadian startup that needs to grow or scale? Give us a call! One of our representatives would love to explain how we vertically design, and then systematically layer each of our communication platforms to effectively reach niche target audiences for our clients. WC offers a unique synergistic approach to effectively communicate our client's message to their target audience.

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VC Deals Only: Sonoma Biotherapeutics Raises $40M in Series A Fun...

VC Deals Only: Sonoma Biotherapeutics Raises $40M in Series A Fun...: Sonoma Biotherapeutics , a South San Francisco, CA and Seattle, WA-based company developing regulatory T cell (Treg) therapies for autoimmu...

Sonoma Biotherapeutics Raises $40M in Series A Funding

Sonoma Biotherapeutics, a South San Francisco, CA and Seattle, WA-based company developing regulatory T cell (Treg) therapies for autoimmune and degenerative diseases, raised $40m in Series A financing.

Backers included Lyell Immunopharma, ARCH Venture Partners, Milky Way Ventures and 8VC.

Led by founder and CEO Jeffrey Bluestone, PhD., Sonoma brings together research, development and manufacturing capabilities in cell therapy and genetic engineering with a team of executives, scientists, board members and investors with extensive experience in the fields of cell therapy and drug discovery.

The goal of Treg therapy is to restore a state of self-tolerance by halting harmful inflammatory responses in autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, inflammatory bowel disease and multiple sclerosis, along with degenerative diseases including amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and Alzheimer’s. Tregs have a clear role in many of these conditions. These cells’ natural ability to migrate to inflamed tissues and control harmful immune responses make them ideal for treating a range of conditions. In addition, the ability to engineer Treg cells to target specific disease-causing antigens reduces the potential for unwanted systemic effects.

Sonoma Biotherapeutics is co-founded by four of the foundational scientists in the Treg field:

• Jeff Bluestone, PhD, UCSF faculty member and former CEO and President of the Parker Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy, is a leading immunologist who is credited with the discovery of the function of CTLA-4, a receptor that is a critical target of the new generation of cancer immunotherapies.
• Qizhi Tang, PhD, is a translational immunologist and Director of the UCSF Transplantation Research Lab.
• Fred Ramsdell, PhD, an immunologist with nearly three decades of biopharma experience, including early clinical development of immunotherapies, will serve as Sonoma’s Chief Scientific Officer.
• Alexander Rudensky, PhD, is a Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator and the Chair of Immunology Program at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, whose research has contributed to the fundamental understanding of the differentiation of Tregs and their role in immune response.

Dr. Rick Klausner, CEO of Lyell Immunopharma and newly appointed Chair of the Sonoma Biotherapeutics Board of Directors.

In this regard, Sonoma Biotherapeutics has entered into a strategic partnership with Lyell that provides both parties with access to technologies and know-how to enhance the durability, stability and specificity of cell therapies in their respective indications of focus. This partnership will further enable Sonoma’s rapid translation of Treg therapies from target identification and discovery, through preclinical and clinical development.

Source. FinSMEs, February 6, 2020

This post was brought to you by Woewoda Communications, your partner in the venture capital, private equity and startup markets; offering strategic communications, public relations & investor relation services to Canadian VCs, PEs, Angels, Endowments/Trusts, Family Offices, and Canadian startups involved in ICT, IoT, blockchain, life sciences, healthcare, agribusiness, clean energy, fintech, AI and robotics.

Are you a Canadian GP/LP/CI or a Canadian startup that needs to grow or scale? Give us a call! One of our representatives would love to explain how we vertically design, and then systematically layer each of our communication platforms to effectively reach niche target audiences for our clients. WC offers a unique synergistic approach to effectively communicate our client's message to their target audience.

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VC Deals Only: Top Hat Secures $55M in Series D Funding

VC Deals Only: Top Hat Secures $55M in Series D Funding: T op Hat , a Toronto, Canada-based active learning platform for higher education, raised $55M USD in Series D equity and debt financing. ...

Top Hat Secures $55M in Series D Funding

Top Hat, a Toronto, Canada-based active learning platform for higher education, raised $55M USD in Series D equity and debt financing.

The round was co-led by existing investors Georgian Partners and Inovia Capital, with participation from Union Square Ventures, Emergence Capital and Leaders Fund, along with debt financing from BMO Technology and Innovation Banking Group.

The company intends to use the funds to continue to expand its platform features and its business reach and to scale partnerships with traditional publishers.

Led by Mike Silagadze, founder and CEO, Top Hat provides a cloud-based teaching platform that enables professors to engage students inside and outside the classroom with content, tools, and activities. The system combines interactive textbooks, lecture slides, quizzes, and assignments all on one platform, supporting student learning before, during, and after class.

Partnerships with Fountainhead Press and Bluedoor Publishing augment the company’s strategy to move traditional textbooks to the digital world via its platform. The content will be enriched with interactive elements to support active learning.

Today, Top Hat has 400 employees and more than 2.7 million students are enrolled in courses using its system at 750 of the top 1,000 higher education institutions in North America.

Source. FinSMEs, February 4, 2020

This post was brought to you by Woewoda Communications, your partner in the venture capital, private equity and startup markets; offering strategic communications, public relations & investor relation services to Canadian VCs, PEs, Angels, Endowments/Trusts, Family Offices, and Canadian startups involved in ICT, IoT, blockchain, life sciences, healthcare, agribusiness, clean energy, fintech, AI and robotics.

Are you a Canadian GP/LP/CI or a Canadian startup that needs to grow or scale? Give us a call! One of our representatives would love to explain how we vertically design, and then systematically layer each of our communication platforms to effectively reach niche target audiences for our clients. WC offers a unique synergistic approach to effectively communicate our client's message to their target audience.

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VC Deals Only: BenchSci Raises $22M in Series B Funding

VC Deals Only: BenchSci Raises $22M in Series B Funding: BenchSci , a Toronto, Canada-based provider of a machine learning platform to identify and resolve preclinical research inefficiencies in d...

BenchSci Raises $22M in Series B Funding

BenchSci, a Toronto, Canada-based provider of a machine learning platform to identify and resolve preclinical research inefficiencies in drug discovery, raised $22m in Series B financing.

The round was led by F-Prime Capital, with participation from Northleaf Capital Partners and existing investors Gradient Ventures, Inovia Capital, Golden Ventures, and Real Ventures. As part of the deal, Shervin Ghaemmaghami, Senior Vice President of F-Prime, will join the board of directors.

The company will use the funds to further develop its suite of products.

Led by Liran Belenzon, CEO and co-founder, BenchSci leverages machine learning to target inefficiencies and unnecessary spend in preclinical research by evaluating published experiments to identify which reagents will work for which experiments. The company’s first product, AI-Assisted Antibody Selection, focused only on antibodies. Now, BenchSci has launched its new AI-Assisted Reagent Selection product, which expands to other important reagents, including recombinant proteins, RNAi, CRISPR, cell lines, and more.

Since commercializing its AI-Assisted Antibody Selection product 18 months ago, the company has helped decrease costs and accelerate research in 15 of the top 20 pharmaceutical companies and more than 3,600 academic labs.

The company has also expanded its contract with Novartis. As one of the earliest pharmaceutical companies to benefit from AI-Assisted Antibody Selection, Novartis will also be the first BenchSci customer to deploy the new AI-Assisted Reagent Selection product.

Source. FinSMEs, February 4, 2020

This post was brought to you by Woewoda Communications, your partner in the venture capital, private equity and startup markets; offering strategic communications, public relations & investor relation services to Canadian VCs, PEs, Angels, Endowments/Trusts, Family Offices, and Canadian startups involved in ICT, IoT, blockchain, life sciences, healthcare, agribusiness, clean energy, fintech, AI and robotics.

Are you a Canadian GP/LP/CI or a Canadian startup that needs to grow or scale? Give us a call! One of our representatives would love to explain how we vertically design, and then systematically layer each of our communication platforms to effectively reach niche target audiences for our clients. WC offers a unique synergistic approach to effectively communicate our client's message to their target audience.

Serving Vancouver, Montreal, Toronto, Waterloo, Ottawa and Halifax.