Funding Daily: March 26, 2014

Here are the day’s funding stories:

Azubu secures $34.5M

An e-sports site just got a big chunk of change to help it take over the rapidly growing competitive-gaming scene. Azubu, an e-sports site founded in 2012 that focuses on broadcasting events, has secured a $34.5 million funding round. Investment company Sapinda Group is raising the cash in exchange for equity in the video platform. E-sports is a growing market sector that attracts millions of young viewers. Sites like Twitch and Major League Gaming’s MLG.TV have forged strong partnerships with advertisers, and now Azubu is aiming to get in on that action. Read more on VentureBeat.

Circle raises $17M

Circle just raised a pile of cash to do what every Bitcoin startup out there wants to do: rehabilitate the currency’s image and drive mainstream adoption. Launching today in closed beta — with a fresh $17 million in its pocket — Circle claims its first consumer product enables “faster transactions, lower costs, greater privacy safeguards and increased protection against fraud and identity theft.” The company plans to provide tools for both consumers and businesses, with the overall goal of reducing “the friction and risk that is currently associated with Bitcoin.” Read more on VentureBeat.

CircleUp takes $14M

For the right idea, CirleUp can collect a million dollars in a week. The startup specializes in equity crowdfunding, which is a uniquely regulated kind of “collective investment” service that can help out-there ideas get off the ground when they can’t even get through the door of a traditional VC firm. It’s in a similar vein to services like AngelList, Crowdfunder, or OurCrowd. Read more on VentureBeat.

Indix gets $9M

Indix is a SaaS and big data product intelligence platform company. Oh my gosh, that’s actually painful to reread. What does it even mean? I mean, obviously it means that Indix is helping all kinds of businesses do business better and smarter through the power of intelligent, cloud-based software and lots of cleverly analyzed data. Read more on VentureBeat.

HourlyNerd raises $4M

You want an MBA? I know a guy. HourlyNerd, which is exactly what it sounds like, just raised a $4M round of funding from Highland Capital Partners and Greylock Partners. Read more on VentureBeat.

High Fidelity secures $2.5

High Fidelity, the stealth virtual reality startup from Second Life founder Philip Rosedale, just raised $2.5 million. After debuting last April with $2.4 million in funding from True Ventures, Google Ventures, Kapor Capital, and Linden Lab, High Fidelity has raised a new, slightly larger round, according to an SEC filing today. Read more at VentureBeat.

Ometria takes $1.5M

Isn’t it lovely how Amazon always seems to know so much about you? Lovely, creepy, and money-sucking? Well, startup Ometria wants to make every online retailer a bit more like Amazon in that regard. Its products let ecommerce sites find you, understand you, and sell to you with real-time tools. Read more on VentureBeat.

GoCoin gets $1.5M

GoCoin, based in Singapore, has sealed its first institutional funding deal: A $1.5 million round led by Bitcoin Shop and former Facebook COO Owen Van Natta with participation from Crypto Currency Partners. Read more on VentureBeat.