Funding Daily: ‘Step off me, dog-bro!’ edition

Today’s roundup of funding news includes investments in startups involved in big data, IT infrastructure, “micro-schools,” data mining, and more. Check out the details below.

Cloudera snatches a massive $160M to lead the business of big data

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Today, Cloudera announced a heavy-duty $160 million round of funding. T. Rowe Price led the round, alongside money from “three other top-tier public market investors,” Google Ventures, and an affiliate of MSD Capital, L.P. (Michael Dell’s family firm). Read more on VentureBeat.

Amplify Partners closes a $49.1M to invest in IT infrastructure startups

Venture capital newcomer Amplify Partners has raised a new fund to invest in technical entrepreneurs building new businesses in the storage, networking, and Internet hardware space. Amplify announced today that it has closed $49.1 million, with SAP Ventures among its limited partners. The partners will invest $50,000 to $1.5 million in startups and will support entrepreneurs through multiple rounds of funding. Read more on VentureBeat.

Elementary school with a startup twist: AltSchool raises $33M

AltSchool, a startup focusing on private “micro-schools” that offer personalized education options for elementary students, announced today that it has raised $33 million in a first round of funding led by Founders Fund and Andreessen Horowitz. Read more on VentureBeat.

Percolate snags $24M to turn brands into content marketing machines

Social media marketing startup Percolate just raised a $24 million round to scale its content management system (CMS) for marketing departments. Sequoia Capital led the new round, with additional funds from existing investors GGV Capital, First Round Capital, Lerer Ventures, and multinational advertising company WPP. With fresh capital in hand, Percolate says it will add Sequoia partner Mike Dixon to its board of directors. Read more on VentureBeat.

Bitvore nabs $4.5M to be your ‘data mining for dummies’

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If this startup delivers on its promise, big data might just become a little more digestible and friendly looking. Data mining and business intelligence software Bitvore just scooped up $4.5 million is its first institutional round, including $1 million from crowdfunding sources. Southern California tech investor Yuri Pikover led the round. Read more on VentureBeat.

Captcha startup Picatcha raises $2.3M

Picatcha, a startup focused on bringing more effective Captcha technology to websites, has raised $2.3 million in funding, according to an SEC document filed today. Captchas are those annoying fields that force you to type in wonky-shaped characters to verify that you’re a human. Check out the Form D for more information.