Here’s a list of today’s tech funding stories, updated as the day unfolds. Tip us here if you have a deal to share.
European VC firm Lakestar launches new $400M fund for local and U.S. startups
Europe’s Lakestar has announced a fresh €350 million ($400 million) fund, as the Guernsey-based venture capital (VC) firm looks to plow more cash into European and U.S. startups.
Founded and chaired by European VC Klaus Hommels, who was an early investor in Skype, Spotify, Facebook, and other well-known tech companies, Lakestar II is a follow-up to the €135 million ($154 million) fund launched in 2013, which is still active.
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OpenStack company Mirantis takes on $100M round led by Intel Capital
Mirantis, a company that sells a distribution of the OpenStack open-source cloud software, announced today a $100 million funding round. Intel Capital led the round, and now Mirantis will be collaborating with Intel to increase enterprise adoption of OpenStack.
To date, Mirantis has raised at least $220 million, including the $100 million round announced last October.
In addition to Intel Capital, Goldman Sachs, August Capital, Insight Venture Partners, Ericsson, Sapphire Ventures, and WestSummit Capital also participated.
Cavendish Kinetics raises $36M to improve smartphone reception
Cavendish Kinetics, a Silicon Valley radio chip design company, has raised $36 million to make chips that it says could transform the performance of smartphones.
The funding is a rare event in the semiconductor industry, a $335 billion business that is dominated by gigantic chip companies such as Intel and Qualcomm. Triquent Semiconductor, a division of Qorvo, participated in the round as a strategic investor.
Cavendish said that a new strategic investor in the round isn’t being identified. But a filing by Qorvo acknowledges that its Triquent division invested $25 million in Cavendish. Existing investors are Tallwood Venture Capital, Wellington Partners, Celtic House Venture Partners, Qualcomm Ventures, and Quadia.
To date, Cavendish has raised $105 million.
Japan’s cloud accounting startup Freee raises $30M at $250M valuation ahead of IPO
Freee, a Tokyo-based cloud accounting and payroll service that launched in March 2013, today announced a $30 million Series C round that takes its total raised funding to date to $43 million. Existing investors in the round include DCM and Recruit Holdings, with Japan Co-Invest Limited Partnership coming on board for the first time.
Freee’s CEO and cofounder, Daisuke Sasaki, told VentureBeat in an interview that this latest round leaves Freee valued at around $250 million. He also said that while the company would be unlikely to raise further funding in the next 12 months, it is gunning for a $1 billion IPO on the Tokyo Stock Exchange in the next two to three years.
Cannabis startup Tradiv is raising $1M to connect growers and sellers
Boulder, Colorado-based Tradiv is raising a $1 million round as it gears up to launch its B2B marketplace for cannabis cultivators, marijuana infused product companies, and dispensaries.
Backed by Cannabis accelerator CanopyBoulder and accelerator partner Micah Tapman, Tradiv revealed the raise in a public filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The weed startup has so far raised $650,000, according to the filing — at least $20,000 of which likely came from CanopyBoulder, in exchange for a whopping 9.5 percent equity stake. The filing also lists Emily Paxhia, partner of Cannabis-only fund Poseidon Asset Management; and former Microsoft Surface manager, Nick Hofmeister.
This list will be updated with breaking funding news all day. Check back for more.
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