With so much going on in the city’s thriving ecosystem, it is easy to miss some of the happenings in the space. We keep you abreast of a few of things that you may have missed in NYC Tech this week including the fundings, exits, and events.
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SeatGeek, the search engine that enables users to find and purchase tickets for live sports, concert, and theater events, has raised $62 million in Series C funding. Technology Crossover Ventures led the round, with participation from previous investors Accel Partners, Causeway Media Partners, Mousse Partners and QueensBridge Venture Partners.
Sprinklr, a maker of social media management software that enables enterprise brands to connect with customers across every touch point, has raised $46 million in Series E funding from previous backers Intel Capital, Battery Ventures, and Iconiq Capital.
Xaxis, the programmatic arm of WPP, has acquired Verizon-backed ActionX, a mobile adtech company that tracks the anonymous behavior of mobile app users and then serves ads to those users, based on their behavior.
Via, an app-enabled startup that offers SUV rides ($5 plus tax) to groups of passengers with compatible destinations (in New York, but soon to be available elsewhere as well), has raised $27 million in Series B funding led by Pitango Venture Capital, with participation from Hearst Ventures, Ervington Investments, and 83North.
Noom, whose smartphone apps promote healthy living by monitoring the progress of its users, and providing advice on weight management, has raised $16.2 million in Series B funding led by InterVest, a Seoul, Korea-based venture capital firm. LB Investment; Hanmi IT, a subsidiary company of Hanmi Pharmaceutical Co.; RRE Ventures; TransLink Capital; and Qualcomm Ventures also participated in the round.
The company was part of the NY Digital Health Accelerator last class of startups.
Handy, (nee Handybook), the on-demand home cleaning service, has raised $15 million in funding.
The round was led by TPG Growth, with participation from Sound Ventures and some earlier backers.
GlassesUSA, an online retailer specializing in prescription eyewear, has raised $12.5 million in Series Afunding led by Viola Private Equity.
Oyster, the leading streaming service for books, launched an ebook store this week, and has signed on all Big Five publishers — Hachette, HarperCollins, Macmillan, Penguin Random House, and Simon & Schuster — to offer the best all-in-one experience for ebooks.
Alongside Oyster’s existing subscription service (which will continue expanding), the new store will allow all readers – including subscribers and non-subscribers – to purchase and read virtually any ebook on Oyster, including all new releases and pre-orders.
Thousands of publishers are included in the catalog, including every Top 10 publisher.
Socratic, an online community that allows teachers to upload video lessons and educational content for K-12, college, and graduate students, has raised a $6 million Series A funding round led by Shasta Ventures, with participation from Spark Capital and Omidyar Network.
Point72 Asset Management, which manages the fortune of billionaire trader Steven A. Cohen, has launched Honeycomb Ventures, a venture capital unit that will invest in global media, technology and telecommunication companies, including those that focus on cloud computing, payments and security technology and e-commerce backs technology companies.
Honeycomb Ventures is led by Point72 money manager David Fiszel.
Moment.me, which recently pivoted to build mobile websites for events, has been acquired by website builder,Wix, for $10 million.
Wix went public in late 2013.
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has struck a deal with lawmakers to include a $100 million venture capital fund in the state budget, which is double the initial request. The money will be used to support startups engaged in biotechnology and advanced materials.
The fund will be overseen by the Empire State Development Corp. and managed by Brian Keil, a former managing director of a $250 million venture-capital fund sponsored by NBC Universal and General Electric Capital Corp. First Round Capital’s Howard Morgan, who was named one of the AlleyWatch 100 NYC Tech Influencers You Need to Know, will lead a voluntary advisory committee.
Image credit: Salon.com
Lux Capital, the venture firm with offices in New York and Menlo Park, has closed its fourth fund, with $350 million to invest in early-stage science and technology ventures. Their initial target raise was $245 million.
