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.
CLICK HERE TO SEE WHAT HAPPENED IN SILICON ALLEY LAST WEEK
Olapic, the startup that connects consumer generated image and brands raised a $15M Series B. Leading the round was Felix Capital. Also coming in were Unilever Ventures, Fung Capital, Longworth Venture Partners, and Buddy Media founder Michael Lazerow. Olapic has now raised over $21M since its seed round in 2011.
Also, closing a B round this week is Enigma, the discovery and analytics company that makes searching public records a breeze. The round totaled $28.2M funding and was led by New Enterprise Associates. Also participating in the funding were Two Sigma Ventures, New York City Investment Fund, American Express Ventures, Comcast Ventures and The New York Times Company. Enigma has now raised a tad under $35M since the spring of 2012.
Our friends at Warby Parker announced that they will be setting up a program in conjunction with the City of New York that will provide an estimated 20,000 free eyeglasses to students in NYC schools over the next 4 years.
DigitalGenius, the startup that brings automated customer responses using AI and natural language processing has raised $3 million Series A. Metamorphic Ventures led the funding. Lerer-Hippeau Ventures, Lowercase Capital, RRE Ventures and Lumia Capital also participated in the round. DigitalGenius raised a small convertible note late last year and this funding brings the total amount raised to $3.3M.
Unicorn alert!
Casper, the startup redefining the mattress purchasing experience announced a $55M Series B round. The pre-money valuation is rumored to be at $555M, according to Venture Capital Dispatch. Institutional Venture Partners led the round. Also participating were Scooter Braun, the Pritzker Family, Lerer Hippeau Ventures, New Enterprise Associates, Norwest Venture Partners, Slow Ventures, SV Angel, Vaizra Investments and Queensbridge Venture. Casper has now raised a total of $70M since the beginning of 2014.
Our friends at Downtown Alliance launched the opening of LMHQ, a new hub for entrepreneurs, innovation, and startups in the heart of LOMA. We had a chance to visit the space and its gorgeous! Congrats to the LMHQ team!
New Leaf Venture Partners, an early stage fund focused on the life sciences has raised $200M for its latest fund.
Smart Vision Labs, the startup set out to build a better vision exam by using smartphones has announced a $6.1M Series A round. Investors in the round include Red Sea Ventures, Connectivity Capital, Heritage Group, Techstars Ventures.
Just a few shorts weeks after some big news about 55 Broadway, our friends at Cowork|rs announced the singing of another property. This time around Cowork|rs has its eyes on 60 Broad. A portion of this space will be dedicated for tenants that are outgrowing their existing space who can now “graduate” up to this new location. This is the fourth space announced in the Cowork|rs rapidly expanding portfolio.
LittleBits has announced a $44.2M Series B round. Leading the round is DFJ Growth. Other participants in the round include Morgan Stanley, Alternative Investment Partners, Grishin Robotics and Wamda Capital, Foundry Group, True Ventures, VegasTechFund, Two Sigma Ventures, and Khosla Ventures. Founder Ayah Bdeir was included in AlleyWatch’s 28 Hardware Innovators in NYC You Should Know. The total funding for LittleBits is now just shy of $60M since its first round in 2011.
Cureatr, the group messaging app provider for healthcare providers has raised a $13M Series B round. The round was led by Deerfield Investments and brings the total financing for the company to $19.1M since its first round in 2011.
Our friends at WeWork announced another mega financing. This time to the tune of $400M at a pre money valuation rumored to be at $10B. Investors in the round included Fidelity Investments, T. Rowe Price, JP Morgan Chase & Co.
