Series A
San Francisco-based micro-school organization AltSchool has secured a $33 million Series A investment. Founders Fund and Andreessen Horowitz led the round, which saw follow-on funding from Harrison Metal and First Round Capital. John Doerr, Learn Capital, Omidyar Network and Jonathan Sackler contribute. The company’s first micro-school debuted in San Francisco last year; a minimum of three more micro-schools are expected to join it in the Bay Area for the next academic year.
Biopharmaceutical company Ataxion, Inc has gained $17 million in Series A financing commitments from Biogen Idec and Atlas Venture. Ataxion’s lead program concentrates on rare genetic disorders called hereditary ataxias, according to a press release. Biogen Idec is also contributing “non-dilutive R&D and other funding” to the Cambridge, Massachusetts company.
Series B
In-memory relational database VoltDB has realized an $8 million Series B funding round led by “a Silicon Valley luminary,” according to a company press release. Two more independent backers and current investors Sigma Partners and Kepha Partners contributed. The Bedford, Massachusetts company serves upwards of 400 commercial customers.
FunPlus, which delivers mobile social games, has gained $74 million in Series B funding. Orchid Asia Group led the investment; other investors in the round were Steamboat Ventures and GSR Ventures. The Beijing-based company looks to debut at minimum 2-3 more games this year, augmenting its portfolio to 6-8 games. Total backing behind FunPlus comes to $87 million.
Multiscreen as a Service (MaaS) company Phunware has gained $26.25 million in Series E funding. Firsthand Technology Value Fund led. The round’s initial close counted contributions from Fraser McCombs Ventures, Maxima Ventures, WWE, Cisco, the Central Texas Angel Network and Wild Basin Investment. In the next 60 days, Phunware’s oversubscribed $30 million round is anticipated to close, according to a press release. Total backing behind the Austin, Texas-based company, whose revenues hit $22.1 million last year, comes to $43 million.
Funding
According to reports, Bangalore-based Bluestone.com, the online jewelry platform, has raised more than Rs 60 crore ($10 million) in its second VC investment round. Kalaari Capital led the funding; Accel Partners and Saama Capital contributed. The company had previously secured $5 million in funding.
M&A
Data management platform (DMP) Lotame, out of Columbia, Maryland, has picked up San Mateo-based AdMobius, which delivers mobile audience management. Deal terms were not disclosed.
Russian Internet titan Yandex has bought geolocation startup KitLocate. The latter company is based in Israel. The company’s technology delivers services for location-based applications and cuts battery consumption to less than 1 percent an hour, according to Yandex. No financial information on the transaction was disclosed.
Zulip, a Cambridge company delivering co-workers chat solutions, has been purchased by San Francisco-based Dropbox, according to TechCrunch. Zulip was in private beta when it was snapped up. Deal terms were not disclosed.
Chicago’s Trustwave has revealed its acquisition of Campbell, CA-based Cenzic, which delivers application security services. Trustwave enables enterprises to “fight cybercrime, protect data and reduce security risks,” while Cenzic tests upwards of 500,000 online applications, according to a press release.
Enterprise tag and data management startup Ensighten has acquired London-based TagMan, which provides tag management and attribution services. Cupertino-based Ensighten raised $40 million in a Series B funding round this past January. The combined companies’ client base — to which TagMan adds enterprises including Virgin America, Travelocity, and DirecTV — consists of enterprises driving more than $1.9 trillion in revenue.