Seed
3D body imaging platform Body Labs has secured $2.2 million in seed financing. The New York company is being backed by FirstMark Capital and New York Angels. At this point Body Labs appears to be interested in its technology’s retail applications. “We very much believe in a world where goods and services are made increasingly and eventually exclusively for you specifically to match your size, shape, taste, and preference. We believe in this mass customized world,” Body Labs CEO and founder Bill O’Farrell told The Wall Street Journal.
Series A
UpLift, a payments marketing and analytics service, has secured $8.2 million in venture financing. The company currently provides insights into consumer purchasing habits to travel companies, non-profits, and e-commerce merchants. The round was led by IDG Ventures, with additional participation coming from PAR Capital Ventures, Thayer Ventures, and a host of angel investors.
Series B
HIHEY.COM, an art trading platform being run out of Beijing, has received a massive $100 million Series B round from Shenzhen Capital and CITIC Securities. Founded in 2011, the company touted its “VIP” clients from the world of finance in the press release that accompanied the announcement. HIHEY also took out an ad near New York’s Times Square that described the company in Chinese characters as “the largest art e-commerce company.”
Speakaboos, a mobile-first purveyor of interactive storybooks designed to enhance child literacy, has received a $6.5 million investment. The round was led by ReThink Education managing partner Rick Segal and The Al Sayegh Group. “We are seeing an explosive opportunity in early childhood learning and the digital literacy marketplace,” Segal told Yahoo Finance. “As the digital landscape evolves, so has Speakaboos, branching out across mobile devices, tablets, and laptops in homes and classrooms worldwide.”
Series D
$50 million is being poured into Craftsy, the go-to video education platform for 85 million craft enthusiasts from around the world. The service currently offers 400 courses in activities like quilting, sewing, and baking. All of the participants in the Series D round, The Foundry Group, Tiger Global, Adams Street Partners, Access Venture Partners, and Silicon Valley Bank, have previously invested in the Denver, Colo.-based company.