Seed funding
Mapillary, a Sweden-based mapping company, has raised $1.5 million in seed funding led by Sequoia Capital. Playfair, Wellington and LDV Capital were among the other backers. The company also announced a new iOS app which makes it easier for consumers to build photo representations of the world. The Mapillary community uses smartphones, GoPros, drones and other devices to map areas using a collection of photos. “The Mapillary community generates fresher, more compelling imagery and can cover many more areas than conventional mapping solutions,” said Roelof Botha, partner, Sequoia. “It’s a deft crowdsourcing approach that encourages everyone to participate in the largest expedition in history.”
Smartphone sensor company Sense 360 has raised $2.75 million in seed funding led by FirstMark Capital. Founder Collective, Qualcomm Ventures, Metamorphic Ventures, Double M Capital and Telenav were among the other participants in the round. The company will help developers use sensors in phones to interact better with users.
Series B
ClassPass, a fitness subscription service, has secured $40 million in Series B funding led by General Catalyst and Thrive Capital. The company has now raised over $55 million and will use the latest funds to expand its fitness class membership offering into new U.S. cities and around the world. “I believe that staying active makes you happier. We wanted to make it easier and more engaging to make fitness a part of people’s lives,” said Payal Kadakia, CEO and Co-Founder of ClassPass. “Our mission is to work closely with our studio partners to help transform people’s lives, giving them more choices in how they maintain their fitness.”
Funding
Digital clinical research company Clinipace has raised $50 million in debt and equity financing for acquisitions. Virgo Investment Group led the round, with participation from existing backers including Morgan Stanley Expansion Capital, Hatteras Venture Partners, Harbert Venture Partners and Mario Family Funds. The company has made five acquisitions in the past five years and is hoping to grow further in this manner. Jeff Williams, Clinipace Worldwide CEO, said: “Our model delivers unprecedented visibility, integration and collaboration among functions across clinical trials operations; walls that separate functions in a typical CRO are broken down, and information flows more quickly and freely. With Virgo, we found investors who, not only think about innovation like we do, but who also provided a financing vehicle designed to be used as needed to support our M&A activities.”