Series A
Toronto-based Rubikloud, a data analytics platform for retailers, has secured $7.5 million from Access Industries, TOM Group, and Ule. The company was previously backed by Horizon Ventures, the VC arm of Hong Kong’s Li Ka Shing.
Series B
Porch, a social network for making decisions about home improvement and enlisting professionals to help, has received $65 million in funding. The round was led by Valor Equity Partners, with additional participation coming from Battery Ventures, Founder’s Fund, Capricorn Investment Group, the home improvement chain Lowe’s, and Ty Pennington of “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition.” Porch was founded in 2012 and is based in Seattle. The site currently has 3.2 million home professionals.
Series C
The falling value of bitcoin, which shed around 60% of its value in 2014, has not deterred DFJ Growth, Andreessen Horowitz, and Union Square Ventures from coming together to put up $75 million for Coinbase’s Series C, the biggest venture capital deal for a bitcoin-related company ever. Also involved in the financing were the New York Stock Exchange, USAA, BBVA, NTT Docomo, Valar Capital, as were ex-Citibank CEO Vikram Pandit and ex-Thomas Reuters CEO Tom Glocer. The company allows users to link their bank accounts to a personal bitcoin wallet, and has now raised $106 million since graduating from Y Combinator in 2012. “Today’s fundraise gives us solid growth capital to continue driving mainstream, global adoption of Bitcoin,” read a statement on the Coinbase blog.
Founded by former NASA scientists to launch image capturing satellites, Planet Labs has secured $25 million in debt financing from Western Technology Investment to bring total funding (debt and equity) to $160.1 million. The San Francisco, Calif.-based company was formerly known as Cosmogia.
Series D
Sales tax management software company Avalara has raised $42 million in Series D financing from Technology Crossover Ventures. Previous backers include Warburg Pincus and Battery Ventures. The company has now raised over $220 million.
Growth equity
Meituan.com, a daily deals site frequently referred to as “the Groupon of China,” has raised $700 million at a reported $7 billion valuation. The backers are not yet disclosed, but previous investors include Alibaba and Sequoia Capital China.