Bitcoin exchange itBit raised $25 million in funding, and received an official business license from the New York State Department of Financial Services. The license will allow the company to bring in customers in the U.S. legally and will bring it under the regulation of the state. The investment round included previous backers RRE Ventures, Liberty City Ventures and Jay W. Jordan II, and new participants such as Raptor Capital Management chairman James Pallotta. “Our mission at itBit has always been to create a trusted, institutional-grade exchange and regulatory compliance is an important pillar of that mission,” said itBit CEO and co-founder Charles Cascarilla. “Regulatory approval from the NYDFS allows us to serve as a custodian for our clients’ assets and expand our services to U.S. customers – the largest market of bitcoin traders in the world – and allows us to do so with the highest standard of care afforded by any Bitcoin company.”
InteraXon, which makes Muse, a wearable headband and brain fitness tool, has raised $10 million in Series B funding. The round was led by Omers Ventures with participation from Felicis Ventures, Horizons Ventures and Flextronics Lab IX. The Muse headband uses sensors to measure user’s brain waves.
Wag!, an app which matches dog owners with dog walkers, has closed a $2.45 million seed round, led by Freestyle Capital. Other participants included Greylock, Crunchfund, Slow Ventures, Social Leverage and RRE. The company will use the funds to expand into additional markets, and also announced the official launch of the app in San Francisco.
Indian online tutoring platform Vedantu has raised $5 million in Series A funding from Accel Partners and Tiger Global Management. This funding news follows competitor Toppr’s announcement of $10 million in new funding. The company will use the funds to make its offering mobile friendly and to scale its platform to allow real-time tutoring connections for students.