The Morpheus, the first private startup accelerator in India, is shutting down its operations this week after six years of conducting accelerator programs for startups in the country, because of the fierce competition from its rivals.
Finance/Venture
Magic Leap closes first funding round with $50M
Magic Leap Inc, a company that VentureBeat reported as being into "some hardcore science-fiction type stuff" has secured $50 million to successfully close its first funding round.
Fundera raises $3.4M in venture capital to connect New York's small businesses to alternative lenders
New York, US-based lending platform Fundera raised $3.4 million in funding from a recent venture round to help connect small businesses to a network of certified lending alternatives to banks.
Apartment List secures additional $6M in round led by Glynn Capital and Passport Capital
Apartment List, an online rental marketplace, was able to raise an additional $6 million in financing in a follow-on round led by Glynn Capital and Passport Capital, TechCrunch reported.
San Francisco-based Apportable snags $5M from renowned investors
Renowned technology innovators invested $5 million to close the latest funding round of San Francisco-based mobile technology firm Apportable, bringing to $7.4 million total funds raised to date.
Latest News
A Wilshire Associates Inc report showed that public pensions in the US had median gains of 16.1% last year, with smaller public pensions outperforming the "mega" plans, Bloomberg reported.
The Canadian Pension Plan Investment Board will be opening an office in Brazil in April to bolster its investments in the real estate and infrastructure sectors, Reuters reported.
Venture capitalists seem to be gearing up for a very hectic year as they poured $5.8 billion in new companies in January, representing an increase to the $3.5 billion made last year, TechCrunch reported.
Sausalito, California-based merchandise sales management platform atVenu secured seed stage funds of $1.1 million from Canadian venture capital firm Real Ventures, PE HUB Canada reported.
Primus Power, a provider of low-cost grid-scale energy storage solutions, bagged $20 million for the first close of its Series C round led by South Africa-based Anglo American Platinum Ltd.
Investors which include Phenomen Ventures have given additional financing to the tune of $20 million to Rocket Internet-incubated foodpanda and its affiliate hellofood, TechCrunch reported.
France-based startup Wisembly was able to snag $2 million from Alven Capital for its tool that allows users to prepare for, monitor and simplify company meetings, TechCrunch reported.
According to a government official, foreign funds are circling the Israeli companies that are going to be put up for sale by the state in a bid to increase competition, Bloomberg reported.
University of North Carolina Professor Gregg D. Polsky wrote in the February 3 edition of Tax Notes that payments given by companies to their private equity owners are not characterized properly for tax purposes, The New York Times The Dealbook reported.
