Santa Monica, US-based events planning mobile app Klutch scored $1.5 million in a funding round led by LaunchpadLA to help people plan get-togethers and socialize offline.

Venture capital investors are competing with each other to support promising startups, particularly those outside the US, as young companies now have more access to capital, VentureBeat reported.

San Francisco, US-based educational analytics startup BrightBytes pocketed $15 million in a Series B funding round led by Bessemer Venture Partners to help schools identify learning gaps in their systems.

Jonathan Teo and Justin Caldbeck will be forming Binary, a new fund that seeks to support startups in the consumer technology space so that they can concentrate on their products, TechCrunch reported.

Barry McCarthy will be stepping down from mobile payments startup Clinkle, known for raising the biggest seed round ever, as its Chief Operating Officer, VentureBeat reported.

Former Chief Operating Officer of GGV Capital is now a venture partner of GGV Capital, the venture capital company that seeks investment opportunities in firms that connect China and the US, TechCrunch reported.

San Francisco, US-based on-demand transportation startup Lyft announced that it will add more coverage to its ride insurance to include the time that drivers are not actively driving passengers.

Financial information services provider Fitch Group has acquired risk and analysis provider Business Monitor International or BMI for an undisclosed amount, a statement about the deal said.

Illinois, US-based specialist packaging supplier Arpac added New York-based conventional palletiser manufacturer Lambert Material Handling for an undisclosed amount to increase its portfolio of packaging solutions.

Hellman & Friedman purchased Renaissance Learning, a learning analytics firm, in a cash deal worth $1.1 billion less than a month after it closed a $40 million round led by Google Capital, TechCrunch reported.