- Transit app: Intel (NASDAQ:INTC) Capital led and BMW (OTCPK:BMWYY) iVentures contributed to a $50M Series D funding round in transit app provider Moovit App Global. The round brought total fundraising up to $133M. Other contributors: Sequoia, NGP, Sound Ventures, BRM, Gemini, Vaizra, Vintage, and Hanaco.
- Intel SVP (and Mobileye (OTC:MBBYF) CEO and CTO) Amnon Shashua will join Moovit’s board as an observer.
- Moovit’s free app provides comprehensive transit info to more than 120m users in over 2K cities in 80 countries. The company offers repository of its transit data through the Smart Transit Suite, where transit operators and local governments can manage networks.
- Moovit will use the funding to expand its global sales force and invest in its Mobility as a Service platform.
- Competitors: Citymapper ($50M in total funding, Benchmark among backers), Transit ($9.1M in funding, Accel Partners backing), and Google (GOOG, GOOGL) Maps, which acquired the Urban Engines team in 2016.
- Enterprise social network: Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) Ventures, Cisco (NASDAQ:CSCO) Investments, and Time Warner (NYSE:TWX) contributed to a $36.5M round in employee communication and engagement platform company Dynamic Signal. Total funding now lands around $70M. Other contributors: Adams Street Partners, Trinity Ventures, and Venrock.
- Dynamic Signal’s platform lets enterprises communicate with employees through messages, videos, and surveys. Employees can comment, “Like”, or share the content through other social networks. The company also makes a newsletter tool and the standalone marketing and HR app DySi Open.
- The startup will use the funds to expand platform functionality, deepen third-party integrations, and to pursue an “aggressive” hiring spree that should double its headcount this year.
- Competition: Everything from email to Facebook (NASDAQ:FB) Groups. But Dynamic Signal diversifies by integrating with software including Microsoft’s SharePoint, Salesforce, Adobe, Oracle (NYSE:ORCL), Slack, and Facebook.
- AI-backed cybersecurity: Wipro (NYSE:WIT) Ventures participated in a $36M Series D funding round in cybersecurity startup Vectra, which brought total funding up to $123M. The valuation was $344M before this round, according to PitchBook. Other participants: Atlantic Bridge Capital (led), Ireland’s Strategic Investment und, Accel Partners, Khosla Ventures, and AME Cloud Ventures.
- Vectra uses AI to minimize the length of a breach that happens despite other security measures. Vectra says its customer subscription numbers grew 181% from 2016 to 2017. Large enterprise customers include LiveNation, Tribune Media, and Verifone.
- Vectra CEO Hitesh Sheth calls the round the “path to profitability” as the company considers an IPO in the future. For now, Vectra will build an R&D center in Dublin.
- Competitor: Darktrace ($179.5M in funding, SoftBank (OTCPK:SFTBF, OTCPK:SFTBY) and KKR among backers), Cisco’s intrusion detection, and RiskIQ ($65.5M in funding, Battery Ventures backing), to name a few.
- Debit card for kids: Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) Alexa Fund and SunTrust (NYSE:STI) participated in a $16M Series A round in Greenlight Financial Technology, which creates a smart debit card for kids, teens, and college students. The round brings total funding up to $23.5M. Other participants: TTV Capital (led), New Enterprise Associates, Ally Financial, Relay Ventures, NBKC Bank, and Canapi.
- Greenlight cards are free for 30 days and then $4.99/month per family for up to five children.
- Competitors: Visa (NYSE:V) Buxx Card for teens, Capital One (NYSE:COF) MONEY for teens, and Current ($8.6M in funding).
- Cyber defense: Orange (NYSE:ORAN) Digital Ventures, GE (NYSE:GE), and Deutsche Telekom (DE:DTEGn) (OTCQX:DTEGF, OTCQX:DTEGY) contributed to a $12M Series B round in Moving Target Defense provider Morphisec. The round brought total funding up to $19M. Other participants: La Maison, Portage Partners, OurCrowd, Kodem Growth Partners, and Evolution Equity Partners.
- Morphisec produces an Endpoint Threat Prevention Product with patented Moving Target Defense tech. The tech can prevent threats including APTs, ransomware, zero-days, fileless attacks, and web-borne exploits.
- Competition: Cylance ($177M in funding, Capital One among backers), Bromium ($115.8M in funding, Intel among backers), and SentinelOne ($109.5M in total funding, Third Point Ventures backing.)
- Previously: The Information: Amazon offered $100M for August before releasing Key (Feb. 20)
- Previously: Amazon roundup: New accelerator, over double Walmart (NYSE:WMT)'s size, Luxoft collab (Feb. 21)
- Now read: Visa And Mastercard - Same Business, Different Results
Original article