brad meikle

VoodooVox Inc (CSE:VVX), a  full-service mobile ad network and campaign management platform with offices in Toronto and Williamstown, Massachusetts, recently announced that it had raised $4.9 million private placement. The investors included User Friendly Media, a Woodlands, Texas-based provider of yellow page directories in the United States. User Friendly Media is a portfolio company of U.S. private equity firm Veronis Suhler Stevenson. The previously venture-backed VoodooVox intends to use its latest funding for general working capital, expand its sales force and repay short term loans.

Argos Therapeutics Inc, a biopharmaceutical company focused on immunotherapies for the treatment of cancer and infectious diseases, recently priced its initial public offering of 5,625 million shares of common stock at US$8.00 per share, giving the company US$45 million in proceeds. The Durham, North Carolina-based Agros has been listed on NASDAQ under the symbol ARGS. Founded in 1997, the company is venture-backed. Its most recent financing round, completed in Aug. 2013, raised US$42.5 million from an investor group that included Canadian venture capital firm Lumira Capital and pension fund manager the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec.

Ara Labs Security Solutions Inc, a Fredericton, New Brunswick-based provider of Internet security services, has received $500,000 in financing. The company's backers, Canadian venture capital firms New Brunswick Innovation Foundation (NBIF) and Technology Ventures Corp, each contributed $250,000 to the deal. Investment proceeds will be used to bring to market Ara Labs' software-as-a-service technology, which detects, reports and mediates malware and botnet activity across the Internet in real-time. Ara Labs was founded by Hadi Shiravi, Ehsan Mokhtari and Ali Shiravi, all PhD candidates in computer science at the University of New Brunswick.

In-application mobile video advertising platform Vungle Inc has raised US$17 million in a Series B financing round. The deal was led by Thomvest Ventures, the US$250 million venture capital fund of Canada's Peter Thomson. Other participants in the round included existing investors Crosslink Capital, Google Ventures, AOL Ventures, SoftTech VC and Webb Investment Network. Funding proceeds will go toward building a suite of monetization tools for mobile app developers, including the first-ever in-app mobile video ad exchange, the company said. Founded in and venture-backed since 2011, Vungle is based in San Francisco, California.

The Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC) has been recognized by Mediacorp Canada Inc as one of Canada's best diversity employers and one of Montréal's top employers. The firm was selected from a group of over 3,250 companies that participated in this year's application process. The Montréal-based BDC offers financing, subordinate financing, venture capital, securitization and consulting services to more than 28,000 small and medium-sized companies.

Slyce has acquired computer vision technology developed at York University that quickly analyzes and aggregates similar images. The terms of the deal were not published. The Calgary-based company said it will integrate the intellectual property into Slyce’s visual search platform. The acquisition follows Slyce's buy last December of Toronto-based Hovr.it. Focused on providing visual search technology for retailers, brands and publishers, Slyce in 2013 secured $3.75 million in funding from Canadian venture capital firm Podium Ventures, Alpha North and angel investors. It also raised $2.2 million in convertible debenture financing.

Whirlscape Inc, developer of the Minuum keyboard and wearable typing methods for OEM device integration, has received $500,000 in seed-stage financing. The Toronto-based company's backers include Canadian venture capital firm BDC Venture Capital, U.S.-based FundersClub and Y Combinator, and a dozen angel investors. Whirlscape said it plans to use the new funds to advance innovation and consolidate the success of its Minuum technology, which was launched last year. Founded in 2012, Whirlscape has been supported by Silicon Valley startup accelerator Y Combinator, the Creative Destruction Lab, and UTEST, the MaRS Innovation and University of Toronto accelerator program for early-stage technologies.

Wireless energy management company REGEN Energy Inc has secured US$7 million in a Series B financing round. The round was led by a unidentified global energy company and included participation from existing Canadian investor BDC Venture Capital Energy/Cleantech Fund and U.S. investor NGEN Partners. The new funds will allow the Toronto-based REGEN to increase sales, marketing and support infrastructure, to continue to advance Swarm Energy Management™, the company's wireless smart grid technology platform, and to enhance its product line. Founded in 2005, REGEN also has an office in Newport Beach, California. The company received its seed financing from MaRS Investment Accelerator Fund.

A stronger IPO market has sparked improving returns for U.S. venture capital funds, writes Venture Capital Journal senior editor Mark Boslet. As of the third quarter of last year, gains were evident across most benchmark timeframes, including the quarterly, one-year, three-year, five-year, 10-year and 15-year periods, according to a report from Cambridge Associates and the National Venture Capital Association. Only the 20-year time frame failed to advance. The report found one-year returns rose to 15.1% from 8.9% in June and three-year returns were 14.4%, up from 13.5% in June. The ten-year performance was 8.6%, up from 7.8%, and quarterly returns were 6.5%. The 20-year time frame was essentially unchanged at 30%.

Merchandise sales management platform atVenu has secured US$1.1 million in a seed-stage financing round, according to the company's blog. The deal was led by Canadian venture capital firm Real Ventures. Proceeds of the investment will be used to grow atVenu and develop its technology platform and client base. Based in Sausalito, California, atVenu provides real-time financial data tools to support product sales by artists at their live performances. The Montréal-based Real Ventures invests in early-stage IT and Internet-focused companies. The firm recently disclosed to peHUB Canada that it is gearing up for the first close of its third partnership, Real Ventures III, which is targeted to raise $100 million.