Robert Daniel

Sharper Shape, the Palo Alto, California, provider of automated drone-based asset-inspection services, closed $3.25 million (€2.9 million) of funding, led by Straightforward Capital and with strategic investment from partners within Partners in Performance. Straightforward is the Helsinki, Finland, venture-capital firm. PIP is the Sydney, Australia, performance-improvement consultant. Sharper Shape's services combine long-distance survey flights and automated data analysis, said Andrej Srsen, Straightforward Capital's managing director. The services boost efficiency for electricity-grid operators, he said, adding that the software “scales directly to other industries such as railways, oil and gas, and wind-power plants."

Adams Street Partners, the Chicago private-markets investment firm managing more than $27 billion of assets, effective June 1 named Brijesh Jeevarathnam a partner, co-head of global venture fund investments, and a member of its Primary Investment Team. Jeevarathnam, who joins Adams Street at its Menlo Park, California, office, previously was managing director and co-head of global venture capital and global emerging markets at Commonfund, the Wilton, Connecticut, asset manager.

HomeToGo.com, the Berlin vacation-rental search engine, closed a $20 million Series B investment, led by new investor Insight Venture Partners and with participation from Series A investors DN Capital and Acton Capital Partners. HomeToGo said in a statement that it would use the funds to expand internationally and speed creation of new products. Founded in January 2014, the company operates in nine European countries – Austria, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Spain, Switzerland and the United Kingdom – and in the United States. Insight is based in New York, DN is in London and Acton is in Munich.

PerimeterX, the San Mateo, California, provider of technology that defends websites from automated attacks, launched a bot-defender service. The company has closed $12 million in seed and Series A funding since it was founded in late 2014. Backers include Jonathan Heiliger, general partner of Vertex Ventures, who was vice president of technical operations at Facebook from 2007 until 2011. PerimeterX says its tech is relatively simple to integrate and provides “robust reporting for analyzed traffic and threats, giving companies full visibility and control into how and why items are being blocked.”

Accel, the Palo Alto, California, venture-capital firm, closed its London V Fund at $500 million, eyeing early- and growth-stage investments in a variety of industries, particularly marketplaces, software as a service, and infrastructure. The London office has backed teams in 19 countries from London to Tel Aviv. Accel’s funds under management in Europe and Israel total $2.5 billion, and it said it sees “unprecedented opportunity” on the Continent and in the country.

Blis, the London provider of location data technology, closed $25 million in Series B funding from new investors — Endeit Capital, Beringea US and Unilever Ventures — and additional credit facilities provided by Silicon Valley Bank. In a statement, Blis said it would use the funds to expand into new markets, including the United States, increase sales and marketing efforts, strengthen its data-engineering ability and develop new features. The company said it’s profitable, operating in more than 50 markets. Mooreland Partners was Blis’s financial adviser in the Series B round.

Luxe, the San Francisco provider of on-demand valet-parking and other car services, closed $50 million of financing, a Series B round led by Hertz Global Holdings and joined by current investors Redpoint Ventures and Venrock. As part of the financing, Hertz President and CEO John P. Tague will join Luxe’s board. Luxe will use the financing to build out its services to other major urban areas, Tague said in a statement from Luxe. The company currently operates in currently operates in six major U.S. cities: Austin, Texas; Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco and Seattle.

Cambrooke Therapeutics Inc., the Ayers, Massachusetts, provider of medical nutrition products, closed a Series C investment round, led by Seventure Partners, the Paris asset manager. Seventure invested out of its Health For Life Capital vehicle, Cambrooke said in a statement. Also participating: Galen Partners, the Stamford, Connecticut, venture-capital firm and other co-investors from Europe and the United States. Oxana Kukhaneva, a  partner at Seventure, has joined Cambrooke’s board.

Luma, the Atlanta producer of Surround WiFi for the home, raised $12.5 million of Series A financing. The round was led by Accel and reflected a “significant” investment from Amazon Alexa Fund. The additional new investors included David Dorman, former CEO of AT&T and 500 Startups. Reinvesting were Felicis Ventures, Base Ventures, BIP Capital, Relay Ventures, and Webb Investment Network. Luma said in a statement that it would use the funds to meet demand for the system, expand operations and do R&D.

BlueVine, the Palo Alto, California, provider of working-capital financing to small businesses, named Ana Sirbu vice president of finance and strategy, responsible for financial management and growth strategy, including debt capital financing activity. Sirbu joins BlueVine from Google Capital, Google’s growth equity investment fund, where she was a manager and led efforts in FinTech. Sirbu’s resume also includes tenures at Skrill, the London online-payments firm, Silver Lake Partners and UBS.