Good day. Battery Ventures is seeking to raise a $3.5 billion venture-capital fund, according to a regulatory filing. The fund, named Battery Ventures XIV, L.P., has already tapped 194 investors for the offering and raised roughly $3.04 billion, per the filing.

Battery is a Boston-based technology-focused investment firm started in 1983. The firm notched recent exits including Coinbase Global Inc., Affirm Inc. and Datadog Inc.

Battery is also raising a $600 million fund named Battery Ventures Select Fund II, L.P., according to a separate filing.

And now on to the news...

VC geography. An increase in venture-capital investing outside of Silicon Valley is spurring the rise of small tech hubs in cities not traditionally known for technology, WSJ Pro reports. 

• The Denver-Boulder area in Colorado is one example. The region has seen venture-capital investment soar in recent years and startup-support services such as tech-focused law firms have set up shop in the region. In addition, new venture firms have launched in Colorado and investors say the talent pipeline is beginning to deliver a steady stream of tech workers starting local companies. Earlier this year, Denver hosted the ETHDenver conference, a dayslong gathering for crypto-related startups and investors.
   
• While emerging tech hubs such as Austin, Texas, and Miami are well known and continue to attract investment and new companies, lesser-known hubs like Denver are gaining steam, a sign of how pandemic-induced shifts in the tech sector are playing out.

Companies are moving their Ukraine-based tech teams to hubs in nearby Poland and Georgia, setting up more permanent operations while the war’s destructiveness cuts deeper into the country, WSJ reports. Stuzo LLC, a Philadelphia-based software company, is establishing a corporate entity in Poland to allow employees to stay there if they wish, said Gunter Pfau, the company’s chief executive. Some 35 Stuzo employees relocated to Poland since the onset of the war. “We are doing it as a contingency,” said Mr. Pfau. “I would hope to not have to use it…because I know that the people want to go home.”

Dan Keegan, a top Citigroup Inc. markets executive, is leaving the bank to start an investment fund focused on financial-technology companies, according to an internal memo, WSJ reports. Mr. Keegan held several roles helping build up Citigroup’s equities-trading business over 15 years. Most recently, he was the head of all North American markets, a statesmanlike role serving as the bank’s representative to top clients. Citigroup’s equities-trading business long lagged behind its powerhouse fixed-income operations, and the bank faced pressure from investors to prove the business was pulling its weight. The bank has climbed to fifth place in market share for equities.

Funds

Bessemer Venture Partners raised a $250 million fund to focus on consumer crypto, DeFi and Web3 infrastructure.

Singapore-based fintech platform Cake DeFi launched a venture capital arm with $100 million allotted for Web3, gaming and fintech startups.

Midwest-focused New Stack Ventures raised $42.6 million for its second fund to continue making angel, pre-seed and seed stage investments in business-to-business software-as-a-service startups. The Chicago-based firm collected $6 million for its debut fund in 2018.

People

May Mobility, a developer of self-driving electric shuttles, appointed Manik Dhar as chief commercial officer. He was previously chief revenue officer at CloudFactory. In January, Ann Arbor, Mich.-based May Mobility raised $83 million in Series C funding from investors including Sparx Group Co., Toyota Ventures, Millennium Technology Value Partners, 1843 Capital, BMW i Ventures and Bay Lake Ventures.

Cyber insurance provider At-Bay Inc. hired Thomas Dekens as chief strategy officer. He was most recently vice president of strategy and corporate development at Forescout.  At-Bay is backed by investors including Acrew Capital, Glilot Capital, Icon Ventures, ION Crossover Partners, Khosla Ventures, Lightspeed Venture Partners and M12.

Exits

Publicly traded MeridianLink Inc., a provider of software platforms for financial institutions and consumer reporting agencies, agreed to acquire StreetShares, which offers digital small business lending technology to banks and credit unions. Terms weren’t disclosed. Reston, Va.-based StreetShares is backed by investors including Motley Fool Ventures, Fenway Summer Ventures, TFX Capital and Ally Ventures.

Byju's, an Indian K-12 edtech startup, snagged an $800 million investment, half of which came from company Founder and Chief Executive Byju Raveendran. Sumeru Ventures, Vitruvian Partners and BlackRock provided the other half.

Birdeye Inc., a Palo Alto, Calif.-based customer experience platform, completed a $60 million Series C round led by Accel-KKR. Previous investors in the company include World Innovation Lab and Trinity Ventures.

Once Upon a Farm, a Berkeley, Calif.-based maker of organic snacks and meals for children, landed $52 million in Series D funding. Lead investor CAVU Venture Partners was joined by S2G Ventures, Cambridge Companies and Beechwood Capital in the round.

Atlan, a data collaboration workspace provider, closed a $50 million Series B round at a $450 million valuation. Salesforce Ventures, Insight Partners and Sequoia Capital India led the investment.

DataRails, an Israel-based financial planning and analysis software startup, secured $50 million in Series B financing. Led by Qumra Capital, the round included support from La Maison Partners, ClalTech, Zeev Ventures, Vertex Ventures Israel, Innovation Endeavors and others.

Mori, a Boston-based creator of a natural protective layer that slows down the spoiling process of food, scored a $50 million Series B1 round led by Prelude Ventures. New investors Collaborative Fund and Thia Ventures also contributed to the funding, along with existing backers Drawdown Fund, Acre Venture Partners, The Engine, Refactor Capital, Blindspot Ventures, Closed Loop Partners and Knollwood Investment Advisory.

Encompass Corp., a Glasgow-based startup whose technology automates regulatory and compliance tasks for banks and financial institutions, picked up a $33 million investment. Perennial Partners led the round, which included participation from Serendipity Capital and others.

100ms Inc., a video conferencing infrastructure provider, secured $20 million in Series A financing. Led by Alpha Wave Incubation, the round included support from Matrix Partners, Accel, LocalGlobe and Strive.

Justpoint, a New York-based personal injury lawyer marketplace, added $6.9 million in seed funding after raising $1 million in 2020. Divergent Capital and Charge Ventures co-led the round, which saw participation from Crossbeam Venture Partners, Honeystone Ventures, Interplay.vc, Weekend Fund and others.

Affogata, a Tel Aviv-based customer intelligence platform, added $4 million in seed funding, bringing the round total to $9.5 million. Investors included Mindset Ventures, Mangrove Capital and Pico Venture Partners.

Mirror World, a GameFi project that builds multiple games with interoperable NFT assets, closed a $4 million seed round. Alameda Research, Galaxy Interactive and Republic Crypto co-led the funding, which included participation from investors including Mirana Ventures, Sky9 Capital, LD Capital and Tess Ventures.

• Google-Facebook ad deal is investigated by EU, U.K.
   
• Chinese stocks plunge after SEC stokes delisting concerns
   
• Tesla set the model for selling EVs; Ford, VW and others want to follow
   
• 5G expands to more-affordable phones as chip prices fall
   
• Reese Witherspoon and Gwyneth Paltrow push for crypto sisterhood

This newsletter was compiled by Marc Vartabedian and Zachary Cole.

WSJ Pro Venture Capital is a premium service of The Wall Street Journal. We cover venture capital and the global startup ecosystem. Share your tips, comments and questions: vcnews@wsj.com

The Team: Matthew Strozier, Yuliya Chernova, Brian Gormley and Marc Vartabedian.

Follow us on Twitter: @wsjvc, @ychernova, @BrianPGormley, @marcvarta.