Time to catch up on a handful of Seattle-area technology news, including new funds for Remitly and Placeful, a partnership between Kymeta and UIEvolution, and an acquisition of Ador, formerly known as Lockerz. The details:
—Remitly, the Seattle startup working to reinvent international money transfers, has raised a $5.5 million Series A funding round led by QED Investors. Most of the company’s existing investors—which include Trilogy Partnership, Founders Co-Op, Tomorrow Ventures, Bezos Expeditions, and angel investors including Geoff Entress, Sujal Patel, and Chase Franklin—participated in this round, which brings total funding to more than $10 million. Formerly known as Beamit, the company was a 2011 Seattle Techstars graduate and raised $2.6 million a year ago. It is currently focused on money transfers between the U.S. and the Philippines. Remitly promises faster, cheaper money transfers.
—PlaceFull, a Seattle startup helping venue owners list spaces for event rental, has raised $2 million from 45 investors, according to an SEC filing. The company, incorporated in 2011, makes a platform to list and search for event venues by location and type. It also connects people with service providers to feed and entertain event attendees. The company began raising the current round last March, according to the filing. GeekWire reports that investors include members of the Alliance of Angels.
—Seattle-area companies UIEvolution and Kymeta are pairing up to collaborate on a high-speed Internet and broadcast services platform. UIEvolution, based in Kirkland, WA, makes a technology platform for application delivery, branding, and marketing across screens found everywhere from connected cars to cruise ships. Kymeta, the Intellectual Ventures spin-out based in Redmond, WA, makes software-driven satellite antennas with no moving parts. The companies say their collaboration on a pilot project aims to deliver broadband mobile services to in-motion vehicles around the world.
—Seattle-based social commerce company Ador, formerly known as Lockerz, is being acquired. The buyer is publicly-traded Chinese e-commerce site LightInTheBox.com (NYSE: [[ticker:LITB]]). Terms were not disclosed. Lockerz has raised about $75 million since its founding in 2009 from investors including DAG Ventures, Liberty Media, and Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers. Lockerz renamed itself Ador in October, raising $9 million and shifting focus to the Ador.com “shoppable fashion magazine.” Re/code reports that both Lockerz.com and Ador.com will continue to operate. Ador executives are joining LightInTheBox, establishing the company’s first U.S. office. The company sells all manner of consumer goods to customers around the world.
