Boston Roundup: Kensho, Drizly, Change Collective, UberVu

A foursome of deals from around the region in this midweek update:

—Kensho, a Cambridge, MA-based developer of financial software, says it has raised $10 million in venture capital. The startup is testing a software product called Warren, which Kensho says will allow investors to perform research with natural-language queries—kind of like a Siri approach to finance. The money comes from General Catalyst, New Enterprise Associates, Accel Partners, Google Ventures, and a Fidelity Investments private equity division.

—Drizly, maker of an iPhone app that lets consumers order alcohol for delivery from nearby stores, has raised $2.25 million in seed funding. The startup, now operating in participating areas of Boston and New York, also helps delivery drivers scan and validate purchaser IDs. Investors include Atlas Venture (through its AngelList syndicate), other venture firms, and several local angels. The company was founded in 2011 by classmates at Boston College.

—Change Collective, a startup developing online self-improvement courses, has raised $1.4 million in seed financing. More details from Boston.com, which reports that the investors were Founder Collective, NextView Ventures, and Eniac Ventures, and that the startup is part of the new Techstars class. Co-founders Ben Rubin and Derek Haswell previously worked together at failed sleep-aid device startup Zeo.

—UberVu, a social media analytics company based in Cambridge, has been acquired by social media software company HootSuite. No price was disclosed for the transaction. UberVu’s CrunchBase entry indicates the startup raised less than $1 million, although it did boast some 200 customers. The UberVu service will be integrated with Vancouver, BC-based HootSuite’s products.

Author: Curt Woodward

Curt covered technology and innovation in the Boston area for Xconomy. He previously worked in Xconomy’s Seattle bureau and continued some coverage of Seattle-area tech companies, including Amazon and Microsoft. Curt joined Xconomy in February 2011 after nearly nine years with The Associated Press, the world's largest news organization. He worked in three states and covered a wide variety of beats for the AP, including business, law, politics, government, and general mayhem. A native Washingtonian, Curt earned a bachelor's degree in journalism from Western Washington University in Bellingham, WA. As a past president of the state's Capitol Correspondents Association, he led efforts to expand statehouse press credentialing to online news outlets for the first time.