Restaurant tech giant Toast raises $101M in funding
Toast is on track to becoming the fastest-growing restaurant tech company in the U.S. with a fresh $101 million Series C investment led by Generation Investment Management and Lead Edge Capital. The round, which was announced Tuesday, will be used to double the Boston-based restaurant tech giant’s team from 500 to 1,000 employees nationwide over the next 18 months, as well as to continue building out Toast’s cloud-based platform. [Built In Boston]
Circulation raises $10.5M Series A to help get patients to their doctors
Circulation, which has pioneered an on-demand non-emergency healthcare transportation platform, announced this week that it raised a $10.5 million Series A round from a syndicate of healthcare leaders. Circulation launched in 2016 and aims to be more than just a ride. Its smart, digital transportation platform customizes around a patient's’ specific needs, and integrates with existing healthcare information systems, as well as Uber’s API. [Built In Boston]
HubSpot buys California AI startup Kemvi
Cambridge-based HubSpot announced that it’s buying a small, California-based artificial intelligence startup this week in an effort to empower its sales and marketing teams. The financial terms of the acquisition were not disclosed. Kemvi’s product DeepGraph analyzes public data to help salespeople identify the best time to reach out to potential customers. Kemvi, which has two employees, has previously raised $1 million in seed funding from Seabed VC, Neotribe Ventures, Kepha Partners and others. [TechCrunch]
Boston-based IP protection firm Anaqua merges with competitor
Anaqua, a Boston-based IP protection firm, announced on Wednesday that it is merging with its competitor Lecorpio, a California-based developer of IP management software. While terms of the transaction were not disclosed, both companies provide a software that customers can use to manage assets related to intellectual property, like patents, trademarks, third-party patents and trademarks, agreements, conflicts and IP reviews. The newly merged company now consists of 335 employees. [BostInno]
iRobot’s Roombas collect a little more than dirt
This might surprise you, but your Roomba is picking up more than dust when it cleans your home. High-end models of Bedford-based iRobot’s robotic vacuum are also collecting data as they clean, like the locations of your furniture and walls. Though this helps them avoid crashing into things, it also makes a pretty realistic map of your home. This week, iRobot announced that it’s considering selling that information to tech giants like Amazon or Google some time in the next two years. [New York Times]
