Funding Daily: Hot off the press

Acquisition news usually does not get included in Funding Daily, but today I am making an exception. Jeff Bezos bought the Washington Post for $250 million. As a journalist and D.C. native, this news strikes pretty close at home. I wrote a lengthy report on Katharine Graham in middle school and my fellow high school newspaper editors and I spent hours poring over the Post’s pages for inspiration. I know this news does not mean that the Post will go away, but certainly it is the end of an era. Here is to the Graham family, you had a good ride.

FireEye brings more legitimacy to new security solutions with IPO filing

Security company FireEye filed to go public last week, joining only a handful of security companies to IPO in the last two years. FireEye monitors your company’s network by setting up virtual machines that watch anything coming in or out of the system. It learns what malware activity looks like and then stops anything it recognizes as a threat in the virtual machine before it ever reaches you. According to the filing, the company has proposed a maximum aggregate offering price of $175 million. Read more on VentureBeat. 

Clutch puts $5.3M into its own mobile wallet 

Mobile payments startup Clutch has raised $5.3 million in its second round of funding. Clutch has built a mobile wallet, shopping consumer app, and merchant platform. It stores cards and coupons, and also offers daily deals, trending products, shopping searches, price comparisons, and gifting features.  Safeguard Scientifics led the round for this Philadelphia-based company, with participation from previous investors Ben Franklin Technology Partners. Clutch also announced the acquisition of loyalty and gifting startup ProfitPoint.

Maxwell Health gets $2M to help employers manage their health plans

New York-based startup Maxwell Health just raised $2 million to help employers set up affordable health and wellness plans. It’s a particularly useful tool for entrepreneurs and small business owners, as Maxwell Health offers guidance on the various health insurance plans, financial benefits, spending accounts, life insurance, and payroll. The company raised its funding from Tribeca Venture Partners, with participation from Lerer Ventures, Vaizra Investments, BoxGroup, and additional New York and Boston-based investors, including TiE Angels. Read more on VentureBeat. 

Blue Wireless sees green with $3.1M in funding

English company Blu Wireless has raised $3.1 million for its 60GHz wireless IP. Blu Wireless’s technology enables faster file transfers, wireless display, docking and streaming of HD media on a variety of devices. Qi3 Accelerator led this round, which represents a syndicate of London Business Angels private investors, including Wren Capital.

Socrative ponders $750K in seed financing

Socrative has raised $750K in seed financing from True Ventures, NewSchools Venture Fund, and angel invests. The Boston-based startup offers a mobile and web-based student response system that helps teachers engage their students through educational exercise and games, via smartphones, laptops, and tablets.

Seagate invests in custom chip design firm eASIC

Storage giant Seagate has made a strategic equity investment in custom chip design firm eASIC. The companies didn’t disclose the amount of the deal. On top of the investment, both companies are exploring the chance to jointly develop custom chips for Seagate’s portfolio of solid state drives: the flash memory-based cards that are replacing hard disk drives in many computers. Read more on VentureBeat.

RecruitLoop follow its nose to $500K

RecruitLoop has raised half a million dollars for its platform that connects recruiters with employers. Employers can search for recruiters in its marketplace and hire them on an hourly basis, so they don’t have to pay commission for success fees. The company started out in Australia and has opened an office in San Francisco. The funding came from private investors in Australia, Singapore, the UAE, and Europe.