By Evan Vitale

What new in venture capital news?

According to the Wall Street Journal, Justworks – a benefits and payroll company – has secured $33 million in Series C funding, which brings the total amount the company has raised to $53 million. Redpoint Ventures led the round and had participation from existing investors Bain Capital Ventures, Thrive Capital and Index Ventures.

You can read the full story here: on.wsj.com/1TOM8Xu

Who is the biggest venture capital firm in the world? China.

Fortune is reporting that China has funneled $338 billion into startup investment funds.

In bid to ease the slowing Chinese economy into a consumer-based rather than heavy industry-focused one, the country reportedly raised about 1.5 trillion yuan, or $231 billion, in state-backed venture funds through 2015, according to Zero2IPO.

That tripled its assets under management to $338 billion. The money, which is almost five times the amount raised by any other venture firm in the world in 2015, comes mostly from tax revenues or state backed loans, and is funneled into some 780 funds across the country.

The full report is here: for.tn/1p9jFht

Bustle, a New York City-based news site aimed at millennial women, has raised $11.5 million in new funding led by Saban Capital, with participation from GGV Capital and existing investors General Catalyst Partners, Time Warner Investments, and Social Capital. Richard Yen of Saban Capital will join the company’s board.

The media company, founded in 2013, has amassed an audience of 32 million, most of which are young women between the ages of 18 and 34, according to comScore. The site’s advertisers, including Campbells and Adidas, purchase packages that include a mix of native advertising, traditional display ads, and video. Last year, Bustle hit its revenue goal of $10 million. The company expects to “substantially outperform” its goal of $20 million for 2016, according to CEO and founder Bryan Goldberg.

The story is here: for.tn/1UlvBsp

By Evan Vitale

Here are some of the latest headlines and news in the world of venture capital.

According to the Wall Street Journal, companies with technologies to reduce preterm births drew significant interest from venture capitalists in 2015 and helped drive investment in reproductive health to a record amount of $333.1 million for the year. Reproductive health is one of the smaller categories for venture investment among 17 areas of the human body surveyed by VentureWire and market tracker Dow Jones VentureSource. Health-care venture firms have focused mostly on disease therapies, and pregnancy hasn’t been seen as a medical condition that needs treatment. Last year’s investment total topped the previous high of $298.1 million reached in 2001. Read the rest of the story here: http://on.wsj.com/1pqoweA

Backstage Capital, the bootstrapped venture capital fund founded by Arlan Hamilton and focused on investing in “overachieving, underrepresented startup founders,” is launching their official website (www.BackstageCapital.com) and announcing the first six investments they’ve made. Hamilton is one of the first LGBT black women to start a venture capital fund and became the first black woman to lead an AngelList syndicate last Fall. Since November 2015, Backstage Capital has invested amounts ranging from $25,000 to $100,000 into companies with diverse founders like Kairos, Wedspire, TextEngine, and Nailsnaps. Currently, Backstage Capital’s roster of investors (LPs) includes individuals such as Marc Andreessen, Susan Kimberlin (formerly of Salesforce), Brad Feld, Leslie Miley (formerly of Twitter), and Lars Rasmussen (co-creator of Google Maps). The full press release is here: http://prn.to/21NrNTd

SportTechie is reporting Ted Leonsis, the business mogul that owns and operates Monumental Sports & Entertainment (MSE), has quietly announced his intentions for a $10 million venture capital fund for the purposes of investing in sports and entertainment tech startups.

MSE owns three Washington D.C. sports teams—the Mystics of the WNBA, the Capitals of NHL and the Wizards of the NBA. You can read the full story here: bit.ly/1QRMDch

By Evan Vitale

Here’s the latest news in venture capital and VC deals:

The Wall Street Journal is reporting the Chicago start Opternative Inc. has raised $6 million in Series A venture funding for an app that lets people take an eye exam using their smartphones and a personal computer at home.

According to Opternative co-founder and Chief Executive Aaron Dallek, Opternative’s app captures data about a patient’s vision and sends it to a licensed, local opthamologist for evaluation. Within 24 hours, the eye doctor then writes a new prescription for glasses or contacts for the patient. The exam costs $40 for either a contacts or glasses prescription and $60 for both.

Read more about Opternative Inc. here: http://blogs.wsj.com/venturecapital/2016/02/18/opternative-raises-6-million-for-online-eye-exams/

A Forbes blog post suggests business owners should stop chasing venture capital funds and start bootstrapping in order to create a profitable business.

Here, writer Danile Buelhoff uses his own experience over a 10-year entrepreneurial lifespan to formulate his opinion and advice on bootstrapping vs. venture capital.

You can read more about Buelhoff’s opinion here: http://www.forbes.com/sites/theyec/2016/02/18/stop-chasing-venture-capital-and-start-bootstrapping-a-profitable-business/#186859ea5078

Business Insider has written a nice piece “Everything you’ve ever wanted to know about venture capital, but were too afraid to ask” at http://www.businessinsider.com/venture-capital-explained-2016-2

Food Navitagor-USA (http://foodnavigator-usa.com) is reporting that the Campbell Soup Co. is hopping on the venture bandwagon “to more fully participate in growth opportunities” that could give it a competitive edge meeting consumers’ fast-evolving demands for healthy and fresh foods.

You can read the rest of the story here: http://www.foodnavigator-usa.com/Manufacturers/Campbell-launches-venture-capital-fund-new-products

Crowdfund Insider reports that F50, a venture capital startup, has announced it has launched the beta version of its co-investment platform and has successfully begun syndication. The firm has reportedly secured commitments to invest over $1 million in Knightscope’s Series B round of funding, a company that has developed technology to predict and prevent crime utilizing autonomous robots.

The full article is here: http://www.crowdfundinsider.com/2016/02/81907-f50-venture-capital-firm-debuts-beta-version-of-its-new-co-investment-syndication-platform/

By Evan Vitale

Here are some of the latest headlines in venture capital news:

According to GeekWire, a new study from MIT discovered that startups are more likely to succeed when their venture capital backers are connected to them via direct flight.

The research informs larger questions about the effects of venture capital oversight and whether it improves the operations of the startups in which the firm has invested or whether startup success depends solely on effective internal management.

The researchers — Xavier Giroud of MIT, Shai Bernstein of Stanford, and Richard R. Townsend of Dartmouth — compared startups in cities where a direct flight recently had become available between startups and their existing VCs to startups in cities where no direct flights existed to connect the two groups.

Read the rest of the story here: bit.ly/1PCt8oe

The Jewish Business News is reporting in 2015, Singulariteam, a medium sized Israeli fund founded by Moshe Hogeg and Kenges Rakishev, topped all VC fund investors by making 12 first investments,  according to report by IVC Research Center and APM & Co. Law Firm analyzing first investments in Israel by venture capital funds in the past five years, and ranking the most active venture capital funds which invested in Israel in 2015.

Singulariteam’s investments makes a slight increase for the number of deals made by the top ranked fund, compared to 10 first investments made in 2014 by the year’s Most Active Fund, JVP.

Singulariteam manages $152 million via three funds – two early stage funds and a new growth stage fund. The first investments made in 2015 were funded by Singulariteam II, a $102 million early-stage fund closed in 2014.

The full story is here: bit.ly/1KbDOxl

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported a $104 million fund managed by Lewis & Clark Ventures is a big deal for St. Louis.

Startups that have been nurtured by the region’s various angel investing groups, accelerator programs and seed-stage funds now have someplace to go when they need larger sums.

The fund plans to invest in series A and B rounds, which are when an early-stage company gets its first or second dose of institutional investment. Lewis & Clark says it will invest between $3 million and $7 million per company, and will bring in co-investors when firms require tens of millions of dollars.

The full story is here: bit.ly/1KFdqMl

By Evan Vitale

Here’s the latest and greatest on venture capital news:

From the Tampa Bay Tribune, local startups are already kicking into high gear and earning some notice from venture capital firms from Silicon Valley with many new programs getting some attention in Clearwater and St. Petersburg.

Check out the full article here: bit.ly/1PbBG8P

In Boston, Assemble.VC is looking to raise a $75 million initial fund, according to a recent SEC filing. Word has it the fund is more than halfway closed so far. More information and other Boston VC news can be found here: bit.ly/1Qrbvfj

iNovia Capital Inc., Montreal, says it has raised $175 million (Canadian dollars – US $120.2 million) for its latest venture-capital fund, overcoming the challenge of a sinking currency that puts Canadian firms investing in startups at a disadvantage to their United States counterparts.

Previously, iNovia attracted $110 million (Canadian) for each of its two previous funds.

The full Wall Street Journal article is here: on.wsj.com/1OGHyDn

Orange County continues to make venture capital headlines with startups landing $1 billion in venture capital in 2015, a first since the dot-com bust in 2000. Software and medical device firms made up most of the closed deals a year ago.

According to a MoneyTree report from Pricewaterhouse Coopers and the National Venture Capital Association, investors last year put their money into 88 deals in Orange County as compared to 148 deals (and $1.7 billion) in 2000. Two years ago, $683 million was invested in 89 deals.

In July 2015, Google Capital led a $100 million investment round in CrowdStrike, an Irvine-based cyber-security technology company, to expand its reach across the United States and internationally. This investment tied for the 10th-largest in the country since 1995.

According to PwC, venture capital in Irvine, California has increased 85% since 2010.

The full article is here: bit.ly/1lFovkt