Verifly rebranded as Thimble to reflect its expanded offerings. The rebrand came in tandem with a $22 million Series A round. Thimble offers an alternative to traditional annual business insurance by offering insurance by the hour, day, week or month to small businesses and freelancers — including locksmiths, journalists and clowns. It plans to hire aggressively in the next year to 18 months. [Built In NYC]
San Francisco-based Pod Foods is expanding to New York. The distribution and logistics platform helps food brands get their products into grocery stores. The New York hub will be the company’s fourth, including Chicago, Los Angeles and San Francisco. [Built In NYC]
Mobile game publisher Tilting Point acquired game monetization platform Gondola. Together, these teams will aim to boost mobile games’ lifetime values, or the time people spend playing them, as well as help developers make money. The terms of the deal were not disclosed. [VentureBeat]
Retail marketing technology company Bluecore launched a product that helps sync email marketing campaigns with consumers’ on-site experiences. The company said Bluecore Site will draw from shopper, behavioral and product data to create a more seamless, personalized experience for shoppers. [Press release]
AI-driven SaaS company SparkBeyond partnered with Microsoft Azure to help Europe’s largest convenience store chain harness store data. Zabka, which has more than 5,500 stores in Poland, struggled with scattered data that didn’t provide insights. SparkBeyond’s problem-solving AI platform helped the chain add 600 units. [Microsoft.com]
Genpact, which helps companies digitize their operations, acquired Chicago-based Rightpoint. Rightpoint consults with companies to improve their customers’ digital experiences. The terms of the deal were not disclosed. [Press release]
