Online auction platform Paddle8 raises $34M
Paddle8 is cornering the lucrative online art auction market. Users can buy and sell art and luxury collectibles, valued between $1,000 and $100,000 through its digital platform. This week Paddle8 announced a $34 million Series C round from some of the biggest investors in the art world including international art dealer, David Zwirner, German collector, Rolf Sachs and artist, Damien Hirst. [Built In NYC]
Blackstone Launchpad comes to 5 New York Universities
Private equity firm Blackstone expanded its entrepreneurship program to five universities in New York State including NYU and Cornell. Blackstone Launchpad provides students across all faculties support to start their own businesses in the local community following graduation. Participants get advice and mentoring from staff and local entrepreneurs as well as access to the network of 9 Blackstone Launchpad programs across the globe. [Built In NYC]
Travel app Curacity gets $2.2M seed funding
New York-based Travel startup Curacity raised $2.2 million in a seed funding round led by Greycroft. Curacity technology allows travel media companies easily add booking capabilities to their sites. Curacity provides the framework for travel bookings to sit on top of content. This framework is often too expensive and complicated for media companies to build themselves. The first content partner for Curacity is Surface magazine. [Techcrunch]
IBM buys The Weather Channel digital assets
IBM agreed to acquire the digital assets of the Weather Co. which includes the website and hugely popular mobile apps of The Weather Channel. The television station of the same name is not part of the deal but will license its weather data to IBM instead. Terms of the deal were not disclosed but the figure is likely to be higher than the $3.5 billion Weather Co. sold for in 2008. [Bloomberg]
Home renovations matchmaker, Sweeten snags $3.5M
Sweeten, a startup that helps you renovate your home, raised $3.5 million in a Series A funding round. The app uses an algorithm to match your renovation needs to a bank of approved contractors, architects and interior designers. Sweeten recommends three professionals based on the parameters of the project posted by the user. Once matched the two parties can negotiate their own price and terms. [Built In NYC]
Flatiron School offering free mobile development course for novices
The Flatiron School is aiming to turn receptionists and carpenters into iOS developers in just four months. The Mobile Dev Corps course is funded by the NYC Talent Pipeline which was set up to help grow the city’s tech ecosystem. To get one of the 20 spaces you must be a NYC resident earning no more than $50,000 and have no prior mobile or web development experience. [Built In NYC]
