Tech roundup: Guild raises $40M Series C, Techstars' Natty Zola joins Matchstick Ventures, and more

by April Bohnert
July 26, 2018
Guild Education Series C funding round Colorado tech
Photo via Guild Education's website.

Guild Education closes $40M Series C to bring higher education to working Americans

As part of its ongoing mission to deliver higher education opportunities to working adults, Guild Education announced the close of a $40 million Series C funding yesterday. Felicis Ventures led the round, with participation from Salesforce Ventures, Workday Ventures, Rethink Impact & Education, Silicon Valley Bank and several existing investors. The startup plans to save most of the money, and invest the rest in scaling the business and growing its team. [Built In Colorado]

 

Techstars Boulder Managing Director Natty Zola joins Matchstick Ventures
Photo via Natty Zola.

Techstars Boulder Managing Director Natty Zola joins Matchstick Ventures

Managing Director of the Techstars Boulder Accelerator Natty Zola announced this morning that he will be joining Minneapolis-based VC firm Matchstick Ventures as its newest partner. Zola plans to focus his investments on early-stage tech startups right here in Colorado, across the Rocky Mountain region and nationally through the Techstars network. He founded travel tech startup Everlater, which was later acquired by AOL, and went on to work at MapQuest, building out the AOL subsidiary’s Denver team. Zola plans to stay on as Techstars’ managing director in Boulder so he can continue serving as a mentor, advocate and community builder for local startups. [Blog post]

 

Galvanize acquires Hack Reactor, raises $32M Series C funding
Photo via social media.

Galvanize acquires Hack Reactor, raises $32M Series C funding

Galvanize announced plans late last week to acquire San Francisco-based coding boot camp Hack Reactor. The deal will expand the company’s West Coast footprint as well as its product offerings, bolstering its position as a leading, independent accelerated learning provider. Galvanize — which provides co-working spaces, coding programs and tech community services throughout the country — also revealed that it closed a $32 million Series C funding led by led Growth Catalyst Investors with participation from New Markets Venture Partners, The Colorado Impact Fund, ABS Capital Partners and University Ventures. [Built In Colorado]

 

Google grant for Boulder public Wi-Fi Colorado
Photo via Shutterstock.

Google helps expand public Wi-Fi in downtown Boulder

The public Wi-Fi network in downtown Boulder got a major upgrade this week, thanks to a $216,000 grant from Google. The network, which previously covered the four blocks of the Pearl Street pedestrian mall, now reaches from 8th to 20th streets and delivers a stronger, faster connection. The initiative is a partnership between local business owners, Google, the Downtown Boulder Foundation, and Sky Packets, which deploys Wi-Fi Mesh networks and smart city applications. [BizWest]

 

Ohio-based Vertiv IT new office Loveland Colorado
Photo via press release.

Ohio-based tech firm announces plan to open office in Loveland

Columbus, Ohio-based IT infrastructure firm Vertiv joins the growing list of tech companies launching offices in Colorado. The company plans to lease a 19,000-square-foot space in Loveland’s Centerra Promenade, with hopes of opening in August. Vertiv says it will hire 50 new employees and transfer 50 more from around the country and locally from its recent acquisition of Geist. The new office will help Vertiv better serve its customers globally and on the West Coast. [Press release]

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