LA Cannabis company Viola closed a $16 million funding round. The company was founded by ex-NBA player Al Harrington. He named the company after his grandmother, who uses cannabis to treat her glaucoma and diabetes symptoms. The company operates in California, Colorado, Oregon and Michigan, and plans to expand to Maryland, Nevada and Arizona in 2020. [Press release]
Tabletop game company Exploding Kittens raised $30 million from TCG Capital Management. Exploding Kittens launched in January 2015 with a Kickstarter campaign to fund its first game. That campaign raised $8.8 million in 30 days and helped the company create several other games, merchandise and a mobile app. The new funding will help Exploding Kittens develop new games and make new uses of its intellectual property. [Press release]
Meero is opening an office in LA. The startup created an on-demand photography platform that helps photographers find gigs. It also has classes, documentaries, magazines and other tools for photographers. The LA office will be Meero’s sixth office, and the company says it’ll employ about 15 people there by the end of the year.
Verishop reportedly raised another $12.5 million in funding. The news comes from an exclusive report from Business Insider. According to the report, Rakuten and several others participated in the round as a pre-Series B. Built In reached out for confirmation, but Verishop declined to comment. [Business Insider]
ServerFarm acquired 5Nines Global Holdings. Both companies are in the data center management industry, so ServerFarm is planning to absorb 5Nines’ employees, customers, subsidiaries, operations and assets into its business. [Press release]
