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Here’s what you need to know today in startup and venture news, updated by the Crunchbase News staff throughout the day to keep you in the know.

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SellerX raises $118M to grow Amazon businesses

Berlin-based , a new startup that aims to consolidate and grow promising smaller businesses that sell via 鈥檚 platform, has in what is reportedly being called a seed funding round.

, and led the financing, which the company reportedly plans to use to roll up smaller businesses using Fullfilment by Amazon for payments, logistics and delivery.

SellerX鈥檚 focus will be consumer goods, covering categories including household, pets, garden supplies, goods for kids and beauty.

Forter bags $125M to reach unicorn status

, a New York-based company focused on e-commerce fraud prevention, said it raised $125 million in Series E funding. The round propels Forter鈥檚 valuation to more than $1.3 billion.

, and co-led the round and were joined by , , , and . The new funding brings Forter total raised to more than $225 million in venture-backed investments since the company was founded in 2013, according to Crunchbase data.

The company intends to use the new funding to continue product development and growing its global data network that has doubled in size over the last 12 months to exceed $200 billion in annual online transactions protecting over 800 million shoppers, the company said in a release.

Funding rounds

• ZenBusiness lands $55M: Austin-based , provider of an online platform for starting a business, raised $55 million in a Series B round led by .
• Verbit closes $60M:聽, a platform that uses artificial intelligence to power transcription and captioning, landed a $60 million Series C led by . The company will use the new funding to accelerate growth and look toward mergers and acquisition opportunities, Verbit said in a statement.
• CAIS secures $50M for investor tools, education: , a New York-based alternative investment platform, announced a $50 million Series B equity investment from. Independent financial advisers use the CAIS platform to access funds and products, including hedge funds, private equity, private credit, real estate, structured notes and digital assets.
• Apprentice.io raises $24M for pharma innovation:聽 has the close of a $24 million Series B round led by The Jersey City, New Jersey-based company develops an intelligent manufacturing execution system that helps life science teams scale faster, with applications in COVID-19 therapies and other areas.
• Aya Payments secures $2.9M: , a Toronto-based startup that builds payment tools and programs for employee benefits packages, closed on $2.9 million in financing led by and . The investment will fuel Aya鈥檚 expansion into the U.S. market.
• Coterie raises $2.75M: New York-based baby care product-maker announced a $2.75 million seed funding, led by, to accelerate expansion of its high-performance diaper product.
• Vennfi banks on $2.3M for CharityVest: Vennfi, an Atlanta-based financial technology company for tax-exempt payments, announced $2.3 million in seed funding for its charitable giving platform, , led by . CharityVest enables anyone to create a Donor-Advised Fund, or charitable giving account.
• Juni brings in 2 million euros: Sweden-based Juni raised 2 million euros, led by , to improve banking for e-commerce and online marketing entrepreneurs.
• Ubiq Security raises $6.4M seed: San Diego-based , a cybersecurity startup trying to simplify encryption, closed a $6.4 million seed equity round. The round was led by and included participation from , , DLA Piper Venture, and . The company plans to use the money for platform development and customer acquisition.
• Datafold snags $2.1M in seed round: San Francisco-based raised a $2.1 million seed round led by . The company attempts to help businesses by automating the testing and monitoring of analytical data.

Other news

• SumUp acquires Goodtill: London-based global payments service provider said it acquired , a point-of-sale software provider for hospitality businesses, also based in London, for an undisclosed amount. SumUp, which has raised more than $425 million in venture-backed funding since 2011, said the deal will help it grow and develop its restaurant and hospitality sectors. This is the company鈥檚 third acquisition, following in 2019 and in 2016, according to Crunchbase data.
• OurCrowd receives $60M for technology transfer: Israel-based venture investment platform raised $60 million from , a financial services group based in Japan. The collaboration will lead to new Israeli technology and financial products, as well as investment opportunities for Japan and global markets.
• Financial Venture Studio has a new fund: , a San Francisco-based venture firm, closed on its first fund, FVS Fund I with more than $13 million in commitments. The fund will invest in early-stage fintech startups that 鈥渋mprove the way that Americans conduct their financial lives.鈥� To date, FVS has invested in 18 companies through three cohorts of its networking program.

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