Top tech startup news for today, Monday, August 19, 2019

Below are some of the top tech startup news for today, Monday, August 19, 2019.

Disney streaming service is set to launch on all the major streaming platforms except Amazon. The much-anticipated Disney streaming service, Disney+, will launch on almost every major streaming platforms except Amazon, Disney confirmed Monday. Disney, the most popular theme parks in the world, says its streaming service will be available on popular platforms and devices such as Apple TV, Google Chromecast, Android, Android TV, PlayStation 4, Roku and Xbox One but won’t be available on Fire TV devices at launch. The company also announces the service will launch in more areas than just the U.S. in November. The service will be available starting on November 12 for $6.99 per month or $69 per year.

Better.com closes $160 million Series C funding for expansion and product development. Better.com, a NYC-based home ownership platform, closed a $160m Series C funding  to accelerate its investment in product development, grow its strategic partnerships, expand the team and scale the platform. The round, which brought total funding to $254m to date, was led by Activant Capital, Ping An Global Voyager Fund, Ally Financial, Citi, AGNC, Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan (HOOPP) and American Express Ventures, which joined existing shareholders Goldman Sachs, Pine Brook, and Kleiner Perkins. Founded in 2016 by Vishal Garg, Better.com leverages technology and non-commissioned loan consultants to digitize the entire mortgage process to eliminate commissions, fees, unnecessary steps, and time-wasting branch appointments.

VeriSIM Life secures $5.2 million round of funding to build digital animal and human simulations to avoid unnecessary drug testing in animals. VeriSIM Life, a tech startup on a mission to increase human life expectancy through intelligence driven biosystem simulations to truly personalize patient treatment, has raised $5.2M seed funding to support increasingly larger communities in academia and pharma to computationally model and support better translative research in drug development. The round was co-led by OCA Ventures, Serra Ventures and Stage Venture Partners with participation from Susa Ventures, Intel Capital, Village Global, Twin Ventures, and Loup Ventures.

AMable announces its third open call with €450.000 EU funding for additive manufacturing SMEs. AMable, a group of people from different organisations that aim to create a new eco-system for the uptake of additive manufacturing, today announces its third open call that will grant around 450.000 € for SMEs in the additive manufacturing field. With a overall total amount of almost 3 million Euros already delivered for innovative additive manufacturing product ideas, the AMable project closes the submission period on November 31st. The effort is supported by the European Commission initiative, I4MS, as part of the mission to encourage the implementation of ICT technologies in Europe to enhance the competitiveness of the EU industrial SMEs in the global scenario.

Boston Scientific finalizes the acquisition of BTG. Boston Scientific has completed the acquisition of BTG, a tech company that develops and commercializes products used in minimally-invasive procedures targeting cancer and vascular diseases, as well as specialty pharmaceuticals. As part of the acquisition agreement, BTG became a wholly-owned subsidiary of Boston Scientific, and BTG shares no longer trade on the London Stock Exchange. Under the terms of the previously announced transaction, holders of BTG common shares will receive 840 pence in cash per share.

Accel led $8 million Series A in business execution startup Ally. Ally, a goal setting and execution management software solution startup, has raised $8 million Series A funding round to fuel sales and marketing growth globally, expand the product offering and enhance professional services. The round was led by Accel, an early and growth-stage venture capital firm, with participation from Founders Co-op, Vulcan Capital, and Lee Fixel. Back in January, Ally raised $3 million in seed funding in January 2019, bringing its total funding since inception to $11 million. Since its launch in 2018, Ally has been adopted by hundreds of companies in 70+ countries. To date, Ally helps businesses like Remitly, Slack, T-Mobile, UrbanClap, WellStar Health System, and Armory accelerate their business performance through alignment, agility, transparency, and focus to match the fast-paced needs of their evolving markets.

Alternative Behavior Strategies receives funding from Morgan Stanley to expand innovative services for children with autism. Alternative Behavior Strategies (ABS), a health tech startup and a provider of services to children with autism spectrum disorders, has received undisclosed amount of funding from private equity platform Morgan Stanley Expansion Capital along with Petra Capital Partners, investing in the next stage of ABS’ growth. Founded in 2011,  ABS utilizes the principles of Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) to help children ages 2 to 18 alter social behaviors attributable to a pervasive developmental disorder or social emotional disorder. The startup is dedicated to providing services to children with developmental delays and their families. It also provides wrap-around care enabling children and their families to obtain the services they need in one place.