US-based electronics component maker LittleBits Electronics, which counts digital media company O’Reilly Media among its backers, raised $44.2m yesterday in a series B round led by venture capital fund DFJ Growth.
The round also included Morgan Stanley Alternative Investment Partners, Grishin Robotics, Wamda Capital, Foundry Group, True Ventures, VegasTechFund, Two Sigma Ventures and Khosla Ventures.
Founded in 2011, LittleBits provides a range of Lego-influenced Electronic Building Blocks that snap together using magnets, enabling users to build electronics without having to perform soldering, wiring or programming.
O’Reilly Media invested in LittleBits’ $11.1m series A round in 2013 through its O’Reilly AlphaTech unit, investing alongside True Ventures and Foundry Group, which co-led the round, Two Sigma Ventures, VegasTechFund, Khosla Ventures, Mena Ventures, Neoteny Labs and Lerer Hippeau Ventures.
O’Reilly Alpha Tech had previously taken part in a $3.7m seed round raised by the company in 2012 that also inncluded Khosla and Lerer Hippeau.
LittleBits plans to invest the capital secured from the round in global expansion, the development of new programmes based on work with enterprise software companies, and in expanding educational distribution and retail availability.