Drawbridge, a cross-screen mobile ad targeting business, has closed its $14 million Series B funding. Northgate Capital, a new investor in Drawbridge, leads this round. Existing investors, Kleiner Perkins Caufield and Byers and Sequoia Capital also joined the round.

Big data means big business for venture investors. Venture capital going to startups with big-data-related business plans came close to $1.4 billion last year and accounted for more than 5% of all venture dollars placed with young companies.

Sequoia Capital, whose “stealthy” scouting program first came to light last spring, looks to be formalizing the program by registering its first U.S. Scout Seed Fund with the SEC this morning.

Social software startups providing products to businesses have been catching the eye of venture capitalists for some time. Thirty-eight of 55 companies identified by Jeremiah Owyang, a partner at the research firm Altimeter Group, received funding.

Cloud service provider Ravello Systems has closed its second round of funding bringing the total amount raised to $26 million. Ravello is now backed by Sequoia Capital, Norwest Venture Partners and Bessemer Venture Partners.

There are plenty of people who aspire to be entrepreneurs but who lack the know-how, the network, or the risk profile to succeed in that ambition.

Serial entrepreneurs Ryan Koonce and Robert Afshar think they’ve struck on a business model that can benefit some of those people, while also minting money for themselves.

Financing platform Prosper has appointed Stephan Vermut as chief executive officer and member of the board of directors. Vermut succeeds Dawn Lepore, who has served as interim CEO since March 2012. Prosper is backed by Sequoia Capital.

Approximately two years ago, two startups that had yet to launch products raised more than $40 million, respectively, based almost solely on the track records of their founders. Both companies went on to stumble badly, but only one of them was pilloried for its failings.

The San Francisco-based startup Chartboost has raised a $19 million Series B round of funding led by Sequoia Capital, which was joined by existing investors TransLink Capital and SK Telecom Ventures. Chartboost allows game developers to reach new users through cross-promotion, make money from their games, and collaborate directly with fellow developers. The company had previously raised $2 million in funding, a round that closed in October 2011.

Utah-based Health Catalyst announced it has raised a $33 million Series B round, led by Norwest Venture Partners and including Sequoia Capital and Sorenson Capital.