Venture Capital

Deep Apple Therapeutics Launches With $52 Million In Funding

By Amit Chowdhry ● Dec 20, 2023

Apple Tree Partners (ATP) - a leader in life sciences venture capital – recently announced $52 million in Series A funding for its portfolio company Deep Apple Therapeutics, created and incubated by ATP to rapidly discover novel small molecule therapeutics for high-value targets through virtual screening of AI-generated virtual libraries. Through a powerful discovery engine that combines ensemble cryo-EM, deep learning, and molecular docking screens of ultra-large libraries, Deep Apple could go from target identification to lead optimization in less than 12 months – a fraction of the industry standard time – and can pursue biological target signaling inaccessible to conventional discovery approaches.

1440 Foods Receives Significant Investment From Bain Capital Private Equity And 4×4 Capital

By Amit Chowdhry ● Dec 20, 2023

1440 Foods - a leading portfolio of sports and active nutrition brands – recently announced the signing of a definitive agreement for Bain Capital Private Equity to acquire a significant stake in the company in partnership with existing investor and operator 4x4 Capital. And 1440 Foods will continue to be led by Chief Executive Officer Azania Andrews and her current management team. The financial terms of the private transaction were not disclosed.

Strike Graph: Trust Operations Company Raises $8.5 Million

By Annie Baker ● Dec 20, 2023

Strike Graph - a Trust Operations (TrustOps) platform for operating and measuring security & compliance – recently announced that it has raised $8.5 million in funding. The funding round was led by BAMCAP with participation from existing investors Madrona and Information Venture Partners, and Rise of the Rest. Jim Sheward, partner at BAMCAP, will be joining the board.

ARTIS Ventures: $200 Million In New Capital Closed

By Amit Chowdhry ● Dec 20, 2023

ARTIS Ventures, a firm that partners with entrepreneurs who are driven to impact their world through innovation positively, announced recently that it closed $200 million in new capital for its second fund focused on the convergence of health and medicine TechBio II. The firm said it will continue making a firm-wide commitment to TechBio and fund and support its next generation of founders and startups.

ScaleOps: Cloud Resource Management Company Closes $21.5 Million In Funding

By Annie Baker ● Dec 20, 2023

ScaleOps - a startup specializing in cloud resource management – recently announced $21.5 million in funding for the first fully automated cloud-native resource orchestration platform. And the Seed and Series A funding rounds announced were led by Lightspeed Venture Partners, NFX, and Glilot Capital Partners. ScaleOps attracted a large and dedicated customer base of companies that use the platform to fully automate their production environments, achieving up to 80% cloud cost savings and delivering better-running applications.

Agtonomy: $22.5 Million Funding Raised To Advance Autonomous AI Solutions For Agriculture

By Annie Baker ● Dec 20, 2023

Agtonomy - a leading software and services company specializing in advanced autonomous and AI solutions for agriculture – recently announced it has secured $22.5 million in a Series A funding round. The funding round was led by Momenta, with strategic partners including Doosan Bobcat North America and Toyota Ventures.

Backer: $9.5 Million Funding And Saving For College Acquisition

By Dan Anderson ● Dec 20, 2023

Backer – a leading fintech company focused on tax-advantaged 529 Savings Plans - recently announced its $9.5 million Series A round of financing and the acquisition of Saving For College, which is a top 529-related media property and education savings resource that millions of American families rely on each year.

Blackstar Capital: $1 Billion Secured For Supporting Government Contractors And Subcontractors

By Amit Chowdhry ● Dec 20, 2023

Blackstar Capital - a leading provider of invoice financing to businesses – recently announced that it has secured $1 billion in funding to support government contractors and subcontractors. And the funding will be used to provide working capital solutions to businesses that provide services to the government, both prime contractors and subcontractors.

Clearhaven Partners: $580 Million Fund II Closed

By Amit Chowdhry ● Dec 20, 2023

Clearhaven Partners LP - a Boston-based software private equity firm – recently announced the closing of its sophomore fund Clearhaven Fund II, L.P. at more than $580 million of capital commitments. Fund II has closed above target and at its hard cap. And Clearhaven closed Fund II approximately two years following the closing of its debut fund. Clearhaven pursues investments in growing lower middle market software and technology companies with revenues of about $20 million to $100 million.

Skyline Robotics: $9.8 Million Secured To Automate Window Cleaning

By Annie Baker ● Dec 20, 2023

Skyline Robotics – the developers of Ozmo, which is the world’s first robotic-armed window cleaning robot - recently announced the closing of a $9.8 millionPre-Series A-2 funding (including the conversion of SAFE Notes) round led by Standard Skyline LLC with additional contributions from Durst Ventures, the venture capital investment arm of the Durst Organization, and HNW individuals. So far, Skyline Robotics has raised $19.4 million. This latest funding round will support Ozmo’s expansion into NYC and London, grow the R&D team to bolster Ozmo’s service offerings, and formalize Skyline’s new construction line of business.

On.Energy: Battery Energy Integrator Company Raises $40 Million

By Amit Chowdhry ● Dec 20, 2023

On.Energy - a proven end-to-end integrator of battery energy storage and Independent Power Producer (IPP) – recently announced it has closed both construction facility totaling over $40 million and permanent debt facilities for an 80 megawatt-hour (MWh) portfolio in Texas (the Palo Verde Projects) with financing provided by Live Oak Bank. The projects, which are set to come online in Q3 of 2024, will support the balancing of the ERCOT grid by providing both ancillary services as well as arbitrage.

Zelda Ventures Launches With $33 Million Fund

By Amit Chowdhry ● Dec 19, 2023

Zelda Ventures - a new investment firm founded and led by General Partner Suzanne Fletcher – recently announced it has closed its first fundraiser with an oversubscribed $33 million debut fund. The pre-seed fund – which closed after less than a year - invests in the next companies of founders whom Fletcher has backed before.

Yurts: Generative AI Integration Platform Company Signs $16 Million Contract With SOCOM

By Dan Anderson ● Dec 19, 2023

Yurts Technologies - an enterprise-focused Generative AI integration platform – recently announced an up to $16 million contract with the United States Special Operations Command (USSOCOM). This partnership will focus on integrating large language models (LLMs) to transform operations and capabilities for Special Operations Forces.

Spade: Merchant Intelligence Company Raises $10 Million

By Noah Long ● Dec 19, 2023

Spade - one of the fastest and most accurate provider of real-time merchant intelligence for the card ecosystem - recently announced it closed a $10 million Series A funding round led by Flourish Ventures with continued participation from a16z, Gradient Ventures, Y Combinator, Dash Fund, and Everywhere Ventures (The Fund).

Sindri: Zero-Knowledge Proof Infrastructure Platform Company Raises $5 Million

By Annie Baker ● Dec 19, 2023

Sindri - a zero-knowledge-proof infrastructure platform - recently announced the closing of a $5 million seed financing round. CoinFund led the funding round with participation from other notable investors, strategic, and angels spanning chip design and fabrication, signal processing, high-performance computing, and renowned figures in cryptography and blockchain.

Opal Security: Identity Security And Access Management Company Closes $22 Million

By Amit Chowdhry ● Dec 19, 2023

Opal Security - a next-generation identity security and access management company - recently announced its $22 million Series B funding, led by Battery Ventures, with participation from existing investors Greylock and Box Group. This funding round brings Opal Security’s total funding to $32 million.

MaintainX: Maintenance And Frontline Work Execution Company Closes $50 Million

By Amit Chowdhry ● Dec 19, 2023

MaintainX - a leading maintenance and frontline work execution platform - recently announced $50 million in Series C funding led by Bain Capital Ventures (BCV) with participation from existing investors Bessemer Venture Partners, Amity Ventures, August Capital, and Ridge Ventures. Other strategic new investors include Jeff Immelt, the former CEO of GE; Jeff Lawson the CEO of Twilio; Steve Pagliuca, a Senior Advisor to Bain Capital; Rob Bernshteyn, the CEO of Coupa Software; Chris Comparato, the Chairman and CEO of Toast; and Allison Pickens the former COO of Gainsight.

Ladder: Strength Training App Company Secures $12 Million

By Dan Anderson ● Dec 19, 2023

Ladder - an app for strength training for people who are serious about fitness - recently announced that it has closed a $12 million Series A round led by Tapestry VC and LivWell Ventures.

Kyron Learning: $14.6 Million Raised To Provide Learners Equitable Access To Instructors

By Noah Long ● Dec 19, 2023

Kyron Learning - a startup focused on providing learners equitable access to great instructors - recently announced that it will use its recent Series A funding to make its AI-based learning platform available to all learning solution providers. This platform utilizes interactive video (powered by AI) in its lessons to turn what has traditionally been a one-way monologue into a vibrant two-way conversation, just like a live tutoring session.

Instock: Customer Fulfillment Robotics Company Raises $3.2 Million

By Annie Baker ● Dec 19, 2023

Instock - an innovator in customer fulfillment robotics - recently announced that it raised $3.2M in new funding, led by Amazon Industrial Innovation Fund – these new investments bring Instock’s Seed financing to a total of $6.2 million. This seed funding round was co-led by OneWay Ventures and Lux Capital, and funding participation also includes Commerce VC, u.ventures, Cybernetix Ventures and other investors active in the robotics and eCommerce ecosystem.

Unnatural Products: Molecularly Targeted Therapeutics Company Raises $32 Million

By Amit Chowdhry ● Dec 19, 2023

Unnatural Products (UNP) - a biotech company pairing AI with chemistry to drive the next generation of molecularly targeted therapeutics - announced today it raised a $32 million Series A funding, led by Merck Global Health Innovation Fund (MGHIF) and TechBio-focused ARTIS Ventures.

Guardz: Cybersecurity Company Banks $18 Million In Series A Funding

By Noah Long ● Dec 19, 2023

Guardz - a cybersecurity company securing and insuring small businesses - recently announced that it has raised an $18 million Series A round led by Glilot+ (the early growth fund of Glilot Capital Partners). And Guardz's existing investors Hanaco Ventures, iAngels, and GKFF Ventures participated in the oversubscribed round and were joined by new investors ClearSky. This investment comes less than a year after Guardz launched with $10M in seed funding, bringing its total funding to date to $28 million.

Inductive Bio: $4.3 Million Raised To Develop ML Platform For Accelerating Compound Optimization

By Annie Baker ● Dec 19, 2023

Inductive Bio - a technology company developing a machine learning (ML) platform designed to accelerate the compound optimization process dramatically - recently emerged from stealth with $4.3 million in funding. The seed round was co-led by Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) Bio + Health and Lux Capital, with participation from Character, Bessemer Venture Partners, Alleycorp, and others.

Myrias Optics Closes $3 Million To Develop Next-Gen Meta-Optics

By Amit Chowdhry ● Dec 19, 2023

Myrias Optics - a company built on research developed by the Watkins Group at the University of Massachusetts Amherst - recently announced that it has secured a $3 million seed investment led by Asia Optical Inc. Myrias, an emerging developer of all-inorganic printed meta-optics, will use the funding to meet growing customer demand and interest in the company's structure, materials and process technology platform. This funding round also includes UMass Amherst, Tenon Ventures, and HOSS Investment participation.

DUST Identity: Product Authentication Company Raises $40 Million

By Amit Chowdhry ● Dec 19, 2023

DUST Identity - a company whose technology enables product authentication by linking physical items to their digital records - recently announced the launch of its mobile solution, which is fueling its growth into new industries.

ContactMonkey: Email Communications Platform Company Closes $55 Million

By Amit Chowdhry ● Dec 19, 2023

ContactMonkey - an internal email communications platform - recently announced the completion of a Series A investment of $55 million from Updata Partners, a leading growth equity firm. This funding round comes as employee engagement is more critical to enterprises than ever.

Parse Biosciences: Scalable Single Cell Sequencing Solutions Company Raises $50 Million

By Annie Baker ● Dec 19, 2023

Parse Biosciences - a leading provider of accessible and scalable single-cell sequencing solutions - recently announced it had closed a total of $50 million in financing from a Series C equity raise and the closing of a debt facility. And Soleus Capital led the Series C equity financing - which included participation by new and current investors, including Bioeconomy Capital, Janus Henderson Investors, Marshall Wace, Sahsen Ventures, and Saras Capital. Horizon Technology Finance Corporation provided the debt facility.

Canapi Ventures: $750 Million Fund II Closed To Invest In Fintech Companies

By Amit Chowdhry ● Dec 19, 2023

Canapi Ventures - a fintech venture capital fund backed by nearly 70 financial institutions and strategic investors across the United States - recently announced a $750 million Fund II raise. This latest funding round brings Canapi's total assets under management to over $1.4 billion.

BioStar Capital: $130.3 Million Fund V Raised To Invest In Transformative Medical Technologies

By Amit Chowdhry ● Dec 19, 2023

BioStar Capital - a strategic venture capital firm focused on transformative medical technologies primarily in the fields of cardiovascular disease, orthopedics, and robotics - recently announced it has closed its fifth fund at $130.3 million, more than its three previous funds combined.

MAKA: Africa-Based Social Commerce Company Raises $2.65 Million

By Amit Chowdhry ● Dec 19, 2023

MAKA - Africa's leading fashion and beauty e-commerce platform - recently announced that it has raised a $2.65 million pre-seed round. The funding round was co-led by prominent investors 4DX Ventures and Janngo, with additional backing from Palm Drive Capital. This round also includes angel investor Jonathan Shipman (Former EVP and Twitch founding member) and executives from delivery platform Wolt.