October was the onset of fall and a new season for many Boston startups that raised significant amounts of funding.
The summer rush carried over with a couple of big rounds of equity funding for Boston startups: Waltham, Mass.-based health insurance startup DevotedHealth raised $300 million, AI startup DataRobot raised $100 million and travel bookings app Hopper scored $100 million.
There was also a new venture capital fund that was launched in October. Innospark Ventures, which is starting out with $100 million, is looking to back early-stage startups in Boston that are making use of artificial intelligence, especially in areas like education, cybersecurity, life sciences and business services.
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Below are the 33 startups that raised capital in October.
Accion Systems, a Charlestown-based developer of satellite propulsion systems for the space industry, announced it raised a $3 million round led by Boeing HorizonX Ventures with participation from GettyLab.
Woburn-based agritech company Agrivida raised $1 million in debt, according to a new Form D filing. Agrivida introduced a technology called Grainzyme, that produces enzymes inside a kernel of corn to create livestock feed.
Algorand, an MIT academics-led blockchain startup, raised $62 million in a new round of funding led by a consortium of over 30 global investors from Asia, South America and Silicon Valley. Existing investors Union Square Ventures and Pillar VC also participated in the round.
BevSpot, a web-based platform that helps hospitality businesses manage their alcoholic beverage programs, raised $5.4 million in an equity offering, according to a new Form D. The company, which was founded out of Boston in 2014, raised $11 million in a Series B round led by Bain Capital Ventures in July 2016.
In more funding updates, Avaya Holdings Corp. announced it is contributing to Boston-based Cogito’s $37 million Series C round of financing (announced in July this year) with an undisclosed investment. Cogito will use the funding to accelerate go-to-market, expand research and development and grow its team.
CHASM, a developer and manufacturer of advanced materials for printed electronics and battery applications, announced the completion of an $11 million Series A financing round led by Boston-based WAVE Equity Partners and NXT Ventures. CHASM has its headquarters and applications development center in Canton, Mass.
Micro weather technology company, Climacell, announced that it secured $45 million in a Series B round led by San Diego-based Clearvision Ventures. Participating investors in the round included Ford Smart Mobility, Envision Ventures and existing investors Canaan, Fontinalis Partners, JetBlue Technology Ventures and Square Peg Capital.
ClearSky Data, a Boston-based provider of on-demand backup and disaster recovery as a service, raised $8.2 million in an equity offering, according to a new Form D.
AI startup, DataRobot raised $100 million in a new round of funding led by west coast firms, Meritech and Sapphire Ventures. Another Silicon Valley investor, DFJ Growth participated in the round.
Devoted Health, a Waltham, Mass.-based health insurance startup, founded by Todd and Ed Park (formerly of Athenahealth), and focused on Medicare Advantage plans, raised $300 million in a Series B funding round led by Andreessen Horowitz. Participating investors included Premji Invest and Uprising.
Cambridge-based startup Elemental Machines raised $9 million in a Series A round led by Digitalis Ventures. The company provides data for the life-sciences industry to better manage their R&D efforts, manufacturing processes and lab management. Elemental Machines also announced a partnership with Waltham-based PerkinElmer, a diagnostics, life science and industrial testing company.
Boston-based travel rebookings site Freebird raised $8 million in a Series A round led by American Express Ventures, with participation from other new investors Citi Ventures and PAR Capital Ventures, as well as existing venture capital investors General Catalyst and Accomplice. The startup helps passengers rebook flights after cancellations or ‘disruptions’ for a fee.
Travel booking app Hopper announced that it closed $100 million in Series D financing led by Canada-based OMERS Ventures, one of the primary investors in the company’s last round back in 2016.
Hospital IQ, a Newton, Mass.-based provider of an analytics platform for healthcare institutions, raised $10 million in an equity round.
Rowing startup, Hydrow (formerly True Rowing) raised more than $265K in just a few hours of launching their Indiegogo campaign: $100K of which was gathered in four minutes. Hydrow’s rowing machine comes with a 22-inch television screen with workouts live-streamed or recorded by some of the world’s top rowers. More here.
Kyruus, a Boston-based analytics and scheduling software provider for healthcare systems, announced a $4 million strategic investment from Salesforce Ventures, the corporate investment group of the Californian cloud computing company. The announcement followed the filing of a Form D with the Securities and Exchange Commission in early October. The regulatory filing worth $14 million is an amendment to the company’s previously announced $10 million.
Woburn-based nanotechnology startup, Nantero Inc. raised $2 million in an equity offering, according to a Form D notification.
Preservica, an Oxford, UK and Boston-based digital preservation software technology company, raised $10 million in Series B funding led by Mobeus Equity Partners. New investor Citi Ventures, as well as existing investors Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec, Accomplice, Brightspark Ventures, Investissement Québec and BDC Capital IT Venture Fund, participated in the round.
Perceptive Automata, a Somerville-based provider of human behavior prediction software for machines, announced that it has raised $16 million in Series A funding. The round was led by JAZZ Venture Partners with participation from Toyota AI Ventures, Hyundai Motor Company and existing investors First Round Capital and Slow Ventures, among others.
Privy, a Boston-based startup that provides online marketing tools for small businesses, announced it raised $4.25 million in Series A funding. The round, which brings the company’s total funding to $8M, was led by Sam Clemens, general partner at Accomplice.
Randori, a startup that claims to be the “industry’s first nation-state caliber attack platform,” emerged out of stealth mode today with $9.75 million seed funding led by Accomplice Ventures, with participation from .406 Ventures and Legion Capital.
Podcasting startup, RadioPublic sold $500K out of its total equity offering of $4 million.
Burlington, Mass.-based RedShift BioAnalytics, which makes bioanalytical tools for the life sciences and biopharmaceutical market, raised $6 million in a new round of equity financing, according to a Form D filing.
Sense, the Cambridge-based startup that makes a home energy monitor, closed $18 million in a Series B round led by Schneider Electric. Other investors in the round included Prelude Ventures, Capricorn Investment Group, Shell Ventures, Energy Impact Partners and iRobot. This round brings the company’s total fundings to $36 million, to date.
Suspect Technologies, a startup that makes facial imaging technology for law enforcement agencies, raised $1.2 million in an equity round, according to a Form D notification.
Non-toxic skin care products maker Silk Inc. raised $30 million led by Jeff Vinik, owner of the Tampa Bay Lightning and minority owner of the Boston Red Sox. Participating investors included The Kraft Group and Roy P. Disney, the co-founder of the Disney Family Cancer Center. The startup is looking to foray into the mass clothing market.
Skyword, the Boston-based startup that merged with Washington D.C.-based TrackMaven, raised $8 million in a new round of equity funding, according to a Form D notification.
Waltham-based Takeoff Technologies, which wants to automate grocery shopping, has sold $12.4 million of its $25 million equity offering, according to a regulatory filing.
Teikametrics, a Boston-based startup that helps retailers manage advertising on Amazon, raised $10 million in a Series A round led by Granite Point Capital, Jump Capital and FJ Labs.
Israeli-startup WhiteSource, that has an office in Boston raised $35 million in a round led by Susquehanna Growth Equity, with participation from Microsoft’s venture capital arm M12 and 83North. WhiteSource has an office in Boston.
Yottaa, a Waltham-based cloud platform for accelerating e-commerce, announced it has raised $11 million in funding led by DN Capital.
Digital health company ZappRx announced that CureDuchenne, a nonprofit organization devoted to improving and extending the lives of those living with Duchenne muscular dystrophy, has invested in the ZappRx platform.
Zylotech, a Cambridge-based AI-driven customer analytics company, received a $500K Emerging Technology Fund loan from MassDevelopment as well as a $5.5 million funding round led by Glasswing Ventures, with additional participation from Geekdom Fund, Revel Partners and Rubicon Ventures.
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