Boston Funding Two Week Roundup: 20 Companies Raised Over $680M+
At a glance: a submersible robot for the inspection of tanks (pulling at an ex-"roboticist's" heartstrings), a teletherapy platform for students, and a few green hydrogen plays đ
If youâre new here, Iâm Abigail! A mechanical-engineer-turned-investor at Hyperplane, an AI/ML-focused seed-stage venture capital firm in Boston. Every two weeks, this newsletter lists Bostonâs latest financings and highlights local and macro news. Got events or fundings for me? Respond directly to this email!
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Irrespective of political stance, the attacks in Israel over the weekend and the ongoing, deeply distressing aftermath continuing to target innocent civilians underscore a humanitarian concern, soon-to-be crisis. My heart goes out to those who have been affected and will undoubtedly continue to be affected by the horrifying atrocities.
đđđ Happy Tuesday-that-feels-like-a-Monday! I hope everyone was able to enjoy New Englandâs peak foliage weekend. This week, we have 20 Boston-based startups that raised over $680M in the last two weeks, plus, a ton of macro stuff to cover and things to watch below those fundings. But first, a few exciting Boston updates: Alamo Drafthouse, a high-end cinema franchise that doesn't show ads before films and hosts special screenings and curated local features, is opening their first Boston location in the Seaport this month, taking over the old Showplace Icon Theatre that closed back in 2021. And another Boston opening: the famously beloved Eastern Standard restaurant is planning to reopen in the upcoming Fenway Center development. Lots to look forward to!
More Boston news: Boston-based wearables company WHOOP announced a partnership with OpenAI to launch a new WHOOP Coach feature to answer individualized questions like what workout you should do or how your HRV data compares to others. Speaking of Boston startups, TechCrunch Early Stage, the annual one-day founder summit, is coming to Boston for 2024 once again! In unrelated news, our home team hasnât been doing too great, and the organization is making changes: The Red Sox fired coaches Dave Bush and Carlos Febles after another disappointing season.
Other news: Plenty of stories down below in the Macro Briefing section.
Letâs dive in.
Boston Financings of 9/26-10/9
Financings are listed from smallest to largest. Biotech financings over $80M+ are usually not covered.
The total amount of disclosed funding over the last two weeks hit over $680M đ
Sorette | $125K | Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG)
Described as a vertical marketplace with safe and trusted products for pregnancy and motherhood, Sorette has closed $125K towards a total offering filed for $300K. Sorette has yet to launch a website and was founded by Lanning Ardente, a former VP at Rodeo CPG leading business development.
Doobie Delivery | $400K | Cannabis
Doobie Delivery, a multi-state, same-day marijuana delivery company, has closed $400K from 1 investor towards a total offering amount of $2M. Self-branded as the customer-driven cannabis platform, Doobie is owned by Wareham, Mass natives and pays a 3% community impact fee and a 3% sales tax to the town. Additionally, 1% of profits will go to the Doobie Fund, a restorative justice fund distributing microgrants to those with nonviolent cannabis convictions.
Active Surfaces | $550K | Climate Tech
Developer of MIT-patented flexible solar modules that are 100x lighter than traditional, Active Surfaces has closed $550K in the form of outstanding convertible notes towards a total offering amount of $4.6M. Co-founded by MIT PhD, Richard Swartwout, Active Surfacesâ technology is lighter, has comparable efficiency and stability, and is competitive on an LCOE-basis to market alternatives. See their demo from the 2023 MIT $100K LAUNCH competition.
Relativity6 | $1.5M | InsurTech
Described as âThe Industry Classification APIâ helping insurers classify any business for better risk selection in commercial underwriting, Relativity6 has raised $1.5M in convertible debt towards a total offering amount of $2M. Founded at MIT to validate and enrich data informing customer behavior, Relativity6 currently detects business' 6-digit NAICS, SIC, General Liability, and Workers Compensation codes for various applications. They last raised $5.25M in a round led by Fin Capital in 2022.
Rhino Health | (Incremental) $2.1M | Healthcare IT
Software for the development, validation, and maintenance of AI models in healthcare, Rhino Health, has raised an additional $2.1M, on top of $2.25M closed in July, towards a total offering amount of $4.35M. Rhinoâs platform aims to accelerate the translation of research into decision tooling by providing medical researchers and AI developers with development environments. The company last raised a $6.7M Seed round co-led by LionBird and Fusion Fund in 2022.
Atalan Tech | $2.5M | Healthcare IT
A research-based platform predicting and preventing clinician burnout and turnover in healthcare systems, Atalan Tech, has raised a $2.5M Seed round from Excelerate Health Ventures and OCA Ventures. Atalanâs early warning system claims to be able to predict, prevent, and budget for clinician staff turnover approximately up to 12 months in advance by analyzing data from within healthcare providers' existing systems.
seqWell | $3.4M | Life Sciences Tooling
Provider of tools for laboratory life sciences testing designed to improve the potential of DNA sequencing instruments, seqWell, has closed $3.4M towards a total offering of $6.5M. Founded in 2014 as a result of a pitch to an incubator committee that ultimately formed the founding team, seqWell sells tools to streamling next-gen sequencing (NGS) library prep for gene sequencing. They last raised a $7M round led by Codexis in 2022.
Satio | $3.5M grant | Healthcare (Devices)
Developers of adhesive skin patches for users to draw blood, mix reagents and test for pathigens, Satio, has been awarded a $3.5M SBIR grant contract from the NIH. The grant will fund R&D for Satioâs at-home transdermal drug delivery device, SatioRx, that features disposable microneedles for physicians to remotely deliver any liquid drug approved for transdermal delivery. The companyâs pipeline of blood-sampling patches uses the same mechanism. They recently announced a partnership for ebolavirus diagnostic testing.
Boundless Rider | $4.25M | InsurTech
Boundless Rider, a provider of insurance solutions for specialty vehicles like motorcycles, e-bikes, ATVs, UTVs, and snowmobiles, has raised $4.25M from 4 total investors. Founded in 2021 by Blair Baldwin, Boundless Rider currently provides insurance solution for riders in Arizona and Texas and plans to launch an app that will track driving behaviors and allow riders to earn points. They last raised a $4.75M Seed round led by American Family Ventures last year.
Toposware | $4.9M | Blockchain
Developer of an interoperable blockchain ecosystem called Topos powered by zero-knowledge proofs, Toposware, closed $4.9M in the form of âother securitiesâ from 10 total investors, according to a Form D filing. Toposware develops an interoperability protocol that allows various public and private blockchains to communicate with each other. Research and development is done both in-house in Boston as well as in collaboration with research institutes and academic groups like the CEA and Inria.
Square Robot | $5M | Robotics
Square Robot, the company behind the worldâs first submersible autonomous robot for the inspection of tanks, has raised $5M from 1 investor. Square Robotâs SR-1 robot provides in-service tank inspection and aims to reduce volatile organic compounds (VOCs) released from tanks by over 90%. Most recently, the company announced a Joint Development Program with ExxonMobil for the development and deployment of a robot capable of entering above ground storage tanks to inspect the internal surface of the tank while the tank remains in service. The company raised $12M in 2020 from undisclosed investors.
Cognition Corp | $5M | Healthcare IT
Providers of a software platform for medical device design control, Cognition Corp, raised $6M in financing, of which Spring Lake Equity Partners contributed $5M and $1M came from Cognitionâs management team. Cognition Corpâs platform helps medical device companies meet regulations by incorporating features like traceability, guided design controls, and a structured data environment for bridging relevant connections between data items.
Osmoses | $11M | Climate Tech
Developers of membrane-gas separation technology for purifying gas in energy production industries, Osmoses has raised $11M Seed round led by Energy Capital Ventures, with participation from the Engine. Founded out of research at MIT and Stanford, Osmosesâ ultra-thin membranes provide an alternative for industrial separation processes that currently account for 15% of the worldâs energy consumption and 16% of the worldâs CO2 emissions. They last raised a $3M pre-seed round in 2021.
Cartwheel Care | $20M | Digital Health
Developers of a platform that offers telehealth services to students struggling with mental health issues, Cartwheel Care, has raised a $20M Series A round led by Menlo Ventures, with additional participation from Reach Capital, General Catalyst, BoxGroup, and others. Cartwheel aims to tackle the pediatric mental health crisis in conjunction with school districts, students and their families, providing telehealth services like therapy, medication support and parent guidance. Their services are currently active in 50 school districts.
Health Data Analytics Institute | $31M | Healthcare IT
Provider of an AI-based predictive risk platform for clinicians, Health Data Analytics Institute, has raised a $31M Series C led by Invus. The HDAIâs platform, HealthVision, combines various data sources to inform clinicians about personalized population-level and patient-level risk profiles while pinpointing actionable clinical improvement opportunities. They last raised a $16M venture round in 2020.
Shorla Oncology | $35M | Healthcare
Developing oncology treatments for orphan and pediatric cancers, Shorla Oncology has raised a $35M Series B round led by Kurma Partners. Based jointly in the US and Ireland, Shorla recently announced FDA approval and commercial launch of their Nelarabine Injection, marking its first approval in the US. The company was founded by former senior healthcare veterans, Sharon Cunningham and Orlaith Ryan, after working together at EirGen Pharma.
LendBuzz | $45M | FinTech
Automotive financing and lending platform, LendBuzz has raised $45M in equity and a $300M credit for loans in a round led by Group 1001. The valuation of the company was said to have been $1.1B. Using algorithms developed by its founders at MIT, LendBuzz helps consumers with thin U.S. credit history find financing for their car purchase by predicting the ability of a borrower to repay the loan. The company last raised $60M Series C from Wellington Management.
Precede Biosciences | $57M | Healthcare
Precede Biosciences, a stealth company co-founded through the 4:59 Initiative at 5AM Ventures that is developing a blood-based platform for detection of diseases, has raised a $57M Series A round co-led by 5AM Ventures and Lilly Asia Ventures, joined by Illumina Ventures, and Bristol Myers Squibb. Founded out of research from the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Precedeâs genome-wide methodology identifies novel targets measures biological signals of response and resistance to treatment.
NOBULL | $70M | Athletic Apparel
Athletic apparel and training brand founded in 2015 by two former Reebok executives, NOBULL has raised $70M from 6 total investors. This comes after an announcement in July that Mike Repole, sports drink entrepreneur best known for his work in expanding the Vitamin Water and BodyArmor brands, will take a majority stake in the company via Impact Capital, the private equity arm of Repoleâs family office. Repole said itâs his biggest investment in a brand to date.
Electric Hydrogen | $380M | Climate Tech
The first green hydrogen unicorn valued over $1B after this round, and a developer of electrolyzers for the production of clean hydrogen that can replace fossil fuels, Electric Hydrogen (EH2), has raised a $380M Series C round led by Fortescue, Fifth Wall, and Energy Impact Partners. Electrolyzers use electrolysis to split water molecules and isolate hydrogen, a process historically expensive and resource-intensive. EH2 develops electrolyzers that are capable of producing 50 tons of green hydrogen per day cheaply and with higher performance, and sells these electrolyzers to hydrogen producers. EH2 was founded by former First Solar executives while working with Breakthrough Energy Ventures.
ExtrasâŚ
Cicada Partners | $9.7M | Blockchain Funding
Cicada Partners, a non-custodial credit risk management company for institutional lending over public blockchain infrastructure, announced a $9.7m funding round with equity and debt capital commitments.
Sunwealth | $10M | Solar Project Funding
Sunweath, a clean energy investment firm that finances and manages solar projects, has raised $10M in the form of convertible debt to support a portfolio of 26 community-based solar projects across five states.
All for now!
Your Macro Briefing + Headlines đ đ
Covering the upcoming numbers to watch for (đ)Â , the relevant numbers of last week (đ), and the tech headlines of the last two weeks (đ).
đ Economy watch this week:
đ˘ Number releases to watch:
đ Today, we get US Wholesale Inventories. Tomorrow, weâll get US Producer Price Index, S&P Global Investment Manager Index and FOMC Meeting Minutes from the September Fed meeting. Thursday, weâll get Consumer Price Index (CPI) and Initial Jobless Claims. Friday, weâll see US Import and Export Price Indexes.
Notes: The anticipated CPI release on Thursday is expected to confirm that inflation will have remained somewhat sticky in Q3, reinforcing the Fed's stance to hold interest rates where they are for longer. FOMC Minutes, released tomorrow, are expected to give clues as to what could lead the Fed to start lowering rates.
đ Global number releases: Closely watched this week will be mainland China's inflation and trade data on Friday, advance Q3 GDP estimates for Singapore on Friday, UK August GDP data on Thursday, and Eurozone Industrial Production on Friday.
See here how current international inflation rates compare right now.
đ Economy watch last two weeks:
đ Consumers: While inflation may have come down from 40-year highs and consumer spending was relatively flat, consumer savings fell sharply. According to the Fed, Americans outside of the wealthiest 20% are now out of or low on extra savings.
The latest CB Consumer Confidence data release for September showed that consumers continued to be preoccupied with rising prices in general, for groceries and gasoline in particular.
đź Jobs: Jobs numbers released at the end of September showed that as of the end of August, there were 3.3M more job openings than unemployed workers, which is 176,000 more openings than in July.
The unemployment rate hit 3.8%, a bit higher than the 3.7% estimate.
đ Global economy: The global economy is under stress, according to the latest Global PMI data, a direct result of higher interest rates ultimately driving down consumer demand for services like tourism and travel as well as general demand for financial services.
Israeli officials confirmed that hundreds of civilians have been killed after terrorist organization Hamas launched thousands of rockets and combatants at Israelâs border. Allegedly, Iranâs Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps had been working with Hamas since August to plan the attack. Israeli officials announced yesterday that it had mobilized 30,000 reserve soldiers for a ground offensive in Gaza.
United, Delta and American Airlines have all nixed flights to Tel Aviv.
âĄď¸ Energy: Last week, the US reported a surge in oil stockpiles and a decrease in demand resulting in a sharp fall in gasoline prices. Over the weekend, this changed as a result of Hamasâ attack on Israel causing oil prices to spike. Oil supply cuts from Saudi Arabia and Russia had already been driving oil prices higher, and Iran could step in to fill the supply constraints, which would surface US/Iran relations.
đĄ Real estate: Itâs unaffordable. The surge in US mortgage rates has pushed affordability to the lowest level in nearly four decades, and prices are on the upswing because demand outpaces supply.
đ Headlines
đ¸ A quantum leap: 2023âs Nobel Prize in Chemistry has been bagged by the trio of MIT chemist Moungi Bawendi, alongside Louis Brus, and Alexei Ekimov for their work on quantum dots. These tiny particles, used in LED lights, TVs, and medical diagnostics, have revolutionized the color game.
đŚ Itâs back: President Biden approved a $9B student loan forgiveness for 125,000 Americans last week, of which $5B will go to those who have been in public service roles for 10+ years, $2.8B to those enrolled in income-adjusted repayment plans, and $1.2B is for borrowers with disabilities.
đ Oh, how the tables have turned (?): Venture capital performed relatively poorly last year, says a PitchBook performance report. By Q4 of 2022, VC fund performance was down -17% and cash flow tanked (slim distributions).
đĽ Healthcare shake-up: Over 75,000 Kaiser Permanente employees went on strike this week, demanding better working conditions.
đ Jackpot: Scientists have reported that the McDermitt volcano in Nevada and Oregon could contain up to 120M metric tons of lithium, enough to meet global battery demand for decades.
â Hungry? Nope:Walmart said customers arenât buying as much food since the rise of appetite-suppressing diabetes meds like Wegovy and Ozempic.
âł Finally: Microsoftâs highly anticipated acquisition of video game maker, Activision Blizzard, is expected to go through very soon.
đ˛ Intelâs big move: Intel is planning to spin off its programmable chip unit, Altera, and take the new company public.
đşđŚ Ukraine update: On Monday night, Vladimir Putinâs forces launched 36 Iranian-made attack drones, targeting the Odesa, Mykolaiv and Kherson regions, the Ukrainian military reported.
Ukrainian President Zelenskyâs five-year term ends this spring, but under martial law, elections in Ukraine are suspended, raising questions around what will happen in the spring.
Events
đ§âđź Tech and Biz
Tomorrow and Thursday: Fintech Sandbox hosts Boston Fintech Weekâs 2-Day Conference! Hyperplaneâs very own, Samara Gordon is a speaker!
Also tomorrow, Wednesday, October 11th - 12PM: MITâs CSAIL presents, Microsoft Tech Talk- Generative AI: Trends from the industry
Tuesday, October 24th - 5PM : The Canadian Consulate General presents their 2023 Digital Health Canadian Technology Accelerator (CTA) Demo Day
Findings from Last Weekâs Googling
Quick hits from my âTo Googleâ list of last week:
đĽ The state of automation in companies addressing health insurance claims denials
What I found: Still digging and segmenting the market here. Reach out if youâre interested in the final findings! TLDR: claims denials are being tackled mostly from a preventative standpoint, and the landscape for post-submission solutions (i.e. resolving denials after they happen) has yet to be fully captured. Solutions typically self-identify as one of the following categories: Claim Scrubbing, Claims Management, Denials Management, and Prior Authorization Automation.
đ˘ What does the M&A market look like for maritime technology right now relative to pre-COVID?
What I found: Maritime technology is a highly network-driven and regulation-driven industry with extremely capital intensive assets. The M&A market has never been great for maritime, although certain countries like Japan and the US contribute heavily to the average of 34 maritime M&A deals per quarter over the last three years.
đ Why is female hormone testing so complex and what are the actual differences between common endocrine lab tests and testing methods?
What I found: Surprise, surprise! Hormone and fertility testing for women is not straight-forward, nor is there one answer or test that will tell you whatâs really going on. Some common hormone testing and their explanations here.