Boston Tech Deals & Happenings (11/11-11/17)
WHOOP (there it is)
Welcome Back!
Thanks for tuning in for another week of updates. If you’re new, you can learn more about me here and about why I started this newsletter here. My goal is to spread relevant news about the great companies growing in Boston’s tech ecosystem and be a value add for those that are a part of it.
For a short work week, Boston still brought the heat with $86M in venture capital deals spread across nine companies.
In Case You Missed It:
Analysis: VC Dollars in Female-led Companies
First, I wanted to highlight some new research put out by Crunchbase’s Natasha Mascarenhas on progress in female-led Boston companies receiving VC funding. TL;DR, they found that just shy of a billion dollars went into VC-backed companies with at least one female founder so far in 2019, while $1.8B has gone into all-male teams.
If you’re interested in learning more about bridging the gap for women in VC, check out AllRaise. I’m considering adding statistics on founding team gender as part of my weekly reporting and would love to hear what you think. Fun fact: five female-led companies have achieved unicorn status this year, the latest being Guild Education.
Image: Capital split between all-male teams and 1+ female teams
M&A News
Per Bostinno, “Somerville-based Formlabs, a designer and manufacturer of 3D printing systems, acquired Spectra Group Photopolymers LLC. No financial terms were disclosed. Spectra has been Formlabs’ primary material supplier for its library of proprietary resin materials since Formlabs came to market in 2012.”
Formlabs also announced this week that they have introduced a printer just for dentists.ServiceNow is acquiring MA-based Fairchild Resiliency Systems. Fairchild provides business continuity systems that aim to help companies manage risk at scale. The acquisition price was undisclosed (Channele2e).
Daré Bioscience (NASDAQ:DARÉ) has agreed to purchased MA-based Microchips Biotech (Press Release) Microchips Biotech (catchy name, I know) has designed chip implants capable of storing and precisely delivering “hundreds of therapeutic doses over months or years in a single implant.” The technology is an MIT spin-off that was previously backed by the Gates Foundation. They raised $130M before the purchase.
VC Financings
Wearable tech company Whoop has raised a $55M Series D led by Foundry Group with participation from Two Sigma Ventures, Accomplice, Thursday Ventures, Promus Ventures, and Silicon Valley Bank. The company has developed a discrete smart bracelet capable of measuring an array of biometrics. The bracelet was previously several hundred dollars, but is now being offered for free and accompanied by a “Hardware-as-a-Service” monthly subscription.
Image: The WHOOP bracelet and its accompanying app
iSee has raised a $15M Series A led by Founders Fund. iSee is a Cambridge-based an autonomous trucking startup that is the “marriage of computational cognitive science, machine learning, and robotics.” Their total raised is now $17.74M, previous investors included The Engine. This is the Founders Fund’s first investment into the autonomous trucking space. It appears that the lead Founders Fund partner on the deal was Scott Nolan, a former SpaceX engineer and investor in Branchmetrics, Collective, Nubank, and Synthego.
OnPoint Surgical raised a $200K Angel Round from unknown investors. According to Pitchbook, “The company's technology provides real-time intra-operative imaging which is accurate, reproducible, fast, cost-effective and radiation-free, revolutionizing spine surgery for better patient outcomes.” According to the Chief Commercial Officer’s Linkedin, OnPoint plans to use augmented reality guidance to improve patient outcomes in spinal and orthopedic surgery.
NOCA Beverages has raised a Seed Round for an undisclosed amount. NOCA, short for “No Carbonation,” makes spiked waters that have the appeal of a White Claw without the bloating. Shout out to the University of New Hampshire graduates who have brought this concept to market over the last year. You can read more about the product and its founders here.
Image: Flavors include Dragon Fruit Mango, Watermelon Lime, and Triple Berry
Elektra Labs has raised a $2.9M Seed Round led by Maverick Ventures. The company has built its solution, Atlas, which is an “evidence-based catalog of connected technologies.” It can be used to find tools for clinical trials and remote monitoring. It helps users find, select, and eventually develop new digital biomarkers and sensors. If you’re doing research that involves connected technologies, they help you find the perfect device to fit your needs. Investors include Founder Collective, Boost VC, Lux Capital, Maverick Ventures, SV Angel, and other VCs and individual angels. Per TechCrunch, “No one knows how effective digital therapies are, but a new tool from Elektra Labs aims to change that.”
Promoboxx raised $1.8M, bringing their total raised to $12.3M. The company helps brands engage their retailers with brand-compliant digital marketing. Previous investors include Converge, Ascent Venture Partners, Boston Seed Capital, Launch Capital, Plug and Play Tech Center, and a handful of other VCs and individual investors.
Jobiak raised $2.3M in a Seed Round. Jobiak has developed an AI-based recruitment platform for search and social media companies. The investors, according to Finsmes, included Jane Hirsh, Raj Surapaneni, Joe Beard, Rajat Gupta, and Shafiq Lokandwala. Their tagline is “Unleash the full recruiting power of Google for Jobs.” What’s interesting is that Google Hire is being shut down next year, which is apparently different than Google for Jobs.
Alchemista raised $870K, bringing their total raised to $1.5M. They help create an enhanced catering experience by searching for restaurants, personal chefs, and custom menus for businesses and universities. Past investors include the Bantam Group, Joe Caruso, Project 11 Ventures, and the Harvard i-lab. Read this great piece on how Alchemista plans to disrupt the $200B corporate food service industry at Vending Market Watch.
Gryphon Networks, a sales performance management company for distributed teams founded in 1995, received a $7M strategic investment from Boston-based PE firm Sverica Capital. Here’s a press release on the logic behind Sverica’s investment and a detailed write up on Gryphon’s services here.
Qnect, which has developed a software application to optimize steel production, raised $50K from undisclosed investors. They have raised $7.47M since being founded in 2013, spread across five rounds. Previous investors include Nucor (NYS:NUE) and Walters.
That’s all for last week in Tech & VC deals — thanks for reading and for sharing with your friends and colleagues! If you’d like to connect with me, you can find me on Linkedin and Twitter. Shoot me a message if you’d like to chat!
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