The Most Interesting Startups From YC Demo Day
Plus Seven Boston Companies that Raised VC
YC Digital Demo Day
I combed through the 194 presenting companies from YC’s Summer batch that presented last week and tried to condense the coolest-sounding ones into a single sentence. Here are some that caught my attention:
Enterprise:
Bandit — Algorithmically boost user retention with targeted coupons.
Tella + Queue + Backlot — Interesting plays in the video editing space.
Synth — Fake datasets for developers that act real.
Digital Brain — Streamlined customer support tickets.
SafeBase — Startups can be seen as safe/secure when selling to large clients.
Consumer-ish:
Bits — Build your credit score faster.
Quell — A more fun-sounding Peloton.
Artifact — Interview and preserve memories of people you love.
Hotplate — Cloud kitchens, but you’re the chef.
Gilgamesh Pharma — Psychedelic drugs for depression & anxiety.
Hanna Life Technologies— Making making babies easier.
Jemi — Help influencers monetize themselves.
(Craziest website award goes to Letter.) 🤯
Stuff I’m Reading
VC Financing Deals:
Radical Plastics 🤙
Radical Plastics, a company making biodegradable plastics for packaging solutions, is raising $2.4M. They won the Cleantech Open Northeast in 2018. The company combines conventional plastics with a catalyst made of tiny naturally occurring minerals. The result is a durable plastic material that can biodegrade in ambient conditions.
This two-stage degradation process begins with a chemical phase, in which the long polymer molecules are broken down to smaller components by a free radical mechanism.This triggers a second, biological phase in which microorganisms in the environment see these components as food and metabolize the material turning it into biomass, CO2 and water. — Radical Plastics
Ovia Health 👶
Ovia Health, which provides a suite of maternity benefits, is raising $12.6M, with $7.6M already closed. Their last round of financing was in 2016 when they raised $10M led by Blue Cross Blue Shield of MA. The 11-year-old company offers a variety of consumer benefits products for fertility, pregnancy, and parenting.
Folx Health 🏳️⚧️
Back in May, I wrote about a stealth digital health startup called Folx Health raising $4.35M from Define Ventures, an $87M early-stage digital health fund. Now WSJ Venture Capital reports that they have raised a formal round of funding.
The company is developing a telehealth service and prescription marketplace that is run by, and tailored to, the queer community. They’re starting out by focusing on products for PrEP, STI tests, hormones, and fertility testing.
It’s run by CEO A.G. Breitenstein, who previously co-founded Optum Ventures, and served on the board of Buoy Health, LetsGetChecked, Vim, and WellSky. Since they last raised, they’ve brought on several new employees. They now have CTO Ryan Scharer on board, who previously served as VP Engineering for Boston-based Patient Ping, which raised $60M from a16z, F-Prime, and GV last month.
“We know that the best care comes from people who understand us, who understand our lives and who can empathize with our deepest needs. And “gay-friendly” is great, but it’s not enough. Gay-friendly still assumes that we are the exception, not the rule. We can do better. We can personalize care. We can tailor the experience and scale the access, by focusing and listening to our community.” — Folx Health
XYZ Robotics 🤖
Shanghai and Allston-based XYZ Robotics just raised $17M in Series A funding from Source Code Capital, Gaorong Capital, and Morningside Capital. The two-year-old company has built computer vision-enabled picking stations that can lift and sort a variety of objects, ideal for a shipping warehouse setting. The company has now raised $28M.
Raptor Maps 🦖
Raptor Maps, a five-year-old analytics company for solar energy developers, just raised a $5M Series A led by Blue Bear Capital, Data Point Capital, and Buoyant Ventures with participation from Congruent Ventures, YC, Powerhouse Ventures, and Mass CEC. The Somerville-based company uses drones and computer vision to capture aerial data for solar farm development and rooftop solar panel installations. More from BostInno.
The Predictive Index 🔍
The Predictive Index, a 65 year old workplace analytics company that raised $50M from General Catalyst in 2019, raised $6M according to a Form D. The company switched hands in 2014 with an acquisition by CEO Mike Zani and is now focusing on scaling its talent optimization platform. They offer a variety of cognitive and behavioral assessments for companies to better understand current and potential employees.
Amwell🏥
Google just announced that they’ll be making a $100M strategic investment into telehealth company Amwell. I last wrote about Amwell in March when they raised $60M from Cowen Healthcare Investments. Google had to pay someone $100M to actually use Google Meets to make video calls. Genius.
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