ClearMotion CEO Christian Steinmann
Gary Higgins / Boston Business Journal
We saw some big funding rounds dominate the news cycle this past month. May saw the rise of the second Massachusetts unicorn of 2023: Gradiant, a company developing tech to clean and recycle industrial wastewater, raised $225 million. Funding numbers were high across industries. Nido Bio launched with $109 million. And, Healthy.io announced a $50 million Series D. In total, Massachusetts startups raised around $877 million in May. That’s up from $368.4 million last month and just below $904.5 million in March.
Read about out all the deals, including links to our coverage or to the company’s announcements:
Biotech
- Nido Bio, a startup focused on neurological disorders, launched with $109 million in total funding.
- Flagship Pioneering spinout Metaphore Biotechnologies emerged from stealth with $50 million and 30 employees.
- Boston genomic medicines company Ensoma extended its Series B financing by $50 million, bringing the total size of the funding round to $135 million.
- French-Boston biotech Tissium announced a $54 million Series D round. With the funding, Tissium is planning to commercialize its first product — a medical polymer that can be used to regenerate tissue.
Software
- Cork, a Boston cyber warranty company, emerged from stealth with $6 million in seed funding led by DVx Ventures.
- Entro, an Israeli-founded and Boston-headquartered cybersecurity startup, announced $6 million in seed funding led by StageOne Ventures and Hyperwise Ventures.
- Incentivio closed $10 million in Series A Funding. The Boston company offers a guest engagement platform for restaurants.
Autotech
- ClearMotion secured a significant production order from an EV automaker and expects its active suspension technology to be available to consumers next year. The company also announced a $32 million investment from NewView Capital, Acadia Woods, BAI Capital and others to bring it to the start of production.
- PartsTech, a Boston company with a B2B parts marketplace for the auto repair industry, closed a $35 million Series C round led by OpenView.
Cleantech
- Gradiant, a company that develops tech systems to clean and recycle industrial wastewater, raised $225 million led by BoltRock Holdings and Centaurus Capital, becoming a unicorn after its valuation reached $1 billion.
Healthtech
- Uwill, a Natick-based company providing mental health services to colleges and students, has raised its $30 million Series A round.
- Healthy.io, a company building a suite of smartphone health tools, is focusing its next phase of growth on the U.S. market. The company announced a $50 million Series D round layoffs in the UK and Israel as part of this stateside expansion.
- Great Barrington-based Dock Health Inc. announced $5 million in funding led by MassMutual through its MM Catalyst Fund. The company is building an administrative hub for healthcare professionals.
Fintech
- Cambridge-based Insurify Inc. raised $22.4 million and plans to make more acquisitions to expand and diversify its insurtech product.
Manufacturing
- Alloy Enterprises completed a $26 million Series A round led by Piva Capital and joined by new investors Unless, Flybridge Capital, MassMutual Catalyst Fund and Robert Downey Jr.’s Footprint Coalition.
- Lightmatter, a Boston-based developer of photonic chips specialized for AI, raised $154 million, which has tripled its valuation.
- Fortify announced that it landed a $12.5 million funding round from investors, including the venture arms of Lockheed Martin and Raytheon Technologies. A spokesperson for Fortify said this is the first time that Lockheed and Raytheon have made a joint investment in a company.
Firms
- Boston-based healthcare venture capital firm LRVHealth raised $200 million to invest in companies that provide "care anywhere."
- A nearly 60-year-old blood center in New York is setting aside $50 million to invest in new blood-related technologies through a Boston-based venture arm.
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