Hyperplane Venture Capital, a Boston VC investment firm focused on early-stage technology companies, was one among several firms that raised money for a venture fund in January.
W. Marc Bernsau
It’s time to see what Boston-area startups kicked off the new year with new capital.
Here’s what we know about funding so far this year: Biotech companies are out in front this month, raising around $303 million. Next up was greentech companies with $160 million, led by large rounds for Sublime Systems and Boston Metal. By our count, local companies raised about $558.85 million in January. In December, funding was at $656 million. November 2022 saw companies raise $655 million.
Plus, check out all of the Boston-area funds that raised capital in January. We have the latest on the raises and dispersement plans from Mendoza Ventures, Hyperplane Venture Capital, M33 Growth and more.
Read about out all the deals, including links to our coverage or to the company’s announcements:
Biotech
- Ribon Therapeutics announced a $25 million investment from Pfizer. The Cambridge company said it plans to use the funds to support the clinical development of its oral small molecule programs in oncology and immunology.
- Lexington-based iVexSol Inc. announced $23.8 million in Series A-3 funding. Its new investors include Bristol Myers Squibb, Charles River Laboratories and Asahi Kasei Medical.
- Cambridge-based NextPoint Therapeutics raised an $80 million Series B round co-led by Leaps by Bayer, the impact investment arm of Bayer AG, and Sanofi Ventures, the strategic venture capital arm for Sanofi.
- Vaxess Technologies Inc. has brought in a fresh round of funding from its lead investor RA Capital Management. The Cambridge startup raised $9.7 million in an extension to its Series B round, which closed in November at $27 million. Vaxess is building a patch that delivers a flu vaccine through the skin.
- Ensoma, a Boston genomic medicines company, announced the completion of an $85 million financing round.
- Apnimed, a Cambridge biotech advancing a drug for obstructive sleep apnea, announced a $79.75 million extension to its Series C round, which first closed last May at $62.5 million.
Greentech
- Boston Metal, a company developing technology to decarbonize steel production, announced a $120 million first close of Series C funding led by multinational steel company ArcelorMittal SA.
- A Somerville startup announced a $40 million Series A round to scale its work in decarbonizing cement. Sublime Systems’ new funding was led by Lowercarbon Capital and included existing investors like The Engine and Energy Impact Partners.
Healthtech
- Boston-based UptimeHealth announced a $4.5 million Series A round. The raise was co-led by Caduceus Capital Partners and Wavemaker Three-Sixty Health.
- Boston-based weight-inclusive healthcare company, knownwell, launched with $4.5 million in seed funding. The company aims to provide comprehensive and empathetic care for people of all sizes.
- Boston-based Censinet, a healthcare risk management provider, announced $9 million in funding led by MemorialCare Innovation Fund.
Medical devices
- Miach Orthopaedics Inc. in Westborough announced a $40 million financing round with investors including Sectoral Asset Management, Endeavour Vision and the NFL Players Association. The company is developing a bio-engineered surgical implant to treat ACL tears.
- Boston-based AVS, an early-stage medical device company, raised $20 million in Series B financing. BioStar Capital, the lead investor in the company’s Series A round, also led the Series B round.
Software
- Snyk announced that ServiceNow has made a strategic investment in the company. It did not disclose the funding amount. In December, Snyk announced a $196.5 million investment led by Qatar Investment Authority. This “down round” brought Snyk's valuation down to $7.4 billion.
- Boston-based Metaplane, a data observability startup, announced a $8.4 million seed funding round. Khosla Ventures led the round with participation from Flybridge Ventures, Stage 2 Capital, and several angels including the founders of HubSpot, Okta, and Vercel.
Fintech
- The Boston insurtech startup Wunderite announced a $7.2 million Series A round led by existing investor Spark Capital.
Consumer goods
- Lovepop, a maker of 3D pop-up greeting cards that rose to fame after its appearance on Shark Tank, is raising its first new funding in three years. The Boston-based company indicated in a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filing that it had raised just over $5 million. The company noted that around $3 million of that total was accounted for by the conversion of outstanding convertible securities and $2 million was new capital investment.
Funds
- Boston-based Volition Capital has closed its fifth and largest fund to date. The growth equity firm, which employs 33 workers, closed $675 million for its latest fund earlier this month.
- WestView Capital Partners, a Boston growth equity firm focused on middle market companies, closed $1 billion for its fifth fund.
- Hyperplane Venture Capital, a Boston VC investment firm focused on early-stage technology companies, has raised the first tranche of its new $80 million fund called "Hyperplane Opportunities I LP." According to a recent public securities filing, Hyperplane has raised $8 million for this fund.
- Mendoza Ventures, a Boston firm known for its investments in underrepresented founders, has made the first close on its new $100 million fund. The investment was led by Bank of America with participation from Grasshopper Bank and other undisclosed investors. Senofer Mendoza, founder and general partner of Mendoza Ventures, declined to disclose the investment amount, citing Bank of America’s policies.
- Boston-based M33 Growth has closed its third fund at $340 million. M33 Growth looks for bootstrapped companies in software or health care with more than $5 million in revenue.
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