Photo courtesy of Toast.
New Money is BostInno's report on all the funding deals out of Boston tech companies this week. As more news comes out, this post will be updated.
Thursday August 13
RIFT.io (Burlington)
- Deal: $16 million Series A
- Investors: The round was led by North Bridge Venture Partners, with participation from other unnamed investors.
- What they do: RIFT.io, which has been in stealth mode up until now, makes open-source hyperscale network virtualization software that simplifies the deployment and management of virtual network services, applications and functions for network service developers and enterprises.
- Other details: With offices in both San Jose, California and Bangladore, India, RIFT.io was founded in 2014 by CEO Greg Alden—who was then joined by fellow co-founders, CTO Tim Mortsolf and CDO Matt Harper. Rift.io recently joined the Intel Network Builders Program, which is aimed at acceleration the transition to SDN and NFV technologies based on industry open standards.
- This new round of funding will be used to further development of the firm’s open source network virtualization platform (RIFT.ware), as well as to expand the company’s teams. RIFT.io has over 50 employees in Burlington, and plans to double the headcount at the San Jose office over the next 12-18 months. The majority of the additional hires will be in engineering, R&D, and cloud architecture.
Wednesday, August 12
RapidSOS (Cambridge)
- Deal: $5 million seed funding
- Investors: Highland Capital Partners led the round
- What they do: RapidSOS created an app that enables users to immediately connect with emergency services (police, fire departments, ambulance) regardless of where they are through “one touch.” It also works internationally, where “911” isn’t typically the phone number for emergency services. The user’s location is automatically determined, but they are also able to add important details about their native language, medical conditions, etc. The app is designed to work even when cellular networks are having problems (as is typical in major disasters) because it can route info over text-messaging or wireless Internet networks.
- Other details: The startup was founded by by MIT and Harvard alums, and is currently based at the Harvard i-lab. This new will help RapidSOS add new employees to the team—which currently consists of about two dozen. The startup plans to roll out its app to the commercial market later this year, and has been testing out its service with emergency departments since October.
Tuesday, August 11
CoUrbanize (Cambridge)
- Deal: $701,157 in new equity funding, according to an SEC filing
- Investors: Not disclosed
- What they do: Site for helping real estate developers and communities to engage with residents on development projects
- Other details: CoUrbanize took part in Techstars Boston in 2013 and has previously raised $550,000 in funding, according to an SEC filing
Greycork (Boston/Providence)
- Deal: Crowdfunding toward a $50,000 goal. On just the second day of a 41-day campaign, they're at $24,950.
- What they do: Greycork is a furniture design company with an office at WeWork Fort Point and a loft space/office in Providence, RI. Their mission is built on beautifully designed, functional furniture that's priced modestly and easy to assemble. According to CrunchBase, the company has raised approximately $388,000 across two rounds, though could be eyeing a larger round in the near future.
Monday, August 10
Toast (Boston)
- Deal: $3 million in debt financing
- What they do: Toast Inc. makes an all-in-one POS and restaurant management software. Its tablet computer point-of-sale systems are based around Google’s Android software, and its product offers payment card processing and data analysis to help restaurants—and other small retailers—track sales figures. Currently, Toast has customers in 35 states and expects to have a presence in all 50 states by the end of 2015.
- Other details: This funding was recently disclosed in an SEC Form D filing. According to the paperwork, the nearly $3 million raised thus far came from five unnamed investors, and could reach up to $15 million. Toast claims it has brought on 1,000 customers over the past two years. About a month ago, the company surpassed 100 employees, and it recently moved from Cambridge into a larger office at the Landmark Center in the Fenway neighborhood to accommodate that growth. At the beginning of 2014, there were roughly 10 employees working at Toast. Toast CEO Chris Comparato told BetaBoston last month that he was planning “a significant second round” sometime in 2015. The company previously banked close to $7 million from an array of investors, mainly former Endeca chief executive Steve Papa (who is listed as a "related person" on this new Form D).
Photo courtesy of Toast.
