Save the best for the last, the saying goes…
And so, in a record-breaking month, Boston startups raised a total of $946 million in December, the highest ever monthly fundraising for 2018. October and July came close with $846 million and $870 million respectively.
Venture capital firms fared well, too, raising a total of $8.31 billion in December. Boston-based early-stage venture fund Building Ventures closed its debut fund at $53 million. The fund was oversubscribed and surpassed its initial target and will invest in tech startups.
HubSpot launched HubSpot Ventures with a $30 million fund that aims to bolster and expand the impact of software-as-a-service startups. Boston also said hello to a new blockchain fund - Algo Capital debuted with $100 million in its pocket to invest in companies that are built on the Algorand platform. Global private equity firm Bain Capital closed its new Asia-focused fund at $4.65 billion. And lastly, Boston-based Underscore VC, which specializes in seed to Series A rounds, announced that its second fund worth $140 million has been oversubscribed and will invest in early-stage Boston startups building SaaS applications and infrastructure.
Among startups, there were a couple of big rounds of funding, but none as big as Cambridge Mobile Telematics’ $500 million from Softbank. Cannabis company Ascend Wellness raised $40 milllion and Malta Inc., which started as ‘Project Malta’ at Alphabet’s under-the-radar research and development company X, The Moonshot Factory raised $26 million from Breakthrough Energy Ventures.
Below are the 27 startups that raised capital in December.
Boston-based health care startup 1upHealth sold shares worth $1.5 million in its $2.3 million equity round, according to a Form D filing.
Cambridge-based 24M raised $21.8 million led by advanced ceramics manufacturer Kyocera Group and global trading company, ITOCHU Corporation. North Bridge Venture Partners also participated in the round.
Aiera, a Boston-based startup that expands AI to investing, raised $3.5 million in a seed round led by Boston-based Flybridge Capital Partners. Participating investors included Macquarie Group, Innovation Endeavors, Fin Venture Capital and WGI Group.
Learner engagement platform Ambi raised $6.5 million in a fresh round of funding led by San Francisco-based Steigen LLC, Boston-based VC NXT Ventures and international early-stage fund Global Investment.
Ascend Wellness announced that it raised $40 million led by Poseidon Asset Management, Salveo Capital, JM10 Partners and Shire Capital Advisors.
Cambridge Mobile Telematics (CMT), a local mobile sensing company raised $500 million from SoftBank’s $100 billion Vision Fund, one of the biggest funding rounds of the year for a Massachusetts company and likely the biggest cash grab for a local tech venture this year.
Boston-based analytics company that helps retailers tackle the seasonal stampede of shoppers closed a round of funding. Celect, a provider of predictive analytics and inventory optimization for retailers, announced on Thursday it has raised $15 million in Series C financing led by NGP Capital.
San Francisco-based startup Chorus.ai, that makes conversation platforms for sales team announced the closing of a $33 million Series B round. Chorus has offices in Boston, San Francisco and Tel Aviv.
Cogito, a Boston-based AI software startup raised $8 million in additional growth equity funding from new partners Hearst Ventures and Battery Ventures.
Cumulus Digital Systems, a Massachusetts startup building an “Internet of Tools-powered” platform to make industrial facilities safer, cleaner, and more productive, announced that it has raised a $4.5 million seed financing round led by Brick & Mortar Ventures, with participation from Shell Ventures and Castor Ventures. Concord-based E-Circuits Motors, a company that makes motors for electric vehicles and the service industry, sold shares worth $1.08 million in its $2 million round, according to a Form D filing.
Egress Software, a data protection company headquartered in London, raised $40 million in a Series C financing round led by FTV Capital, with continued participation from existing backer AlbionVC. In September, Egress announced that it selected Boston as its North American headquarters.
Forge.AI, the analytics and artificial intelligence company that was one of our startups to watch this year closed $11 million in Series A funding. The round was led by Boston-based Underscore VC with participation from Accomplice, Boston Seed Capital, Imagination Capital and Project 11 Ventures.
LinkSquares, the Boston-based startup that provides AI-powered legal contract analytics sold shares worth $1.42 million in its $4 million round of equity funding, according to a Form D filing. Digital health care startup, Lumeon, that provides care pathway management secured $28 million in a new round of funding led by LSP, one of Europe’s largest health care investment firms. The company will use the funds to grow its U.S. team and Boston headquarters.
Manufacturing analytics startup Machine Metrics raised $11.3 million in a Series A round led by Tola Capital with participating investors like Hyperplane Venture Capital, Long River Ventures, Mass Ventures, Hub Angels and Firebolt Ventures.
Malta Inc, which started as ‘Project Malta’ at Alphabet’s under-the-radar research and development company X, The Moonshot Factory and later incorporated as Malta Inc, announced that it secured $26 million in a Series A round led by Breakthrough Energy Ventures with participation from other investors including Concord New Energy Group and Alfa Laval.
Nexthink, a digital employee experience management software for enterprises, announced it has secured an $85 million funding round. The financing was led by Index Ventures and includes participation from returning investor Highland Europe and new investor Olivier Pomel, co-founder and CEO of Datadog.
Cambridge-based database provider NuoDB has raised a $30 million equity round, according to an SEC filing. This brings the company’s total funding to $95 million to date.
Boston-based ProdPerfect, a startup that runs QA testing for web applications, raised $2.4 million in a new round of funding, according to a Form D notification.
Charlestown-based data analytics startup Rekener raised $2.1 million, according to a new Form D notification.
RightHand Robotics, a Somerville-based provider of piece-picking robots, announced that it has secured $23 million in a Series B funding round led by Calif.-based VC firm Menlo Ventures.
Charlestown-based SeLux Diagnostics, a startup that makes equipment for antibiotic susceptibility testing, confirmed it has raised a total of $25 million in Series B financing led by Sands Capital Ventures.
Sea Machines Robotics, a three-year-old Boston-based developer of self-driving boats, closed a $10 million Series A investment. The round was led by Accomplice, the VC firm with offices in Cambridge and San Francisco that’s among the backers of Carbon Black and DraftKings, with participation from Eniac Ventures.
Solo.io, a Cambridge, Mass.-based startup that helps enterprises adopt cloud-native technologies, is coming out of stealth mode and announcing its Series A funding round (which closed earlier this year, according to the Form D). Redpoint Ventures led the $11 million Series A round, with participation from True Ventures.
Cambridge-based facial recognition startup Suspect Technologies raised $810,000 in a round co-led by billionaire investor and “Shark Tank” star Mark Cuban and Santa Monica, CA-based venture firm Chaac Ventures.
Cambridge-based array management system provider TileDB raised $4 million in a new round of equity funding, according to a Form D notification.
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