The VC summer slowdown may be real after all.
Last month, Boston-area startups and tech firms raised a collective $1.3B—a formidable number, but nothing approximating July’s $6.9B. (It’s worth noting that last month was marked by several big raises for new funds, plus possibly world-saving biotech firms like Moderna, which raked in $472M from the federal government for its coronavirus vaccine candidate.)
As usual, biotech led the pack in August, accounting for more than $504M. Not far behind, though, was the agtech sector, fueled largely by unicorn Indigo Ag, which brought in $360M in additional financing for its Series F round.
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Below are the startups and related firms that raised capital in July, according to data compiled by BostInno.
Agtech
Fast-growing agtech startup Indigo Ag raised $360M in additional financing for its Series F round. Combined with $175M in convertible equity announced in January, this brings the round to $535M. Alaska Permanent Fund and founding firm Flagship Pioneering participated. Axios first reported the funding in June.
Somerville agtech startup Kula Bio, which uses nitrogen-fixing microbes to produce organic fertilizer, raised $5.7M in equity in a $10.2M funding round, per an SEC filing.
Biotech
Boston-based Athenen Therapeutics raised $7M in equity in a $15M funding round, according to an SEC filing.
BRIO Systems raised $1.9M in seed funding led by One Way Ventures, with participation from Techstars Ventures, Nimble Ventures, Castor Ventures (part of AVG) and angels including John Capodilupo, the CTO of device startup Whoop.
Lexington-based Fractyl, a life sciences company focused on metabolic diseases, raised $55M in a Series E round. The tranche was led by new investor Taiwania Capital Management Corporation and included returning investors Bessemer Venture Partners, General Catalyst, Domain Associates, Mithril Capital Management, Emergent Medical Partners, True Ventures and GV.
Boston-based Aerovate Therapeutics, a biotech startup focused on rare cardiopulmonary disease, raised $72.6M in Series A funding led by Sofinnova Investments, with participation from Atlas Venture, Cormorant Asset Management, Surveyor Capital and Osage University Partners.
Boston-based Albamunity raised $5M in equity in a $20M funding round, according to an SEC filing.
Dyne Therapeutics, a Waltham.-based biotech focused on serious muscle diseases, closed a $115M equity financing. The round was led by new investors Vida Ventures and Surveyor Capital, with participation from new investors Wellington Management Company, Logos Capital, Franklin Templeton and an undisclosed institutional investor and existing investors Atlas Venture, Forbion and MPM Capital.
TearClear, a Boston-based ophthalmic pharmaceutical company, raised $22M in a Series B funding round. Backers included Visionary Ventures, Bluestem Capital and Flying L Partners, which collaborated with Falcon Vision, a platform formed by KKR to advance innovation in ophthalmology.
Cambridge-based E25Bio, which develops rapid diagnostics, was awarded $4.14M from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and $1.68M from the NIH’s Small Business Innovation Research program.
Milton-based Kalion was awarded a National Science Foundation Phase II Small Business Research grant for $747K to conduct research and development work improving the bio-based production of glucaric acid.
Waltham-based Pyramid Biosciences raised $8.8M in equity in an $18M funding round, according to an SEC filing.
Manifold Bio, a Boston-based biotech startup out of George Church's lab that is developing novel experiment platforms that generate pharmacological measurements on therapeutic protein variants, raised $5.4M in equity, according to an SEC filing.
Wellesley-based biotech startup 65Bio raised $1.8M in equity in a $4M funding round, according to an SEC filing.
Cambridge-based cancer drug developer Tango Therapeutics received $50M in equity financing, $20M of that from Gilead Sciences, plus another $125M committed by Gilead in the form of an upfront payment.
Medfield-based Kinaset Therapeutics raised $1.5M in equity in a $40M funding round, according to an SEC filing.
Three Worcester life sciences companies got $250K each from the Baker administration: medtech startup 149 Medical, lentiviral vectors-focused startup iVexSol and nutrition startup Nutrimedy.
Pyramid Biosciences, a Boston-based biotech developing new precision therapies focused on the modulation of cell surface receptors, closed a $28M funding round. The round was supported by Adage Capital Management, Averill Master Fund, Ltd. and J.W. Childs Associates L.P. among others.
Digital Health
Lumeon, a digital health startup that specializes in care pathway orchestration, closed $30M in Series D funding.The round was led by new investors Optum Ventures and Endeavour Vision, with participation from current investors LSP, MTIP, IPF Partners, Gilde and Amadeus Capital Partners.
Boston-based Reify Health, a 10-year-old startup behind cloud-based solutions to streamline clinical trials, raised $30M in a Series B round led by Battery Ventures.
Somerville-based Podimetrics closed a Series B-2 funding round with additional contributions from Polaris Partners, Rock Health, Norwich Ventures and Scientific Health Development, bringing the startup's total Series B funding to $24.6M.
Boston-based telehealth firm Amwell scored $100M in new investment from Google Cloud as part of a new strategic partnership.
Ovia Health, a Boston-based firm that makes a suite of women's and family health apps, raised $7.6M in equity in a $12.6M funding round, per an SEC filing.
Edtech
GoPeer, a platform designed to connect high school students with local, college-age tutors, raised a $2M seed round led by angel investor Ed Baker, former VP of product and growth at Uber.
Labster, producer of virtual laboratory simulations, raised $9M in new funding led by new investor GGV Capital Group, with participation from Owl Ventures, Balderton and Northzone, per a press release emailed to BostInno.
Fitness
Cambridge-based Hydrow raised $3M in equity, according to an SEC filing. Hydrow is one of our 2020 Startups to Watch.
Greentech
Solar energy startup Solstice Power Technologies, based in Cambridge, raised $2.2M in debt in a $3.5M funding round, according to an SEC filing.
Winchester-based Radical Plastics raised $2.3M in equity in a $2.4M funding round, per an SEC filing.
Somerville-based Raptor Maps, a solar software startup that spun out of MIT in 2015, closed its Series A round at $5M. The round was co-led by Blue Bear Capital, Data Point Capital and Buoyant Ventures. Congruent Ventures, Powerhouse Ventures, the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center and Y Combinator also participated.
E-commerce
The Drizly Group, which operates alcohol delivery service Drizly as well as the new cannabis e-commerce startup Lantern, closed a $50M Series C funding round led by Avenir with participation from Tiger Global and other existing investors.
Medical Devices
Italy- and Newton-based InnovHeart, which develops transcatheter mitral valve replacements, raised $23.6M in a Series B round led by Genextra, with participation from a syndicate led by Panakes Partners along with CDP Venture Capital and Indaco Venture Partners.
Milford-based medical device maker Reprieve Cardiovascular raised $15M in equity, according to an SEC filing.
Stoughton-based Beeken Biomedical, a medical device company dedicated to the advancement of bleeding control, raised $1.8M in equity in a $2.5M funding round, per an SEC filing.
Nanotech
Nano coating startup actnano, based in Cambridge, raised $10M in equity in an $11.8M funding round, according to an SEC filing.
Proptech
Boston-based property operations and services platform Breezeway raised $8M in Series A funding led by Schooner Capital, with participation from Tamarisc Ventures, Krillion Ventures and Launch Capital.
Newton-based mortgage lending startup Stavvy raised $1.5M in debt in a $4.5M funding round, according to an SEC filing.
Robotics
Vicarious Surgical, a Boston-based maker of a new surgical robotics platform, closed an additional $13.2M in funding. The round was led by Philip Liang of E15 Capital, with participation from existing investors Bill Gates, Khosla Ventures, Innovation Endeavors and AME Cloud Ventures.
Root AI, a Woburn-based robotics company that has developed a specialized crop-picking robot, brought in $7.2M in seed funding. The oversubscribed round was led by Rob May of PJC, with participation from Josh Kopelman of First Round Capital, Jason Calacanis, Austin McChord of Outsiders Fund, Ryan Moore of Accomplice and Rob Leclerc of AgFunder.
Security Tech
Waltham-based security startup Evolv Technology received a strategic investment of an undisclosed amount from STANLEY Security. The two also announced a new partnership.
Silverfort, a Boston- and Tel Aviv-based provider of an agentless, proxyless authentication platform, raised $30M in Series B funding. The round was led by Aspect Ventures, with participation from Citi Ventures, Maor Investments, TLV Partners, StageOne Ventures and Singtel Innov8.
Software
Geisel Software, a Worcester-based custom software development firm, and the University of Nevada Las Vegas were awarded a Phase I Small Business Technology Transfer grant by NASA. The grant will support collaborative mobility and manipulation in a heterogeneous robotic environment.
Boxborough-based Slim.AI, a DevOps-focused startup operating in stealth mode, raised $5M in equity in a $6.6M funding round, according to an SEC filing.
Boston-based Zmags, a SaaS startup for digital marketing and e-commerce professionals, raised $5.3M in equity, according to an SEC filing.
Boston-based Pliant.io, which provides a low-code platform for ITOps, DevOps and SecOps teams, raised $1.4M in equity in a $2.6M funding round, per an SEC filing.
HelloTeam, a Boston-based startup offering a platform to manage and engage employees, brought in $3.5M in seed funding. The round was led by Boston firm Underscore VC, with participation from Osage Venture Partners, Ventureforgood and others.
Cambridge-based Tone Messaging, an AI-enhanced text messaging marketing platform previously known as SaveMySales, raised $1.3M in a sale of securities in a $2M funding round, per an SEC filing.
Tax software provider Sovos received a new majority investment from Hg and a minority investment from TA Associates, both of undisclosed amounts.
Talent optimization software firm The Predictive Index, based in Westwood, raised $6M in equity, per an SEC filing.
Conversational analytics company Cogito raised $20.7M in debt in a $25M funding round, per an SEC filing.
Industrial IoT startup Preddio Technologies, based in North Andover, raised $1M in equity, per an SEC filing.
