Boston-area startups, tech companies and other local innovators collectively raised $3.1B in venture funding in March — and that's just what we're able to count, since not every company chooses to disclose financial terms of their investments.
After a rare instance in February in which software startups led the charge, overtaking biotech, it seems things have been restored to order. Biotech companies raised a collective $975.9M last month, almost one-third of all venture capital funding in Massachusetts. Software startups were not far behind, though, bringing in $685.8M altogether. Cleantech firms raised $512.8M, and cybersecurity firms raised $508M, carving out large slices of the pie.
The largest fundraise of March 2021 goes to Nexamp, a renewable energy generator and community solar provider based in Boston, which closed a $440M senior secured credit facility for a 380-megawatt portfolio of solar and energy storage assets.
Two venture capital funds, which we have included below but did not include in the overall fundraising totals, also raised a total of $104 million.
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Below are the startups and related firms that raised capital in March, according to data compiled by BostInno.
Autonomous Vehicles
Marblehead-based SeaTrac Systems raised $1M in equity from seven investors, according to a Form D. The company designs and develops uncrewed surface vehicles for persistent in-shore and open-ocean missions.
Biotech
Cambridge-based precision medicine startup FogPharma closed a $107M Series C financing. The round was led by venBio Partners, with participation from new investors Cormorant Asset Management, Farallon Capital Management, Invus, funds and accounts advised by T. Rowe Price Associates, HBM Healthcare Investments, Casdin Capital and PagsGroup. Existing investors, including GV, 6 Dimensions Capital, Deerfield Management and Blue Pool Capital also participated in the oversubscribed round.
Cambridge startup eGenesis, co-founded in 2015 by genomics pioneer George Church, has raised $125 million in a Series C round as it prepares for an ambitious next step: transplanting its genetically edited pig organs into humans. The funding comes from Farallon Capital Management, Polaris Partners, HBM Healthcare Investments, Invus, Samsara BioCapital, LifeSci Venture Partners, Irving Investors, Catalio Capital Management, SymBiosis, Altium Capital, Monashee Investment Management and Osage University Partners, along with existing investors.
Microbiome-focused manufacturing startup Arranta Bio, which is based in Watertown, closed a Series B equity round but did not say how much it had raised.
CARB-X is funding Affinivax, a Cambridge-based biotech, to develop a new vaccine that will prevent Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) bacterial infections. The CARB-X award is worth up to $3.5 million, and could provide up to $18.5 million in milestone payments.
Woburn-based Eirion Therapeutics, an aesthetic dermatology company, brought in a $32M Series A round from Shanghai Haohai Biological Technology. As part of the deal, Haohai will receive exclusive licenses for all of Eirion's products for China in exchange for an $8M upfront payment.
Cambrige biotech startup Bicara launched with $40M from its founding firm, Indian biopharma company Biocon Ltd. The startup is crafting an approach in which a single drug hitches onto a specific target on a tumor cell, then attacks it with an immune modulator.
Cambridge-based Rgenta Therapeutics, a biotech company focusing on developing RNA-targeting medicines for historically undruggable disease-relevant targets, raised $4M in equity in a $38M funding round, per an SEC filing.
Mediar Therapeutics completed a seed extension funding round and welcomed Pfizer Ventures and Ono Venture Investment as new investors. Mediar, a discovery-stage company developing new treatments for fibrosis, was co-founded by Mass General Brigham Ventures, formerly Partners Innovation Fund.
Variantyx, which is developing genetic testing methods for high-complexity hereditary diseases, raised $20M in a Series C round led by GHS Fund (Quark Venture LP and GF Securities) that includes new investor IBM Ventures and current investors Pitango Venture Capital, New Era Capital Partners and 20/20 HealthCare Partners.
Aktis Oncology made its public debut with $72M in an oversubscribed Series A round co-led by MPM Capital, EcoR1 Capital and Vida Ventures, with participation from Octagon Capital, TCG Crossover, Novartis and Bristol Myers Squibb.
Boston Immune Technologies and Therapeutics, which develops novel TNF Superfamily antagonist antibodies, says it's finished a $10M Series A/A1 round. BeiGene was among the investors, as well as previous investors Hatteras Venture Partners and EGP Investments. "Undisclosed private investors" were also in the mix.
Cambridge-based oncology startup Aura Biosciences closed an oversubscribed $80M funding round led by Matrix Capital Management and Surveyor Capital with participation from new investors, including Rock Springs Capital, Adage Capital Management LP and Velosity Capital. Existing investors Medicxi, Advent Life Sciences, Lundbeckfonden Ventures, Arix Bioscience, Chiesi Ventures, Ysios Capital and Columbus Venture Partners also participated in the round.
Lowell-based InnoTech Precision Medicine, a point-of-care diagnostics platform developer, received a RADx-rad grant from the National Institutes of Health for work it will conduct in collaboration with researchers at MIT and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. The company is developing a new device for early detection of Covid-19, other infectious diseases and cancer.
Cambridge biotech startup Camp4 Therapeutics raised $15M in equity, per an SEC filing.
West Newbury biotech startup TellBio raised $5M in equity, per an SEC filing.
Lexington-based Abfero Pharmaceuticals raised $500K in debt and other securities as part of an offering worth $1M, according to a Form D. A total of two investors participated.
Cambridge-based 1910 Genetics, a biotechnology company integrating artificial intelligence, computation and biological automation to improve drug development, launched after closing a $22M Series A funding round. The Series A financing is co-led by M12 - Microsoft’s Venture Fund and Playground Global.
Waltham-based precision immunology company Scipher Medicine closed an $82M Series C round led by aMoon and Northpond Ventures, with participation from Echo Health Ventures and existing investors Khosla Ventures and Alumni Ventures.
Cambridge-based Apnimed, a company focused on advancing pharmacologic treatments for sleep apnea and related disorders, says it's raised $25M in a Series B financing. The round was led by existing investor Morningside Ventures. New investors included Seligman Investments and Tao Capital Partners.
Weston-based biotech startup Spear Bio raised $1.1M in equity in a $1.2M funding round, according to an SEC filing.
Cambridge biotech startup Vaxess Technologies, which is behind a smart patch designed to slowly release vaccines and other treatments into the skin, raised $2M in debt, according to an SEC filing.
Beverly-based biotech startup Endolytix Technology raised $12M in equity, per an SEC filing.
Cambridge-based Vigeo Therapeutics, an oncology-focused biotech company, raised $15.1M in equity and debt, according to two SEC filings.
Cambridge-based Suono Bio, which is developing ultrasound therapies for inflammatory-mediated diseases, raised $6.67M in equity in a $13.7M funding round, per an SEC filing.
Cambridge startup Pyxis Oncology raised $152M in a Series B round, which was co-led by Arix Bioscience and RTW Investments. New investors Perceptive Advisors, RA Capital Management, Pfizer Ventures, BVF Partners, Janus, Cormorant Asset Management, HBM Healthcare Investments, funds managed by Tekla Capital Management LLC, Acuta Capital Partners, Ridgeback Capital Investments, Surveyor Capital, Laurion Capital Management, Logos Capital and LifeSci Venture Partners also participated.
Boston-based intracellular biologics startup Entrada Therapeutics raised $116M in Series B funding. The round was led by Wellington Management Company and included participation from Redmile Group, TCG Crossover, Greenspring Associates, Point72, Qatar Investment Authority, Moore Strategic Ventures, Goldman Sachs, CureDuchenne Ventures and one undisclosed global investment firm. Existing investors 5AM Ventures, MPM Capital, Roche Venture Fund, MRL Ventures Fund and Agent Capital also participated in the financing.
Cambridge-based New Equilibrium, which is investigating rational drug design against intrinsically disordered proteins, closed a $10M seed from RA Capital Management.
Cleantech
Boston-based energy company VEIR has raised $10M in Series A funding and launched a new way for the transmission of electricity. The company plans to use the capital to increase the size of its team and "establish a physical development site in Massachusetts to demonstrate its core technical innovation of evaporative cryogenic cooling." Breakthrough Energy Ventures (BEV) led the round. The round also included The Engine as a new investor, and existing investor Congruent Ventures.
Nexamp, a renewable energy generator and community solar provider based in Boston, closed a $440M senior secured credit facility for a 380-megawatt portfolio of solar and energy storage assets. Japan's MUFG led the financing.
Ginkgo Bioworks spinout Allonnia, a bioremediation startup, announced that it received a $20M investment from cleantech fund Evok Innovations.
Alloy Enterprises in Somerville, focused on aluminum additive manufacturing tech, closed a $4.3M seed funding round. Congruent Ventures led the round. Riot Ventures also joined in the round. Additional "new and previous angel investors" went undisclosed.
Membrane technologies provider ZwitterCo, founded in 2018 after it was spun out of Tufts University, has closed its seed round at $5.9M. The funding is for scaling its water treatment and advanced separations solutions. Mann+Hummel Corporate Ventures led the round with R-Cubed Capital Partners. Burnt Island Ventures and individual investors also participated.
Somerville-based Via Science, which makes blockchain applications for energy companies to manage their assets, raised $7.3M in equity in a $12.7M funding round, per an SEC filing.
SparkCharge, Somerville-based maker of a portable electric vehicle charger that appeared on "Shark Tank" last fall, raised $1.3M in debt in a $2.5M funding round, per an SEC filing.
MIT spinoff Form Energy, which is developing a low-cost, long-lasting battery, raised $24M in equity, per an amended SEC filing.
Coworking
Needham-based coworking company Workbar raised $1.5M in a new equity offering.
Cybersecurity
Aqua Security, an Israeli cybersecurity company with U.S. headquarters in Burlington, raised $135M in a Series E round.
Boston-based Snyk, the cloud-native application security startup, closed a $300M Series E round co-led by Accel and Tiger Global, with participation from existing investors Addition, Boldstart Ventures, Canaan Partners, Coatue, GV (formally Google Ventures), Salesforce Ventures, Stripes and funds managed by BlackRock; new investors include Alkeon, Atlassian Ventures, Franklin Templeton, Geodesic Capital, Sands Capital Ventures and Temasek.
Cynet, Boston-based provider of an autonomous XDR platform, closed a $40M Series C funding round led by Greenfield Partners with participation from existing investors Norwest Venture Partners, Vintage Investment Partners, BlueRed Partners and Deutsche Telekom.
Boston-based FiVerity, a provider of cyber fraud detection and threat intelligence, closed a $2M round of financing from Mendoza Ventures and "super-angels" from the cybersecurity and financial services industries, including serial entrepreneur Doug Levin.
Morphisec, a cybersecurity company headquartered in Israel with U.S. headquarters in Boston, raised $31M. JVP led the round, with existing investors, Orange and Deutsche Telekom Capital Partners, also participating. The company, which did not offer further details on the round, also announced the appointment of former Symantec CEO Steve Bennett to its board.
Edtech
Babson College edtech startup Arist expanded its seed round by another $2M led by Global Founders Capital. ICYMI, we covered the startup's initial seed funding here.
Brookline-based online tutoring platform Preply raised $35.2M in equity in a $35.9M funding round, per an SEC filing.
Funds
Data Point Capital closed Data Point Capital III above a $100M target, the Boston-based venture capital firm said. The company is eyeing investments in e-commerce, mobile and media, as well as cyber security, artificial intelligence and marketing tech. Its fund has invested in mattress retailer Resident, solar lifecycle management company Raptor Maps and CABA Design, an online retailer with a manufacturing platform for custom furniture delivery.
SSC Venture Partners, a seed-stage fund that invests in companies started by Boston College alumni, closed its third fund at $4M.
Hardware and Manufacturing
Boston-based additive manufacturing startup Fortify closed a $20M equity round. Cota Capital led the round, with additional participation from Accel Partners, Neotribe Ventures and Prelude Ventures. The company plans to use the capital for expansion and volume manufacturing of 3D printers.
Lexington-based NBD Nanotechnologies, which develops advanced liquid repellant surface coatings and additives, raised $1.4M in debt in a $1.5M funding round, per an SEC filing.
Medford-based 3D printing company Inkbit has won a small business innovation research contract from the U.S. Air Force. The $1.7M contract is for building three of its systems for use at Air Force bases in the U.S.
Woburn-based SciAps, which develops devices that can analyze minerals, raised $1.5M in additional debt, per an SEC filing.
MIT spinoff Pison Technology, which has around 40 local employees, closed a $7M round to bring its total funding to $11M, according to CEO Dexter Ang. A MassChallenge Boston alum, Pison Technology is developing a wrist sensor that enables hands-free control of electronics.
Health Tech
Pear Therapeutics, a Boston-based prescription digital therapeutics company, raised an additional $20M in equity, per an SEC filing.
Hingham-based Medcase Health raised $3.1M in equity in a $5.2M funding round, per an SEC filing.
Boston-based Tausight, which develops solutions to protect patients' health information, raised $20M in Series A funding co-led by existing investors Polaris Partners and Flare Capital Partners, alongside new investor .406 Ventures.
Clinical Research IO (CRIO), a Boston-based technology firm offering clinical research sponsors and sites a platform to streamline clinical trials, closed a $3.5M Series A funding round. The round was led by Rally Ventures with participation from Raymond Chang, lead investor in the company’s seed round, Boston Millennia Partners and Mark Lacy.
Health care-focused SaaS startup Basil Systems raised $1.5M in seed funding led by Looking Glass Capital and Golden Ventures.
Needham-based pharmacy startup MedMinder Systems raised $40M in a new round led by AccelMed Partners.
Well Dot, an artificial intelligence startup that uses data and behavioral economics to provide daily health recommendations, raised $50.9M in equity, per an SEC filing.
Boston-based Etiometry, which develops clinical decision-support software for the intensive care environment, raised $3.1M in equity, per an amended SEC filing.
Insurtech
Veruna, Hopkinton-based developer of an insurance agency management system built on the Salesforce platform, raised $6M in equity, per an SEC filing.
Insurtech startup Corvus Insurance raised $100M in Series C funding in a round led by global venture capital and private equity firm Insight Partners, and including all of its previous institutional investors.
Hi Marley, a Boston communications platform focused the insurance industry, raised $25M in Series B funding. Emergence Capital led the round, and its general partner Gordon Ritter took a board seat. Underscore, True Ventures, Bain Capital Ventures and Greenspring, all returning firms, also participated. Brewer Lane Ventures was an additional investor.
Boston-based insurtech startup Earnix raised $50M in equity in a $75M funding round, per an SEC filing.
Cambridge-based Surround Insurance, an insurtech startup that caters to young people, raised a $2.6M seed round with participation from Sure Ventures, Cameron Ventures, Newark Venture Partners and Plug & Play Ventures, along with insurance industry veterans Vincent (VJ) Dowling, Helen Sayles, Robin Harbage and Mike Hughes, per a statement emailed to BostInno. ICYMI, we profiled Surround Insurance here.
Medical Devices
Waltham-based InfoBionic, which has developed an FDA-cleared SaaS remote monitoring system for cardiac arrhythmia, secured a $9M venture loan facility from Horizon Technology Finance Corporation.
Bedford-based Access Vascular, which is developing a suite of venous access devices, raised $19.9M in equity and debt, per an SEC filing.
Agile Devices, a Wellesley-based medical devices startup currently focused on microcatheters, raised $1.4M in equity, per an SEC filing.
Medical device company Lightpoint Medical, which is headquartered in Cambridge and England, said it's finished an $8M financing round. Investors included Oxford Technology, Venture Founders, Coutts Bank, and the British Business Bank Future Fund. The company, which is developing cancer detection tools for robot-assisted surgery, has raised a total of $18M.
Software
Reclaim, a.k.a. MyA Health, a Cambridge startup that provides software to manage health care-related finances, raised $1M in debt in a $1.5M funding round, per an SEC filing.
Boston-based Vendr, a software-as-a-service buying platform, raised a $60 million Series A round led by Tiger Global Management, with participation from existing investors Craft Ventures, Y Combinator, Sound Ventures, Garage Capital, and F-Prime Capital.
Boston-based Wabbi, a secure DevOps infrastructure platform provider, was awarded a Phase I SBIR contract by AFWERX.
Boston-based storage startup Filebase raised $2M in a sale of securities, per an SEC filing.
Appfire, a Boston-based of software development apps, announced that it has received a $100M investment from growth private equity firm TA Associates. TA’s investment in Appfire comes after a $49M strategic investment from Silversmith Capital Partners last year.
Boston-based Kimble Applications announced the closing of a growth investment from Accel-KKR, a technology-focused investment firm.
SmartKargo, a Cambridge-based cloud provider of air cargo solutions, announced it has secured a strategic growth investment from M33 Growth, a Boston-based venture and growth stage investment firm. More on M33 Growth here.
DepositLink, a Boston-based platform for electronic payments for residential real estate transactions, closed a $3.5M seed round from angel investors.
HaulHub Technologies, a construction supply chain-focused software firm with offices in Boston and Haverhill, raised $10M in equity, per an SEC filing.
Framingham-based Beamable, which offers a cloud-based service architecture that enables in-game storefronts, merchandising, content management and more, raised $5.2M in equity and debt in a $6.1M funding round, per an SEC filing.
Boston-based Salary Finance, which provides financial education and salary-linked benefits for employees, picked up $150M in financing. Community Investment Management is offering the financing over three years, and the company plans to use the money to "expand access to low-cost loans for working Americans."
Monitaur, a Duxbury-based software startup that provides auditability, transparency and governance for companies using machine learning software, raised $2.1M in equity in a $2.6M funding round, per an SEC filing.
Boston-based notary startup Notarize announced it's raised $130M in Series D funding. Canapi Ventures, the VC firm, led the round, joined by Alphabet’s independent growth fund CapitalG, Citi Ventures, Wells Fargo, True Bridge Capital Partners and existing investors. The startup also added Neil Wunderwood of Canapi Ventures to its board of directors.
Connected2Fiber, a Boston-based cloud connectivity startup, secured $12M in Series B financing. The round was led by Harbert Growth Partners as well as current investors Ascent Venture Partners, Nauta Capital and Osage Venture Partners.
Boston-based Esprezzo, which is working on a blockchain-related platform, says it raised $2M in an oversubscribed round. Participants included Mark Cuban, Arrington Capital, Longley Capital, Rarestone Capital, CMS Holdings, LongHash, Youbi, TBD Angels, and Zag Capital, among others.
Cloud data backup startup Hycu (pronounced "haiku") closed a $87.5M Series A round led by Bain Capital Ventures, with participation from ACrew Capital.
Boston-based ClimaCell brought in $77M in Series D funding and rebranded to The Tomorrow Companies Inc., doing business as Tomorrow.io, according to Crunchbase News.
Boston-based Catalant Technologies announced the closing of a $35M investment, led by the Morningside Group.
BusRight, a digital school bus route planning and management solution, announced the company has raised $2.5M in seed funding. Underscore VC and Long Journey Ventures co-invested in the company founded and led by Northeastern University senior Keith Corso.
PureStake announced the completion of a $6M strategic round led by CoinFund, a blockchain-focused investment firm.
