While we’re primarily focused on Chicago’s innovation economy, we also have our eyes on all of the startup and tech activity happening throughout the entire Midwest. Here are the major tech fundings, acquisitions, mergers, moves and IPOs that went down in the region in August. See all Midwest Reports here.
8/3: Minneapolis-based Branch Messenger, an employee self-service platform for hourly workforces, raised $6.8 million in funding from March Capital Partners, with participation from CrossCut Ventures, Techstars Ventures and Matchstick Ventures.
8/4: Earth City, Missouri-based Interface Security Systems, a provider of cloud IP managed security services, raised $125 million in funding from SunTx and Prudential Capital Partners.
8/6: Detroit, Michigan-based Banza, a chickpea pasta startup, raised a $7.5 million Series A from Beechwood Capital, with participation from Strand Equity Partners and RSE Ventures.
8/6: Cleveland-based Neuros Medical, a neuromodulation startup, raised a $20 million Series A from U.S. Venture Partners, with participation from Boston Scientific, Aperture Venture Partners and Osage University Partners.
8/7: Tulsa-based Nadel and Gussman NV, an exploration and production company, raised $100 million from Post Oak Energy Capital.
8/7: Grimes, Iowa-based Crop Pro Insurance, an insurance and tech firm helping farmers manage risk and maximize profitability, raised an $8 million Series A from Finistere Ventures, Seed 2 Growth Ventures (S2G), and GuideOne Insurance.
8/9: Oklahoma City-based Valiant Midstream, a provider of midstream energy services, raised $150 million from Tailwater Capital.
8/10: Tech startup ilos raised $1.5 million to expand its staff. The St. Paul-based company’s tech allows businesses to quickly create and manage videos using a computer or mobile device. ilos has more than 200 customers, including UnitedHealth and 3M. The startup raised $1.5 million last year from Twin Cities-based Matchstick Ventures and two other firms.
8/15: Cleveland, Ohio-based MacroPoint, an electronic transportation network providing location-based truck tracking and predictive freight capacity data content, has been acquired by logistics giant Descartes Systems Group. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
8/24: Indianapolis-based Sigstr, a cloud platform for employee email personalization, raised a $5 million Series A from Hyde Park Venture Partners, with participation from Battery Ventures, HubSpot, Grand Ventures and High Alpha Capital.
8/25: Novi, Michigan-based Five Lakes, a process automation firm, has been acquired by integrated photonics group Jenoptik. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
8/30: Columbus, Ohio-based PriorAuthNow, a startup that enables quicker access to care by connecting the healthcare landscape through prior authorization automation, raised $3.6 million from NCT Ventures, with participation from Detroit Venture Partners.
8/31: Indianapolis-based Upper Hand, a provider of sports facility software, received an additional investment from Elevate Ventures, brining its total raised to $2.4 million.
8/31: Minneapolis, Minnesota-based HighJump Software, a provider of warehouse management, transportation management and logistics software, was sold to private equity firm Korber AG.
(Image via Wiki Commons)
