Six Northeast Ohio companies raised $75 million in venture capital funding during the final quarter of 2021, closing out another record-setting year for U.S. venture-backed companies, according to Venture Monitor.
Even more remarkable, the venture market nearly doubled in spite of an ongoing pandemic, supply chain disruptions, and labor shortages.
In 2021, companies in the Akron, Canton and Cleveland areas raised $290 million in 37 deals, according to the monitor, published by Pitchbook and the National Venture Capital Association, in partnership with Insperity.
Meanwhile, companies in Ohio broke the $2 billion mark for the first time in 2021, raising $2.4 billion in 181 deals, according to the monitor.
SPR Therapeutics
The Highland Hills, Ohio, medical device startup topped the Northeast Ohio deal list in the fourth quarter, raising $37 million to speed its electrical pain treatment device to market. SPR also raised $20 million in October, according to the Venture Monitor.
Peak Nanosystems
The commercialization engine for nanotechnology in Valley View, Ohio, raised $25 million in October to increase the production of its specialized optical lenses and films.
Buckeye Corrugated
The privately held, employee-owned company in Fairlawn, Ohio, raised $10 million in December and $5 million in March, according to the Venture Monitor.
Buckeye has nine corrugated manufacturing plants in eight states, which produce an extensive range of corrugated packaging products.
Cleveland Kitchen
The maker of fermented foods such a sauerkraut, pickles, kimchi and salad dressings raised $1 million in October, according to the Venture Monitor.
In December, the startup based at Central Kitchen in Cleveland said it had won a contract to distribute two new products exclusively to Sprouts Farmers Markets in 23 states.
EnCap33
The Canton, Ohio-based private equity firm that is rolling up Amazon businesses and plans to sell portfolios of them to other investors raised $1 million from an angel investor in November, according to Venture Monitor.
EnCap33 is the latest project of John Sirpilla of Canton, who became president of Sirpilla RV Center in 1992, sold the family business into the industry's first RV rollup, Camping World, in 2003, and retired from Camping World in 2017 after it went IPO, according to the website of Encourage LLC, Sirpilla's holding company.
Projector LLC
The entertainment app company in Moreland Hills, Ohio, raised $895,000 from an angel investor in October, according to Pitchbook. Projector LLC, started in 2021, is a streaming platform for home videos.
