The top Colorado businesses raising venture and private equity capital in June attracted more funding than startups in the state raised in the entire first half of 2023.
The five Colorado businesses that secured the most capital in June pulled in a collective $9.376 billion, with the money going toward hiring, commercialization and expansions.
The total more than tripled the $2.4 billion startups in Colorado totaled during the first and second quarters of 2023.
One Denver-based data center company raked in the majority of last month's total — $9.2 billion — and says it will use it for global expansion.
Here's a breakdown of June's biggest local funding rounds:
Travertine — $8.5 million
Boulder-based Travertine secured $8.5 million, according to a June 25 press release. The funding was co-led by Holcim MAQER Ventures, an offshoot of Swiss building materials company Holcim. Travertine says it will use the money to commercialize its technology that upcycles industrial sulfate waste and captured CO2 — reducing emissions and waste generated from mining, fertilizer, and cement production.
The carbon dioxide removal and critical element production company was founded in 2022 by Laura Lammers, a former professor of geochemistry and leading expert in carbonate mineralization — the process in which carbon dioxide becomes a solid mineral.
Alpen High Performance Products — $12.1 million
Alpen High Performance Products secured $12.1 million in private capital, according to a June 14 news release by the Louisville-based company. Earlier this year the energy-efficient glass manufacturer also received a $5.9 million grant from the Department of Energy, which Alpen said it plans to invest in increasing its energy-efficient glass manufacturing capacity and add dozens of jobs, according to previous DBJ reporting.
Additionally, Alpen ranked 14 on a Denver Business Journal list of Denver-area manufacturing firms for the number of Denver-area employees. Of its 145 employees, 138 work in the Denver-area.
Enveda Biosciences — $55 million
Enveda Biosciences, a Boulder based drug discovery company pulled in a $55 million Series B2 financing round with participation from new investors including The Nature Conservancy and Microsoft.
Enveda uses artificial intelligence to learn about naturally occurring molecules and to create new medicines. The company says it will use the funding to improve the drug-development platform it created that logs and analyzes molecules found in living things.
The AI-powered bioscience company, founded in 2019, is part of Colorado’s growing life sciences sector which collectively raised $1.47 billion in 2023, according to an annual report from the Colorado Bioscience Association.
Xcimer Energy Inc. — $100 million
Xcimer Energy Inc. raised $100 million during its Series A financing round, the company announced last month. The investment round was led by Hedosophia with participation from Breakthrough Energy Ventures, founded by Microsoft billionaire Bill Gates.
Denver-based Xcimer was founded in 2022 and aims to commercialize fusion energy to replace the use of fossil fuels. The company will use the funding to establish a new Denver facility, expand its team, and build a prototype laser system to use in fusion energy generation, the company said in a June 4 press release.
Last year, Xcimer received a $9 million award from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Milestone-Based Fusion Development Program.
Vantage Data Centers — $9.2 billion
Denver-based Vantage Data Centers recently completed a $9.2 billion equity round according to a June 13 news release. The investment was led by investment vehicles managed by DigitalBridge Group, Inc. (NYSE: DBRG) and included funding from technology-focused private equity giant Silver Lake plus other investors.
The latest round brings Vantage's total raised since last September to $11 billion, the company said.
The company, headquartered in Cherry Creek, develops “hyperscale” data centers — massive facilities for data storage and computing. The primary proceeds will fund Vantage’s growth across North America, Europe, the Middle East and Africa, the company said. Vantage now owns or controls over three gigawatts of expected capacity across 25 data centers in North America and EMEA, according to the release.
