While 2022 is proving to be yet another year for the record books when it comes to venture capital activity, analysts are anticipating a slowdown in the new year.
According to PitchBook's recent "2023 US Venture Capital Outlook" report, analysts expect VC fundraising will fall between $120 billion and $130 billion next year — far less than the $300+ billion invested in 2021 — as exit activity has been down in 2022 and investors are grappling with liquidity issues. There's been about $63.4 billion in exit value generated year to date, per PitchBook's report, released in November.
We won't have the full, year-end VC report until January, but for now, let's take a look back at some of the largest investments in Kentucky and Southern Indiana companies in 2022.
1. Captain — $104 million
Founded in May 2021 by CEO Demetrius Gray, Captain emerged from stealth mode in March 2022 with a $104 million raise, which included $4 million in a seed round led by NFX and $100 million in debt financing from CoVenture. It aims to help homeowners rebuild up to six times faster after natural disasters by paying general contractors upfront, shortening the process from 180 to just 30 days. The company has staff in both Louisville and the Bay Area.
2. DPL Financial Partners — $20 million
DPL Financial Partners, which was founded in Louisville four years ago, offers annuities and life insurance products. In September, David Lau, its founder and CEO, said the company raised $20 million in equity capital to “put the pedal to metal” to accelerate its growth trajectory. The primary investors on the round were Eldridge Industries, which was one of DPL’s first investors, and Atlas Merchant Capital.
3. Virtual Peaker — $16.6 million
Louisville's Virtual Peaker, a cloud-based software-as-a-service (SaaS) company, closed on a $16.6 million Series A fundraising round in February. Founder and CEO Bill Burke said the fresh capital was going to be used to fuel both the staff and product growth. The round was led by investor Louis Bacon’s Moore Strategic Ventures (MSV), with participation from Emerson Ventures, the corporate venture capital initiative of Emerson (NYSE: EMR).
4. BehaVR — $13 million
Earlier this month, Elizabethtown, Kentucky-based BehaVR announced its $13 million Series B fundraising round, as well as its merger with Oxford VR. The combined company is getting an initial investment led by Optum Ventures and Oxford Science Enterprises, with participation from San Francisco-based Accenture Ventures, and Confluent Health, Chrysalis Ventures and Thornton Capital, all based in Louisville.
5. Cloverleaf — $9.1 million
Cloverleaf, an automated coaching platform for workers and teams, closed a $9 million Series A in June, led by Chicago-based early-stage capital firm Origin Ventures. The round also included participation from ScOp Ventures, Mucker Capital, Cincinnati’s Queen City Angels, Airwing Ventures, Miami University-focused 1809 Capital and the JobsOhio growth capital fund. The company recently relocated from Northern Kentucky to Cincinnati.
6. SentryHealth — $5.7 million
SentryHealth just closed on another $1 million in capital following a $4.7 million raise earlier this year. The Louisville company, led by president and CEO Kevin Porter, will use the funds to boost its product development and increase sales and marketing. The money is from OCA Ventures, a Chicago-based venture firm, which was already an investor in SentryHealth.
7. RxLightning — $5.4 million
New Albany, Indiana-based RxLightning has had a big year of growth, closing on $5.35 million in fresh funding in April. By the end of the year, the company expected employment of about 40 people, Julia Regan, co-founder and CEO, told us in October. That would mean RxLightning has doubled its workforce this year, as the company started 2022 with less than 20 on its staff.
8. GoodMaps — $3.5 million (tie)
GoodMaps closed on $3.5 million in new capital this summer. The seed round was led by Louisville-based Strike Ventures, with participation from Future Labs Capital, Keyhorse Capital (KSTC), Brook Smith and several other local and regional angel investors. The American Printing House for the Blind also invested in the new round. Formerly known as Access Explorer, GoodMaps was founded by APH in 2019.
8. Armadillo — $3.5 million (tie)
Armadillo, an insurtech company, raised $3.5 million this year, but it was more interested in the deal that came with the funding. Distributed Ventures, which invests in seed to Series A-stage fintech and insurtech companies, is a relatively new venture fund backed by NFP Corp., one of the world's largest insurance brokerages. It led Armadillo's seed round, but CEO and co-founder Matan Slagter said it was a distribution deal, not just the capital, that sold him on partnering with the firm.
9. EQL Games — $2 million
EQL Games, led by CEO Brad Cummings, closed on a $2 million fundraising round in March and secured office space in the Highlands this year. It's not the first capital investment for the live sports lottery startup, which is registered as EquiLottery LLC, as it secured $2.15 million in 2020. Win Place Show, the company's flagship product, launched in 2020 in partnership with the Kentucky Lottery.
10. Resound — $1.35 million
Louisville-based Resound closed on its first capital raise — a $1.35 million pre-seed round — with participation from Render Capital, Keyhorse Capital, Lunsford Capital, Bluegrass Angels, Hidden Ventures, Rounsavall Investments, Garrett French and Commonwealth Seed Capital. The software startup is developing artificial intelligence to do the editing work for podcasters.
Information for this ranking was obtained from previous KY Inno reports and Form D filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Sign up for The Beat, KY Inno's weekly newsletter, so you never miss a story.
