Headquarters: Orlando
What they do: Remote patient monitoring sensors and platform
Deal size: $27 million
Date: November
Investors: Crescent Cove Advisors LP
Headquarters: Orlando
What they do: Last-mile delivery platform
Deal size: $33 million
Date: November
Investors: Arsenal Growth Equity, Piva Capital, Trimble Ventures, American Tire Distributors Inc., Ironspring Ventures, Las Olas Venture Capital, Bullpen Capital, Triphammer Ventures/Alumni Ventures Group, Gaingels, Mana Ventures
Headquarters: Winter Garden
What they do: Maker of sustainable plant fertilizer for crops
Deal size: $65.5 million
Date: April
Investors: Riverstone Holdings LLC, Piva Capital, Morgan Stanley Investment Management, LK Advisers Limited, Pontifax Global Food, Agriculture Technology Fund
Headquarters: Matiland
What they do: Endpoint cybersecurity protection
Deal size: $100 million
Date: April
Investors: General Atlantic Service Co. LP, Elephant, Arthur Ventures
Headquarters: Orlando
What they do: Cybersecurity services for critical infrastructure like defense, utilities and oil/gas
Deal size: $125 million
Date: April
Investors: Goldman Sachs Asset Management
Headquarters: Winter Park
What they do: Mobile device management software
Deal size: $196 million
Date: May
Investors: Insight Partners, StepStone Group, Elephant, Album VC
It was a year of mega investment deals for Orlando in 2022.
Orlando-area startups this year closed four funding rounds of $100 million or more, something uncommon for Central Florida. In fact, the region's seven biggest startup investment deals of the year combined for $791.5 million.
Why this matters: These transactions are important to the region's economy because local companies use money raised from investors to grow their businesses, create jobs and advance their products.
Here are some examples of how the year's biggest investment deals boost local businesses:
- Maitland-based cybersecurity firm ThreatLocker Inc. planned to double its staff of 140 after securing a $100 million Series C round. The company now employs 215 people.
- Orlando-based cyber company Fortress Information Security LLC planned to use a $125 million investment to create hundreds of jobs and expand in the defense sector.
- Winter Garden-based Anuvia Plant Nutrients Corp.'s $65.5 million Series D round fuels more production capacity at its Plant City fertilizer manufacturing factory, with the capability of expanding its output to 1.2 million tons per year.
- Orlando-based health tech startup Care.ai expects to double to 200 workers after receiving a $27 million fundraising round.
See the biggest funding deals of the year in the slideshow above.
This list of top deals is based on data from PitchBook, U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission filings and Orlando Inno reporting. The list may be updated as additional 2022 investment deals are disclosed.
The first nine months of 2022 were strong for local startups raising capital. Metro Orlando companies raised $385.5 million between the first and third quarters, an uptick from the $304 million raised in the same period in 2021, according to deals tracked by PitchBook and the National Venture Capital Association.
However, the third quarter was Orlando’s weakest in the last two years for startup investment. Macroeconomic trends slowed the frenzied pace of tech investment that took off in 2020, and venture investment across the U.S. hit a nine-quarter low in the third quarter.
Next year, the number of venture investment deals and deal values are forecast to decline in the U.S., per Seattle-based PitchBook’s 2023 U.S. Venture Capital Outlook released on Dec. 16. The report didn’t offer projected 2023 figures, but PitchBook anticipates public markets uncertainty and a possible recession will slow the venture capital sector after two years of historic activity.
For more insight on the 2023 fundraising environment, check out these Orlando Inno stories:
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