If you were a startup looking for growth capital in 2021, chances are pretty high that you got what you were looking for.
Startups in Greater Philadelphia raised record amounts of venture funding in 2021, to the tune of $5.2 billion in just the first three quarters of the year, according to a PitchBook-NVCA Venture Monitor report. That number is 13 times greater than the amount of funding that startups in the region raised just 10 years ago.
What drove all that growth? The combination of a market emerging from pandemic woes and a surge in entrepreneurship helped renew investor confidence, according to local venture capitalists.
“You’d need a lot of fear, uncertainty, doubt and a tremendous amount of cold water thrown on things to slow things down,” said Steve Barsh, Center City-based managing partner of venture capital firm Dreamit Ventures, during the third quarter.
The emerging success and profile of other Philadelphia startups and serial founders has also helped to draw investors’ eyes — and wallets — to the region.
VC experts speaking at a Philadelphia Business Journal event in December said the future is bright for startup funding in the region, but that historic issues with the fundraising landscape and the socioeconomic challenges facing Philadelphia could stymie growth.
When looking at which companies raised money in 2021, there is one glaring standout: Gopuff.
The Philadelphia snack, alcohol and home goods delivery startup raised the lion’s share of the region's venture capital total, securing more than $2 billion. It’s the highest-valued startup in the region, at $15 billion.
Several other Greater Philadelphia companies reached unicorn status in 2021 after raising nine-figure rounds. Ambler-based human resources firm Phenom raised a $100 million Series D and is possibly on the path to an initial public offering with its valuation now at $1.4 billion. Similarly, 5-year-old dbt Labs — formerly known as Fishtown Analytics — raised a $150 million Series C in June, lifting its valuation to $1.5 billion.
Other eye-popping funding deals done in 2021 include Wilmington-based NiKang Therapeutics, which raised a $200 million Series C to support its work in small molecule oncology, and Philadelphia's HealthVerity, which snagged $100 million in a Series D to grow its anonymized patient data platform.
Philadelphia-area life sciences startups raised more than $1 billion in 2021. Century Therapeutics, a firm developing cell therapies to treat cancer, raised $150 million in March and later went public with a $242 million IPO. Temple University spinout Renovacor received $116 million from investors as part of a deal that took it public by merging with a special purpose acquisition company, or SPAC.
Nine of the 10 highest-valued companies in the region received investment capital this year, bringing each of their valuations over $250 million.
Other large rounds raised this year include:
- Philadelphia software-as-a-service startup Crossbeam raised a $76 million Series C in October from investors including Andreessen Horowitz, Redpoint Ventures, FirstMark Capital, First Round Capital and Uncork Capital.
- University of Pennsylvania spinout iEcure emerged from stealth mode in September and raised a $50 million round to support its gene editing ambitions.
- Two-year-old gene therapy startup Interius Biotherapeutics raised $76 million in a private stock sale in May.
- Philadelphia e-commerce startup Mainfactor raised a $69 million seed round to acquire direct-to-consumer companies.
- Piano, after moving its headquarters from New York to Philadelphia, secured $88 million from investors to grow its publisher analytics platform.
- Health care software firm Tendo Systems secured a $550 million valuation after landing a $50 million Series B in June.
- WatchBox, a watch reselling startup spun out of a century-old, family-owned jewelry shop, raised $165 million in November from a group of investors including current and retired professional athletes like Michael Jordan, Giannis Antetokounmpo and Michael Strahan.
