January is often a slow month for venture capital deals. But several deals impacting the Richmond startup ecosystem emerged as 2020 got underway.
Here, we'll take a quick look back at the funding announcements from the month.
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Avepoint, a New Jersey-based software company with a large Richmond office, has closed on a $200M Series C that will help boost its local presence. The company has more than 100 Richmond-based employees and is hiring across departments following the recent raise. Avepoint is also considering moves to grow its physical presence in the city and anticipates more news on that in the coming months.
A program to support East End entrepreneurs is being re-introduced this year in Richmond. The Supporting East End Entrepreneur Development, or SEED, program will provide a total of $110K in grants to entrepreneurs that want to open or expand businesses along the 25th Street and Nine Mile corridor of Richmond. Established by Bon Secours in 2011, the SEED program has awarded $514,500 in grants to 35 businesses to date, aiming to drive economic development in the Church Hill neighborhood.
Midlothian-based BioMech, a startup developing real-time motion analytics for the healthcare, wellness and education sectors, raised nearly $4M in equity as part of a $10M round, according to a Form D filing.
Light The Music, an edtech platform and app company, raised $250K in convertible debt funding. It plans to use the investment to expand its products and services to national markets this year. The news capped off a high tempo couple years for the local startup. The roots of the music tech and edtech company were formed when CEO and former rock band member Steve Van Dam developed a music app called ORO Visual Music back in 2016 along with Craig Honeycutt. The app helps people mix rhythms and build their own tunes with content from their favorite songs.
