In the world of Richmond funding, little has changed since last year. A few promising startup companies broke into eight-digit investments, but otherwise, 2018 continued the trend of garnering three to five venture capital deals per month, usually early-stage rounds between $1 million and $3 million.
Some outliers led the group: Insurance comparison platform Compare.com raised a whopping $35 million at the end of October, and Charlottesville's SafeGuard Cyber hauled in $11 million halfway through the year, becoming one of the region's top-funded cybersecurity companies.
If nothing else, the Richmond startup ecosystem kept its creative reputation intact, with investor capital flowing to industries spanning snack food, loans, packaging and clothes.
In Virginia, 66 startups raised over $325 million in venture capital in the first six months of 2018, according to investment database Pitchbook, which was down slightly from both the previous six months ($378.47 million across 77 deals) and the first six months of 2017 ($389.59 million across 70 deals). However, the $235 million raised in Q1 2018 represents the third-most funding in a quarter since Pitchbook began reporting these numbers in 2013.
Richmond Inno collects daily funding news in our email newsletter, The Beat. To compile this list, we took a look through data services and our archives to find the top deals we reported on. Let’s take a look at the top venture capital deals of 2018.
(Editor’s note: Fundraising for VC funds and similar groups was left out of the rankings.)
Compare.com: $35M
Five-year-old Innsbrook insurance tech startup Compare.com hauled in $35 million in capital to lead this year's list of top funding rounds. It received a $10 million convertible loan from founding investor Admiral Group and a $25 million equity investment from Admiral Group CEO Henry Engelhardt. The company's web platform lets users compare auto insurance quotes in 49 states. The round brought Compare.com's total funding to $185 million.
SafeGuard Cyber: $11M
SafeGuard Cyber, a Charlottesville startup that sells security services aimed at mitigating digital risks outside the corporate firewall, closed an $11 million Series B funding round from AllegisCyber and NightDragon Security. The social media-focused cybersecurity company, which rebranded this year from Social Safeguard, was founded in 2014 and had about 50 customers at the time of the funding six months ago.
West Creek Financial: $7.4M
Henrico’s West Creek Financial topped Richmond's Q2 funding deals with a $7.4 million debt raising round in May. The round was led by Summit Action Fund and brought the company, which offers lease-to-own financing for furniture and equipment, to $45 million in total funding.
TemperPack: $4.5M
In July this year, TemperPack received $4.5 million in funding from Closed Loop Partners to fuel its expansion of a Las Vegas manufacturing facility. The startup was founded in 2015 and makes sustainable packaging for the perishable food and life sciences industries. It previously closed a $10 million Series A round in July 2017.
Nutriati: $4M
Henrico-based food product manufacturer Nutriati raised about $4 million in a funding round that started in May, according to SEC filings. The company processes plant-based foods like chickpeas into powders and other products used by other manufacturers. Founded in 2013, Nutriati moved out of the Virginia Bio+Tech Park and closed a $9 million equity round in 2017, which included an investment from locally based NRV. In October, it named a new CEO, Michael Todd, to replace co-founder Richard Kelly.
TwinThread: $3.2M
Charlottesville-based energy tech startup TwinThread came out swinging in August with at least $3.2 million raised in an equity round. SEC filings say the company was founded this year and the raise was ongoing. TwinThread’s machine-learning software analyzes industrial equipment linked to the Internet of Things, like wind turbines or boat engines, finding ways to improve efficiency for manufacturers.
Alton Lane: $2.5M
Alton Lane, the 9-year-old menswear brand, netted a $2.5 million capital raise in early May. Dubbed the “future of bespoke design” by Fast Company, the startup uses 3-D modeling to help design custom suits, shirts and blazers. Its funding to date now totals nearly $11 million, including a $7.5 million venture round in 2015.
