Since 2020, the tech industry (and the greater economy) has been under pressure.
Fewer companies have gone public, and a tightening in investment dollars has defined the ecosystem. Even so, the Tampa Bay tech scene saw its top funding deals reach over $470 million in collective value.
The total amount invested in regional companies for the year is yet to be calculated, but this year's top investments were greater than the top 10 total in 2021. Tampa Bay's top 10 largest deals brought in approximately $452 million in 2022, and the top 10 deals brought in less than $260 million in 2021.
Tampa Bay Inno has pulled together an investment deal leaderboard, showing the more than $473 million total below.
Deepwatch, $180 million
Charlie Thomas didn't expect to raise such a large amount of money in an economic down period — then it fell into his lap, he told Tampa Bay Inno in February. Deepwatch, a cybersecurity firm, closed a $180 million Series C round led by New York-based Springcoast Capital Partners. The deal pits Deepwatch as one of the area's most highly valued cybersecurity ventures and sets it down in the final stages of a startup. What comes after the Series C for Deepwatch? Only time will tell. Get the full story here.
Healthmap Solutions, $100 million
The company's $100 million investment round led by New York-based firm WindRose Health Investors shows that Healthmap Solutions is on a path of notable growth. The health care platform has seen more than $225 million in investments total while seeing expansions and hirings throughout the past few years. The most recent cash infusion goes to reaching a positive cash flow, CEO Eric Reimer said in August. Get the full story here.
Funnel Leasing, $68 million
The management proptech company, which migrated to Tampa in 2022, closed one of the largest funding rounds of the year with its expanded Series B round of $68 million. The initial raise of $36 million in February 2022 was also included as one of the largest deals of 2022. The new capital contributed to updating and expanding Funnel Leasing’s product offerings and tools, as well as expanding the sales team to distribute the product. Get the full story here.
PainTEQ, $35 million
The medtech company raised $35 million from New York-based MVolution Partners LLC. The money was set to help commercialize its product, called the LinQ, as well as support its research and development efforts. Get the full story here.
Telepathy Labs, $29.5 million
Telepathy Labs, a Tampa-based information technology company building what it calls an artificial intelligence voice assistant, raised $29.5 million in May from 70 investors, according to a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The company declined to speak to the Tampa Bay Business Journal, so little is known about what the company has used its total of more than $50 million total in investments to accomplish. Get the full story here.
Mad Mobile, $20 million
The fintech company closed a $20 million funding round in January led by Massachusetts-based Eastward Capital Partners. Company leaders told the Tampa Bay Business Journal that the funding would help develop the company's sales and payment technology while supporting the commercialization of its product. Get the full story here.
Digital Media Solutions, $14 million
The Clearwater-based marketing firm raised $14 million in a private stock offering that saw participation from new and old investors. The capital raise isn't the same as a standard venture capital or private equity raise, as the company was taken public in a SPAC offering in 2020. But the $14 million still ranked in this chart of startup raises in the region. The company was delisted from the New York Stock Exchange in October. Get the full story here.
Trash Butler, $13 million
Trash Butler closed a $13 million investment deal led by New York-based firm TZP Group. It had been searching for a secondary private equity partner after a $4.1 million Series A funding round led by Florida Funders in 2019. The money was set to fuel plans to grow into new markets and areas as a means to grow the infrastructure of the company's customer base. Get the full story here.
Knack, $11.2 million
The edtech company, which has now netted a California expert to its leadership team, raised $11.2 million in February, according to an SEC filing. Its founder, Samyr Qureshi, refused to speak for the story but said the raise was the company's largest yet. The $11.2 million round came from undisclosed investors and was set to support sales and marketing efforts at large universities. Get the full story here.
SKUx, $11 million
The St. Petersburg-based fintech startup raised more than $11 million in its Series A funding round from undisclosed investors. Its founder, however, said the money came from an investor focused on fintech, and the round saw participation from New York-based Advection Growth Capital. The money was set to scale the company and sustain with market demand. Get the full story here.
Viirtue, $10.8 million
The St. Petersburg-based telecommunications tools closed a $10.8 million Series A round led entirely by local firm Ballast Point Ventures. The oversubscribed round was a way to add Ballast as a strategic adviser and support growth for the cash-flow-positive startup, its CEO Daniel Rosenrauch said at the time. Get the full story here.
A previous version of this story omitted Funnel Leasing.
