2021 began with a strong start in the Tampa Bay funding world, bringing in more than one-third of the total amount 2020 garnered as a whole.
Tampa Bay companies raised more than $72.2 million, according to information garnered by Tampa Bay Inno and U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filings. For comparison, Tampa Bay brought in roughly $185 million across 2020. We've got the full rundown of the deals you may have missed below.
• Tampa-based marketing tech firm SiteWit raised $3.6 million from Florida Funders and an unnamed investor, following a $5.5 million round raised in August 2020. Learn more.
• Tampa's Aspen RxHealth raised a $23 million Series B round, led by Bessemer Venture Partners. The San Francisco-based venture capital firm has a history of investing in well-known technology companies, including LinkedIn, Yelp, Shopify and DocuSign. Aspen RxHealth connects users with pharmacists to deliver clinical services. Learn more about the deal here.
• CadenceRx, a "peer to peer prescription platform," raised $2.5 million. The investment came from two investors and is the first for the company, which was founded in 2019.
• Clearwater moving and storage company Red Rover snagged a $13.6 million investment deal. The move comes after CEO Peter Warhurst previously told Tampa Bay Inno the company is expanding to Long Island to take advantage of the area's mass exodus during the coronavirus pandemic. Get the full details.
• Tampa biotech company InflammX Therapeutics Inc. raised $7 million, according to SEC filings. It is the first investment for the Tampa-based company, according to the filing, and had participation from four investors. Not much else is known about the company — there is no website and the listed number on the filing was disconnected.
• Tampa-based SOMA Global, which modernizes software for first responder use, raised $22.5 million from local firm Weatherford Capital. Its Series A round was funded entirely by the venture capital firm, which typically sticks to later-stage rounds. Also new: It's the first Florida technology deal for the firm. Learn more here.
