While we’re primarily focused on the Twin Cities innovation economy, we also have our eyes on all of the startup and tech activity happening throughout the entire Midwest. Here are the major tech fundings, acquisitions, mergers, moves, and IPOs that went down in the region in December. See all Midwest Reports here.
12/4: Cleveland and Denver-based Cannasure Insurance Services, a cannabis insurance brokerage, received an undisclosed investment from private equity firm The Krauter Group.
12/4: Chicago-based private equity firm The Edgewater Funds closed its fourth growth fund at over $1 billion. Portfolio companies include ExteNet Systems, Pacific Medical and Orizon.
12/4: St. Louis-based venture capital firm Larson Capital raised just over $7 million for its fifth fund, according to an SEC filing.
12/5: Chicago-based private equity firm RCP Advisors raised over $284 million for its latest fund, according to an SEC filing.
12/6: Chicago-based HealthiPASS, a healthcare payments technology provider, raised a $7.2M Series A from FCA Ventures, with participation by OCA Ventures, Healthy Ventures, HealthX Ventures and Waterline Ventures.
12/6: Chicago-based venture capital firm Jump Capital raised a $100 million venture fund, according to an SEC filing.
12/7: Columbus, Ohio-based ParaGen Technologies, a biotech company that's focused on tissue engineering, raised $4.1 million in seed funding from Ikove Venture Partners.
12/7: Chicago-based SwipeSense, which aims to provide hospitals with technology that helps keep healthcare facilities cleaner, raised $10.6 million in a funding round led by Eclipse Ventures, with participation from Sandbox Industries. SwipeSense, launched in 2012, has raised $23.3 million to date.
12/7: Plymouth, Minnesota-based Rotation Medical, a maker of medical devices for treating rotator cuff diseases, has been acquired by Smith & Nephew for upwards of $210 million. Previously, Rotation Medical has raised $60 million in funding from Pappas Ventures, NEA and Life Sciences Partners.
12/13: New Albany, Ohio-based Myonexus Therapeutics, a clinical-stage biotech company developing transformative gene therapies for limb-girdle muscular dystrophies, raised a $2.5 million seed round from CincyTech, LLC, Rev1 Ventures, The Jain Foundation, and GFB ONLUS.
12/13: Indianapolis-based venture studio High Alpha has named Jeff Slobotski, the founder of Silicon Prairie New and Router Ventures, as an entrepreneur-in-residence.
12/15: Lincoln, Nebraska-based medical device company Virtual Incision Corporation raised an $18 million Series B from Sinopharm Capital and Bluestem Capital, with participation from PrairieGold Venture Partners.
12/18: Minnetonka, Minnesota-based Respicardia, a maker of devices to treat central sleep apnea, raised $58.5 million in funding led by Zoll Medical Corp.
12/18: Chicago-based Aptinyx raised $70 million in a Series B round led by Bain Capital Life Sciences. Aptinyx, which is working to develop therapies for neurologic diseases like Parkinson’s and post-traumatic stress disorder, has raised $135 million since launching in 2015.
12/18: Chicago-based Tovala, the maker of smart ovens, raised a $9.2 million Series A from Origin Ventures. Other investors in the round included the Pritzker Group, Y Combinator and Morningstar Founder Joe Mansueto, among others. Tovala has now raised more than $13 million since launching in 2015.
12/18: Chicago-based legal software startup Heretik, which helps attorneys efficiently review contracts, raised $2.4 million in a seed funding round led by Sam Yagan’s Corazon Capital. The money will help Heretik expand its sales, marketing and customer success teams, and improve its product. Other investors in the round included Chicago Ventures and Relativity.
12/19: Chicago-based Label Insight, which uses data science to help bring transparency to food product labels, raised $21 million in a funding round led by Delta-v Capital, with participation from River Cities Capital Funds. The startup has now raised more than $35 million since launching in 2008.
12/22: According to an SEC filing, Chicago-based private equity firm Beecken Petty O'Keefe is raising up to $600 million for its fifth fund.
(Image via Wiki Commons)
