credit, getty images
credit, Getty Images
Minnesota startups wrapped up the second quarter of 2019 by raising more than $25 million in venture capital.
Former Minnesota Cup winner MicroOptx had the largest raise of the month, bringing in close to $14 million for a device that treats glaucoma.
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Read Minne Inno’s past monthly funding roundups here.
MicroOptx
- MicroOptx, a medical device company that won the Minnesota Cup’s grand prize in 2017, raised $13.8 million in a planned $16.8 million round. The round was co-led by Minneapolis-based First Light Asset Management and TC Healthcare Partners. Other investors included Carl Zeiss, a German manufacturer of optical systems, and a number of previous angel investors. MicroOptx CEO Chris Pulling told Minne Inno that the company plans to close the round in mid-July.
ConnexPay
- ConnexPay, a Minneapolis travel industry payments provider, raised $7 million in Series A funding. The round was led by Atlanta, Georgia-based BIP Capital.
Flywheel
- Minneapolis medical-technology company Flywheel Exchange closed on an additional $2.5 million in funding and has now raised more than $8.4 million since the start of the year. The fresh $2.5 million was raised from 13 investors who each contributed at least $50,000, according to the regulatory filing. In March, Flywheel nabbed around $6 million in an oversubscribed Series A round from 40 investors, who are mostly angels.
Social Indoor
- Minneapolis-based marketing startup Social Indoor raised $1 million in a planned $2.5 million round.
BanQu
- BanQu, a local startup that aims to lift people out of extreme poverty by connecting them to global supply chains, raised just under $1.4 million in a planned $7 million round of funding. Founded in 2015, BanQu has already cemented partnerships with several large international businesses, including Anheuser-Busch InBev – the world’s largest brewing company.
Reflection Sciences
- Education-technology startup Reflection Sciences closed on a $1.3 million funding round. St. Paul-based Reflection makes an app that assesses children's "executive function" skills, which relate to social development, school readiness, academic achievement as well as mental and physical health.
OTHER MAJOR MOVES
Great North Labs
- Local venture capital firm Great North Labs closed its first fund at $23.7 million – likely one of the largest debut seed funds raised in the Midwest. Based both in Minneapolis and St. Cloud, Great North Labs will use the funding to back fledgling startups in the Upper Midwest, which it defines as Minnesota, the Dakotas, Iowa, Wisconsin and Illinois.
FastBridge Acquired
- FastBridge Learning, an education-technology startup founded by a University of Minnesota researcher, was acquired by Irvine, Calif-based Illuminate Education.
Sezzle Goes International
- Sezzle, a local financial-technology startup that makes it easier for consumers to pay for online purchases in installments, announced that its platform is now available to Canadian shoppers at thousands of online stores. Sezzle is launching in the country through a partnership with Italian sportswear brand Kappa.
Wipro Expands to Minneapolis
- Bangalore, India-based Wipro opened a new office at the edge of downtown Minneapolis that the tech consultancy said would grow to 100 employees over the next two years.
