35W in Minneapolis, Minnesota as the sun is setting. Long Exposure to show the light trails from the traffic below. The buildings of the skyline lights begin to glow as the night approaches.
Minnesota startups and tech companies had a busy first month of the second quarter. In April, there was a record-breaking IPO, a big bio-tech exit, a handful of seed fundings and more. We cover funding news and other tech headlines every day in our newsletter, The Beat. Be sure to sign up to stay on top of the latest startup and innovation news in Minnesota.
Here's a roundup of all the major funding news from the region in April:
Ceridian
- Software company Ceridian HCM Holdings completed its IPO April 26, bringing in at least $462 million. The company, which is technically based in Bloomington, but run largely out of Toronto, priced its shares at $22 apiece. That topped the high end of its expected range of $19 to $21. The money raised by Ceridian is more than the seven most recent Minnesota IPOs combined.
Rally Ventures
- Local venture capital firm Rally Ventures is seeking $150 million for its third fund, the Biz Journal reports. The venture firm backs B2B tech companies and is led locally by General Partner Jeff Hinck. Last year, Rally put capital into at least two Minnesota companies: Plymouth-based data-storage startup Atavium, which raised $8.65 million and Minneapolis-based food-delivery company Foodsby, which closed on $5.9 million.
Sezzle
- Financial-technology startup Sezzle raised around $9 million after revamping its business model. Sezzle was founded in 2016 and splits a customer’s order from participating sites into four installments spread over six weeks without charging interest or fees. Sezzle has around 20,000 users and works with 180 e-commerce sites.
Optum Ventures
- United Healthcare Group announced in its first quarter earnings call in early April that it has about $600 million committed to its Optum Ventures unit. Optum announced late last year it put $250 million into a fund for digital-health startups. It's been adding to its portfolio since, backing companies such as lab-kit startup LetsGetChecked.
Edmentum
- Online-learning company Edmentum closed on $25 million in financing in a deal that allowed the company to extend the maturity of its debt, the Biz Journal reported. New Mountain Finance Corp., a New York-based investment firm, and Santa Monica, California-based Tennenbaum Capital Partners provided the financing. Both companies were already investors in Bloomington-based Edmentum.
Inspire Medical
- Inspire Medical, which makes an implantable medical device that treats sleep apnea, filed to raise $86.2 million through an IPO. The Maple Grove-based company plans to put the proceeds toward sales and marketing, as well as product development and working capital.
Rebiotix
- Biotech startup Rebiotix was sold to a Swiss pharmaceuticals company for an undisclosed amount. Rebiotix is developing a product to treat severe infections using microbes harvested from human stool. The company's product has yet to receive regulatory approval, but was accepted into the FDA's fast track program in 2013.
gener8tor
- Local startup accelerator gener8tor is raising $1.5 million for its second Minnesota class. Gener8tor’s Minnesota director, Eric Martell, told Minne Inno that the funds will go toward the accelerator’s upcoming summer accelerator, in which five startups will each receive $90,000 in addition to mentorship and potential connections to followup capital.
Local Crate
- Techstars alum Local Crate raised $1.4 million in seed funding in a round co-led by several Midwestern venture capital firms. The startup plans to use the funding to expand its local food distribution platform into Illinois. Minneapolis-based Local Crate works with local chefs and farmers to create meal kits with ingredients and recipes from the region. The company also aims to cut back on waste by using less packaging than national meal kit services like Blue Apron.
Swannies
- Swannies, a golf apparel startup that participated in gener8tor’s inaugural Minnesota accelerator last year, has raised $160,000 in a $500,000 seed round. Swannies co-founder Adam Iverson said that the company plans to use the funds to move into a new warehouse or office, as well as increase its inventory and grow its team.
