Minneapolis, Minnesota Downtown Skyline at Sunrise. Photo via Getty Images.
For many, the summer months are a time for slowing down and kicking back. But not for Minnesota's startups. After a somewhat slow start to 2019, local tech companies picked up the pace for venture capital funding between Memorial Day and Labor Day this year.
Below, Minne Inno recounts some of the summer's largest VC raises and tech-related headlines over the last three months.
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.
Read Minne Inno’s past monthly funding roundups here.
JUNE
Fundings:
- 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.
- 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.
- ConnexPay, a Minneapolis travel industry payments provider, raised $7 million in Series A funding. The round was led by Atlanta, Georgia-based BIP Capital.
Stories:
JULY
Fundings:
- Player's Health, a startup whose platform collects injury data on young athletes, closed on a $2 million round of funding, according to a regulatory filing. The funding round was led by Boston-based Will Ventures, an early-stage venture capital firm that focuses on sports startups.
- Miromatrix Medical, a biotech company whose long-term goal is to grow human organs using a patient’s own cells, spun off a portion of its business to create a new startup. The new company, called Reprise Biomedical, launched with around $12.5 million in private funding.
- Digital-health startup Pops! Diabetes Care closed on a $6 million round of Series A funding from a group of investors that includes Revolution’s Rise of the Rest Seed Fund.
Stories:
AUGUST
Fundings:
- Puris Proteins, a Minnesota company that provides a key ingredient for Beyond Meat products, received a $75 million investment from agribusiness giant Cargill. Founded in 1985, Puris is the largest North American producer of pea protein. The company will use the funding from Cargill to more than double production at its 200,000-square-foot facility in Dawson.
- ZapInfo, a company creating productivity tools for human resources and sales professionals, closed on $1.75 million to continue growing its recruiter platform.
- Burnsville-based 75F raised $7.5 million in a planned $15 million round. Founded in 2012, 75F aims to reduce energy costs in commercial buildings through the use of smart sensors.
Stories:
