Here are all of the funding deals out of the Washington, D.C., area this week. We’ll be updating this post as more news comes out.
Thursday, July 9
- Deal: $275,000
- What they do: a personalized search and recommendation tool for finding relevant, useful and appropriate books, applications/software for children. They also develop e-learning guides. "Through an online profile, you can update your child's preferences and access a learning guide for each book selection. You can also browse our experts’ themed learning guides," the company's website reads.
- Other details: first equity funding round came in 2013 for $572K. Co-founders are a married couple. One co-founder was the Head of K-12 Education at Google and the other was once named DC's Teacher of the Year.
- Deal: $2.13 million
- What they do: unknown
- Other details: Fourth months old company, no website, no linkedin profile and/or employees, no social media accounts
Wednesday, July 8
6th Wave Innovations Corporation (Arnold, Md.)
- Deal: $2.5 million raise
- Investors: not included in SEC filing
- What they do: 6th waves develops makes nanotech polymers called Molecularly Imprinted Polymers (MIPs). The technology can detected and/or captured specific molecules when put in contact with them. One of the companies first products could detects explosive residue and was sold to first responders and anti-terrorist government clients.
- Other details: 6th Wave's Crunchbase profile reads,"We have raised about $750,000 through conventional means (management, friends and family), and we are seeking another $1,000,000 through crowdfunding." The company's lab is located in Salt Lake City, UT, and provides chemical synthesis and analytical services.
Tuesday, July 7
3CLogic (Rockville, Md.)
- Deal: $1.35 million in equity from $2.5 million total offering
- Investors: Blu Venture Investments (angel investing group)
- What they do: developers of Cloud Contact Center Software
- Other details: In March 2014, the company completed a $4.2 million Series B led by Blu.
GoodWorld (Washington, D.C.)
- Deal: $1.7 million seed round
- Investors: Nyca Partners, Camp One Ventures and Fenway Summer Ventures
- What they do: GoodWorld has developed a software platform that monitors social media feeds for #hashtag donations. When one of GoodWorld's clients/charities asks for a donation via their social media account, registered users will be able to simply donate but just writing the phrase #donate along with a dollar amount. The idea is that donations will occur more frequently and be streamlined via social media without the need of initiating A separate action. In cases where a user is not registered, the platform will pick up their data and send the user a message with the appropriate donation information.
- Other details: GoodWorld is a 1776 member startup. The startup previously raised $500K. GoodWorld has about 200 organizations/charities it works with today, including UNICEF and Humane Society International.
Monday, July 6
Raytheon (Riverdale, Md)
- Deal: Five year $240 million NASA contract
- Investors/client: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center
- What they do: Raytheon is a government contractor that specializes in developing technologies for defense, civil government and cybersecurity. In 2014, the company posted sales of $23 billion and employed 61,000 professionals, globally.
- Other details: The money will be used to support the Earth Observing Systems Data and Information System (EOSDIS). "This system ingests, archives and makes earth science data available to the scientific community worldwide. The latest EOSDIS Evolution and Development (EED-2) contract is the third competitively awarded contract Raytheon has received to maintain, operate and develop improvements for data access and system performance," Raytheon wrote in a press release.
TEGNA Inc./Gannett (McLean, Va.)
- Deal: $200 million loan
- Investors/lenders: JPMorgan Chase Bank, Citibank, Barclays Bank, Mizuho Bank, SunTrust Bank, The Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi and U.S. Bank, National Association
- What they do: TEGNA, formerly known as Gannett co., is compromised of a portfolio of media and digital businesses, including Cars.com and CareerBuilder. TENGA also owns the Federal Times and ShopLocal.
- Other details: "We are well-positioned, and have more than sufficient financial flexibility, to continue to invest in innovation, high-impact strategic acquisitions and other opportunities for growth that complement and enhance the operational performance of the company," Gracia Martore, TEGNA president and CEO, said in a statement.
