If you're looking for a concrete indicator that shows how the larger D.C. tech scene has evolved in recent years then look no further than this list of the largest fundings in the region.
To some degree, it all comes down to individual companies being able to attract substantial investment. This investment is used, among other things, to accelerate growth, expand the workforce, develop new products and ultimately, to further innovation. For many tech founders, the difference between scoring a round of private capital and striking out can dictate whether doors close or a longterm future is viable.
To begin, D.C., Va. and Md. can already lay claim to being home to any number of recognizable tech brands and even highly profitable exits over the past several years—Mandiant and Virtustream come to mind. But consistently attracting major funding rounds from institutional investors has remained a challenge.
2015 is changing that narrative.
From Q1 to Q3 (January to November) 2015, the D.C. area's startup and larger tech ecosystem attracted more than $700 million in investment, according to a data report provided by the National Venture Capital Association and PricewaterhouseCoopers.
Q4 has yet to end, and as such those respective numbers are unavailable via NVCA/PwC MoneyTree reports. The next report will be released in January to account for Q4 (November to January). Luckily, here at DC Inno we've been covering the local tech business scene in detail all year, and have an updated leaderboard to share with you.
These are the top 10 D.C. tech funding rounds of 2015 by dollar amount:
1.) Tenable Network Security (Columbia, Md.)
Amount: $250 million Round: Series C Date: November 10 Investors: Insight Venture Partners, Accel Venture Partners What they do: network monitoring cybersecurity
2.) Vox Media (Washington, D.C.)
Amount: $200 million Round: growth stage investment Date: August 13 Investors: NBC Universal/Comcast What they do: media company, content management system developer
3.) Tanium (Emeryville, Calif., and McLean, Va.)
Amount: $120 million Round: follow-on, additional financing Date: September 2 Investors: TPG, Institutional Venture Partners (IVP), a16z, T. Rowe Price Associates, among others What they do: endpoint cybersecurity
4.) STG Group (Reston, Va.)
Amount: $113 million Round: equity raise venture round Date: November 30 Investors: undisclosed What they do: cybersecurity, secure IT systems, intelligence analytics services
5.) RainKing Solutions (Bethesda, Md.)
Amount: $67 million Round: venture round Date: October 13 Investors: Spectrum Equity What they do: a customer retention management (CRM) cloud database company
6.) MapBox (Washington, D.C.)
Amount: $52.6 million Round: Series B Date: June 17 Investors: DFJ Growth, Foundry Group, DBL Partners, Thrive Capital What they do: open-source mapping data API developer
7.) LookingGlass Cyber Solutions (Baltimore, Md.)
Amount: $50 million Round: Series C Date: December 11 Investors: NewSpring Capital What they do: threat intelligence management system, cybersecurity
8.) IronNet Cybersecurity (Fulton, Md.)
Amount: $32 million Round: Series A Date: November 2 Investors: Trident Capital Cybersecurity, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers What they do: cybersecurity consulting services
9.) ZeroFOX (Baltimore, Md.)
Amount: $27 million Round: Series B Date: December 3 Investors: Highland Capital Partners, NEA, Genacast Ventures and Core Capital Partners What they do: network cybersecurity
10.) Zippy Shell (Washington, D.C.)
Amount: $25 million Round: Series A Date: June 4 Investors: Virgo Investment Group What they do: self-storage and moving company enabled by a mobile software platform
