If you suspected the tempo of D.C.-area funding deals would soon slow, you’d be wrong.
The region continues to see a fast pace and high volume of investments in its startups, some for the first time and others several rounds in.
We’ve been keeping a close eye on this activity every couple of months, after witnessing an aggressive start in the first two months of the year and further acceleration through March and April. Now we’re looking at May, when we saw more than 10 notable deals close in the past four weeks alone.
In Northern Virginia, that list includes Arlington auto refinancing startup MotoRefi with $45 million; McLean fintech Verituity with $10 million; and Fairfax junk removal startup HaulShare with $2 million.
In Maryland, the roster counts Silver Spring personal finance startup Truebill with $45 million; Gaithersburg biotech miRecule with $5.7 million; Rockville health-tech company DrFirst with $50 million; and Gaithersburg superbug hunter Adaptive Phage with $40.75 million.
And in the District, it comprises cannabis company Holistic Industries with $55 million; flower and gift delivery startup UrbanStems with $20 million; and FiscalNote, one of our Startups to Watch of 2021, with another $40 million.
These dollars come as the Greater Washington startup community still faces a rather large racial and gender equity gap when it comes to access to capital, even as several local funders and founders look to help address that issue. Still, as it stands, there’s a long road ahead.
For a rundown of more companies that scored recent raises, look no further:
- Recurate: The Arlington tech startup announced May 5 the close of a $3.25 million seed round led by Gradient Ventures. Existing investors, including Revolution’s Rise of the Rest seed fund and Third Kind Ventures, also participated. The nascent e-commerce company, which launched in 2020, provides two-sided marketplaces for brands to resell their used items. And it manages shipments to buyers, while compensating sellers in store credit or cash upon the product’s delivery. “Previously, brands had no control over the experience or revenue from their products circulating online,” said Recurate co-founder and CEO Adam Siegel in a statement, adding that its platform now offers “a resale program in a matter of weeks.”
- Cortex: The D.C. building analytics company said May 12 that it closed a $6 million Series A round led by Madison, Wisconsin-based venture capital firm 4490 Ventures. The funding — which brings Cortex’s total lifetime funding to $11 million — positions the software startup to both build new products and expand its product management and sales and marketing teams, the company said in its announcement. The business, led by founder and CEO Bryan Bennett, blends its data analytics with equipment operations, room temperatures, meter readings, occupancy levels, weather forecasts and other metrics to help make buildings more sustainable and reduce carbon emissions.
- The Most: The District hairstyling hardware startup secured a $30,000 investment as winner of Pitch BLCK, a competition from Revitalize Venture Studio and P&G Ventures for Black entrepreneurs held on the Clubhouse platform, an invite-only app for audio discussions. The Most, one of our Startups to Watch of 2021, continues growing under the leadership of founder Dawn Myers, who’s also director of national nonprofit Vinetta Project’s D.C. chapter, where she’s working to close the gender funding gap locally. Another D.C. company, menopause-focused tech startup Thermaband — from mother-daughter co-founders Debbie and Markea Dickinson — was one of four finalists. Thermaband makes a wearable device that helps regulate body temperature.
- Tend: This New York dental startup said it’s expanding to Greater Washington with a fresh $125 million in Series C funding. It’s ready to invest locally, with plans to open six locations — now under construction — on track to open between August and October, according to the company. Those sites are located in Capitol Hill, Capitol Riverfront, Logan Circle, Golden Triangle, downtown D.C. and Ballston.
- Kaiyo: Another New York company, online furniture marketplace Kaiyo, is also putting its money to work in our backyard. The company said May 17 it has raised $5 million in a round led by Moderne Ventures, also from Lerer Hippeau and Max Ventures, to break into the D.C.-area market.
