Class Technologies Inc. closed July with $105 million in fresh funding — and it wasn’t the only company to crack that threshold.
The online education startup announced its round within a week of Arlington risk management startup Interos Inc. closing its own $100 million investment. And that followed D.C. student loan startup MPower Financing with $100 million and Gaithersburg biopharma Sirnaomics Inc. with $105 million — for the second time within a year.
The third quarter continues the trend after two record-setting quarters for venture capital in Greater Washington, with steady money movement throughout the ecosystem, including $25 million to Bethesda software startup Mytonomy Inc.
And more local VC firms are also raising funds, most recently with D.C. venture capital firm Zeal Capital Partners closing at $62.1 million.
Related: All of the fundings through February, April, May and June.
Here are more local companies that secured investments in July:
- AURA Network Systems: The McLean aerospace company said July 28 that it raised $30.9 million in a Series A round led by Mudrick Capital Management and Tracker Capital Management, both of New York — including nearly $1 million from company management. That capital brings AURA's total lifetime funding to $38.4 million. AURA, which stands for Advanced Ultra Reliable Aviation, focuses on making the unmanned aircraft systems market commercially viable by providing data and communications. It was recently chosen by NASA for a national campaign to integrate air taxies, cargo-delivery aircraft and other air vehicles into the national airspace, not long after being named to a new committee by the Federal Aviation Administration, according to the company.
- Confidential: The D.C. digital news startup launched in early July with more than $10 million in funding from International Media Investments of United Arab Emirates and another undisclosed investor, according to Axios, which first reported the news. The outlet, slated to go live in late September, comes from two journalism veterans: Laura McGann, former politics editor for Vox.com and Politico, and Mark Bauman, who’s worked for Smithsonian, National Geographic and ABC News. The venture will aim to focus on topics such as misinformation, climate and Chinese geopolitics. And it’s already hiring for its newsroom in a big way.
- Qler Telehealth: The Reston behavioral telehealth company said July 26 it raised $7.4 million in a Series B round led by Wellesley Hills, Massachusetts-based MedEquity Capital. The financing also came from Relevance Ventures of Brentwood, Tennessee. Qler has an on-demand telepsychiatry platform with a behavioral health care team that’s growing across the country. To that end, the psychiatry firm said it plans to use the funding to do a couple of things: hire up and continue expanding its group of psychiatrists, who partner with health systems in markets across the U.S.
- DNSFilter: The 6-year-old threat protection software company announced July 21 the close of a $30 million Series A round led by New York’s Insight Partners. Those dollars will be used for more research and development for safeguards against new threats, as well as to support product development, DNS said. And the D.C. firm is shooting to grow its headcount by more than 80 people over the next year. Dmitri Alperovitch, Crowdstrike co-founder and former chief technology officer, joined DNSFilter’s board of directors prior to the investment.
- Multiple Maryland startups: The Maryland Technology Development Corp., or TEDCO, awarded grants to 45 tech companies in the state hit hard by the pandemic. The recipients, announced July 19, included 17 companies in suburban Maryland, including Rockville restaurant platform Menupoly Inc., Bethesda biotech PepVax Inc. and Potomac virtual care startup PerSoN Clinic LLC. Winners of the funding also included Pet Connect, CoTripper, Integrated Pharma Services, MedApptic LLC, Neuroparticle Corp., Otomagnetics Inc. and PediaMetrix Inc., ProTrakr Inc. and Sparo in Montgomery County; and 99 Ways Entertainment LLC, Airgility Inc., Art Play Learn LLC, IPGen and Ovalz Inc. in Prince George’s County.
