May's funding rundown highlights three local companies developing new tools for well-established industries: student lending, internet search and tax preparation.
D.C. student loan startup, MPower Financing announced May 8 that it closed a $150 million financing facility with Goldman Sachs Group Inc. It plans to use the funds to expand its portfolio of student loans issued to international and Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival students.
DACA students are young adults who live in that middle ground between undocumented immigrant and citizen, where they can’t be deported and have work authorization for temporary, renewable periods, but are ineligible for federal benefits like Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program. The financing from Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS) follows two rounds of funding it received in 2021 — $30 million in the first quarter of that year followed by a $100 million raise in July 2021 — and brings MPower's total lifetime funding to $410 million.
Vienna internet startup Seekr Technologies Inc., meanwhile, raised $4.25 million May 25, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filing. The company has developed an AI-driven search engine that rates news and information sites with scores measuring their reliability and political leanings based on things like an article's subjectivity, its presence of a byline, the truthfulness of a headline and whether it includes personal attacks. The Washington Business Journal didn't show up on the site upon initial use, but improving the search engine functionality could be what the equity-only funding round is for. The company is looking to raise $25 million according to the SEC filing.
Finally, the Alexandria tax and accounting software-as-a-service company, HubSync Co., announced on May 1 it closed a series A investment round of $5.4 million, according to an SEC filing. The round was led by early-stage venture firm Nashville Capital Network. HubSync plans to use the funds to accelerate development of its tax automation software for certified public accountants.
