DC Inno Beat 4/29: 1776 West Coast Analysis, Visidraft Raise, ThreatQuotient Raise and SOI

Busy news day, today.

...Let's Get Started

The Big One

Chris:  Easy one, yet again: 1776 is heading out west with the acquisition of SF-based startup studio Hattery. The move represents 1776’s second acquisition in just the last few weeks after absorbing Crystal City's Disruption Corp. The financial details of this deal, much like the acquisition preceding it, were not disclosed but include both stock options and cash. For the moment, Hattery will continue to operate under its own name while 1776 companies will be able to use the space as a West Coast base of operations.

1776 has openly stated that it wants to become a global network and it is certainly growing in that direction with more than 1,200 startups and 38 employees on the team. Eric is currently at 1776 for their afternoon presser, which we assume will revolve around the Hattery acquisition, so stay tuned to DC Inno for further updates.

Reid: There had been rumblings about a west coast deal coming soon and here it is. With the Hattery founders staying on only as 'strategic advisors' and 1776's self-promotional track record, it's strange to me that the Hattery name would remain. If you're buying west coast presence to expand the global opportunity of your network, then why not put it under one flag? This deal becomes important for DC only if it opens an effective channel for local companies at 1776 to access SV resources. It can't just be a notch on the belt to claim bicoastal activity.

This also means more west coast influence for Vornado, 1776's new backer. Though most of it's property is in DC and NYC, Vornado is the majority owner of three buildings in SF, totaling over 1.8M sq ft. Last year they pushed forward on rebranding their property their to focus on tech tenants.

Making Moves

Chris: Visidraft, an early stage augmented reality startup based in Cheverly, MD, raised a $250K seed round led by Hivers & Strivers — an angel fund that invests in veteran-led startups. Founded in 2011 by Air Force Academy alum and Iraq War veteran Andrew Kemendo, Visidraft is developing one of the first markerless AR tools to help developers and designers build structures by easily sharing visualized 3D maps/CADs via Apple’s iOS system.

Reid: The area is seeing a growing number of promising veteran-led startups and Visidraft is the latest to raise funding. Hivers & Strivers is based in Great Falls and invested inRideScout

Chris: Cybersecurity software startup ThreatQuotient, which has developed a new Threat Intelligence Platform (TIP) — ThreatQ — for cybersecurity operation centers, raised a $1.5M seed round led by Blu Venture Investors, CIT Gap and the Virginia Tech Investor Network (VTIN). The investment represents VTIN’s first investment since forming late last year. Blu Venture Investors has been increasingly active and has backed other local companies like ID.me, Urgent.ly and Avizia.

Community

Chris: We have announced our official panel for the State of Innovation event. During the discussion, panelists will examine the unique regional factors that are helping and hindering business growth in the greater D.C. area. To check out the full list of speakers read our full article here.

What We're Reading

Reach out

Tips? Rumblings? Complaints? Something you want to see in the email? Reid@dcinno.com & Chris@dcinno.com