The Week’s 10 Biggest Funding Rounds: DataBank And BlueVoyant Notch Big Raises In Slow Week

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This is a weekly feature that runs down the week’s top 10 announced funding rounds in the U.S. Check out last week’s biggest funding rounds here.

It takes everyone a little while to get back to work after Thanksgiving, and that must include investors. The week was pretty slow for big fundraises, with only three companies raising $100 million-plus rounds. In all honesty, the next few weeks will likely be slow as we head into more holidays — but there could be surprises.

1. DataBank, $188M, information technology: Consulting and tech services firm DataBank announced a big raise that most folks likely missed. The Dallas-based firm raised $533 million in a combination of debt and equity to fund the construction of new data centers. The deal consisted of $188 million from existing and new investors, and a $345 million loan to construct a new data center in the Atlanta area. Equity investors were not disclosed. The new financing comes after the company announced a $350 million credit facility in March and $715 million in secured notes in April. A year ago, SwissLife Asset Management led a $2.2 billion recapitalization of the company.

2. BlueVoyant, $140M, cybersecurity: Managed detection and response startup BlueVoyant announced this week it had closed a $140 million-plus Series E led by Liberty Strategic Capital. The round was used to facilitate the acquisition of Herndon, Virginia-based Conquest Cyber, which protects the nation’s defense industrial base and critical infrastructure sectors. The acquisition is BlueVoyant’s fifth since 2020, and seems to be further evidence of the growing interest in the defense tech industry. Founded in 2017, the company has raised nearly $666 million, per Crunchbase.

3. Together, $102.5M, artificial intelligence: AI startup Together closed a $102.5 million Series A funding round led by Kleiner Perkins. The Menlo Park, California-based company has developed a cloud platform to allow developers to build on open and custom AI models — allowing customers to fine-tune open source foundation models. Nvidia, which rarely lets a week go by without investing in some AI startup, also participated in the round.

4. Dura Software, $83M, enterprise software: Not too much to say about this one since very little was reported on it. The San Antonio Business Journal reported Dura Software, a software aggregator, has raised more than $83 million from 64 investors, according to a recent filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. However, no press release was issued. The startup describes itself on its website as “specialists in hyperniche software products that fit narrow but mission-critical use cases for business customers.” Founded in 2018, the company has raised nearly $95 million, per Crunchbase data.

5. Arrivo BioVentures, $45.3M, biotech: Morrisville, North Carolina-based biotech firm Arrivo BioVentures closed a $45.3 million Series B led by Orlando Health Ventures. It’s been a while since the startup raised cash. The firm’s Series A was raised way back in 2016. Founded in 2015, Arrivo — which is developing a treatment for major depressive disorder and pancreatitis — says it has raised $100 million to date.

6. Candex, $45M, fintech: New York-based vendor management and payment platform developer Candex raised a $45 million Series B led by Goldman Sachs Asset Management. Founded in 2011, Candex has raised $85 million, per the company.

7. Aro Biotherapeutics, $41.5M, biotech: Philadelphia-based Aro Biotherapeutics, a clinical-stage biotechnology company, secured a $41.5 million Series B led by Cowen Healthcare Investments. Founded in 2017, the company has raised nearly $167 million, per Crunchbase.

8. RepeatMD, $40M, health care: Houston-based RepeatMD, a SaaS platform that helps market aesthetic and wellness practices, locked up a $50 million Series A, which includes a $10 million debt facility from Silicon Valley Bank. The equity financing was co-led by Centana Growth Partners and Full In Partners. Founded in 2021, the company has raised just more than $54 million, per Crunchbase.

9. Ursa Major, $38M, aerospace: Denver-based rocket propulsion startup Ursa Major added another $38 million to its previously reported $100 million Series D — bringing its total Series D and D-1 funding to $138 million. The investments were led by Explorer 1 Fund and Eclipse. Founded in 2015, the company has raised nearly $272 million, per Crunchbase.

10. Pika, $35M, artificial intelligence: Palo Alto, California-based video and editing AI platform Pika announced it has raised a $35 million Series A led by Lightspeed Venture Partners — just six months after the company emerged from stealth. Pika has now raised $55 million, per the company.

Big global deals

The biggest raise of the week surprisingly came from a Web3 startup.

• Cayman Islands-based messaging protocol startup Wormhole raised $225 million at a $2.5 billion valuation — the biggest round this year in the Web3 space.

Methodology

We tracked the largest announced rounds in the Crunchbase database that were raised by U.S.-based companies for the seven-day period of Nov. 25 to Dec. 1. Although most announced rounds are represented in the database, there could be a small time lag as some rounds are reported late in the week.

Illustration: Dom Guzman