The Week’s 10 Biggest Funding Rounds: Nebraska’s Spreetail Leads The Way 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.

Big rounds dominated last week, but this week were hard to come by. Only two companies raised nine-figure rounds after a half-dozen startups raised such rounds last week. Oddly, neither company that raised those large rounds hail from California or other big states known for venture — but rather Nebraska and New Jersey. Weird to say the least.

1. Spreetail, $208M, retail: It’s rare a Nebraska-based company is this high on the list, but not unheard of. Last July, Lincoln-based Monolith — which produces clean hydrogen, carbon black and ammonia — closed a $300 million round and topped this list. This week it’s Lincoln-based e-commerce logistics firm Spreetail’s turn, after a $208 million funding round. The company said the round “was supported by McCarthy Capital, internal management, and other investors.” Founded in 2006, the fresh round is the company’s first outside investment, per Crunchbase data. Spreetail serves more than 500 brands, helping them to push their e-commerce sales — through analytics, insights and logistics — onto large platforms such as  Amazon, Walmart.com and other sites. Funding to so-called “Amazon aggregator startups” has dropped since the highs of 2020-21, when online retail was hitting new all-time levels due to pandemic lockdowns and consumers relying more on delivered goods.

2. Vytalize Health, $100M, health care: Value-based care provider Vytalize Health closed a $100 million funding round led by Enhanced Healthcare Partners and Monroe Capital this week to further advance its virtual and in-home primary care offerings for seniors. Vytalize Health partners primary care practices with more than 250,000 patients to help with point of care recommendations based on data. The company tries to fill in the gaps around necessary and regular medical visits for seniors to avoid unnecessary trips to the emergency room. Founded in 2014, the Hoboken, New Jersey-based startup has raised nearly $176 million, per Crunchbase data.

3. ProsperOps, $72M, cloud: Most companies are using the cloud, and unfortunately — for them — paying more and more to do it. Those firms are using more cloud services while prices are increasing. So how do they manage costs? Maybe with a startup like Austin-based ProsperOps. The company just received a $72 million investment led by H.I.G. Growth Partners and other strategic investors. The firm offers a cloud cost optimization platform, so customers can watch their usage, unlock savings and maximize their dollars. Speaking of maximizing dollars, this marks the startup’s first outside funding round since being founded in 2018, according to Crunchbase data.

4. Tome, $43M, artificial intelligence: It’s hard to get too far down this list these days without getting to a company that uses the term “AI-powered,” and this week we have Tome. The San Francisco-based startup uses AI to help turn users’ ideas into a more compelling visual narrative. In a sense, it can replace something like a more stagnant powerpoint presentation. The company raised a $43 million Series B led by Lightspeed Venture Partners at a reported $300 million valuation. Founded in 2020, Tome has now raised $81 million, according to the company.

5. (tied) Finch, $40M, human resources: San Francisco-based Finch, a provider of  APIs for employment systems, raised a $40 million Series B led by existing investors General Catalyst and Menlo Ventures. In an environment where it is getting harder to raise money, it’s worth noting Finch raised a $15 million Series A in June. The company will use the new cash to extend coverage to more payroll, HR and benefits systems, and move into new employment data verticals. Founded in 2020, Finch has raised $58.6 million, according to the company.

5. (tied) Transcend Therapeutics, $40M, biotech: More than 50 million Americans suffer from neuropsychiatric diseases, including post-traumatic stress disorder. New York-based biotech firm Transcend Therapeutics is looking to help some of those unfortunately affected. The company closed a $40 million Series A led by Alpha Wave Global and integrated Investment Partners to help in those efforts. The firm plans to use the cash infusion to launch multiple clinical trials, including a phase II study, with its next-generation psychoactive compound. Founded in 2021, Transcend has raised nearly $42 million to date, per the company.

7. (tied) Aeroseal, $30M, climate tech: Ohio-based Aeroseal raised a $30 million Series B led by OGCI Climate Investments. Founded in 2010, the company has raised $52 million, per Crunchbase.

7. (tied) Vitally, $30M, SaaS: New York-based customer success platform Vitally closed a $30 million Series B led by Next47. Founded in 2017, the company has raised nearly $40 million, according to Crunchbase data.

9. Here Not There Labs, $26M, Web3: San Francisco-based Web3 startup Here Not There Labs closed a $25.5 million Series A round led by a16z crypto. It is the startup’s first raise — per Crunchbase — and will be used to build Towns, a web-based chat app.

10. Electra Vehicles, $21M, EVs: Boston-based startup Electra Vehicles, a maker of electric vehicle software, raised a $21 million round led by United Ventures. Founded in 2015, the company has raised more than $25 million, according to Crunchbase.

Big global deals

Just like the largest round in the U.S. went to a company located in an area not known for big funding, something similar happened for the second-largest round globally.

• Denmark-based Hemab, a clinical-stage biotech company, closed a $135 million Series B.

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 Feb. 18 to 24. 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

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