Seaport Therapeutics And Zip Top Big Money 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.

Another big week for biotech, as startups in the sector scooped up multiple spots on this week’s list. However, there also were big rounds in industries like procurement, energy and robotics. All in all, a half-dozen companies raised rounds of $100 million or more. Not included in the top 10 this week was Waymo‘s $5.6 billion round, as a majority of the round was reported back in July.

1. Seaport Therapeutics, $225M, biotech: Seaport Therapeutics isn’t new to this list. In April, the Boston-based startup launched with a $100 million Series A co-led by Arch Venture Partners and Sofinnova Investments. The company is back this week with a $225 million Series B led by General Atlantic. The biotech company focuses on medicines for depression, anxiety and other neuropsychiatric disorders. Seaport will use the new money to advance its clinical-stage pipeline of medicines.

2. Zip, $190M, procurement: Procurement startup Zip saw its valuation jump 47% after raising a $190 million Series D led by Bond. The round values the San Francisco-based company at $2.2 billion. In May 2023, Zip locked up a $100 million Series C at a $1.5 billion post-money valuation. The startup helps companies with the burdensome process of buying new software and hardware, helping customers with sourcing, approving and paying for business tools. The company will use the new cash to invest in engineering and research and development, including a new internal AI lab to create AI-powered tools. The money also will be used to expand geographically. Founded in 2020, the company has raised more than $371 million, per Crunchbase.

3. AvenCell, $112M, biotech: Watertown, Massachusetts-based clinical-stage cell therapy startup AvenCell Therapeutics raised a $112 million Series B led by Novo Holdings. The company focuses on advancing cell therapies for the treatment of a wide range of hematologic malignancies and auto-immune diseases. Founded in 2021, this is the company’s first announced raise, per Crunchbase.

4. Nimble Robotics, $106M, robotics: Even in an uneven venture market, robotics is strong. More evidence of that came this week as Nimble, an AI robotics and autonomous e-commerce fulfillment startup, closed a $106 million Series C led by Cedar Pine and FedEx valuing the company at $1 billion. As part of the new deal, FedEx has entered into a commercial agreement to scale its FedEx Fulfillment service using Nimble’s technology and fully autonomous robotics model. Founded in 2017, the company has raised $221 million, per Crunchbase.

5. (tied) Redaptive, $100M, energy: Denver-based Redaptive, which funds and installs energy-saving and energy-generating equipment, raised a $100 million equity investment from CPP Investments. The company offers a platform that manages long-term energy efficiency programs, from project development to funding, project management and monitoring. Founded in 2015, the company has raised $1 billion in investment, per Crunchbase.

5. (tied) Valon Technologies, $100M, real estate: New York-based Valon, a mortgage servicing platform, raised a $100 million Series C led by WestCap. The company will use the new cash to accelerate its product development and market expansion. Founded in 2019, Valon has raised $230 million, per the company.

7. Be Biopharma, $82M, biotech: Be Biopharma, a biotech firm developing engineered B-cell medicines, raised $82 million from several investors. Founded in 2020, the Cambridge, Massachusetts-based company has received $264 million in funding, per Crunchbase.

8. SchooLinks, $80M, education: Austin, Texas-based SchooLinks, a software platform providing college and career readiness resources for K-12 students, raised an $80 million Series B led by Susquehanna Growth Equity. Founded in 2015, the company has raised nearly $91 million, per Crunchbase.

9. Finix, $75M, fintech: Payment processing startup Finix closed a $75M Series C led by Acrew Capital, LEAP Global Partners and Lightspeed Venture Partners. Founded in 2015, the San Francisco-based company has raised more than $200 million, per Crunchbase.

10. Carbon Robotics, $70M, agtech: Seattle-based Carbon Robotics, an AI-powered farming startup, locked up a $70 million Series D led by new investor Bond. Founded in 2018, Carbon has raised $157 million, per the company.

Big global deals

The biggest deal of the week came from China.

• Beijing-based Didi Woya, a startup developing technologies for self-driving vehicles for rideshares, raised a $298 million Series C.

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 Oct. 19 to Oct. 25. 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.