The Funding Roundup is a weekly note about companies that raised venture capital. We use four sources – 1) those that are sent to us via press release (hello@mug.news), 2) Form D filings in the sixteen states that we cover, 3) Databases to which we subscribe (particularly Pitchbook, Crunchbase), 4) Other sources (such as SBIR grant database). The goal of the funding roundup is to provide a quick synthesis of companies that are actively raising money. This is not a value judgment placing VC backed companies over bootstrapped – only a recognition that VC backed companies often file paperwork that puts them on our radar.
We missed the funding report last week, and so we produced a double-sized one this week. There were more than fifty investments in the Middle last week – including thirteen that were Series A or larger. Three to note – include (1) First Boulevard in Kansas City, led by Donald Hawkins, (2) Breeze in Omaha which has a strong team taking on a pseudo-obscure but huge market, and (3) Hologram, with a round led by superstar fund Tiger Global Management. Each of these are radically different from the others – but they also reveal the size and scale of the market in the Middle. Among the many fundings in this report, there are also more than 100 VC, company, or individual investors. The size and depth of the angel and early stage market is starting to strengthen in the Middle also.
| Large Rounds (More than $10M | ||
| Branch | $567M | Minneaplis, MN |
| Hologram | $65M | Chicago, IL |
| Klover | $60M | Chicago, IL |
| Copado | $58M | Chicago, IL |
| Bridge to Life | $56M | Chicago, IL |
| Balto | $38M | St. Louis, MO |
| HDVI | $33M | Chicago, IL |
| MoveIn | $21M | Madison, WI |
| First Boulevard | $15M | Overland Park, KS |
| Mantium | $15M | Cincinnati, OH |
| Blumira | $10M | Ann Arbor, MI |
| Breeze | $10M | Omaha, NE |
| Fuse Autotech | $10M | Edina, MN |
| Series A ($2M to $10M) | ||
| NuCurrent | $8M | Chicago, IL |
| Gross-Wen Technologies | $6.5M | Slater, IA |
| Soda Health | $6M | Little Rock, AR |
| Palarum | $5.7M | Lebanon, OH |
| Namida Lab | $5.1M | Fayetteville, AR |
| CircleIt | $5.1M | Chicago, IL |
| Wellsense | $5M | Birmingham, MI |
| BluePallet | $5M | Chicago, IL |
| Market Wagon | $5M | Indianapolis, IN |
| Party Analytics | $3.9M | Brookfield, WI |
| Codelicious | $3.8M | Indianapolis, IN |
| Respond Flow | $3.1M | Tulsa, OK |
| AloTech | $3M | Chicago, IL |
| Anthill AI | $3M | Chicago, IL |
| FriendMedia | $2.5M | Kansas City, MO |
| Cobomba | $2.1M | South Bend, IN |
| Early Stage ($500k to $2M) | ||
| Team Saving | $1.9M | West Lafayette, IN |
| Amplified Sciences | $1.8M | Indianapolis, IN |
| Olio Health | $1.8M | Chicago, IL |
| FranShares | $1.4M | Eden Prairie, MN |
| Wahiwater | $1.2M | Green Bay, WI |
| Sequoir | $1.1M | Cape Girardeau, MO |
| SHO.ai | $1.1M | Wyoming, MN |
| TeamGenius | $1.1M | Saint Paul, MN |
| Thermavance | $1M | Traverse City, MI |
| Emerging Fuels Technology | $1M | Broken Arrow, OK |
| Smart Scan Medical Imaging | $.8M | Chicago, IL |
| Dezurik | $.7M | Sartell, MN |
| Vali Scientific | $.7M | Eagan, MN |
| V1 Sports | $.5M | Novi, MI |
| Seed State (0 to $500k) | ||
| Cast 21 | $.4M | Chicago, IL |
| Kent Displays | $.4M | Kent, OH |
| Kall Morris | $.3M | Marquette MI |
| Safio Solutions | $.3M | Brookfield, WI |
| Ostra Cybersecurity | $.3M | Minnetonka, MN |
| Verrific | $.2M | Chicago, IL |
| Tackle AI | $.2M | Chicago, IL |
| Kintail | $.1M | Indianapolis, IN |
| Rollzi | $.1M | Bloomfield Hills, MI |
| Blueprint Stats | $.1M | Bloomington, IN |
| Esports Development | $.1M | Cleveland, OH |
| Hexanika | $.03M | Little Rock, AR |
| Taville | $.01M | Chicago, IL |