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.
This week represents the largest number of fundraises in 2021. There is a diverse set of cities listed below – with Dayton, Sioux City, Omaha, Louisville, Benton, and West Lafayette – making their first appearances on the list for the year. Chicago continues to be the dominant locale for venture backed startups in the Middle, but Ohio and Minnesota have had strong years so far. We also wanted to point out that Flywheel in Minnesota is different from Flywheel in Omaha, which can be confusing for our long-time followers.
Over $10 million
- Ocient – Chicago, Illinois – $40 million
- Flywheel – Minneapolis, Minnesota – $21.1 million
- Physna – Cincinnati, Ohio – $20 million
- Marxent – Dayton, Ohio – $15 million
- U Drive Acceptance – Sioux City, Iowa – $10.3 million
$2-10 million
- SmileMD – Dublin, Ohio – $5 million
- Stoicheia – Skokie, Illinois – $5 million
- Odonata Health – Oakdale, Minnesota – $3.7 million
- Oculogx – Bentonville, Arkansas – $3.5 million
- Hygieia – Livonia, Michigan – $2.57 million
- Structural – St. Paul, Minnesota – $2.03 million
$500k-2 million
- Goby – Chicago, Illinois – $1.94 million
- Dronedek – Indianapolis, Indiana – $1.2 million
- Medical Ingenuities – Wheaton, Illinois – $.99 million
- Impetus Agriculture – Saint Louis, Missouri – $.91 million
- Natural Way Food Group – Fayetteville, Arkansas – $.68 million
- GoodMaps – Louisville, Kentucky – $.51 million
- RenovoDerm – Columbus, Ohio – $.5 million
Under $500k
- DriverDoc – Omaha, Nebraska – $.4 million
- RxFunction – Eden Prairie, Minnesota – $.29 milion
- Akanocure Pharmaceuticals – West Lafayette, Indiana – $.26 million
- Aatru – Cleveland, Ohio – $.2 million
- Vroom Delivery – Chicago, Illinois – $.16 million