St. Louis
St. Louis continues to have strong biotechnology startup fundings. The most recent funded company is PierianDx, a clinical genomic informatics company. This week the company announced that it has raised $27 million from ATW Partners and SJF Ventures. In addition to these funders, other existing investors participated in the round, including Health Catalyst Capital, Inova…
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Chicago had another strong week. Overall the Silicon Prairie more than one hundred million in fundings this month, including some large rounds in Chicago and in biotechnology. Large Rounds (10m+) Apervita – Chicago – $22.56 million – Apervita is a healthcare technology company that provides health insights using machine learning and artificial intelligence. The company…
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2018 was a terrific year for the Silicon Prairie regarding venture dollars deployed. More than $6.1B was deployed in the region. While the number of companies receiving funds was about 8% lower (approximately 1450 companies were venture backed in the region), the amount of funding was up more than 34.5% from 2017 to 2018. Thus,…
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Winnebago, Minnesota-based AgTech-startup, Aker Technologies (formerly Leading Edge Technologies), announced on August 27th that it has raised equity financing of $2.6M to further develop its crop diagnostics and analytics platform, specifically its TrueCause™ and Aker Pest Network™ services. The company also recently set up offices in Creve Coeur, Missouri, part of Greater St. Louis, to…
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Today, August 28th, the Pipeline Entrepreneurial Fellowship is opening its application for 2020 fellows. Pipeline is the premier networking, mentoring, and entrepreneurial encouragement program in the Midwest. It has effectively helped build a network throughout Kansas, Missouri, and Nebraska. In so doing, Pipeline has helped, inspired, networked, and shaped individual entrepreneurs that have collectively created…
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Capacity raised $13.2 million from Midwest investors. The company has a strong pedigree with the co-founders each having successful ventures, including a large exit. However, the firm went about this differently. They had their 50+ employees help in the fundraising efforts by arming each employee with the pitch and presentation. This is an unusual strategy…
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In early August 2019, Benson Hill Biosystems filed documents with the Securities and Exchange Commission that the firm had raised $32 million in incremental funds. This fundraising filing follows a November filing of a $65 million raise, including regional funds – Mercury Fund, iSelect Ventures, and Lewis & Clark Ventures. The company provides a variety…
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In talking to Jessica Straus, Dundee Venture Capital’s new Venture Partner, it occurred to me that we should write an update on first fundings in what Straus called the “mighty middle”. This paper describes first fundings. First fundings are a recordation of companies that raise capital for the first time. This paper uses Pitchbook data…
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Ag biotech startup, Plastomics, based out of St. Louis, Missouri raised $2.03 million in funding on May 8 to further develop its novel genetic engineering platform. The funding was provided by Missouri-based venture development organization BioGenerator. BioGenerator is an evergreen investor that had previously provided seed funding for Plastomics in 2017. Jeff Staub, PhD., co-founder…
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Summer is in full swing, and keeping the kiddos engaged and learning during their break from the classroom can be a challenge. Why not make it fun? Pixel Press, a St. Louis-based startup founded in 2013 by Robin Rath, CEO, and Rob Bennet, CTO, has clever and unique video gaming resources that blend physical play…
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