The Week’s 10 Biggest Funding Rounds: Quantinuum And Flexport Lock Up Huge Rounds – Crunchbase News

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This is a weekly feature that runs down the weeks top 10 announced funding rounds in the U.S. Check out last weeks biggest funding rounds here.

The second full week of the new year got a big jolt near the end of it with Flexports huge raise. That round, combined with an even bigger raise by a quantum computing startup and along with a handful of $75 million rounds made it a pretty solid week.

1. Quantinuum, $300M, quantum: Quantinuum locked up a fresh $300 million equity fundraise at a pre-money valuation of $5 billion, as investors are clearly excited about the possibilities of quantum computing. The new funding was led by JPMorgan Chase. The Broomfield, Colorado-based company was spun out of Honeywell in 2021 and merged with Cambridge Quantum Computing. Quantinuum says it has now raised approximately $625 million. Last year, funding to quantum computing startups hit nearly $1.2 billion, per Crunchbase data. That number dwarfed the less than $800 million raised in 2022 making quantum one of the few sectors to see an increase in venture funding in 2023. While its too early to say venture funding will again increase in the sector this year, it is evident investors see the potential in both quantum technology and its ability to produce big financial returns.

2. Flexport, $260M, logistics: The news broke late Friday logistics giant Flexport is raising $260 million from partner and e-commerce titan Shopify after burning through hundreds of millions of dollars last year, per a report in The Information. The huge fundraising event is just the latest headline for the San Francisco-based startup that hit a peak valuation of $8 billion almost exactly two years ago after raising a massive $935 million round. Flexport and Shopify are no strangers to making deals with each other. Last May, Flexport announced the acquisition of the assets of Shopifys logistics business for a 13% equity interest in the private company. Shopify also gave Flexport a $40 million cash infusion as part of the deal, per The Information report. Of course, that was far from the only reason Flexport was in the news last year. In September, the big news hit that Flexports then-CEO Dave Clark was abruptly leaving the company after just a year and founder Ryan Petersen was coming back to take the reins as the company struggled with shipping volume declines after the pandemic boom. Flexport also made headlines in November after acquiring the assets of shuttered Jeff Bezos-backed digital freight startup network Convoy. Flexport had raised nearly $2.4 billion in equity and debt before the new Shopify round. Some of its noteworthy investors include Andreessen Horowitz, MSD Partners and the SoftBank Vision Fund.

3. (tied) Cleveland Diagnostics, $75M, biotech: There have not been a lot of big raises so far this year, but the few we have seen are usually related to biotech. Cleveland Diagnostics is the latest example, locking up a $75 million round led by Novo Holdings. The Cleveland-based biotech is developing diagnostic tests for the early detection of cancers and will use some of the new proceeds to grow the use of its novel IsoPSA prostate cancer test. Founded in 2013, the company has raised $111 million, per Crunchbase.

3. (tied) Comanche Biopharma, $75, biotech: Like we said, theres been several big rounds in biotech. Concord, Massachusetts-based Comanche Biopharma locked up a $75 million Series B led by New Enterprise Associates. The startup is looking at therapies for preeclampsia, a serious pregnancy complication that affects approximately 10 million women globally each year, according to the company. The issue can lead to complications for both the mother and the baby, including multiorgan damage and seizures. Founded in 2020, the company has raised $111 million, per Crunchbase.

3. (tied) DailyPay, $75M, fintech: Waiting for payday can be a drag. New York-based DailyPay just raised a fresh $175 million so you dont have to do that. The company partners with employers to allow employees to track, transfer, spend or save their pay as they earn it. The new round was made up of $100 million in an expanded credit facility and more than $75 million in equity financing led by Carrick Capital Partners. The round valued the company at $1.75 billion on a pre-money basis. Founded in 2015, the company has raised $1.2 billion, per Crunchbase.

3. (tied) Tr1X, $75M, biotech: We are not quite done with the big biotech raises yet. San Diego-based Tr1X popped out of stealth this week and announced a $75 million Series A led by The Column Group. The company is developing therapies for autoimmune and inflammatory diseases. Founded in 2018, this is the companys first round with a disclosed amount, per Crunchbase.

7. Digital Onboarding, $58M, SaaS: Boston-based Digital Onboarding, a customer relations platform for financial services, closed a $58 million investment from Volition Capital. Founded in 2015, the company has raised nearly $63 million, per Crunchbase.

8. Forta, $55M, health care: San Francisco-based Forta, which uses AI to help with access to quality care, raised a $55 million Series A led by Insight Partners. Founded in 2021, this is the companys first round with a disclosed amount, per Crunchbase.

9. Ratio Therapeutics, $50M, biotech: Boston-based Ratio Therapeutics, a pharmaceutical startup developing radiopharmaceuticals for the treatment and monitoring of cancers, closed a $50 million Series B from various investors including Bristol Myers Squibb. Founded in 2021, Ratio has raised more than $90 million, per the company.

10. SmartLabs, $48M, biotech: Boston-based SmartLabs, which provides laboratory infrastructure and resourcing as-a-service to companies, locked up a $48 million Series C from several investors including Conversion Venture Capital. Founded in 2015, the company has raised more than $400 million, per Crunchbase.

The biggest deal of the week came from the Red Dragon.

We tracked the largest announced rounds in the Crunchbase database that were raised by U.S.-based companies for the seven-day period of Jan. 13 to 19. 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

Clarification: This story has changed since its original publication to add Flexports $260 million raise.

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The Week's 10 Biggest Funding Rounds: Quantinuum And Flexport Lock Up Huge Rounds - Crunchbase News