Last week’s top venture capital rounds differed from those of the week before, both geographically and topically. With all the five top fintech companies located in the U.S., we are reminded of how domestic markets are no stranger to innovation and adaptation to changing times.
This time we had four companies pushing to adapt fintech to improve the human condition through healthcare, healthcare data consolidation, e-commerce security, and high-ROA realty access for those with modest means and grand aspirations. The one East Coast fintech company may have qualified for fifth place, but it’s Number One in this list for technological sophistication, working with technology fresh off the theoretical press from MIT.
- Forty Seven, located in Palo Alto, Calif., is devoted to pursuing scientific advancements in the fight against cancer’s deleterious effects on human life. This means pushing the limits of immuno-oncology. Forty Seven’s is set to enhance the effectivity of phagocytic cells, which protect the body by ingesting dead or dying cancerous cells, among other particles. Forty Seven raised $75 million in a large series A round from four investors, including Lightspeed Venture Partners, Sutter Hill Ventures, GV, and Clarus Ventures.
- Health Catalyst is a data warehousing, analytics and outcomes-improvement company that helps healthcare organizations of all levels improve clinical, financial, and operational outcomes. The Salt Lake City, Utah-based company was recently named a leader in the enterprise healthcare BI market in improvement by research firm KLAS. It was also garnered the titles “Best Place to Work for Millennials” and “Best Perks for Women”by Modern Healthcare in 2013, 2014 and 2015. Health Catalyst raised $70 million in one series E round with investor Norwest Venture Partners–NVP. This brings the startup to a total of $222 million, raised in six rounds from eight investors.
- Signifyd is a SaaS-based, enterprise-grade fraud technology solution for e-commerce stores based in San Jose, California. It started out over ten years ago with the impetus to bring a new category of products to PayPal and Fed to protect online retailers from fraud. Signifyd now works to guarantee 100% financial backing against fraud. It raised $20 million in one series B round from six investors, including Tim Eades, Bill McKiernan, QED Investors, IA Ventures, Allegis Capital, and Menlo Ventures.
- Realty Shares ties Signifyd’s $20 million dollar amount. The startup is based in and focused on San Francisco’s online marketplace for real estate investing. Capable of helping would-be entrepreneurs invest in Silicon Valley-grade real estate for only $5,000, its $20 million funding was raised in one series B round with three partners: Union Square Ventures, General Catalyst Partners and Menlo Ventures.
- Proving yet again that the East Coast is far from silent in innovation, Arctic Sand Technologies and its semiconducting prowess transforms power management into innovative electronic devices. Based in Cambridge, Mass., ArcticSand uses state-of-the-art tech developed by MIT. Some of their mobile tech revolutions include quadrupling power efficiency and response time in conjunction with reducing device size and awkward interface down-time. In other words, their innovative hardware changes set the ground rules to which all other fintech developers must adapt. The startup raised $19 million from four investors, including Murata Manufacturing, Arsenal Venture Partners, Northwater Capital, and GE Ventures.