VC funding update: Boston startups and tech firms raised $6.9B in July

The Boston biotech scene is at it again, accounting for about $6.2 billion worth of all fundraising in Massachusetts last month. Altogether, Boston startups and tech firms raised about $6.9 billion by our count.

It’s not all biotech. The software industry is on fire, too, raising more than $417 million in capital last month. Most of that can be attributed to Walpole-based Thras.io, a company that acquires Amazon businesses, which raised $260 million in a Series C financing. The new funding brought the startup’s valuation to $1 billion, making it the Bay State’s latest unicorn.

Startups that are looking to fundraise this fall — a.k.a., still mid-pandemic — have reason to rejoice. Six Boston-area VC and private equity firms raised funds that they intend to put to work in the coming months.

Below are the startups and related firms that raised capital in July, according to data compiled by BostInno:

Autonomous Vehicles

Dive Technologies, which designs and manufactures autonomous underwater vehicles, hauled in a $1.3M loan from MassDevelopment, a state economic development agency.

Sea Machines, the Boston-based developer of self-driving technology for boats, raised a $15M Series B round. The round was led by Huntington Ingalls Industries, America’s largest military shipbuilding company, with participation from Toyota AI Ventures, Brunswick Corp. (through investment partner TechNexus), Geekdom Fund, NextGen Venture Partners, Eniac VC, LaunchCapital and others.

Biotech & Biopharma

Cambridge-based Amylyx Pharmaceuticals, which is developing treatments for neurodegenerative diseases, raised $30M in equity, according to an SEC filing. Yumanity Therapeutics, which aims to transform drug discovery for neurodegenerative diseases caused by protein misfolding, raised $21.6M in equity, according to an SEC filing.

Newton-based Abcuro, a biopharma startup developing immunomodulatory therapeutics, raised $7.6M in equity in a $20M funding round, according to an SEC filing. Cambridge biotech startup Vor Biopharma raised $110M to advance treatment acute myeloid leukemia, a cancer of the blood and bone marrow. Boston-based Santi Therapeutics raised $6M in equity in a $14M funding round, according to an SEC filing.

French drug company Sanofi has signed on to co-develop two of Cambridge-based Kymera’s drug candidates for immune and inflammatory diseases. Under the deal, Kymera will receive $150M upfront and upwards of $2B in milestone payments.

Harbour BioMed raised $102.8M in Series C financing to accelerate development of biologics targeting cancer, immunologic diseases and Covid-19. The round was led by Hudson Bay Capital, with participation from new investors OrbiMed, Country Garden VC, GTJA Investment Group, Octagon Capital and Sage Partners, as well as existing investor Greater Bay Area Investment Fund.

Cambridge biotech Aura Biosciences, which is developing a new class of therapies to target and selectively destroy tumor cells, raised $10M in equity in a $17M funding round, according to an SEC filing.

Boston biotech Dewpoint Therapeutics inked a deal with Merck worth up to $305M in upfront and milestone payments. The two will collaborate on a treatment for HIV.

Boxborough-based HelixBind, which is developing a diagnostic platform to address invasive microbial infections, was awarded a $3M grant from the NIH to support clinical studies evaluating the company’s early detection test for Lyme Disease.

Waltham-based Adagio Therapeutics launched with $50M in Series A financing to advance its portfolio of coronavirus antibodies as both therapeutics and prophylactics against SARS-CoV-2 as well as future coronavirus outbreaks. The financing was led by Polaris Partners and Mithril Capital and includes investments by Fidelity Management & Research Company, OrbiMed, M28 Capital, GV and others.

Glympse Bio, developer of an injectable chemical biomarker platform for diagnosing the body’s hidden diseases, raised $46.7M in a Series B round. It was led by Section 32, with participation from new investors Temasek, DNS Capital, New Leaf Venture Partners, Waterman Ventures and Catalio Capital Management and existing investors LS Polaris Innovation Fund, ARCH Venture Partners, CRV, GreatPoint Ventures, Gilead Sciences and others.

Cambridge-based Elicio Therapeutics, which is developing  vaccines and immunotherapies to defeat an array of aggressive cancers, raised $6.1M in equity in a $30M funding round, according to an SEC filing.

Cerevance, a Boston-based biopharma focused on brain diseases, expanded its Series B round, adding $20M to the $45M that it announced in April. UPMC Enterprises, Casdin Capital and Dolby Family Ventures joined the company’s investor base, while Foresite Capital added to its investment made in the first closing.

Cambridge biotech Moderna Therapeutics received another $472M from BARDA to support the company’s late-stage trail of a potential vaccine for the novel coronavirus, which began last month. ICYMI, here’s a short guide to Boston-area biotechs that have received BARDA funding.

Newton-based 4D Path, which is developing a precision medicine platform to detect and diagnose cancer, raised $2.7M in equity in a $4.5M funding round, according to an SEC filing.

Cambridge startup Thrive Earlier Detection Corp., which is developing a blood test to better detect early cancer, raised $257M in new financing. At least 11 new investors, including Bain Capital Life Sciences, contributed to the Series B funding round alongside existing investors.

Source: Bostinno