DC Money Moves: Climate tech startup raises $1M, releases wildfire mitigation tool

Keep reading to get the details on different money related announcements from firms in DC, Northern Virginia and the nearby Maryland suburbs. 

Rhizome releases new platform 

The AI-powered software company Rhizome, headquartered in DC, announced a $1 million raise in conjunction with a new platform to help electric utilities mitigate wildfires. This builds off the $2.5 million seed Rhizome raised in the fall. 

The new product, gridFIRM, can be used by utilities in the US, Canada and Australia, according to a press release. 

“Now, with new forecasts predicting a hotter-than-usual summer across much of the US, addressing wildfire concerns has become a priority,” said Rhizome cofounder and CEO Mishal Thadani. “It is critical for utilities to be able to quantify the risk of igniting wildfires and what cost-effective measures can move the needle to prevent disasters and save lives.” 

The San Francisco venture capital firm Convective Capital, which led this raise, specifically focuses on technology companies working to alleviate wildfire crises across the globe. 

Defense technology giant acquires aerospace firm

Arlington’s CAES Systems Holdings LLC was acquired by the defense technology company Honeywell, which is based in Charlotte, North Carolina.

CAES was acquired from the private equity company Advent International for $1.9 billion, according to an announcement. 

This is Honeywell’s third acquisition of 2024. 

“This acquisition further positions Honeywell at the forefront of the defense industry’s most dynamic sectors and sets the tempo for continued growth across our aerospace business,” said Vimal Kapur, the chairman and CEO of Honeywell.

According to the press release, this acquisition will expand and build on Holleywell’s defense technology product offerings, including unmanned aircraft systems, radio frequency products and radar technologies. 

HighT-Tech lands $3 million to expand reach

The Prince George’s County-based company HighT-Tech announced a $3 million seed round, led by Boston-based Taihill Venture with additional participation from the Maryland Momentum Fund and Illinois’ Abbott Ventures. To date, the company has raised more than $12 million. 

The firm, which specializes in heating technology and manufacturing to decarbonize industries like the chemical and heavy industrial markets, is a spin out from the University of Maryland, College Park and Johns Hopkins University. HighT-Tech’s landmark product is an electrified ultrafast high-temperature shock (UHS) platform that professors at the two universities developed.  

“HighT-Tech’s UHS reactor technology can produce unique materials at low costs with high efficiency, in seconds rather than hours,” said Bob Gatte, chief executive officer of HighT-Tech. “This latest round of fundraising will allow us to accelerate our development and commercialization efforts.”

Other DC-area raises and awards

• The nonprofit Greater Washington Partnership recently announced that several of its biggest member companies invested $3.2 billion in diverse businesses, entrepreneurship programs, affordable housing initiatives and health equity since 2022. Part of that number involves funding for community development financial institutions and minority depository institutions. The collective contributions from the likes of Under Armour, Northrop Grumman and JPMorgan Chase are part of the broader $4.7 billion Shared Prosperity initiative to support underrepresented entrepreneurs. 
• Fairfax-headquartered GovPort, which developed a government contract management platform, announced a $2.8 million extension of its existing seed round. 
• Local DC founder Steve Salis is launching a second special purpose acquisition company, with the goal to raise up to $230 million as early as this fall, the Washington Business Journal (WBJ) reported. 
• A Chicago private equity firm announced that it’s selling the Herndon national security technology company LinQuest Corp to Houston’s KBR Inc. for $737 million, WBJ also reported. 
• Amazon Web Services (AWS) announced a  $1 million donation to the Children’s National Research and Innovation Campus in DC. 
• Arlington-headquartered Boeing announced a $4.7 billion acquisition of the parts supplier Spirit AeroSystems Holdings Inc., which the WBJ reported was an all-stock transaction.

State funding agency investments

• State of Maryland-founded TEDCO invested $500,000 in the College Park-based company OmniSpeech, which aims to bolster speech-enabled applications with AI and machine learning. 
• TEDCO also invested $500,000 in the Bethesda-based biopharmaceutical company Solaxa Inc., which is developing a drug to help treat patients with multiple sclerosis. 

More moves found in Securities and Exchange Commission filings

• $130 million for Gaithersburg’s Cartesian Therapeutics
• $5.5 million for Arlington’s Predict Health
• $18.8 million for McLean’s Verituity
• $5 million for Vienna’s PAK BioSolutions
• $67.5 million for Falls Church’s Lynk Global

This article references investments by TEDCO, a Technical.ly client. That relationship has no impact on this report.