Baltimore Money Moves: A diversity-focused private equity firm closed its debut fund

If you haven’t yet, catch up on how Baltimore VC did in Q4 2023. Otherwise, here are some more Baltimore Money Moves to kick off the year.

Big raises

• Capital Funding Bancorp is the parent company of CFG Bank, a Baltimore-based institution offering nationwide financial solutions to the healthcare and other sectors. According to a Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filing, the parent has concluded a $160 million capital raise. Jeff Cherry, the managing general partner of Conscious Venture Partners, was listed as a director on the filing.
• Impact Analytics, a Linthicum-based provider of retail, grocery and supply chain-focused planning and merchandising software with AI, has secured $40 million in growth financing, according to citybiz+. The funding round was led by Sageview Capital, with support from Vistara Groth. The money will reportedly be used to expand sales, marketing and customer service teams.
• Back in August 2023, diagnostics company Novel Microdevices secured a $1.4 million award from the National Institutes of Health. To follow up on securing that funding, the East Baltimore-based company reportedly raised $1.85 million, according to a Jan. 5 Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filing. Leadership at Novel Microdevices could not immediately be reached for comment about plans for the round.
• Cerebro Capital operates a marketplace that facilitates quicker and more streamlined loan discovery. The Baltimore-area company recently raised $1.625 million through a new debt round reported on Dec. 21.
• According to another SEC filing, Ellicott City’s Turngate Inc. raised $5.5 million on Dec. 20.
• Crofton-based Dapt, one of Technical.ly’s 2023 Baltimore RealLIST Startups, raised $1.03 million, per another SEC filing.
• According to his alma mater, Tufts University, Ben Carson Jr.’s Rockville-based FVLCRUM Partners, a private equity firm addressing the US racial wealth gap, closed its debut fund with over $302 million in commitments, exceeding the firm’s initial $250 million target.

Contracts

• Baltimore-based cybersecurity firm ZeroFox secured two federal contracts from the Office of Personnel Management potentially valued at up to $289 million. The contracts involve providing digital identity protection services to individuals affected by a 2015 data breach, according to a Baltimore Business Journal report.

Smaller raises and Forms D

• NextStep Robotics, headquartered in Baltimore, has secured $400,000 in funding — a part of its aimed $1.5 million target, as indicated by an SEC filing last Wednesday. The medical device startup developed an AI-driven device designed to assist stroke patients in walking safely.
• Hanover-based wireless sensor manufacturer Sensanna — part of a Maryland delegation at the 2020 Startup Grind Global Conference in Silicon Valley —  raised $200,023, according to a Dec. 28 SEC filing.
• Towson-based startup Dockshare, which connects private dock owners with boaters who need a place to dock, raised $100,000 through a new debt filing reported to the SEC on Dec. 28.

TEDCO investments

• DC-based 100KM Ventures has been selected by Columbia’s TEDCO as one of its early-stage venture capital fund managers. This selection is part of the management and investment of up to $10 million from the US Department of Treasury’s State Small Business Credit Initiative (SSBCI);
• TEDCO’s pre-seed builder fund, which operates under TEDCO’s Social Impact Funds program, aims to engage and invest in economically underserved founders and communities. One of TEDCO’s latest investments from that fund went to EBO, which rates a guest management API that automates booking processes.
• The Rural Business Innovation Initiative (RBII), managed by TEDCO, recently invested $25,000 in Tomorrow’s Bio Today, a biotech company in the Eastern Shore town of Queen Anne. TEDCO’s RBII focuses on advancing technology commercialization and offering support to small and early-stage companies in rural Maryland.
• TEDCO invested $300,000 in Ellicott City-based Rendr via the SSBCI program. Rendr developed a tech solution to simplify and support remodeling processes for contraRENDRctors and buyers.
• TEDCO also invested $200,000 from its Life Science Investment Fund into PediaMetrix, a biotech company focused on detecting body deformities in infants.

Opportunities for the people

• United Way of Central Maryland seeks entries for its latest Changemaker Challenge, which offers over $600,000 in grants to leaders with ideas to impact communities in Baltimore and its surrounding counties. Past grantees include Tendea Family cofounder Elijah Miles and B-360 founder Brittany Young.