Baltimore and DC Money Moves: Haveli purchases ZeroFox for $350M

The year’s hot start continues with plenty of news from around the Baltimore and Washington DC area. In our latest Money Moves column, catch up with the latest acquisitions and megarounds, along with the launch of xFoundry@UMD’s new $2 million competition for University of Maryland students who can help address the pressing issue of school safety.

ZeroFox bought by Texas tech-focused equity firm

Baltimore cybersecurity company ZeroFox has agreed to be acquired by the Austin, Texas-based private equity firm Haveli Investments. The all-cash, $350 million deal is expected to close before the second half of the year, the companies announced in a press release. The transaction will make ZeroFox, which began trading on the Nasdaq stock market in August 2022, a private company.

“With Haveli Investments, ZeroFox has identified a strong partner with the right combination of high growth software experience, strategic and operational resources, and a shared passion and commitment to external cybersecurity,” ZeroFox CEO James Foster said in a statement.

Once the deal closes, ZeroFox shareholders will receive $1.14 per share in cash, a 45% premium over its average price for the 90 days between Nov. 4 and Feb. 2. The transaction was unanimously supported by ZeroFox’s board of directors.

Impact Analytics raises $40 million investment round

Linthicum Heights, Maryland-based Impact Analytics closed a $40 million funding round led by Sageview Capital, along with additional support from Vistara Growth, the companies said in a statement. Sageview Capital Partner Jeff Klemens and Senior Advisor Prashanth Palakurthi, the founder and former CEO of Reflexis Systems, will join Impact Analytics’ board of directors.

“Sageview Capital partners with proven companies that leverage disruptive technologies and that have an intimate understanding of their customers’ business challenges and objectives,” Klemens said in a statement. “Impact Analytics clearly excels in all these regards as a pioneer in their space and we look forward to a fruitful and exciting partnership.”

The AI-powered retail planning and merchandising software platform provider plans to use the funding to hire more US- and international-based employees for sales, marketing and customer service, per the release.

$2 million UMD competition focuses on school safety solutions

Xplore Summit, a new student competition launched by xFoundry@UMD, will award up to $2 million in venture capital funding to a University of Maryland student-run startup that focuses on addressing active shooter detection and school safety.

“Launching Xplore is going to take the students who are going to participate in this program on a journey that’s going to be enriching, impactful and meaningful,” said university president Darryll J. Pines in an announcement. “If you monetize it — fantastic. But if you change the world and solve a real problem, I will be grateful.”

The winning team’s members will become cofounders of the venture’s product team and will earn equity and a salary after graduation.

Crux Climate closes $18 million round

Sustainable finance platform Crux Climate closed a Series A round, led by Andreessen Horowitz, worth $18 million, Axios reported. Crux is among a rising crop of companies, bolstered by the Inflation Reduction Act, to offer tools to finance solar, wind, battery and other energy transition projects.

Crux, which aims to make it easier to support clean energy initiatives through tax credit sales, will reportedly add Andreessen Horowitz General Partner David Haber to its board.

Other area news

• The Alliance for Pediatric Device Innovation and Pediatric Pandemic Network is selecting pitches that spotlight medical countermeasures, which aim to help children’s healthcare needs during pandemics and other disasters. Winners will receive grant funding up to $100,000 from the Health Resources and Services Administration.
• Baltimore firm Sunstone Credit purchased national commercial solar lender ORKA Finance. It’s Sunstone’s second transaction in recent months following its acquisition of Sunlight Financial in October.
• Biopharmaceutical company AstraZeneca will establish a $300 million facility at 9950 Medical Center Drive in Rockville, Maryland, with plans to open fully in 2026. The facility, which was announced by Gov. Wes Moore’s office, will host the company’s efforts for its life-saving cell therapy platforms related to cancer trials.
• Alexandria, Virginia’s Loric Games raised $4 million in an investment round led by 1AM Gaming. Loric, which focuses on role-playing games, also named Jeff Hickman, formerly of Electronic Arts, its chief production officer.
• Washington Harbour Partners LP, an Arlington, Virginia-based private equity firm, raised $20.2 million across two funds that pursue investments in artificial intelligence.
• The Maryland Energy Association (MEA) is planting a flag for Maryland within ARROW (the University of Massachusetts Amherst’s Academic Center for Reliability and Resilience of Offshore Wind) by committing $1 million in state funding to researchers from Johns Hopkins University and Morgan State University. These researchers will work in partnership with MEA to expand the state’s local offshore wind industry.
• The Wall Street Journal reported that DC-based Accolade Partners has raised more than $1 billion for a trio of funds that will further invest in tech and healthcare startups.
• Columbia, Maryland-based alternative health company Nava Health said it is merging with 99 Acquisition Group, a SPAC out of Gaithersburg, Maryland, in a pact worth up to $320 million. The newly combined company, which is named Nava Health, will remain listed on the Nasdaq, with the deal expected to close in Q2, per the Baltimore Business Journal.
• PowerSchool, a California-based public company, acquired Allovue, a Baltimore-area education finance firm, for an unspecified amount. The acquisition aims to enhance PowerSchool’s financial management tools designed for school districts. Under the terms of the deal, Allovue CEO Jess Gartner will become the over-3,000-employee PowerSchool’s vice president of enterprise resource planning.
• McLean, Virginia-HQed banking giant Capital One is acquiring Discover in an all-stock, $35.3 billion deal, according to an announcement. The transaction will result in the largest credit card lender in the US.
• Parlay, an Alexandria, Virginia-based company behind a platform for small business loan readiness, announced a $1.3 million pre-seed raise led by Fenway Summer. Techstars, in whose 2023 Boulder Accelerator Parlay participated, also invested in the round.
• Former Halcyon CEO Kate Goodall’s Halcyon Venture Fund, which launched at the beginning of the year, successfully raised $5 million for its Halcyon Fund II LP, per the Washington Business Journal.

​​State funding agency investments

State of Maryland-founded TEDCO announced the following investments and agreements over the past month:

• $300,000 for the College Park, Maryland-based biotechnology company Pathotrak
• $300,000 for Impruvon Health, a Baltimore startup aiming to streamline how medication is managed
• $500,000 for Bethesda, Maryland-based edtech platform University Startups
• $150,000 for EBO, a woman- and minority-led startup in Baltimore focused on improving the media industry’s talent booking process
• $300,000 for Rendr, an Ellicott City-based company whose app can help cut down time during a home remodeling process
• $25,000 for the research and development biotech company Tomorrow’s Bio Today in Princess Anne, Maryland.

The Virginia Innovation Partnership Corporation also announced these investments:

• Unspecified investment in Arlington, Virginia-based SaaS startup ElectroTempo
• $100,000 for Roanoke, Virginia-based biopharma startup Coeurative
• $100,000 for Falls Church, Virginia’s Vybe Energy

Spotted in FormD filings

• $13.89 million for Fulton, Maryland’s Racktop Systems
• $8.79 million for DC’s Goodshuffle
• $1.3 million for Vienna, Virginia-based cybersecurity company QWERX
• $500,000 for Alexandria, Virginia’s GeoDelphi
• $2 million for Arlington-based Two Six Technologies
• Nearly $416,000 for Bethesda’s Storyraise

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Technical.ly reporter Alanah Nichole Davis contributed to this report.