Startups get that money: No. 5 #dctech trend of 2016

As the year draws to a close we’re looking back at all that has happened in #dctech — this post is part of our 2016 year in review series. See the full list here.

Despite continued complaints about the geography of venture capital (spoiler: it leaves a lot of people out), D.C. tech companies raised money in 2016. Sometimes a lot of it.
Verodin, a company that helps clients know whether their cybersecurity tech and practices are actually working, raised a $10 million Series A. Another cyber-focused company, ThreatQuotient, raised $12 million by way of a Series B.
Civic tech’s Phone2Action got a $4.7 million Series A and a new HQ, while event tech company Social Tables added a $13 million Series B to its new, bright pink space.
Edtech company EverFi announced a whopping $40 million Series C, but was upstaged that day by PhishMe’s $42.5 million C round. Also reeling in the big bucks? Optoro with a $30 million Series D.
And 1776, arguably one of D.C.’s foremost brands, got $7.2 million in “strategic investment” to continue its aggressive global expansion.
And those are just some of the deals.
What’s more, traditional funding wasn’t the only way to raise in 2016. A new local distillery called Republic Restoratives, for example, was one of the launch partners for Indiegogo’s new equity crowdfunding arm. Equity crowdfunding got brought into the legal fold when Title III of the JOBS Act came into effect in May, so we look forward to seeing more alternative funding models take shape in 2017.